Jewish Literary Links
Toward the end of each week, the My Machberet blog presents a collection of links, drawn primarily from the world of Jewish books and writing.
- Newly launched: Judith Magazine. Although the project continues to develop, here’s what you can count on for now: “Every week, we will showcase one poet, one fiction writer and one non-fiction writer. Each showcase will include an offering of their work, a one-paragraph author bio, an author photo, possibly a short introduction, and a very brief interview where each writer is just asked to share their small daily sources of joy — general as well as Jewish.” And, yes—they’re open for submissions (no fees to submit; no payment).
- Newly re-launched: the site for JewishFiction.net (which now appears to be called Jewish Fiction). I’m still making my way through it, so I can’t summarize the changes, but hopefully there will be a press release or similar announcement soon. What’s evident is that the site is now more user-friendly when it comes to searching the (literally) hundreds of archived stories. Plus, there’s a new subscription model.
- “Fran Greenman-Schmitz has spent decades in major roles in marketing and branding for children’s products, from books and magazines to Mattel’s American Girl line of dolls—including the Jewish doll, Rebecca. But after the Hamas attack on Israel nearly a year ago, she says, it seemed urgent to her to reorient her career.” Get to know Kar-Ben’s new publisher, and her goals in her new role at the Lerner imprint known for its Jewish children’s books, in this profile for Publishers Weekly.
- Something else that’s new in the kidlit realm: Heidi Rabinowitz has announced the launch of a “Jewish Joy” series for Multicultural Kid Blogs. There, she’ll be featuring “Q&A’s from diverse intersectional Jewish authors, showcasing the variegated tapestry of Jewish life and books. In each interview, I’ll link back to the author’s appearance on The Book of Life Podcast for you to hear their voice and learn more about them….In these turbulent times with antisemitism at record highs, Jewish joy is crucial. As poet Toi Derricotte says, joy is an act of resistance. Joyful books invite everyone in, so that Jewish stories can, in the words of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, become windows as well as mirrors, bringing hope, demystifying the Jewish experience, and building empathy and understanding.
- And in significantly less-cheerful news, alas: There’s been a slew of columnist resignations from the UK-based Jewish Chronicle “amid allegations that Gaza news was fabricated.” Meantime, over on Between the Lines, veteran journalist and editor Gary Rosenblatt has begun a series of posts on “How and Why the Media Targets Israel.” (Yesterday, for instance, he shared immensely useful thoughts on “How to Evaluate Media Coverage of this War.”)
Quick “icymi” note: This week, the Jewish Book Council published my found poem “Words Are All That I Have,” which uses remarks recently delivered by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff at Adas Israel in Washington for its source text. (Wondering what a “found poem” is? Check this explainer.) The poem is part of the JBC’s “Witnessing” series, “which shares pieces from Israeli authors and authors in Israel, as well as the experiences of Jewish writers around the globe in the aftermath of October 7th.”
And, yes, updates have continued for both “After October 7: Readings, Recordings, and More” and “Writers, Beware.”
May it be a Shabbat shalom for all.
