Author Katrina Shawver is "Passionate about the power of the written word to influence opinion, provoke discussion, and inform the community." Her "accidental" writing career began in 1996. A mother of three children under the age of eight, she was frustrated with The Arizona Republic’s school coverage. Katrina penned a letter to the editor pointing out she felt the parents' perspective had been overlooked in their articles and added, "P.S. I'm a mom and have an English degree. I will write for you if you don't find anyone else to offer an alternative perspective on schools." Six months later, the Republic offered Katrina a regular column in a new community section. She accepted; this would lead her to a long, successful writing career and a date with history.
Phoenix has been home to Katrina since the age of ten when her father was transferred from Philadelphia for his job. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English and Political Science from the University of Arizona, Tucson and eventually landed a job in software support for a large state agency. During this time Katrina met her husband Rick, who also worked for the same agency. Katrina and Rick decided to stay in Phoenix to raise their family; the added incentive came from two sets of grandparents who lived locally. Katrina reflects on her decision to accept the Republic’s offer, "Being asked to write for the newspaper changed the direction of my life by improving my self-confidence and teaching me two lessons; first, be careful what you ask for; you just might get it and secondly, you don't get anything unless you ask for it." Working in journalism has lessons to teach as well; a deadline is a deadline, writer's block is NOT an option, you will be edited, get over it, check your sources, and verify your facts. As a result, Katrina became empowered and bolder in her writing style, leading to her most ambitious writing project.
The common threads of Katrina's reading, writing, and community preferences began to weave together. She was always a fan of biographies and non-fiction literature and was captivated by the stories of people's lives. When she met eighty-five-year-old Henry Zguda over twenty years ago, his life and Katrina’s storytelling narratives were about to take the spotlight on the public interest stage.
His story was a different perspective on the Holocaust; his experience was from the Polish Catholic perspective. Henry Zguda (1917-2003) was born in Krakow, Poland. He grew up to become skilled in languages, a competitive swimming champion, a coach, and a water polo player. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west, and Russia invaded from
the east. By 1942 Henry was arrested by Germans and sent to Montelupich Prison. From there, he went on to survive Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Flossenburg, and a death march, before being liberated at Dachau at the end of World War II.
"Being asked to write for the newspaper changed the direction of my life by improving my self-confidence and teaching me two lessons; first, be careful what you ask for; you just might get it and secondly, you don't get anything unless you ask for it."
Katrina initially interviewed Henry Zguda and found his story so compelling that she wrote HENRY: A Polish Swimmer’s True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America, released by Koehler Books, Virginia Beach, Virginia. In preparation for writing and publishing her first book, Katrina began networking with fellow authors, attending conferences and workshops and finally joining a critique group. She reflects, "The craft of writing is a lifelong learning curve that grows as you continue to write and learn." Katrina's love for little-known stories and people from her journalism days has established a firm foundation for her next chapter as a book author.
Author Katrina Shawver has served as a Writer in Residence at the Glendale Public Library and as a speaker for Arizona Humanities. She is a popular speaker with book clubs and organizations and loves to share her stories with a variety of audiences on Zoom and in person. Notability Katrina is the winner of Best Published Nonfiction-2018 Arizona Literary Contest and the recipient of the 2018 Polish Heritage Award from the Polish American Congress of Arizona. Currently, she has several projects in the works, as she states, "My potential subjects come to me unexpectedly, and real life is often crazier than anything I could dream up." Katrina's stories tend to find her rather than the other way around; stay tuned for the next “Wow, I didn’t know that!” moment in non-fiction literature.
Email: katrina@katrinashawver.com
Website: www.katrinashawver.com
