On the Lilith blog: Yona Zeldis McDonough interviews Rebecca Kanner, whose latest novel offers a retelling of the story of the biblical Esther.
A highly informative and interesting review by Josh Lambert of Leah Garrett’s Young Lions: How Jewish Authors Reinvented the American War Novel (also via the Forward).
And I’m pretty pleased with this post I wrote for the Fig Tree Books blog celebrating the work of American Jewish women writers (and women reviewers) for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.
Photo Credit: Reut Miryam CohenEvery Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.
Mazal tov to Ruth Knafo Setton on winning the latest Jerry Jazz Musician New Short Fiction Award. Read the winning story–about a young Jewish boy in World War II Casablanca–online.
New addition to the English-language writing community in Israel: WriteSpace Jerusalem.
“Ben Nadler chats with Catherine Tung about Judaism, punk rock, and his newest novel, The Sea Beach Line.” Courtesy of Fiction Writers Review.
“The Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee (BJPC) is seeking a writer/editor to work on a new book publication, starting immediately. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, BJPC is dedicated to the restoration of the Jewish sites in Bardejov, Slovakia – a UNESCO World Site Heritage; and to documenting the heritage and history of Jewish Bardejov. The writer/editor’s main task will be BJPC’s new publication, focused on pictures and documents that tell the stories of Jewish Bardejov before, during, and after the Holocaust.” NB: “Preferable” job location for this position is Pasadena, California; “optional” location is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Job available in Los Angeles: “Reporting to the Program Director, PJ Library, the Program Coordinator helps to create, implement & promote PJ Library programming in addition to assisting with the general work of PJ Library in Los Angeles as needed.”
Photo Credit: Reut Miryam CohenEvery Friday My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.
Did you follow that recent brouhaha about a so-called “banned” book in Israel? Liel Leibovitz dug deeper into that story for Tablet; read his piece. (See also Michele Chabin’s report for The Jewish Week.)
“If the American Jewish story is, on balance, a very happy one, why are our books so miserable? Where are the well-adjusted Jewish writers?” In a new review for Tablet, Adam Kirsch spotlights one of the happy ones: Herman Wouk, who has a new memoir out.
I’d fallen behind on the “Israel in Translation” series; here’s a tribute segment for Amir Gutfreund, the Israeli author who passed away this fall.
Shabbat shalom. PS: I’ll be traveling for the next few days; comment moderation and response will resume after my return.
For the Forward, Judy Bolton-Fasman spotlights The Hours Count, Jillian Cantor’s second historical novel, “mainly a fictional portrait of Ethel Rosenberg.”
From Lisa Silverman and Jewish Journal: “It’s time for a top-10 list of a few of the best recently published Jewish books for this Chanukah season. All make wonderful gifts and span different age and interest levels.”
