Erika Dreifus

What a week! I’ve spent most of it taking part in the (first virtual iteration of the) Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) conference (#AJLConnect20). It has been extraordinary.

In the meantime/elsewhere:

• Kveller hosted a conversation on diversity in Jewish children’s books, featuring authors Aviva L. Brown and Sarah Aroeste and moderated by Lior Zaltzman.
• From the Jewish Studio Project: “Both a genre of literature and a process of reading and interpreting that we continue to engage in today, midrash is the creative life force of Jewish text study. In this workshop we will ground ourselves in text and unleash our imaginations using the Jewish Studio Process to explore and create midrashim (plural) about unnamed characters in the Bible. At least a third of the session will be dedicated to creative writing.” This session will take place online on Wednesday, July 15—and there’s no charge to participate.
• I’m looking forward to digging in to the Summer 2020 issue of the Jewish Review of Books.
• Job alert! The Shalom Hartman Institute seeks a part-time English editor for its forthcoming journal. Note that in answering my query, they indicated that they’re open to remote work “(even after it may not be a health requirement).”
• And last, but definitely not least: new short stories (by friends!). Check out Julie Zuckerman’s “Bender’s Sister Speaks” (especially delicious if you were a teenager during The Breakfast Club era); Elizabeth Edelglass’s “Genetics, Human”; and Sarah Stone’s (midrashic!) “Rising Seas.”

Shabbat shalom. And remember that if you blog/podcast regularly about Jewish books, I’m hosting the July Jewish Book Carnival, and I’m still welcoming submissions. (Note: This is not a call for promotional author/publicist pitches!) More info/submission instructions.