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.

Posting this later in the day than usual because of the Yom Kippur holiday. And must add a note of heartbreak over the murderous terrorist attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, UK, that occurred there this morning.

This week’s post focuses primarily on the approaching two-year anniversary of October 7, 2023.

• Happening Sunday: Literary Modiin’s online “Solidarity Session Commemorating Two Years Since October 7th,” hosted, as ever, by Julie Zuckerman.
• Tuesday, October 7th, will bring the release of the English-language version of former hostage Eli Sharabi’s memoir, Hostage, in a translation by Eylon Levy. (I pre-ordered my copy even before a colleague reached out to encourage me to do so to help signal to the publishing industry that there is a buying public for such books.) An excerpt from the book has been adapted and featured in Time magazine.
• A reminder that I am trying to gather English-language titles about October 7 and reflective of its aftermath within this list on Bookshop.org. (And yes, you’ll find Hostage included there.)
• In case you missed it: the October issue of The Practicing Writer 2.0 went out to subscribers earlier this week. Notable within: multiple fee-free and paying opportunities that aim to support explicitly Jewish writing. Also within: a link to important new article (from ARC magazine) about the major platform Literary Hub, for which I was quoted, as well as some extended commentary from me explaining why I no longer subscribe or refer people to that website.
• And a related concluding note: There have indeed been recent updates to both my “After October 7” and “Writers, Beware” documents.

May it be a Shabbat shalom.