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TBR: Forthcoming Books by Jewish Book NETWORK Authors

by Erika Dreifus on
6

One of the best parts of participating in the Jewish Book NETWORK‘s Meet the Author Program as one of the 2011-12 authors is the opportunity I had on Sunday evening to meet some fellow NETWORK authors whom I’ve admired for a long time. For example, I was able to tell Melissa Fay Greene how much I learned from The Temple Bombing; I finally met Joan Leegant; and, thanks to the privileges of alphabetical order, I sat right next to David Bezmozgis (whose novel, The Free World, I’m just starting to read on my Kindle).

Many of the authors I had the good fortune to meet on Sunday–and others who may have shown up for one of the other sessions (this program is so large that not all of the authors can be accommodated in one evening)–are promoting books that have not yet been published.

Here are just ten forthcoming titles that were discussed on Sunday and/or are featured in this year’s Jewish Book NETWORK guide that I’m especially eager to read. (And if you’re a book reviewer looking for summer/fall titles to review, maybe you’ll find some here to interest you as well.)

  • Ellen Feldman, Next to Love (Spiegel & Grau, July)
  • Martin Fletcher, The List (St. Martin’s, October)
  • Pam Jenoff, The Things We Cherished (Doubleday, July)
  • Jodi Kantor, The Obamas (Little, Brown, November)
  • Peter Orner, Love and Shame and Love (Little, Brown, November)
  • Alyson Richman, The Lost Wife (Berkley/Penguin, September)
  • Rebecca Rosenblum, The Big Dream (Biblioasis, September)
  • Philip Schultz, My Dyslexia (Norton, September)
  • Anna Solomon, The Little Bride (Riverhead, September)
  • Evelyn Toynton, The Oriental Wife (Other Press, July)

    • Two more things: Evan Fallenberg’s novel, When We Danced on Water, was released just last week. So, technically, it’s no longer “forthcoming.” But I wanted to give it (and Evan, an author I’d heard about but hadn’t met before Sunday) a shout-out here, anyway. I also have to mention Randy Susan Meyers’s The Murderer’s Daughters. Randy was there on Sunday to promote the paperback, and I told her very honestly that a copy is atop the stack on my nightstand right now.

    Reactions? Thoughts?

    Notes from Around the Web: Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Very proud to share with you my latest poetry publication, a poem titled “Emor,” on the New Vilna Review site.
  • Speaking of poetry, The Forward‘s Arty Semite blog continues its celebration of National Poetry month here.
  • Mazel tov to the winners of this year’s Canadian Jewish Book Awards.
  • Among those appearing in the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature (April 25-May 1, 2011, in New York) are Israeli authors Agi Mishol, Yael Hedaya, Asaf Schurr, and Evan Fallenberg.
  • Every time I see the call for applications for Write On for Israel I wish I were in high school again (almost).
  • Yes, you have yet another opportunity to win a free copy of my story collection, Quiet Americans!
  • Something I’ll be working on this weekend: my presentation for an upcoming (May 5) conference here in NYC on “German-Speaking Jews in New York City: Their Immigration and Lasting Presence.”

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Notes from Around the Web: Literary Links for Shabbat

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Some goodies for you:

  • The Jewish Week‘s Spring Arts Preview lets us know about new books from Melissa Fay Greene, David Bezmozgis, and many others.
  • Just what is a “Jewish book,” anyway?
  • How did it take me this long to learn that Jeffrey Goldberg is on Twitter?
  • Natasha Solomons, author of Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English, describes an especially meaningful book-group visit.
  • Excellent, insightful review of David Grossman’s To the End of the Land (trans. Jessica Cohen) by the Boston Bibliophile.
  • As the winter blog tour for my new story collection, Quiet Americans, nears its end, time’s running out to enter our Goodreads & Facebook giveaways! Hurry up and enter, and maybe you’ll be one of the lucky winners to receive a copy!
  • And speaking of Quiet Americans, todah rabah to Elissa Strauss for including it in her latest new-books column on The Forward’s Sisterhood blog.

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Introducing JewishFiction.net

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    When I first heard about the establishment of JewishFiction.net, two aspects of the new online venue for English-language fiction on Jewish themes caught my attention.

    First, I was impressed to learn that Toronto-based Dr. Nora Gold was the editorial brain behind the venture. I discovered Gold’s story collection, Marrow, several years ago, thanks to a presentation at a conference of the Society for Jewish American and Holocaust Literature. And I thought the book was terrific.

    I was less impressed, however, when I found out that the journal was going to charge $15 as a submission fee. I can be antsy about submission fees even for contests that promise cash prizes. I become very nervous when a journal charges a submission fee without even the chance of earning some pay for the work.

    Happily, the editor informed me earlier this week that the submission fee requirement has been removed. If you’re interested in submitting, or simply want to learn more about the project, please click here.

    21st Annual Canadian Jewish Book Awards

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    Thanks to Naomi Firestone for posting last week about this year’s Canadian Jewish Book Awards. The awards ceremony is slated for May 25 in Toronto, and the list of winning titles/authors provides a good set of reading suggestions from north of the U.S.-Canada border.

    I’d love to know more about Jewish literary awards outside the U.S. and Canada. (I have to admit I’m not even too familiar with Israeli literary prizes). I’d love to augment my awareness–and find some titles to look up in the process. Anyone want to share some tips?