Code Breaking and Critical Thinking: An Interview with Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin [S7 EP. 227]

Listen to the full episode below:

We love hosting authors on this podcast, and today we have a repeat guest. It’s the one and only Ruta Sepetys, only this time she’s joined by author, Steve Sheinkin! Ruta and Steve had teamed up and co-authored a new book called The Bletchley Riddle. 

The Bletchley Riddle is a historical mystery for middle grades and we’re so honored to have the opportunity to hear all the details from the authors themselves. Ruta and Steve share how this collaboration came to be, what the co-writing process was like, and how they envision students interacting with the text.

Not only is this a great episode for ELA teachers, but it would also be a fun one to share with your students. It brings important yet underrepresented history to light in an exciting and engaging way for young readers. Be sure to check Ruta’s website for an educator's guide to The Bletchley Riddle!

Topics Discussed:

  • What Ruta has been up to since we last spoke with her on the podcast

  • Steve’s background and how he became a writer

  • The story behind Ruta and Steve’s collaboration 

  • The differences in Ruta and Steve’s writing processes 

  • What it was like to collaborate on a story, and challenges that came up

  • How they write historical fiction but stay true to accurate historical details

  • Examples of questions that you could use in your classroom with The Bletchley Riddle

Resources Mentioned:

meet ruta:

Ruta Sepetys (Rūta Šepetys) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is published in the U.S. by Penguin Random House and is considered a “crossover” novelist as her books are read by both students and adults worldwide. 

Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is acclaimed for giving voice to underrepresented history and those who experienced it. Her books have won or been shortlisted for over forty book prizes, are included on over thirty state reading lists, and are currently in development for film and television. Her first novel, which chronicles the Soviet atrocities in Lithuania, has been adapted into the renowned major motion picture, Ashes in the Snow. 

Ruta is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. Born in Michigan, she was raised in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. Ruta is passionate about the power of history and story to foster global dialogue and connectivity. She has been invited to present at NATO, European Parliament, the U.S. Capitol, the Library of Congress, and Embassies worldwide. She was awarded The Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious Bellagio Fellowship for her studies on human resilience. 

Ruta was recently bestowed the Cross of the Knight of the Order by the President of Lithuania for her contributions to education and memory preservation and was honored with a postage stamp containing her image. She is intensely proud to be Lithuanian, even if that means she has a name no one can pronounce. Ruta lives with her family in the hills of Tennessee.

Meet Steve:

A former textbook writer, Steve Sheinkin is now making amends by writing books young people might actually want to read. He's the author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction including Bomb, Fallout, Undefeated, Born to Fly, The Port Chicago 50, and Impossible Escape, as well as The Bletchley Riddle, a middle grade historical mystery written with Ruta Sepetys. 

Steve's accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal and Honor, three National Book Award finalist honors, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He lives with his family in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Connect with ruta:

Connect with steve:

check out other bnt episodes:

More about Brave New Teaching:

Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!

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