Maya's Dance with Helen Signy

Join author Helen Signy in conversation with Michelle Barraclough as they discuss her new book, Maya’s Dance. Her fictional novel is inspired by the true story of Lucie Pollak-Langford, a Holocaust survivor who lived out her life in Sydney.

Helen met Lucie through a mutual friend and is now supported by Lucie's family to tell her story through this novel. Helen drew from Lucie's self-published memoir, My Memoir, her oral testimonies, as part of Steven Spielberg’s USC Shoah Foundation project, survivor accounts, interviews, and research including visits to Auschwitz, Sawin, Sobibór, and Majdanek in Poland.

Maya, a young dancer during the Holocaust, finds freedom through dance. Forced to perform for a Commandant at a labor camp, she captures the heart of a Polish guard named Jan who helps her escape, but they lose touch. Fifty years later, Maya teams up with journalist Kate to search for Jan and reunite.

A timely story of survival, resilience and enduring love set in the darkest of circumstances.

Books will be available for purchase and signing on the night.

$5.00 + booking fee

Non-alcoholic refreshments and nibbles on arrival.

Bookings required.

Reserve your copy of Maya's Dance

Enquiries: 8495 5028 or libraryprograms@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au

Helen Signy is an Australian writer who grew up in England – or, depending how she feels that day, an English writer who lives in Australia. She spent much of her youth travelling the world before becoming a print journalist in Asia and then in Sydney. Most of her writing these days involves science communications for academics, governments and not-for-profits, but she has never lost her passion for telling an amazing story. Maya’s Dance is her first foray into fiction. 

Michelle Barraclough, a writer and podcaster, was recognized for her novel As I Am in the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. With a background in literature and marketing, she balances writing with family and business. Her blog Bumparella detailed her IVF journey and parenting experiences. Currently, she is working on her second novel The Tangled Green and hosts the Writers Book Club podcast interviewing authors.