Books at the Institute: An Evening with Andrea Chalupa

Books at the Institute presents an evening with Andrea Chalupa, host of the Gaslit Nation podcast, writer and co-producer of the critically acclaimed film Mr. Jones, and author of the graphic novel

In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones

Monday, September 16, 2024 at 6:30 PM

Ukrainian Institute of America
2 East 79th Street (at Fifth Avenue)
New York, NY 10075

Ms. Chalupa will be joined in conversation with Terrell Jermaine Starr.

Book signing and reception to follow

From the publisher’s website:

Can the unrelenting power of truth expose one of Stalin’s greatest crimes to a world that refuses to bear witness? From journalist and screenwriter Andrea Chalupa and artist Ivan Rodrigues, this powerful new historical graphic novel reexamines the bravery and tragedy that first thrust Ukraine in the international spotlight in the years before World War II.

In the early 1930s, Gareth Jones is a young journalist with powerful connections after a groundbreaking interview with Adolf Hitler and his chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels. This notoriety gains him permission to travel to the Soviet Union for a potential interview with Joseph Stalin.

Jones hopes to learn more about the Soviets mass economic gains but finds himself stonewalled and trapped in Moscow. While looking for a way out, he meets new allies that alert him to the growing man-made famine, or Holodomor, happening in Ukraine under the government’s guidance. Jones, seeking the truth in all its ugliness, embarks on a journey of discovery, strife, and a cover-up of the deaths of millions of people.

Andrea Chalupa is a journalist, filmmaker, and activist living in Brooklyn, New York. She studied Soviet history at the University of California at Davis and Ukrainian at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. She is the author of Orwell and the Refugees: The Untold Story of Animal Farm, the co-author of the graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think, and the writer-producer of the journalistic thriller Mr. Jones, directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Agnieszka Holland and starring James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, and Peter Sarsgaard. Andrea hosts and produces the popular civic action podcast Gaslit Nation, about the threat of fascism in America and around the world. She regularly speaks about global affairs.

Terrell Jermaine Starr is an independent American journalist widely known for his coverage of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. He’s the founder and host of Black Diplomats Official on YouTube, where he primarily publishes documentary-style dispatches about civilian life from wartime Ukraine and other interesting stories from around the world. When he’s not traveling Ukraine, you can read his geopolitical analysis at Black Diplomats newsletter on Substack that breaks down happenings across Eastern Europe (mostly) and elsewhere with an engaging, urban and relatable tone.

A multiple Fulbright award grantee, Terrell is conversant in Russian, Ukrainian, and Georgian, he is a recognized authority on Ukraine-U.S. relations, Georgian politics, nuclear weapons non-proliferation issues and the intersection of American democracy and race.

Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Threads @terrelljstarr.

……………………

To have a copy of the book signed, In the Shadow of Stalin will be available for purchase ($24.00) at the Ukrainian Institute of America the evening of the event.

By purchasing a book from the UIA, you are supporting its continued cultural and educational programming and the further enjoyment of its unique events by our friends and community along New York’s Museum Mile.

For further information: Please contact the Ukrainian Institute of America at (212) 288-8660 or mail@ukrainianinstitute.org.

……………………

Title: In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones
Author: Andrea Chalupa
Illustrator: Ivan Rodrigues
Publisher: Oni Press (September 3, 2024)
Hardcover: 144 pages
ISBN-10: 1637152779
ISBN-13:  978-1637152775
Item Weight: 1.04 pounds
Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches