Sofija Pšibiliauskienė

Sofija Pšibiliauskienė née Ivanauskaitė (Polish: Zofia Przybylewska, née Iwanowska; September 16, 1867 in Paragiai, Shavelsky Uyezd, Kovno Governorate – March 15, 1926 in Paragiai) and Marija Lastauskienė were two Lithuanian sister writers of Polish origin, using the same pen name Lazdynų Pelėda (Hazel Owl).

She took random jobs as a bookstore saleswoman, seamstress, pharmacy assistant, but still barely managed to avoid poverty.

[4] In 1993, a monument to the sisters was erected in Vilnius (sculptor Dalia Matulaitė, architects Jūras Balkevičius and Rimantas Buivydas).

In short stories Klajūnas (The Wonderer, 1902) and Stebuklingoji tošelė (The Magic Reed-Pipe, 1907) Pšibiliauskienė, in a didactic tone, wrote how peasants were exploited and morally degraded by lazy and selfish estate owners.

Encouraged by Pšibiliauskienė, Lastauskienė would write in Polish, her sister would translate and edit the works, and publish them under the pen name Lazdynų Pelėda.