Writer, psychologist and radio journalist Astrida Petraitytė was born in 1952, in Šilutė. In 1975, she graduated from Vilnius National University in psychology. A. Petraitytė worked as the senior lecturer in the Department of psychology of the Institute of common and pedagogical psychology at the USSR’s Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. She also worked in the division of social research at the National committee of television and radio, and other work in television and radio. In 1991, she was elected to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania for the first time.

The publishing house “Versus aureus” has published two books from A. Petraitytė’s novel Šaktarpio metas (The Šaktarpis season). The first one – Mažoji Martukė (The little Martukė) was published in 2005, and the second – Tirškalius Liepa – at the end of 2006.

Author about herself:

“Through Mother – the daughter of the dedicated fighter for all that is Lithuanian, for the regions’ annexation to the Greater Lithuania, the daughter of Jonas and Aušra – I have grown directly from the soil of Lithuania Minor and the whole family connects me to the Lutheran tradition (my Father was born near the frontier with Prussia, where the Lutheran religion dominated). As an “advanced” Soviet pioneer and the representative of the communist youth – in the years of my youth and early maturity – I “took the long view” and did not pay attention to the “relics of the past” (though I called my grandmother „omama“ and grandfather - „opapa“). The commotion of the revival times gave not only the joyful liberation – to throw off the “mankurt helmet”, but also remorse, the painful perception that the country of my tribe (in the lines of the country, the names, Karaliaučius, Tilžė and many others painfully gnawing Lithuanian names are shining bright) not just “consistently evolved” to the recent “status quo”, no, - history hath offended it. If one does not turn the wheel of the history back, the lessons of the historical memory loses colour so quickly – I must repeat for myself and although by the small prickle’s prod, to put others in mind. Šaktarpio metas (The Šaktarpis season) is that small prickle of mine…ah, sometimes the failures become so successful! If it weren’t for unemployment and its given opportunity to write the two year project with the National scholarship Psichologinis lietuvininkų apsisprendimas istoriniu kolizijų kontekste (The psychological self-determination of the Lithuanians in the context of the historic collisions), and after that, one after another, to pull the volumes of gothic graphic symbols out of the funds of Mažvydas library – the full-year Lietuviškas Ceitungas (Lithuanian Ceitung), Prūsų Lietuvių Balsas (The Prussian Lithuanian Voice) and others – Lithuanian and German – with a dolefully venturesome that thrills page after page to widen the gap for my look, that hides the real – viable, though Lutheran continent – the life of people from Lithuania Minor!..)“.