"...a story of love and loyalty that...finds a sharp moral focus."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"If you’re lucky, every once in a while you come across a book that overcomes you with its powerful story. My Xanthi, from first-time novelist Stephanie Cotsirilos, did that for me..."
-- Frank O Smith, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram
"...a thriller backdrop for a tale that challenges pat categorization and opens up with a bang..."
-- D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
My Xanthi brings together the clashing worlds of cantankerous, loveable criminal defense lawyer Nick Milonas: southern California where he lives with his Korean-American wife and twin daughters, the suburban Midwest where his proudly assimilating family raised him during the 1950s and 60s, and the bloody Greek history his forebears and his second-most-beloved maternal presence fled.
Read more about My Xanthi and check out British author Mark Wagstaff’s interview of Stephanie at The New Guard’s community page.
I was delighted to work alongside Kirstin Valdez Quade and Leigh Newman at the 2023 Sewanee Writers' Conference. See: Events
I spent September of 2021 at the Storyknife Writers Retreat in Homer, Alaska. Inspired by the venerable Hedgebrook program, Storyknife is one of the few U.S. residencies for women writers. I was grateful to have been named Storyknife’s first Katahdin Fellow. See: Events
Renegade Writers
In 2019, I launched "Renegade Writers," a reading with colleagues from Portland, Maine's African-American and immigrant communities. We were "renegade" because we were unconventional, stealth artists in a sense -- each of us known for other work, each from a different cultural background, each devoted to stories, poetry, lyrics, or comedy.
Our reading expanded into a series incorporating music, visual arts, and dance.
Prelude and Part 1: New England to the Andes on the Blue Train
If you’d like to arrange a reading and discussion of My Xanthi with Stephanie, please connect with us. It will be a pleasure to get back to you.
Member of the Author’s Guild and Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.