Quick Facts
Biography
Dr. Kristina Sabaliauskaitė is an art historian and one of the most prominent contemporary Lithuanian writers. Born in Vilnius, she has been based in London since 2002. She worked as a foreign correspondent and columnist for Lithuania's biggest daily newspaper.
Career
In 2008 she debuted with a historical novel Silva rerum (published by Baltos lankos) about the life of a noble family in 1659-1667, the period after The Deluge. It became a bestseller with multiple editions and was pronounced "a literary event" in Lithuania, critically acclaimed and recognised by historians of culture, praised for the captivating storytelling and great attention to historical detail.
In 2008 it was shortlisted by the Institute of Lithuanian Literature among the twelve most creative books.
In 2008 received the Jurga Ivanauskaitė literary award.
In 2009 Silva rerum became Book of the Year in Lithuania.
In 2010 it was officially listed among the 10 most memorable Lithuanian books of the past decade.
In 2011 Silva rerum II, the sequel about the Great Plague of 1707-1710 and the Great Northern War was published by Baltos lankos and became a #1 bestseller nationally with multiple editions.
In 2011 Silva rerum II also became Book of the Year in Lithuania.
In 2011 Sabaliauskaitė received the Saint Christopher award from Vilnius District Municipality for reflections of Vilnius in literature.
In 2011 the Vilnius Tourism Information Centre introduced a literary guided tour of Vilnius Old Town following the places described in Sabaliauskaitė`s Silva rerum trilogy.
In 2012 Baltos lankos published a selection of short stories Danielius Dalba & kitos istorijos (Danielius Dalba & Other Stories) which became a number one bestseller.
In 2014 Latvian translations by Dace Meiere of Silva rerum and Silva rerum II (published in Latvia by Zvaigzne ABC) were voted for inclusion in a list of 100 of Latvia's Most Favourite Books of All Times.
In 2014 Baltos lankos published Silva rerum III - the third part of the novel, a number one bestseller, set in the mid-18th century and exploring the origins of the legend of the Righteous Proselyte of Vilna, Abraham ben Abraham.
In 2015 the Silva rerum trilogy was awarded the Liudas Dovydėnas Literary Prize.
In 2015 a translation of Silva rerum by Izabela Korybut-Daszkiewicz was published in Poland and received rave reviews, with critics calling it "a true literary sensation from Lithuania" (Mariusz Cieślik, Wprost), "a truly monumental text, literature of the highest standard, a universal novel about humanity" (Tomasz Orwid, Dobre Książki).
In 2015 Kristina Sabaliauskaitė was named Woman of the Year in Lithuania.
In 2015 Vilnius Wilno Vilna: Three Short Stories, taken from the collection Danielius Dalba & kitos istorijos and translated into English by Romas Kinka, was published by Baltos lankos [1].
In 2016 the Polish edition of 'Silva Rerum' (2008) has been shortlisted for the final of Angelus Central European Literary Prize.
In November 2016 the final part of the tetralogy 'Silva Rerum IV' an account about the Enlightenment and the period of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth partitions has been published in Lithuania and went straight to number one on bestsellers' lists with a first print run selling-out in 3 days.