"...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
Values Panel
September 26, 2024
Stephanie joins young women and leadership colleagues at the Cross Arena in Bangor, Maine to share her journey from performing artist to lawyer to author -- and the values that sustained her.
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.