Ruta Sepetys

Ruta Sepetys or Rūta Šepetys (born November 19, 1967) is a Lithuanian-American writer of historical fiction. She is best known for her novel, Between Shades of Gray, which was a New York Times Bestseller and Carnegie Medal finalist. Sepetys is a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellow and the first American writer of young adult literature to speak at the European Parliament. Her work is published in over fifty countries and thirty languages.

Sepetys was born in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. She holds a B.S. in International Finance from Hillsdale College. While in school Sepetys also studied at the Centre d’études Européennes in Toulon, France and at the ICN in Nancy, France.

Following graduation Sepetys moved to Los Angeles. In 1994 she launched Sepetys Entertainment Group, Inc., an entertainment management firm representing Grammy-award-winning guitarist Steve Vai, Orange County modern rock band Lit, and Emmy-nominated film composer Niels Bye Nielsen. In 2002 Sepetys was featured in Rolling Stone magazine’s 'Women in Rock' special issue as a woman driven to make a difference. Sepetys is on the Board of Advisors for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University and is also a director of the Make a Noise Foundation, a national non-profit that raises money for music education. Sepetys published her first novel in 2011 and currently resides in Nashville, TN.

Her first novel, Between Shades of Gray, about the Genocide of Baltic people after the Soviet occupation in 1941, was critically acclaimed and translated into over 22 different languages. At Sepetys' request, musician Gavin Mikhail composed a piano soundtrack to accompany the book.

The book is considered a roman à clef, with fictional characters wrapped around actual events and experiences. Ruta states that the novel represents the "extreme suffering and tremendous hope" displayed by the people of the Baltics.

In March 2013, Ruta became the first American author of young adult literature to give a presentation at the European Parliament. Her discussion with MEPs in Brussels centered on the novel, the history of totalitarianism in the Baltics, and the importance of historical fiction.

Sepetys is a writer of historical fiction. Although Between Shades of Gray was initially written for children and young adults, the book has been widely read by many and considered a book for all ages.

Out of the Easy is Sepetys' second published novel. It was released on February 12, 2013 and features Josie Moraine, a young woman in the 1950s French Quarter of New Orleans who struggles to escape her family and become the author of her own destiny. The novel became a New York Times bestseller and was chosen as an Editor’s Choice in the New York Times on February 15, 2013.

Sepetys's new novel, Salt to the Sea, was published on February 2, 2016 and chronicles the 1945 refugee evacuation from East Prussia and the MV Wilhelm Gustloff disaster. The sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff is the single greatest maritime disaster in history yet, to many, the story remains unknown. In their starred review, Publishers Weekly said, "Sepetys delivers another knockout historical novel...she excels in shining light on lost chapters of history and this visceral novel proves a memorable testament to strength and resilience in the face of war and cruelty."

School Library Journal added this in their starred review of Salt to the Sea—"Artfully told and sensitively crafted, Sepetys’s exploration of this little-known piece of history will leave readers weeping."

Cross of the Knight

On June 6, 2013, Sepetys was awarded Lithuania's Cross of the Knight of the Order. The honor of Knight was bestowed by the President of Lithuania in a formal ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius. Sepetys was decorated for her contributions to education and culture in conjunction with her global efforts to share the history of totalitarianism in the Baltics.

The Rockefeller Foundation

In 2015, Sepetys was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation's prestigious Bellagio Center residency in Lake Como, Italy. As a Rockefeller Bellagio fellow, Sepetys was invited to spend a month at the Foundation's Bellagio Center interacting with other international resident thought leaders, policy makers, artists, and practitioners who share in the Foundation’s pioneering mission to "promote the well-being of humanity."

Between Shades of Gray

Honors in the US

• A New York Times Bestseller
• An International Bestseller
• A Carnegie Medal Nominee
• A William C. Morris Finalist
• A New York Times Notable Book
• A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book
• Winner of The Golden Kite Award for Fiction
• An ALA Notable Book
• A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2011
• YALSA’s Top 10 Best Fiction For Young Adults
• A School Library Journal Best Book of 2011
• A Booklist Best Book of 2011
• A Kirkus Best Book of 2011
• iTunes Best Teen Novel of 2011
• A Junior Library Guild Selection
• Notable Books For a Global Society Award
• An Indies Choice Book Awards Finalist
• IRA Children's and Young Adult's Book Award
• Winner of the Volunteer State Book Award
• Amazon Top Ten Teen Books of 2011
• A CYBILS Finalist for 2011
• National Blue Ribbon Selection by Book of the Month Club
• A St. Louis Post Dispatch Best Book of 2011
• A Columbus Dispatch Best Book of 2011
• Winner of the SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant
• Georgia Peach Honor Book (GA)
• Balzekas Museum's 2013 Woman of the Year

International

• Finalist for the Carnegie Medal in the UK
• Shortlisted for the Lewisham Book Award in the UK
• A Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Nominee in the UK
• Amazon Top Ten Books of 2011 in the UK
• Winner of the Flanders Young Adult Literature Jury Prize in Belgium
• Winner of the Prix RTL Lire For Best Novel For Young People in France
• Winner of the Prix Livrentête in France
• Finalist for the Historia Prize in France
• Winner of Le Prix des Incorruptibles in France
• Winner of the Peter Pan Silver Star in Sweden
• Winner of the Flanders Young Adult Literature Jury Prize in Belgium
• Winner of the Prix Farniente in Belgium
• Awarded Cross of the Knight of the Order in Lithuania
• Winner of the National Patriot Award in Lithuania
• Winner of the Global Lithuanian Leader Award in Lithuania
• A Golden List Nominee in the Netherlands
• A Magazyn Literacki KSIĄŻKI! Best Book in Poland
• Winner of the Prix des Libraries du Québec in Canada
• ‘Der Leserpreis’ Readers Choice Finalist in Germany
• A ‘Best Breakthrough Author’ Nominee for the Penguin Teen Australia Awards
• Finalist for the Sakura Medal in Japan

US state honors

• Texas Lonestar Reading List Master List (TX)
• TAYSHAS Reading List Master List (TX)
• Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens Master List (D.C.)
• Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Master List (MD)
• Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Award Master List (PA)
• The Flume: New Hampshire Readers’ Choice Award Master List (NH)
• Iowa Association of School Librarians Award Master List (IA)
• Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List (KY)
• Nevada Young Readers Award Master List (NV)
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Master List (RI)
• Maud Hart Lovelace Award (MN)
• Missouri Association of School Librarians Gateway Award Master List (MO)
• South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Master List (SC)
• Virginia Readers’ Choice Master List (VA)
• Eliot Rosewater Rosie Award Master List (IN)
• Nebraska Golden Sower Award (NE)
• Volunteer State Book Award (TN)
• Sequoyah Book Award (OK)
• Young Hoosier Book Award (IN)
• Georgia Peach Book Award (GA)
• Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award Master List (CO)

Out of the Easy

Honors in the US

• A New York Times Bestseller
• A Junior Library Guild Book Pick
• A Carnegie Medal Nominee
• A New York Times Editor's Choice Novel
• YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction For Young Adults
• Booklist Top Ten Fiction for Young Adults
• A CCBC Choice Selection
• A Bank Streets Best Children's Book of the Year Selection
• A Cybils Award Finalist
• Bookspan Book Club’s Top New Books of 2013
• Indie Next List Top Ten Pick
• YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
• Barnes and Noble Best Teen Books of 2013
• Kirkus Best Teen Books of 2013
• Amazon Best Teen Books of 2013
• Newsday's Top Ten Books of 2013
• BookPage Best Young Adult Books of 2013
• Los Angeles Public Library Best Teen Books of 2013
• Goodreads Choice Best Teen Fiction of 2013
• 2013 Nerdy Award Finalist
• Amazon Spotlight Pick

International Honors

• Book of the Year in Spain
• Finalist for Waterstones Children's Book Prize in the UK
• Finalist for the Prix Farniente in Belgium

State Reading Lists & Awards

• Capitol Choices’ Noteworthy Titles for Children and Teens List (DC)
• Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award (TN)
• Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award Master List (IN)
• Texas TAYHAS State List (TX)
• Nutmeg Book Award Nominee (CT)
• Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Program Master List (PA)
• Westchester Fiction Honorable Mention (CA)
• Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (IL)
• Flume Award Nominee (NH)
• South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee (SC)
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (RI)

Books

• Between Shades of Gray (2011) ISBN 978-0-399-25412-3
• Out of the Easy (2013) ISBN 978-0-399-25692-9
• Salt to the Sea (2016) ISBN 978-0399160301

Radio essays

• In Wordless Imagery, An Immigrant's Timeless Tale (NPR - All Things Considered) (2011)

• Two Gray Titles, One Sexy Mix-Up (NPR - All Things Considered) (2012)

Media articles and essays

• Finding My Family's Story Through Historical Fiction (Huffington Post) (2012)