Festival Of Jewish Books & Conversations Begins Oct. 21

Tampa FL

07 September, 2021

12:44 PM

Description

TAMPA, FL — The 2021-22 Festival of Jewish Books & Conversations, hosted by the Tampa JCCs and Federation, begins this fall with in-person and Zoom events. The gestival will kick off on Thursday, Oct. 21, and continue with a mix of in-person and Zoom events that week and into the winter and spring months including a Hanukkah-themed author event taking place on Dec. 12. All live events are open to the entire Tampa Bay community; virtual events are available to everyone, anywhere. "Our mission to represent the Jewish People of the Book by promoting Jewish authors and Jewish literature is so important. Tampa is excited to be celebrating Jewish literature in a big way by hosting many guest authors and presenting a full schedule of high-quality, year-round programs. We ask our community to all come out and help us tell and preserve the stories of our people by attending our events throughout the coming year," said Debbie Doliner, vo-chair of the Festival of Jewish Books & Conversations. Brandy Gold, Tampa JCCs and Federation arts & culture director, adds more reasons to attend: "All of our events offer compelling, entertaining and interesting experiences - ones that will leave attendees continuing the conversations well after the program." Most authors being featured in the upcoming year's programming are made available by the Jewish Book Council. Each year, more than 200 authors of new books are presented at the annual Jewish Book Conference; either the authors are Jewish, or their book contains Jewish content. Members of Tampa's Jewish Books and Conversations Committee, co-chaired by Debbie Doliner and Barbara Manners, attend the conference to select the authors they feel will appeal to Tampa audiences. Tickets will run $6-36 each; the monthly Zoom discussions are free. Tickets will be available as of Sept. 1 at jewishtampa.com/bookfestival. If the program is virtual, Zoom connection information will be emailed after ticket purchase. Each in-person event will close with a book signing by the author. The Festival of Jewish Books and Conversations is generously sponsored by The Gemunder Family Foundation. Tombolo Books, an independent bookstore in St. Petersburg, will continue as the festival's book sponsor. Books from all festival events will be available for purchase from the jewishtampa.com/bookfestival website and directly from the store. Details of this year's year-round programming are: Our Story Begins. Thursday, Oct. 21 | 7 p.m. J Stage Theatre at the JCC on the Cohn Campus, 13009 Community Campus Drive, Tampa. $18/Wine & Cheese. Jori Epstein, "The Upstander: How Surviving the Holocaust Sparked Max Glauben's Mission to Dismantle Hate." Max Glauben is an elderly man with an unbelievable tale of survival. He asks Epstein, a young writer, to tell his story. Together they produced this powerful book. As a teenager, Glauben went from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Majdanek death camp where he witnessed the murders of his family. He reveals how he dared to immigrate, court love and raise a family, now believing it's his mission to compel the world to embrace tolerance. Epstein is a sports reporter for USA Today where she reports on the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL and much more. Glauben will appear virtually. Genius Lunch with the Author. Friday, Oct. 22 | noon. Carrollwood Country Club. $36/Luncheon. Claudia Kalb, "Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers." It's never too late to experience the full potential of your creativity. Kalb is an award-winning journalist who blends biography, science and firsthand reporting to illuminate the lives of great minds and how genius can be developed or reawakened at any age. Her book spotlights icons past and present and explores how and when inspiration strikes among prodigies, midlifers and late bloomers, from Yo-Yo Ma and Isaac Newton to Julia Child and Grandma Moses. Am Yisrael Chai Lecture Generously supported by Harvey Mackler in collaboration with the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator (FIBA), this event is hosted by Congregation Kol Ami. Sunday, Oct. 24 | 11 a.m. Congregation Kol Ami. $18/Brunch. $10/Discussion at Noon. Avi Jorisch, "Thou Shalt Innovate, Stories of Israeli Innovation and Inspiration." Innovation, suggests Jorisch, is the sacred calling of modern Israel. But while many have written about Israel's grand success in developing problem-solving technologies, this is the first study to focus primarily on Israeli innovations that extend, improve, and save lives. Jorisch argues that the Israeli commitment to tikkun olam, repairing the world, is a characteristic written in Judaism's spiritual DNA. Space is limited. The