Debut author panel as part of USF’s Creative Writing MFA program “Life After MFA”

At this year’s LitCrawl, I’m joining a group reading “Passionate Thinking in Diaspora: Writers from Ukraine, Russia, and Moldova Share Fiction and Nonfiction”

Author presentation at Rotary Club of Walnut Creek

Author presentation: From WWII to the War in Ukraine. Hosted by the Rotary Club of Mission San Rafael

Your Presence Is Mandatory: From WWII until Ukraine War author talk at Rotary Club of San Francisco, the second oldest rotary club in the world.

I’ll be discussing my novel with Lee Kravetz at a luncheon cohosted by Orinda Books and the Alta Mesa Center for the Arts

I’ll be premiering the Italian version of my novel at Italy’s premier literary festival, Pordenonelegge, https://www.pordenonelegge.it/.

Sasha will do a virtual reading and presentation of Your Presence Is Mandatory at Literary Modiin Salon. To register, click https://bit.ly/3Yvdl8h

Sasha will present the French edition of her novel “Le Loup du Donbass” (Charleston) at Dernier Rempart Librairie in Antibes, France.

As part of COJECO’s Academy of Jewish Heritage, I’ll do a virtual presentation of Your Presence Is Mandatory in English and Russian. Click here to register.

Join me for a reading at The Racket literary salon along with an amazing literary lineup: Lee Kravetz, Olga Zilberbourg, Yalitza Ferreras, Jacqueline Doyle and Rita Chang-Eppig!

I’ll be talking about Your Presence is Mandatory in a virtual event at the Jewish Community Library.

I’ll be reading from Your Presence is Mandatory and answering questions in Russian & English at Globus Books.

I’ll be discussing ‘Your Presence is Mandatory’ with Susanne Pari, an Iranian-American author of ‘In the Time of Our History’. The first 50 people in attendance will receive free giveaway signed books!

Seattle friends, come by Elliott Bay Books for my conversation with Tara Conklin and book signing. More info on https://www.elliottbaybook.com/events/20240529

I’ll be talking about Your Presence Is Mandatory with a good friend and post-Soviet writer Olga Zilberbourg, author of Like Water and Other Stories, at Telegraph Hill Books.

I’ll be talking about the book with Michael David Lukas in the gorgeous Mill Valley Public Library, set inside a redwood forest!

Your Presence is Mandatory reading and conversation with Steven Saum at Booksmith in San Francisco. I’ll be signing books!

Please join the Barnard College Slavic Department and the Harriman Institute for an author talk with journalist and novelist Sasha Vasilyuk. Moderated by John Wright.

Your Presence is Mandatory NYC launch reading & afterparty for friends. Please RSVP on

LA friends, come meet me at the LAT Book Festival. I’ll be on a panel Looking Back to See Forward: Contemporary Historical Fiction with Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Melissa Ann Chadburn, Crystal Hana Kim, and Myriam J. A. Chancy. Full schedule.

I’ll be reading along with SF Writers Grotto members at the inaugural Lit Crawl Sebastopol. Join us for “Around the World” with Caroline Paul, Grace Loh Prasad, Sabina Khan-Ibarra, Eirinee Carson. Full Lit Crawl schedule on https://litcrawlsebastopol2024.sched.com/

I’ll be in conversation with the New York Times bestselling author Tara Conklin about her new novel Community Board (HarperCollins, April 2), a wise, timely, big-hearted novel of unplanned isolation and newly forged community. Hosted by Black Bird Bookstore & Cafe in San Francisco.

I’ll be leading a panel on Writing Your Way Through a Major World Event, along with writers Katya Apekina, Jasmin Iolani Hakes, Cecilia Rabess, and Lena Zycinsky.

How does a writer walk the tightrope between story and history when tackling a major world event, historical or contemporary? How do they make it their own? Four novelists and a poet discuss their unique approaches to describing Hawaii's colonization, the Russian Revolution, World War II, the 2016 election, and the current war in Ukraine. From balancing fact and fiction to creating a narrative that feels fresh, we will share our experiences whipping reality into a literary shape.

Join novelists, poets, and journalists born in the former USSR as they share work influenced by the war in Ukraine. Through poignant fiction and nonfiction, experience the nuanced exploration of resilience, identity, and the human spirit amidst turmoil. Free or donation. Register on https://www.irckc.org/what-we-do/irc-events-calendar/#id=10692&cid=1742&wid=2201

Katya Apekina | Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry | Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach | Maria Kuznetsova | Luisa Muradyan | Sasha Vasilyuk | Vlada Teper | Lena Zycinsky

I’ll be reading from Your Presence is Mandatory along the author of the fabulous new historical fiction novel, The Bullet Swallower, Elizabeth Gonzalez James. We’ll also be joined by Ghassan Zeineddine, author of Dearborn.

Five prize-winning authors will lead a discussion on crafting autobiographical novels/stories versus memoirs/personal essays. They will talk about the differences and similarities between fiction and nonfiction, what determines a writer’s initial narrative choice, and the challenges writers encounter while writing from their own experiences about cultural heritage, trauma, disability, violence, and sexual abuse. Featuring: Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry, Jeffrey Dale Lofton, William Mark Habeeb, Chris Dennis

I’ll be in conversation with novelist Elizabeth Gonzalez James about her buzzy novel THE BULLET SWALLOWER, a dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez. Book signing at Book Passage Corte Madera to follow!

Poesia Cafe is hosting a group reading of SF Bay Area authors on the themes of food, drink, and my favorite country - Italy! My co-readers include Michael Alenyikov, Richard May, Olga Zilberbourg, and Anna Mantzaris.