Ruta Sepetys

Ruta Sepetys (Lithuanian: Rūta Šepetys; born November 19, 1967) is a Lithuanian-American writer of historical fiction. She is a #1 New York Times and international bestseller, winner of the Carnegie Medal, and has been honored by The American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Rūta Šepetys
Sepetys in 2016
Born	Ruta Sepetys (1967-11-19) November 19, 1967 (age 57) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Education	Hillsdale College (BS)
Notable works	Between Shades of Gray Out of the Easy Salt to the Sea Fountains of Silence The Bletchley Riddle
Spouse	Michael Smith ​ (m. 2006)​
Website
rutasepetys.com

She has been awarded fellowships from the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford, the Rockefeller Foundation, and is the first American writer of young adult literature to speak at the European Parliament^[1] and NATO. Her work has been published in over sixty countries and forty languages and is currently in development for film and television.

Early life

Born in Michigan, Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. She earned a B.S. in International Finance from Hillsdale College. While overseas, she studied at the Centre d’études Européennes in Toulon, France, and at the ICN Graduate Business School in Nancy, France.^[2]

Career

Following graduation, she moved to Los Angeles. In 1994, she launched Sepetys Entertainment Group, Inc., an entertainment management firm representing songwriters and recording artists.^[3]

In 2002, Sepetys was featured in Rolling Stone magazine's "Women in Rock" special issue as a woman driven to make a difference. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University.

Sepetys published her first novel in 2011 and currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been described as a "seeker of lost stories" who hopes to give voice to those who weren't able to tell their story.^[4] Her novels are Between Shades of Gray (2011), Out of the Easy (2013), Salt to the Sea (2016), The Fountains of Silence (2019), and I Must Betray You (2023), many of which are critically acclaimed.

Personal life

Sepetys lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.^[5]

Fiction

Between Shades of Gray

Her first novel, Between Shades of Gray, about a teenage girl deported from her native Lithuania to Siberian Gulag labor camps after the Soviet occupation in 1941, was critically acclaimed^[6] and translated into over 30 languages.^[7][8]

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.^[9]

In March 2013, Ruta became the first American author of young adult literature to give a presentation at 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.^[10] The novel was adapted into a film, Ashes in the Snow.

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 worldwide and is considered a book for all ages.^[11]

Out of the Easy

Out of the Easy is Sepetys' second published novel. It was released on February 12, 2013^[12] 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 story explores themes of feminism in historical context and post-war America. 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.^[13]

Salt to the Sea

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.^[14]

The sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff is the single largest 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."^[15] The New York Times added this in their review of Salt to the Sea—"Ruta Sepetys acts as champion of the interstitial people so often ignored—whole populations lost in the cracks of history."^[16] In June, 2017, Salt to the Sea was awarded the Carnegie Medal for stimulating empathy and solidarity.^[17]

The Fountains of Silence

Sepetys' novel, The Fountains of Silence^[18] was released on October 1, 2019. It is set in Madrid during the dictatorship of Spain's Francisco Franco. The story explores the repercussions of war and the complexities of the dictatorship in Spain.

One of the topics covered in the book is the lost children of Francoism, who were children abducted from Spanish Republican parents and given to families deemed "less degenerate". The number of abducted children is estimated to be up to 300,000.^[19] The stolen children were sometimes also victims of child trafficking and illegal adoption.^[20]

I Must Betray You

As communist regimes are crumbling across Europe in 1989, I Must Betray You, published in 2022, describes seventeen year old Cristian Florescu's world in the isolation of Nicolae Ceaușescu's Romania. He must decide whether to be an informant or resist the regime. This book also won the Yoto Carnegie Shadower's Award for writing in 2023.^[21]

Adaptations

Between Shades of Gray has been released in an unabridged audiobook by Penguin Audio, narrated by Emily Klein; and has been translated into 30 languages and sold in as many countries.

It has also been adapted for film by Ben York Jones, directed by Marius A. Markevicius and produced by Chris Coen, Marius A. Markevicius, Žilvinas Naujokas, and Ruta Sepetys. The film is titled Ashes in the Snow and stars Bel Powley, Martin Wallström, and Lisa Loven Kongsli. It was released in Lithuania in October 2018, and released in the US in early 2019.^[22][23]

Out of the Easy has been released in an unabridged audiobook by Listening Library and is narrated by Lauren Fortgang.

Salt to the Sea has been released in an unabridged audiobook by Listening Library and is narrated by Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and Michael Crouch.

In 2017, Salt to the Sea was optioned by Universal Pictures for film to be produced by Lorenzo Di Bonaventura. The Screenplay was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber whose credits include "500 Days of Summer," “The Fault in Our Stars," “Our Souls at Night," and "The Disaster Artist".^[24]

Recognition

Postage stamp

In June 2018, to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Lithuania's original independence, the Postmaster General in Lithuania unveiled a commemorative set of postage stamps paying tribute to people whose work created and strengthened the awareness of Lithuania. Sepetys was one of those included in the series.^[25]

The Carnegie Medal

On June 19, 2017, Ruta Sepetys was awarded the Carnegie Medal in a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. She also won the Shadower's Award on June 21, 2023 for "I Must Betray You "^[17]

American Academy of Arts and Letters

On March 6, 2025, Sepetys was honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters with the E.B. White Award, a career achievement award for contribution to children's literature.^[26]

Cross of the Knight

On June 6, 2013, Sepetys was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 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.^[27]

The Bodleian Libraries at Oxford

In 2025, Sepetys was awarded a research fellowship with The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford for her study of Czech historical identity and the role of resistance.^[28]

The Rockefeller Foundation

In 2015, Sepetys was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation's 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^[29]

Catholic Library Association

In 2025, Ruta Sepetys was awarded the Regina Medal by the Catholic Library Association for continued, distinguished contribution to children’s literature.^[30]

Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College of Education

Sepetys has been recognized multiple times by the Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College of Education. She won the 2023 Josette Frank Award for Fiction for I Must Betray You,^[31] which was also listed as a Best Children's Book of the Year with Outstanding Merit.^[32] Between Shades of Gray received an Outstanding Merit recognition as a 2012 Best Children's Book of the Year; the graphic novel version was on the 2022 list. Out of the Easy appeared on 2014 list, Salt to the Sea was recognized with Outstanding Merit on the 2017 list, and The Fountain of Silence in 2020 (with Outstanding Merit).

Works

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
• Fountains of Silence (2019) ISBN 978-0399160318
• I Must Betray You (2022) ISBN 978-1-9848-3604-5^[33]
• The Bletchley Riddle (2024) ISBN 978-0593527542 Co-written with Steve Sheinkin

Media articles and essays

• Sepetys, Ruta (November 26, 2012). "Finding My Family's Story Through Historical Fiction". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
• Sepetys, Ruta (September 23, 2011). "In Wordless Imagery, An Immigrant's Timeless Tale". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
• Sepetys, Ruta (May 17, 2012). "Two Gray Titles, One Sexy Mix-Up". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 27 July 2012.