Shelly Sanders Bestselling Author of Historical Fiction

Taken by Dan Raiz Photo in Riga, Latvia

Shelly Sanders is the bestselling author of historical fiction celebrating unsung women entangled in underexplored historical events. The Night Witches, based on the first all-female combat aviation regiment in history, is out Nov. 10, 2026 in Canada and January 19, 2027 in the US. Her novels include two bestsellers published by HarperCollins: The Night Sparrow (2025), about the first Jewish female sniper in history, and Daughters of the Occupation, (2022), inspired by Shelly’s discovery of her Jewish-Latvian roots and the intergenerational trauma that runs down her maternal line. She is also the author of three acclaimed young-adult novels, informed by her grandmother’s escape from a Russian pogrom. Shelly, a journalist for 20 years, has also written essays for Writer’s Digest, LitHub, the Jewish Book Council’s PB Daily. She has been the Scholar-in-Residence at Beth Tikvah in Naples, Florida, and was awarded a fellowship at the Ventspils International Writer’s and Translators’ House. Born in Canada, Shelly was raised in Chicago and now lives in Ontario.