Secret Spy Society. Sunday, Oct. 24 | 7 p.m. J Stage Theatre at the JCC on the Cohn Campus. $10/Wine & Cheese. Tracy Walder, "The Unexpected Spy, From CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists." Walder was a spy - a former Staff Operations Officer (SOO) at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and a Special Agent at the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office specializing in Chinese counterintelligence operations. No longer in government service, she can now spill the secrets of working in a male-dominated profession at a job claimed by movies to be sexy and scary. On 9/11 she was tracking terrorists; she picked up an alias and flew overseas; she debriefed al-Qaeda's top men and Jihadists who swore they'd never speak to a woman. What was the life of a modern-day, female spy really like? Local Author Coffee Talk. Monday, Oct. 25 | 7 p.m. J Stage Theatre at the JCC on the Cohn Campus. $5/Coffee & Dessert. Betty Grebenschikoff, "Once My Name Was Sara." In 1939 Grebenschikoff's (née Kohn) peaceful childhood in Berlin was shattered by Nazi violence against Jews, and the family was forced to flee to Shanghai. In 1950 political events in China made yet another escape necessary, this time to Australia. Grebenschikoff finally realized her dream of immigrating to America in 1953. In 2021 NBC Nightly News interviewed Grebenschikoff about her recent reunion with the friend she had left behind in Berlin 82 years ago. She lives in St. Petersburg. Chapter Chicks Series: A ZOOM A DAY, STORIES GALORE. Book Club-style chats with the top national authors via Zoom. Monday thru Thursday, Oct. 25-28 | noon. Complete Series: $15. Monday, Oct. 25 – Jennifer Anne Moses, "The Man Who Loved His Wife." Moses is a multi-genre author of seven books. This collection portrays Jews being Jewish. Whether in Tel Aviv, New Jersey or the Deep South, the characters grapple with God, loved ones, fate, death, hope, Hitler and the 4,000-year-old history of Judaism. With a Yiddish sensibility born of passion, an eye for detail and a deadpan sense of humor, Moses captures singularly Jewish and wholly human characters. Tuesday, Oct. 26 – Deborah Copaken, "Ladyparts: A Memoir." Copaken is a bestselling author, a TV writer (Emily in Paris), a performer, a news producer, and a photojournalist. Her column "When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist" was adapted for the Modern Love Amazon series. This book is a frank, witty, irreverent and dazzlingly written memoir of one Jewish woman brought to her knees by way too many punches from "life," just trying to keep it together when everything falls apart and she becomes aware that sometimes there is no safety net. Wednesday, Oct. 27 – Anne Goldman, "Stargazing in the Atomic Age." This collection of biographies by Goldman casts new light on Jewish scientists and artists (Einstein, Rothko, Bellow, Chagall, etc.) who sidestepped despair during WWII to inspire great achievements. They were celebrated as mavericks and dismissed as eccentrics, and they trespassed the boundaries of their disciplines as the entrance to nations slammed shut behind them. These essays suggest we might find in these figures a way to navigate a newly divisive era. Thursday, Oct. 28 – Courtney Zoffness, "Spilt Milk." Zoffness here considers in her literary debut, what we inherit from generations past, biologically, culturally, spiritually and what we pass on to our children. She questions what role a mother plays in raising generous children and how the stories we tell inform who we become. A Holiday Happening Matzah Ball Madness. Sunday, Dec. 12 | 6 p.m. J Stage Theatre at the JCC on the Cohn Campus. $15/Matzah Ball Soup & Salad, dessert and a fabulously fun Zoom. Jean Meltzer, "The Matzah Ball!" Meltzer, like the protagonist, Rachel, in her novel, is a chronically-ill and disabled Jewish woman and an outspoken advocate for ME/CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Rachel also loves Christmas and finds the joy and romance she needs in the form of the Matzah Ball, a high-end Jewish music celebration. Unlike Rachel, author Meltzer, spent five years in rabbinical school. Book ClubBeginning in January 2020, the free Book Club meets monthly through May. Once upon a time…there were best-selling, award-winning and widely talked about authors who all had many stories to Zoom chat about! FREE open conversations. Please register to receive your Zoom link. Sunday, Jan. 23| 7 p.m. Lisa Scottoline, "Eternal." Scottoline is the bestselling author of 32 novels, with 30 million copies of her books in print in the United States. She has been researching the Italian Holocaust since her undergraduate days at University of Pennsylvania, when she attended a seminar led by celebrity author, Philip Roth. It's the story of