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Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
6
graphic announcing Jewish Literary Links

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.

  • This week I’ve spent some quality time with Atar Hadari’s remarkable Arik and Company, a documentary-poetry project, focused on the life of Ariel Sharon, that was recently published by Ben Yehuda Press. And on my to-watch schedule now: a recording of an event featuring Hadari and two other Ben Yehuda poets. (Btw: The press has a nice #JewishBookMonth100 sale going on right now!)
  • And when it comes to my tbr list, I’ve just been reminded about Bethlehem Road, Judy Lev’s short-story collection, thanks to Margot Singer’s review for Moment magazine).
  • The Jewish Book Council is hiring for a new position: Director of Publishing Relations. “We are seek­ing an expe­ri­enced pro­fes­sion­al – ide­al­ly with a strong back­ground in pub­lish­ing and/​or the lit­er­ary field – who can oper­ate at the inter­sec­tion of advo­ca­cy, part­ner­ships, pro­gram­ming, and indus­try engage­ment. This posi­tion requires strate­gic vision, rela­tion­ship-build­ing exper­tise, and the abil­i­ty to design and imple­ment pro­grams that advance Jew­ish and Israeli lit­er­a­ture with­in the broad­er marketplace.” This full-time, hybrid position is based in New York City. “The salary range for this posi­tion is $110-$130k, plus benefits.”
  • “‘We Were Hoping You’d Do It for Free’: A Children’s Songwriter on Art, Joy and Getting Paid” (by Robb “Robbo” Zelonky for Jewish Journal).
  • Finally, on this Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.: Want to express some gratitude for your favorite Jewish (or Jewish-friendly) literary magazine(s)? Take up this invitation from Chill Subs to “celebrate outstanding literary magazines by nominating up to 5 of the most inspiring publications of 2025,” and help amplify and support the work of worthy editors and publishers. You have until December 7 to do so.

Shabbat shalom.

Jewish Literary Links

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
graphic announcing Jewish Literary Links

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.

  • I spent some wonderful hours this week reading Maya Arad’s Happy New Years (trans. Jessica Cohen; published by New Vessel Press). There’s so much to admire in this novel, structured as a series of Rosh Hashanah-timed annual letters to friends back home from an Israeli who moves to the United States as a young woman. (Notably, I received my copy in the inaugural box sent to me after I joined the Jewish Book Council’s new subscription service, Nu Reads.)
  • From author/editor/podcaster (and former literary agent) Jonathan Rosen: a heartfelt call for “No More Silence.”
  • Announced this week: Where We Keep the Light, a memoir by Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, to be released in January by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Per the press release, in this book Shapiro “shares powerful stories about his family, his faith, and his career in public service.”
  • News of the passing of Susan Stamberg has inspired me to recall her beautiful reading of my short story “Fidelis” for NPR’s Hanukkah Lights broadcast series. May her memory be a blessing.
  • And looking ahead: “Join us on Wednesday, October 29 at 12:30 PM ET when Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein hosts renowned Israeli writers Yossi Klein Halevi and Lee Yaron for a discussion about what it means to be a Jew today, in a post-October 7 world; how Israeli survivors are coping; and what almost two years of war and rising global antisemitism mean for the future of the Jewish people.” Free, online event.

Shabbat shalom.

(The Rest of) the Year in Jewish Books

by Erika Dreifus on
8

Back in January, I published a post that included the following:

If you follow bookish sites, or even simply book coverage elsewhere, you’ve likely been catching lots of lists setting forth the “most anticipated” books of 2025. As far as I’ve noticed, as “diverse” as those lists may seem to be, the presence of Jewish books—never mind translations of Israeli titles first written in Hebrew—ranges between “slight” and “nonexistent.”

(In the meantime, of course, the most prominent lists are building up buzz for new books by plenty of authors whose “criticism of Israel,” as demonstrated on multiple statements, petitions, etc., has crossed over into antisemitism, whether they acknowledge that or not.)

Having met a deadline a tad earlier than expected, I found myself with a short window of unexpected free time. It wasn’t quite enough to pitch, draft, and revise an actual article for an editor, but it was enough for me to do something.

I decided to take a quick look through one book-industry platform where reviewers (and others) can locate information about forthcoming titles. There, I found—or, in some cases, was reminded of—a number of books that will be published this year.

I then shared a number of titles that represented those that were on my radar. The final one on the list—Maya Arad’s Happy New Years: A Novel (trans. Jessica Cohen)—was released August 5 by New Vessel Press.

Flash-forward to today.

As the saying goes: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

I’ve now had some time to gather information on books that will be published during the remainder of this year. You’ll find some of those that have caught my attention below.

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