Sudbury Storytellers with GSPL: Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli

This feature highlights local writers to bring their work to a broader audience. The Greater Sudbury Public Library comes across some of these writers on a regular basis and we are continuously introduced to new writers and new books to add to our shelves. Are you a local writer? Let us know and we can feature you in an upcoming month, shoot us an email at jessica.watts@greatersudbury.ca!

Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli is a local author who has been involved in quite a few writing projects. She attended a book club I hosted at the Dowling Library a few years ago and gave us an early reading from her novel La Brigantessa, which has since been published and has been getting quite positive reviews. We caught up with her recently to learn a bit more about what she’s up to.

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How long have you been writing?

Teaching and writing have been lifelong passions. I have been writing for over 30 years, and I’ve been published in sixteen anthologies, including Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers (2017) and two anthologies published by Sudbury’s own Latitude 46 Publishing. I have written two books for Harlequin UK and the third one has been accepted for publication. My children’s book called Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round will be released by Pajama Press on September 3, 2019. I am a professional member of the Writers’ Union of Canada, the Canadian Authors Association, and the Association of Italian-Canadian Writers. I am also an alumna of the Humber School for Writers. I have been a member of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild since the early ’90s and served as President for two years.

What are some of your favourite authors?

Some of my favourite authors are Canadian authors Nino Ricci, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Elizabeth Hay, Barbara Kyle, and Joseph Boyden; American authors Elizabeth Strout, Marilynne Robinson, and Julia Cameron; and Italian authors Alessandro Baricco, Niccolò Ammaniti, and Domenico Starnone, to name a very few.

Can you tell us a bit more about your book?

La Brigantessa is a novel set in the aftermath of Italy’s 1861 Unification, a turbulent period known as ‘The Decade of Fire,’ (1860-1870) when scores of brigands (outlaws) rebelled against the harsh policies imposed by the new government, which in turn ordered the destruction of the brigands and anyone harbouring them. Gabriella Falcone is a peasant girl from Calabria who works for Don Simone, the parish priest. She is forced to flee her hamlet in 1862 after committing a crime in self-defence. Knowing her fate will be life imprisonment at best, the priest leads her through the harsh Aspromonte mountain range to seek refuge in an isolated monastery, but they soon fall into the hands of brigands. Gabriella is catapulted into a world she has only ever heard about in nervous whispers, a world where right and wrong, justice and vengeance take on new meanings. She is drawn into the role of brigantessa (female brigand), and in the company of the brigand chief, Stefano Galante, she discovers that the convictions she once held dear no longer have a place in this wild, unlawful territory. Gabriella wonders if she will ever clear her name and be able to return to a normal life. Experiencing the harsh existence of a brigandess, she discovers what she must do to survive and to ultimately vindicate herself.

What kind of response have you been getting to your novel?

La Brigantessa was awarded Gold for Historical Fiction in the 2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards). I attended the IPPY Awards in New York City in May to accept the gold medal. The novel was shortlisted for the 2019 Canadian Authors Association Fred Kerner Book Award and a finalist for The Miramichi Reader’s “The Very Best!” Book Awards. It has also won a 2019 International Book Award for Best Cover and it is shortlisted for the Northern Lit Awards.

Where can people get their hands on a copy?

La Brigantessa can be purchased on Inanna Publication’s website: https://www.inanna.ca/index.php/catalog/la-brigantessa/. It is also available at Chapters and Coles in Sudbury, and copies can be checked out at the Greater Sudbury Public Library.

What is your favourite place to write?

I actually have a “writing room” I call my “Rose Room” and/or “Ro’s Room,” on the main floor of my house. But I also write upstairs at the kitchen table, in the dining and living room, and in my bedroom, enjoying the view of the back yard. Each spot is my favourite, depending on the project I’m working on.

What is your best advice for aspiring writers?

As many of my own writing mentors have advised, learn the craft. Also, take time to read books on writing. Read award-winning books. Join a writing group. Join the Canadian Authors Association. Write. Enter contests. Attend conferences. Pursue a writing mentorship. Read! Write! Persevere, despite the occasional rejection letter. Believe in yourself!

Where can people find you online?

I am on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbattigelli and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RoBattigelli. I also have a number of interviews, blogs and reviews that can be found if you search up my name on Google.