Meet Julia Zarankin, a 2024 COURAGE to WRITE Writer of Note working on her novel, The Babushka Beauty Pageant.
Three generations of strong, opinionated women from Ukraine wind up in Canada where they experience love, heartbreak, and a beauty pageant for Soviet émigré grandmothers.
“The novel illuminates the humorous and tragic dynamics of familial expectations while also examining the in-betweenness of the immigrant experience and reckoning with what it means to forge one’s own path.”
Julia is a Toronto-based Soviet émigré writer. Her memoir, “Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder,” is a Canadian bestseller and “Black-legged Kittiwake” was a finalist for the CBC Short Story Award.
An exciting update from Julia: “Earlier this summer, I was Artist-in-Residence in Prince Rupert, BC and worked on my novel while in residence at the North Pacific Cannery in July.”