Last Month, Songs From This and That Country, Launched at ArtsHub McLuhan House

Congratulations again to Gail Sidonie Šobat on her latest novel, Songs From This and That Country. Gail is the Director of Edmonton’s YouthWrite (Camps for kids who love to write… just about anything!©), which is based out of ArtsHub McLuhan House.

On the evening of October 7th, 2025, folks gathered inside ArtsHub McLuhan House to attend the official launch of the novel, Songs From This and That Country, written by Gail Sidonie Šobat. The book launch was hosted by Alberta playwright Conni Massing, and it shared the momentous occasion with the 30th Anniversary of YouthWrite.

About Songs From This and That Country:
Songs From This and That Country is an intergenerational story that examines the reality of age-old ethnic conflicts between Serbs-Croats-Muslims, exposing these divisive and acrimonious relationships as recursive and mirrored in the lives of first- and second-generation families. As a blend of family drama, historical fact and fairy tale, Songs from This and That Country reflects a South Slavic immigrant experience, WWII infantry service in 1940s Italy, the Bosnian conflicts in the 1990s, and the rise of a second generation Serb-Canadian opera singer–all set in relief to a Slavic fairy tale in the time of the Ottoman Empire.

Advanced praise for Songs From This and That Country:
“A visceral depiction of the inhumanity of oppression, Songs From This and That Country is, at its core, an unforgettable story of the evocative resonance of one’s past.” –Don Aker, bestselling author of The First Stone

For more information, visit greatplainspress.ca.