Journalist and author, Sasha Vasilyuk shares fascinating insights about her new historical fiction novel Your Presence is Mandatory.
Sasha’s story based on historical events spans from WWII until the advent of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The spellbinding tale is a riveting story of a Jewish-Ukrainian war vet who clings to a dangerous secret for his entire life.
Your Presence is Mandatory published by Bloomsbury in the U.S. and Canada as well as Italy, Germany, France, Finland and Brazil is scheduled for release late April 2024.
Correspondent Tom Wilmer spoke with Sasha about her grandfather who inspired her novel centered on her grandfather’s life and how the Soviet government treated its captured soldiers.
Join Sasha’s journey from journalism to fiction, and how she came to meet the recently killed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Sasha Vasilyuk grew up between Ukraine and Russia before immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 13. She earned an MA in journalism from New York University and her nonfiction work has been published in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, CNN, Time, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Telegraph, KQED, Narrative, and elsewhere.
The recipient of a Solas Award for Best Travel Writing, a North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) Award, and a Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) Fellowship from UC Berkeley, Sasha lives in San Francisco with her husband and children.
In praise of Your Presence is Mandatory:
“Powerful…In masterfully crafted prose, Sasha Vasilyuk examines the harrowing choices her characters have to make to survive during and after the war. With a cast of memorable characters, Your Presence Is Mandatory is a poignant and formidable tale of grit and guilt set against the harsh realities of state-sanctioned cruelty and indifference. You won't be able to put this book down, and it will stay in your heart long after you finish reading. Riveting and unforgettable.”
—Elena Gorokhova, author of A Train to Moscow
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