Erika Dreifus

• Coming soon: the #Readukkah Reading Challenge. Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries, the Jewish Book Council, and The Book of Life/Jewish Kidlit Mavens, this pre-Hanukkah celebration asks you to simply post about any book of Jewish interest on the Facebook event page—”or share a link to your review anywhere online—and use the hashtag #Readukkah to connect with other readers! By sharing your #Readukkah posts, your participation in this reading challenge helps spread the word about worthwhile titles, bringing them to the attention of more readers and supporting the publication of Jewish books!”
• Over on Soul-Lit, “a journal of spiritual poetry,” you’ll find an intriguing interview with poets Rabbi Jill Hammer and Rachel Kann (plus, a poem that they wrote together).
• Opportunity alert for writers of Jewish fiction: “Paper Brigade, the annual literary journal of Jewish Book Council, is pleased to announce its first open call for short story submissions. Stories should be between 1,500 and 7,000 words. We encourage authors to familiarize themselves with Paper Brigade before submitting. Submissions must be previously unpublished. Please send only one story at a time, along with a $3 reading fee. Stories will be considered for both print and Paper Brigade‘s digital arm, PB Daily. All authors will be paid for published work.” (NB: As I’ve mentioned before, in general, I do not share fee-charging writing calls/competitions. But since the pool for specifically Jewish writing is so small, I make exceptions—especially when writers ARE compensated for accepted work.)
• Speaking of Jewish fiction: Tablet published three works of short fiction this week. I am looking forward to reading them all.
• ICYMI elsewhere: You have another chance to win a copy of Birthright, my new (and very Jewish) poetry collection. (You’ll also win a slew of other books.) Details over on David Abrams’s marvelous blog. You have until December 19 to enter this giveaway. Good luck!

Shabbat shalom.