Author of THEY WERE LIKE FAMILY TO ME, a collection of linked stories illuminated with magical realism, following the inhabitants of a small town in 1942 Poland and tracing the troubling complex choices they are compelled to make. Finalist for The Story Prize and Honorable Mention in the 2017 ALA Sophie Brody Medal for achievement in Jewish Literature. Originally published as IN THE LAND OF ARMADILLOS. Columnist for the Jewish Standard.
Click here to buy it on Amazon! THEY WERE LIKE FAMILY TO ME is in bookstores everywhere! For the paperback, we decided to go with the title of a different story in the collection. As much as we all love the "Armadillos" title, we felt that They Were Like Family To Me is more evocative... Continue Reading →
Barnes & Noble selected IN THE LAND OF ARMADILLOS as a Spring 2016 Discover Great New Writers pick! Get it at Barnes & Noble Get it on Amazon Get it on Indiebound A radiant debut collection of linked stories set in a German-occupied town in Poland, where tales of myth and folklore meet the real-life... Continue Reading →
The story materialized in my head a few days before Halloween, 2009. It’s World War 2. A gang of creatures, half man and half beast, attack a party of SS men executing a group of Jews. I imagined a pretty young girl stumbling over roots as German soldiers herded her toward a clearing in the... Continue Reading →
HELEN MARYLES SHANKMAN 