Every Friday, My Machberet presents an array of Jewish-interest links, primarily of the literary variety.
This week brought news of the latest JQ Wingate Literary Prize long list. This British honor “is awarded to the best book, fiction or non-fiction, to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader.” I’m happy to see a few titles I’ve already read and admired on this list, and I am eager to explore a number of the others. And in related news, the week also brought a compilation of “best books of 2018” as chosen by Mosaic magazine writers. (And yes, there is some overlap between these two lists.)
I found this Hevria post, in which playwright Elyssa Nicole Trust reflects on Observance, her play “about one woman’s journey to be ba’al teshuvah,” absolutely fascinating.
I suspect that many writers will appreciate this In geveb essay by Shoshana Olidort, in which Yiddish literary archives offer solace for more recent experiences of editorial rejection and non-response.
Job alert! “The Yiddish Book Center is seeking a Communications Content Editor and Projects Coordinator to provide skilled support to communications efforts in the areas of content curation and creation, social media, marketing, and publication and project coordination.”
And a quick reminder that as 2019 approaches, so does the release of Jewish Storyteller Press’s next title: the first English translation (by Tina Lunson) of Yiddish author Jacob Dinezon’s bestselling novel The Dark Young Man. Mosey over to the JSP website to learn more, and please be in touch if you’d like to review or otherwise write about this book in 2019, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Dinezon’s 1919 death in Warsaw.
Wishing everyone a Shabbat shalom.