{"id":214769,"date":"2024-08-20T11:11:13","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T15:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/?p=214769"},"modified":"2024-08-20T14:53:41","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:53:41","slug":"anastasia-stacy-rubis-09-ma-debuts-her-first-novel-oriana-a-novel-of-oriana-fallaci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/2024\/08\/20\/anastasia-stacy-rubis-09-ma-debuts-her-first-novel-oriana-a-novel-of-oriana-fallaci\/","title":{"rendered":"Anastasia (Stacy) Rubis \u201909 MA Debuts her First Novel"},"content":{"rendered":"

For nearly as long as she can remember, Anastasia (Stacy) Rubis \u201909 MA made summer trips to Greece, where her parents were born, to spend time with family. It was on one such visit in the 1980s when, looking for something to read at the beach, she came across A Man<\/em>, Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci\u2019s memoir, detailing her affair with the Greek poet and activist Alexander Panagoulis.<\/p>\n

\u201cFallaci was such a trailblazer,\u201d Rubis says. \u201cShe broke into the boys\u2019 club that was journalism in the 60s and 70s and interviewed the newsmakers of the day. I read her books, as well as biographies about her. Her story was always in the back of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although inspired by Fallaci, Rubis did not pursue journalism. Instead, she majored in semiotics \u2013 the study of signs and symbols. \u201cI liked the interdisciplinary aspect of the program,\u201d she explains. \u201cI took courses in comparative literature, film, classics and more. I explored how we communicate through images, sound, the written word, even design and architecture. I was curious about it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubis took her unusual degree to the advertising world, and enjoyed a successful career as a corporate communications executive with Grey, BBDO and TBWA\\Chiat\\Day. After 14 years living and working in Manhattan, she moved to Montclair to raise her family \u2013 a choice that reflects her desire to live in a university community with a vibrant cultural life. She also phased out of advertising and public relations to dive into writing full time.<\/p>\n

With Montclair in her backyard and a vision of a new career as a writer, Rubis enrolled in the University\u2019s graduate program in English. \u201cBeing immersed in literature in my 40s was invigorating and galvanizing,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a rich experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy professors were terrific,\u201d Rubis continues, noting that she worked as an adjunct professor and as a graduate assistant in the Center for Writing Excellence while completing her own studies. \u201cI particularly enjoyed helping students develop their essays. When you are tutoring one-to-one, talking things through, you can communicate a lot in a small space of time. It is exciting to see students light up when they learn a new concept. In addition, teaching them helped me find greater clarity in my own writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubis\u2019 true purpose was to develop her own talent, and her own work, however. \u201cI took a very impactful course in creative nonfiction with Professor James Nash,\u201d she says. \u201cI found that I liked writing about real life in a creative way. I knew that this would be my genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubis\u2019 pieces appeared in The New York Times<\/em>, Huffington Post<\/em>, The New York Observer<\/em>, and literary journals. One of her stories, \u201cBlue Pools,\u201d was included in the anthology Oh, Baby<\/em> published by Creative Nonfiction<\/em> and edited by Lee Gutkind. Another story, \u201cGirl Falling,\u201d was named a Notable Essay in Best Essays of 2014<\/em>. She also co-wrote and co-directed a 13-minute documentary titled Breakfast Lunch Dinner: The Greek Diner Story<\/em> on YouTube.<\/p>\n

But she never lost her fascination for the life and loves of Fallaci. \u201cOriana was always in the back of my mind,\u201d she says. \u201cShe was so famous around the world, yet Americans knew so little about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubis wrote a screenplay based on A Man<\/em> that was under consideration by 20th Century Fox studios, but Fallaci refused to sell the rights to the story. Still, the project provided an opportunity for Rubis to arrange a meeting for the studio chairman and CEO with Fallaci, who died in 2006.<\/p>\n

Thinking back to her class with Professor Nash, Rubis pivoted to writing a historical novel about Fallaci. She spent countless hours at Boston University, scouring archives of Fallaci\u2019s manuscripts and letters, and even listening to original cassettes of her interviews. \u201cHearing her voice told me so much about her,\u201d Rubis says. \u201cListening to her tough, pointed questions helped me channel her onto the page.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oriana: A Novel of Oriana Fallaci<\/em> was accepted by Delphinium Books, an independent publisher, and published in March 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took 11 years to write and to get it published through traditional channels,\u201d Rubis adds. \u201cI was a debut novelist and Fallaci was relatively unknown in the U.S. I had to be really persistent. Delphinium understood that the point of the book was to re-introduce Fallaci to American audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubis still lives near the University and can often be found walking around campus and swimming at the Student Recreation Center. \u201cI reminisce about my younger self, remembering the journey,\u201d she says. \u201cI also marvel at the University\u2019s growth. Montclair serves an important purpose. It answers a real need for financially accessible higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile teaching college writing as an adjunct, I met a student who hadn\u2019t completed an assignment because he was working at a catering job until 3 a.m. the night before,\u201d says Rubis. \u201cMany Montclair students have demanding jobs and life responsibilities, in addition to earning their degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rubis admires Montclair students\u2019 tenacity and encourages them to follow their interests. \u201cIf you pursue the arts, you will likely need to also cultivate a steady source of income,\u201d she advises. \u201cBut keep pursuing it. Someday, you may have a chance to focus on it full time, and you will have a jump start. You will have put in all the work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anastasia (Stacy) Rubis \u201909 MA makes her debut as a novelist with Oriana: A Novel of Oriana Fallaci, marking Rubis\u2019 more than 40 years of fascination with the Italian journalist. Oriana dives into Fallaci\u2019s story, exploring the trailblazer\u2019s passionate private life as well as her impact on the field of journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":214774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-214769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-76_alumni-news-and-events","category-77_alumni-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214769"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":214779,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214769\/revisions\/214779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}