Q&A with Shari Green

 

 

 

Shari Green is a contributor to the new Anne of Green Gables young adult anthology The Annethology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon. Green's other books include the YA novel-in-verse Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams. She lives on Vancouver Island.

 

Q: How did The Annethology come to be?

 

A: Author/editor Judith Graves had the idea for the anthology and pitched it to Acorn Press (Prince Edward Island’s longest-running traditional publisher!). The timing seemed perfect—2024 marks the 150th anniversary of [Anne of Green Gables author] Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birth.

 

After getting the go-ahead on the project, Judith reached out to the authors. Being a huge fan of Anne, I jumped at the opportunity!

 

There were very few guidelines—only that Anne needed to have red hair and be adopted, and that the original themes should run through our stories.

 

We were encouraged to make Anne our own, which was so much fun, and I think it resulted in a very cool collection of stories—something for everyone, really, so readers will find their Anne as well as discover other versions of the beloved character.

 

Q: What inspired your own contribution to the anthology, “Anne of the Silver Trail”?

 

A: I was only a few years older than my Anne when I arrived in a mining camp along the Yukon’s “Silver Trail” as a newlywed far from home. Memories of my years there are rich with the extraordinary beauty of the North and with an expanded understanding and experience of home and family.

 

Those themes—beauty and home and family—seemed to fit Anne so well, so I mercilessly uprooted my Anne from her beloved PEI and introduced her to the Yukon. I wasn’t at all surprised to discover that she was enamoured by the wild beauty and kindred spirits she found there.

Q: Did you and the other contributors coordinate about what you were planning to write?

 

A: When you give 10 different writers the same assignment, odds are you’re going to get 10 very different stories. And fortunately, that’s what happened!

 

Still, it had been possible the collection could end up weighted too heavily in one genre, for example, so Judith had us run our ideas past her, just in case. She made sure there would truly be something for everyone in this anthology.

 

Q: When did you first become aware of Anne of Green Gables, and what do you see as L.M. Montgomery's legacy today?

 

A: I first read Anne of Green Gables when I was a kid, and I fell in love with Anne and the lovely language in the books. As an adult, the ‘80s TV mini-series made me fall in love all over again. (Megan Follows will always be my favourite Anne.) I still enjoy re-reading the book, all these years later.

 

As for L.M. Montgomery’s legacy, I believe there are so many people who love books because they loved Anne. So many who see the world differently because of having seen it through Anne’s eyes—people who pay attention to beauty, who savour words and stories, who recognize the necessity and value of having a kindred spirit because LMM gave them the vocabulary for it along with the most delightful example.

 

The world is richer for knowing Anne.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m drafting a middle-grade novel, and the only thing I’ll say about it is at this point is that I love it so far and hope to share it with readers one day.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Since The ANNEthology is aimed at young adult readers, I’d love to give a shout-out for my young adult novel in verse, Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams.

 

It’s historical fiction set in 1989 East Germany, about music, oppression, protests, dreams, impossible choices, and hope. I love it so much and hope readers will check it out!

 

For more info about my books, people can visit my website at www.sharigreen.com.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Shari Green.