Valya Dudycz Lupescu
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valya.bsky.social
Valya Dudycz Lupescu
@valya.bsky.social
650 followers 490 following 160 posts
Writes about the experience of magic in the world 🇺🇦🇺🇸 Author of The Silence of Trees and Mother Christmas, editor of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora. 🌻
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valya.bsky.social
Happy Vyshyvanka Day!
Ukrainian American woman in a Ukrainian embroidered blouse made from red and black threads, a wreath of flowers on her head.
May 15, 2025 at 10:48 PM
valya.bsky.social
I'm at ICFA, and I brought copies of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora! They're in the book room. #ICFA45 🌻
Book cover illustration of elderly Hutzul woman smoking a pipe.
March 14, 2024 at 1:47 PM
valya.bsky.social
THIS is Lutfiye Zudiyeva, Crimean Tatar human rights activist (taken from the Radio Free Europe website):
Photograph of Lutfiye Zudiyeva, Crimean Tartar woman in a hijab.
February 22, 2024 at 4:50 PM
valya.bsky.social
Thank you, Bogi. Absolutely.

THIS is Lutfiye Zudiyeva, Crimean Tatar human rights activist (taken from the Radio Free Europe website):
Photograph of Lutfiye Zudiyeva, Crimean Tartar woman in a hijab.
February 22, 2024 at 4:48 PM
valya.bsky.social
I turned fifty last weekend! A blog post about time and aging, and the wisdom of trees 🌳: www.vdlupescu.com/journal/2024...
Fifty-year old woman with glasses and a purple and blue mug stands smiling in her living room.
February 7, 2024 at 4:07 PM
valya.bsky.social
Honored that Embroidered Worlds is on this longlist for the BSFA Best Collection! So excited to see Ukrainian fiction on a list like this. When I was a young reader in the 80s & 90s, I dreamed of such an opportunity.
January 22, 2024 at 7:30 PM
valya.bsky.social
Excited to get Embroidered Worlds in the mail! 400 pages of fantastic stories from writers in Ukraine & the diaspora.

Soon these anthologies will be on their way to mailboxes of Kickstarter supporters around the world. Дуже дякую! Thank you thank you thank you! 💙💛
A smiling woman with long brown hair holds a book with an old Ukrainian woman's face on the cover.
December 20, 2023 at 5:03 AM
valya.bsky.social
Until midnight CST tonight! You can pre-order your copy of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora, and you'll still get the beautiful bookplate by Olga Samets!
embroidered-worlds.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...
Black and white bookplate of a young Ukrainian woman with braids in Ukrainian folk costume.
November 13, 2023 at 2:04 AM
valya.bsky.social
I've have been spending all my time head down with translations & edits for this anthology, so I have not had a chance to mention there is ONE MORE DAY to pre-order copies of Embroidered Worlds (& still get the bookplate!) through Backerkit!

embroidered-worlds.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...
Bookplate sketch of a young Ukrainian Women in folk costume.
November 12, 2023 at 3:21 AM
valya.bsky.social
Only 20 minutes left until the Kickstarter campaign for Embroidered Worlds ends! Join 1068 backers who are going to get this anthology of 30 stories by writers from Ukraine and the diaspora! It's also the only way to get this beautiful bookplate!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
October 1, 2023 at 3:39 AM
valya.bsky.social
In the spirit of @zzclaybourne.bsky.social's Witches, a photo of thanks from this Ukrainian Witch.

Thank you to our 1023 backers (with 7 hours to go, can we get to 1111?) #embroideredworlds #UkrainianWitches

(Sticker by www.keithgreenstein.com/uwu)
Woman sits behind a laptop with a Ukrainian Witches Unite sticker on it.
September 30, 2023 at 8:31 PM
valya.bsky.social
I'm so excited to share the special bookplate we have for backers created by Ukrainian artist Olga Samets.

With just over a day left, it's not too late to join almost 1000 backers supporting Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
A young Ukrainian woman in full embroidered folk costume with the words: "Embroidered Worlds" above her and "Literary Patron" beneath her.
September 30, 2023 at 1:40 AM
valya.bsky.social
It’s time to unveil the cover of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora, as well as the list of 30 authors & their stories!!!

You can read the update here! Just 4 more days to become a backer! www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...

