Kitty Zeldis: On Faith and Friendship in Historical Fiction
In this interview, author Kitty Zeldis discusses writing about friendship and secrets in her new novel, One of Them.
The author of Not Our Kind and The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights, Kitty Zeldis is the pseudonym for a novelist and nonfiction writer of books for adults and children. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
In this interview, Kitty discusses writing about friendship and secrets in her new novel, One of Them, her advice for ther writers, and more.
Name: Kitty Zeldis
Literary agent: Susanna Einstein
Book title: One of Them
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release date: September 9, 2025
Genre/category: Historical fiction
Previous titles: Not Our Kind; The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights
Elevator pitch: Two Jewish girls meet and begin to form a friendship at Vassar in the 1940s; one is openly Jewish while the other is concealing her identity.
What prompted you to write this book?
I’ve long been interested in the intersection of Jews and gentiles and how antisemitism affects those relationships. I set the book in the 1940s because those issues seem even more sharply defined at that time—one of quotas, restricted towns, hotels, etc. I’m also interested in how it feels to be the recipient of that othering, and how it affects the lives of the characters.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The process took almost five years because there were personal and family issues that got in the way of my finishing the novel, and I needed more time to complete it.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I knew the novel would be set on the campus of Vassar College as well as the
surrounding city of Poughkeepsie. I also knew that New York City and Paris would figure into the story. But I did not know that Palestine would be part of it, or that in the course of the novel, Palestine would become Israel. That was really surprising for me, and because I was born (though not raised) in Israel, the subject was resonant for me in many ways.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I wouldn’t presume to know what readers will feel or how they will respond. But I hope they will find it an engaging story and relate to each of the characters for different reasons.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Persistence is as important as talent; you just have to keep going even when you’ve been rejected. When I first started writing, I would send my stories out via snail mail and I got one back, I’d make sure it was back in the mail within 48 hours.
