Bonus Episode - Sheila O’Connor

In this special bonus episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, HTF intern Reina Markert talks with Sheila O’Connor about her novel Evidence of V: A Novel in Fragments, Facts, and Fictions. Called an ambitious blend of fact and fiction, Evidence of V explores history of incarcerating young girls for the crime of “immorality”, something that happened to the author’s maternal grandmother at the age of 15. In the episode, host Reina Markert talks with O’Connor about some of the obstacles to her research, the challenge of being an author, character, and narrator, and the importance of starting conversations about incarceration and the criminal justice system. Don’t miss it!

About the Author

Sheila O’Connor is the award-winning author of six novels. Her new genre-bending book for adults, Evidence of V: A Novel in Fragments, Facts and Fictions, combines flash forms, archival documents, memoir, and historical research, to reconstruct the buried history of incarcerated girls. Honors for Evidence of V include the Minnesota Book Award, the Foreword Editor’s Choice Award, Marshall Project’s Best Criminal Justice Books of the year, as well as others. Her other books are Where No Gods Came and Tokens of Grace, and her novels for readers of all ages include Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth, Sparrow Road, and Keeping Safe the Stars.