Renata Šerelytė (born 1970) is one of the most widely translated Lithuanian authors. Her short stories are available in German, Russian, Swedish, Georgian and Polish. She made her debut in 1995 with a collection of short stories and, since then, has written almost 20 books. Coming from a small town herself, she often writes about daily life in small towns, which in her books is bleak and dreary, but also sweet and nostalgic. Her stories and her characters contain autobiographical details, and her greatest achievements are generally stylistic: she is a true master at crafting sentences. Šerelytė has also written several popular books for children and is one of the few Lithuanian writers who also writes historical fantasy stories for teenagers and young adults. Her published books include a collection of poetry, essays and a few plays. She is also very highly thought of as a reviewer and critic 

Pro rūdijančią naktį (Past the Rusty Night). Vilnius: Alma littera, 2020, – 208 p.

 Antanas Kraujelis, code name Siaubūnas (Monster), is said to have been the last Lithuanian guerilla fighter, who killed himself to avoid being capture by the KGB as late as 1965. As was often the case with important figures of the guerilla war, the Soviets made sure that his burial place was well hidden in order to erase the events of the post-war from collective memory. His remains were found and recovered in 2019, which of course merited a solemn military funeral with pomp and circumstance, and this event brought him to the foreground of public conversation and imagination. 

Šerelytė takes on a task that is difficult not only artistically, but also politically. The guerilla war is a touchy and divisive spot in the collective memory, and more than once a writer has suffered public verbal attacks by people and groups who find their work not patriotic enough. Pro rūdijančią naktį is a fictionalized diary of Kraujelis, in which he is depicted as a normal young man and a well-rounded character: he jokes, suffers, worries and tells funny stories. The second plotline is of a young girl growing up in the Soviet Lithuania and dealing with the silence in her family regarding the erased memories of war and post-war. 

Selected translations

English: The Music Teacher. Translated by Marija Marcinkutė. Nottingham: Noir Press, 2018

German: Der Windreiter. Translated by Cornelius Hell. Klagenfurt: Wieser Verlag, 2017

Sterne der Eiszeit. Translated by Akvilė Galvosaitė. Berlin: Rowohlt Verlag, 2002 

Polish: Imię w ciemności. Translated by Alicja Rybałko. Wołowiec: Czarne, 2005

Gwiazdy epoki lodowcowej. Translated by Alicja Rybałko. Wołowiec: Czarne, 2004

Contact for inquiries: kotryna.pranckunaite@lithuanianculture.lt