Anastasia (Stacy) Rubis ’09 MA Debuts her First Novel

For nearly as long as she can remember, Anastasia (Stacy) Rubis ’09 MA made summer trips to Greece, where her parents were born, to spend time with family. It was on one such visit in the 1980s when, looking for something to read at the beach, she came across A Man, Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci’s memoir, detailing her affair with the Greek poet and activist Alexander Panagoulis.

“Fallaci was such a trailblazer,” Rubis says. “She broke into the boys’ club that was journalism in the 60s and 70s and interviewed the newsmakers of the day. I read her books, as well as biographies about her. Her story was always in the back of my mind.”

Although inspired by Fallaci, Rubis did not pursue journalism. Instead, she majored in semiotics – the study of signs and symbols. “I liked the interdisciplinary aspect of the program,” she explains. “I took courses in comparative literature, film, classics and more. I explored how we communicate through images, sound, the written word, even design and architecture. I was curious about it all.”

Rubis took her unusual degree to the advertising world, and enjoyed a successful career as a corporate communications executive with Grey, BBDO and TBWA\Chiat\Day. After 14 years living and working in Manhattan, she moved to Montclair to raise her family – a choice that reflects her desire to live in a university community with a vibrant cultural life. She also phased out of advertising and public relations to dive into writing full time.

With Montclair in her backyard and a vision of a new career as a writer, Rubis enrolled in the University’s graduate program in English. “Being immersed in literature in my 40s was invigorating and galvanizing,” she says. “It was a rich experience.”

“My professors were terrific,” Rubis continues, noting that she worked as an adjunct professor and as a graduate assistant in the Center for Writing Excellence while completing her own studies. “I particularly enjoyed helping students develop their essays. When you are tutoring one-to-one, talking things through, you can communicate a lot in a small space of time. It is exciting to see students light up when they learn a new concept. In addition, teaching them helped me find greater clarity in my own writing.”

Rubis’ true purpose was to develop her own talent, and her own work, however. “I took a very impactful course in creative nonfiction with Professor James Nash,” she says. “I found that I liked writing about real life in a creative way. I knew that this would be my genre.”

Rubis’ pieces appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New York Observer, and literary journals. One of her stories, “Blue Pools,” was included in the anthology Oh, Baby published by Creative Nonfiction and edited by Lee Gutkind. Another story, “Girl Falling,” was named a Notable Essay in Best Essays of 2014. She also co-wrote and co-directed a 13-minute documentary titled Breakfast Lunch Dinner: The Greek Diner Story on YouTube.

But she never lost her fascination for the life and loves of Fallaci. “Oriana was always in the back of my mind,” she says. “She was so famous around the world, yet Americans knew so little about her.”

Rubis wrote a screenplay based on A Man that was under consideration by 20th Century Fox studios, but Fallaci refused to sell the rights to the story. Still, the project provided an opportunity for Rubis to arrange a meeting for the studio chairman and CEO with Fallaci, who died in 2006.

Thinking back to her class with Professor Nash, Rubis pivoted to writing a historical novel about Fallaci. She spent countless hours at Boston University, scouring archives of Fallaci’s manuscripts and letters, and even listening to original cassettes of her interviews. “Hearing her voice told me so much about her,” Rubis says. “Listening to her tough, pointed questions helped me channel her onto the page.”

Oriana: A Novel of Oriana Fallaci was accepted by Delphinium Books, an independent publisher, and published in March 2024.

“It took 11 years to write and to get it published through traditional channels,” Rubis adds. “I was a debut novelist and Fallaci was relatively unknown in the U.S. I had to be really persistent. Delphinium understood that the point of the book was to re-introduce Fallaci to American audiences.”

Rubis still lives near the University and can often be found walking around campus and swimming at the Student Recreation Center. “I reminisce about my younger self, remembering the journey,” she says. “I also marvel at the University’s growth. Montclair serves an important purpose. It answers a real need for financially accessible higher education.”

“While teaching college writing as an adjunct, I met a student who hadn’t completed an assignment because he was working at a catering job until 3 a.m. the night before,” says Rubis. “Many Montclair students have demanding jobs and life responsibilities, in addition to earning their degrees.”

Rubis admires Montclair students’ tenacity and encourages them to follow their interests. “If you pursue the arts, you will likely need to also cultivate a steady source of income,” she advises. “But keep pursuing it. Someday, you may have a chance to focus on it full time, and you will have a jump start. You will have put in all the work.”