three friends growing up in Italy whose lives during WWII come to represent the best and the worst that the human world has to offer. Sunday, Feb. 13| 11 a.m. Jennifer Steil, "Exile Music." Steil is the award-winning, well-traveled author of three books. This one tells the story of a family of Jewish Viennese musicians who flee the Nazis in 1939 to find refuge in the mountains of Bolivia, where more than 20,000 Jewish refugees settled during the war years. Steil was the editor of a newspaper in Yemen and currently lives between Uzbekistan and France. Sunday, April 10 | 7 p.m. Helen Wecker, "The Hidden Palace: a Novel of the Golem and the Jinni," Wecker's first award-winning book, was lauded as an utterly original work. This continuation of the story of Chava, a golem, and Ahmad, a jinni, is set in the years leading up to WWI, and deepens the relationship between these two fantastical creatures who live disguised as humans during a time when it seems all forms of life are existentially questioning what the future will bring. Sunday, May 22 | 7 p.m. Jill Santopolo, "Everything After." Santopolo is author of 17 books, including three children's and young-adult series, and she works as a publisher. This is a novel of first love, passion and the power of choice and finding the way through to become who one is meant to be. A Spring Fling Of Author Events Life, Laughter & Lunch. Friday, March 25 | noon. Brio Italian Grille, Bay Street at Tampa International Plaza. $30 Luncheon. Annabelle Gurwitch, "You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility." Gurwitch is a New York Times bestselling and prize-winning author, a comedian, the longtime host of Dinner & a Movie on TBS and a regular contributor to NPR. This book is a timely and hilarious chronicle of downward mobility, financial and emotional. These are her own stories of resilience and growing up while parenting. Brunch with 5 Ladies! Sunday, March 27 |noon. Bryan Glazer Family JCC. $15/Brunch Buffet & Coffee Bar. Once upon a time, five female Florida authors decided to write a book together. "Detour" is the result. These authors are: Nancy Sims, Phyllis Hoffman, Ellen Horne Zarek, Rosemary Gensler and Marion Phillips. Join us for divine conversation about sisterhood and the continuing detours we take on life's journey. Mahjong Tourney & Talk. Sunday, March 27 | 2 p.m. discussion / 3 p.m. tourney. Bryan Glazer Family JCC. $10 Author Program; $10 Tournament. Annaleise Heinz, "Mahjong, A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture." Heinz's book is a history of this quintessential game and what it tells about modern day and Jewish women, and it illustrates how the spaces between tiles and the moments between games have fostered distinct social cultures in the United States. A Mahjong Tournament with prizes will follow Heinz's talk and book signing. Enter the Mysterious World of Magic. Cocktails & Conversation with a Magician. Sunday, March 27 | 7 p.m. Bryan Glazer Family JCC | Ballroom. $15 Cocktails and Accouterments. Joshua Jay, "How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters." Jay will bring us into the artistry, history and fascinating traditions of magic, long shrouded in mystery. Above all, he reveals the mindset behind magic—what it's like to practice an art that so many love yet so few understand. He writes about how technology influences magic; the aesthetics of performance; and his contemporaries, including David Copperfield. Jay has performed on stages in more than 100 countries. The Festival Bookstore, located at the JCC on the Cohn Campus, 13009 Community Campus Drive, Tampa, will be open for business on Monday, Oct. 18 through Monday, Oct. 25 from 3 to 7 p.m. Additionally, all featured festival books will be available at individual events and the bookstore will showcase this year's festival books and books from past festivals. Cash and credit cards will be accepted. The JCC Literary Consortium, which includes Tampa JCCs & Federation and nearly 100 other Jewish community centers from around the country, will continue to be offered to Tampa Bay readers. Tickets to numerous year-round author events can be purchased, some for a minimal $6 ticket price, and many of the programs offer a copy of the book to be shipped to you for an additional cost. Information about the authors appearing in the JCC Literary Consortium and how to obtain tickets will be available at the Tampa JCC and Federation's website, jewishtampa.com/bookfestival, and in the Tampa JCC and Federation's Virtually Yours newsletter. For more information about sponsorships, authors, tickets or events, visit jewishtampa.com/bookfestival or contact Brandy Gold at [email protected] or 813-769-4725. This press release was produced by Tampa JCCs and Federation. The views expressed here are the author's own.