Erika Dreifus

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.

• Judith magazine’s poetry editor has posted a call for submissions for a Chanukah portfolio. (No fees to submit; no payment for published work.) Deadline: December 26.
• Here’s something to look forward to: “Acclaimed actor, writer, director, and musician Josh Radnor will host The People of the Book, a new television series and podcast produced by The Jewish Life Foundation (JLF), for  broadcast on Jewish Life Television (JLTV). Radnor will interview authors about their books, exploring themes of Jewish identity, spirituality, history, food, literature, memoir, and pop culture through the lens of today’s most compelling writers. The series is scheduled to premiere in late 2025.” Read the full press release.
• “New Editor Aims to Energize Schocken Books”—by Cathy Lynn Grossman for Publishers Weekly.
• As I’ve posted elsewhere, I’m not surprised that I’ve heard/read nothing about Shelter: October 7 and After in mainstream literary discourse, although I might have expected more from the Jewish press. Then again, even I had neglected to read it—although I’d downloaded a (free!) English version to my Kindle months ago—until I was reminded of it late last week via an email about a stage adaptation. The anthology’s official description is a tad misleading for anyone whose brain automatically translates the words “short stories” into fiction. The vast majority of these pieces by Israeli and American writers—including those by highly esteemed fictionists such as Joshua Cohen and Elisa Albert—read as nonfiction. But go see for yourself. You can download a copy (again, at no charge) in English or Hebrew once you’ve scrolled down this page. At under 90 pages, this powerful collection won’t take you long to read. And then, if you agree with my take that more people should read it, please tell others to do so.
• ICYMI: This week brought the (final!) installment of the Jewish Book Carnival, hosted right here on My Machberet.

And, again, updates have continued for both “After October 7: Readings, Recordings, and More” and “Writers, Beware.”

Shabbat shalom. And, in due course, chag sameach.