Слава Україні!
An image of the cover for the anthology with a futuristic old Hutsul woman smoking a pipe. The list of authors and work, which is available on the Kickstarter Update if you follow the link (it was too many to be included here in alt text)
September 26, 2023 at 4:05 PM
valya.bsky.social
Stories connect us, and translators are some of the special people who make those connections possible. You can read about the translators for Embroidered Worlds in our latest update:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
Test atop a Cyrillic keyboard with the quote, "There are special people who spend their lives building literary bridges to share books, poems, songs...They stand on the threshold between the world of the original story and a new audience."
September 22, 2023 at 10:52 PM
valya.bsky.social
We commissioned pysanka artist Anna Chychula to create a "Fantastic Pysanka" for Embroidered Worlds. You can read Anna's post about pysanka-making & recent pysanky she has created to support & honor the Ukrainian people.

You can also become a backer for $1! www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
A Ukrainian pysanka on a goose egg decorated in blue, red, yellow, and green symbols.
September 16, 2023 at 7:54 PM
valya.bsky.social
In our latest Embroidered Worlds update, a guest post from Michael Burianyk addresses the question, "Why do we need Ukrainian stories?"

www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
A fierce young Ukrainian woman with braids, embellished with mythic elements.
September 9, 2023 at 8:16 PM
valya.bsky.social
An update from one of our Ukrainian editors for Embroidered Worlds, Olha Brylova. She writes about her experiences as an interpreter at a training center where foreign instructors are teaching Ukrainian soldiers:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
Ukrainian woman with a bandana around her head stands in front of a tank.
September 7, 2023 at 2:03 PM
valya.bsky.social
We are only 7 backers away from 500 for the Embroidered Worlds Ukrainian anthology! Sesame asks, "Can you help us get to 500?"
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
#EmbroideredWorlds #Ukraine #EmbroideredCats
Silver and black part-Siamese cat looks for kickstarter backers amid the leaves of a Zamioculcas zamiifolia plant in a terra cotta planter, resting atop a red and black Ukrainian embroidered cloth.
September 6, 2023 at 7:41 PM
valya.bsky.social
Jimmy would like to share that we are just over $100 away from our $10,000 stretch goal to fund all the diaspora stories for Embroidered Worlds!

Thank you! Дуже дякую!

#EmbroideredWorlds #Ukraine #cats #embroideredcats
Thoughtful black and white tabby sits atop a blue bean bag, one paw draped over a Ukrainian embroidered pillow made by my Baba.
September 4, 2023 at 5:41 PM
valya.bsky.social
We are $611 away from our $10,000 stretch goal for the Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Stories from Ukraine and the Diaspora Kickstarter! I can’t share these fantastic stories yet, so….here’s one of my fantastic cats with my Baba’s embroidery.
#EmbroideredWorlds #Ukraine #EmbroideredCats #cats #sff
Small half-siamese cat with blue eyes looking up beside blue and yellow Ukrainian embroidery while sitting like an adorable loaf atop a table.
September 3, 2023 at 4:52 PM
valya.bsky.social
Thank you for your pledge! For the ebook, you can absolutely pledge more than $1. All the levels allow you to go back in and manage the pledge, so you can increase the amount if you like.

Hope that helps? Thank you again! <3
September 1, 2023 at 1:24 PM
valya.bsky.social
A long time ago when I was at a crossroads, Maureen Seaton encouraged me to be authentic, to take creative risks, to defy expectations, to be a poet. Beloved teacher & mentor, talented poet, beautiful soul, she will be missed. May her words & memory be eternal.
A photograph on an inscription in a poetry book titled Fear of Subways by Maureen Seaton that reads: For Valya -- Don't fear! Keep writing! Love, Maureen 11/21/95
August 30, 2023 at 2:52 AM
valya.bsky.social
I'm excited to share that Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora (to be published @atthisarts.com) has been chosen to receive a grant by the Ukrainian Book Institute as one of the projects to support translation of Ukrainian literature into other languages.
Black and white photograph of a book with a sprig of myrtle placed upon its pages. Text on the top reads: Український інститут книги. Text on the bottom reads: Translate Ukraine: 77 selected projects in 2023
July 17, 2023 at 9:13 PM