Julia Levitina
Author of Literary Fiction
based in NSW
As a first-generation Australian migrant writing in English – my second language, I belong to a distinctive group of writers. A practising theatre designer, I began writing late in life.
I grew up in Moscow with my Ukrainian-born mother and grandmother – both Holocaust survivors. As a teenager, I attended an English language school. I used to go to Sheremetyevo International Airport and fantasise about breaking free, becoming the matriarch who changed the family’s destiny by escaping the USSR.
I studied design and worked in theatre before immigrating to Australia as an ‘independent professional’ in 1991 with two children and $200. I completed my Masters of Design at UTS. While teaching set and costume design, I wrote short stories.
My debut novel The Girl from Moscow was released in 2024 by Pantera Press. It was shortlisted by the ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize for unpublished manuscripts in 2022 and received endorsements from Heather Morris, Tattooist of Auschwitz and Kelly Rimmer, The Warsaw Orphan.
The Weekend Australian featured The Girl From Moscow in its Notable Books section.
My current novel-in-progress was shortlisted by the UK Historical Novel’s Society First Chapters Competition and highly commended for the Wingate Award for Unpublished Manuscripts (2024).
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This author holds a Working with Children Check (WWCC).
