Occasional Notes from a Practicing Writer

This past Sunday afternoon, I moderated a panel titled “Addressing Antisemitism in Our Literary Lives” at the 2023 Jewish Book Council Writers’ Conference. In addition to moderating, I participated as a panelist. And below, you’ll find the handout around which most of my remarks were organized.

As I made clear at the session’s outset, I was speaking for myself only—not for the Jewish Book Council, and not for any of my co-panelists, either. I also said that there was no way I’d be able to cover everything there was to say. That would have been the case even if the session had been held before October 7. (In fact, we proposed the panel last summer, which is also when it was accepted. Because, unfortunately, antisemitism in literary and literary-adjacent spaces is not new.)

I hope that you’ll find this to be a helpful resource. (Don’t neglect the footnotes!)

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