Fiction

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Judith Katzir

Yehudit Katzir (b. 1963) is an Israeli author who emerged as a leading female voice in what had been a male-dominated literary field until the 1980s. Her novels and short stories are noted for their idiosyncratic and lyrical language, as well as their focus on female identity and treatment of taboo themes.

Emma Wolf

Author of five novels and numerous short stories, Emma Wolf was a pioneering Jewish American writer whose works were widely read and discussed within and outside the American Jewish community.

Episode 48: A Ceiling Made of Eggshells (Transcript)

Episode 48: A Ceiling Made of Eggshells (Transcript)

Episode 48: A Ceiling Made of Eggshells

Author Gail Carson Levine is famous for writing retellings of classic fairy tales with a modern twist—like her best-selling novel Ella Enchanted—but her most recent book, A Ceiling Made of Eggshells, takes readers back to a real time and place. It's set in Spain in the decade leading up to the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. Ten-year-old Loma's Jewish family is in a unique position. Her financier grandfather has a special, though tense, relationship with the king and queen, and Loma soon finds herself at the center of events that determine the Jewish community’s future. JWA talks with Gail Carson Levine about how she did her research for the book and what motivated her to write it.

An interviewee shakes hands with an interviewer. Another interviewer sits beside them.

"Planting Seeds": A Writer's Job Interview

Lilah Peck

Of all the interview questions I’d prepared for, I didn’t think of this one: "Why are you a writer?”

Topics: Writing, Fiction
Ritu Weds Chandni Book Cover

Through the Window: Interview with Author Ameya Narvankar

Ambika Sambasivan

As part of the Association of Jewish Libraries’ program Through the Window: A Diversity Exchange, we interview Ameya Narvankar, author of LGBTQ children's book Ritu Weds Chandni.

Episode 41: Coming of Age with Judy Blume (Transcript)

Episode 41: Coming of Age with Judy Blume (Transcript)

Episode 41: Coming of Age with Judy Blume

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Judy Blume's classic teen novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, a story that normalizes the experiences of teenage girls: what it’s like to have your first period, your first bra, your first kiss… what it’s like to feel uncomfortable in your own body and confused about who you are. Margaret, who comes from an interfaith home, with one Jewish parent, goes through these teen rites of passage and also grapples with her religious identity. Judith Rosenbaum and Nahanni Rous recently re-read the book with their own pre-teen daughters, Ma'ayan and Shalvah.

Naamah Book Cover

Interview with Sarah Blake, Author of "Naamah"

Rebecca Long

Exclusively for JWA, author Sarah Blake discusses her novel Naamah.

Topics: Bible, Fiction
Jennifer Weiner / "Mrs. Everything" cover

An Interview with Jennifer Weiner, Author of "Mrs. Everything"

Dina Adelsky

Exclusively for JWA, Jennifer Weiner discusses her book Mrs. Everything.

Topics: Fiction
Diary of a Lonely Girl Cover cropped

Jessica Kirzane on "Diary of a Lonely Girl"

Jessica Kirzane

Exclusively for JWA, Jessica Kirzane discusses her new translation of Yiddish author Miriam Karpilove's Diary of a Lonely Girl.

Topics: Fiction
Alice Hoffman and book cover

An Interview with Alice Hoffman about "The World That We Knew"

Karen Kashian

JWA interviews author Alice Hoffman about her new novel, The World That We Knew, one of our Book Club picks.

Topics: Fiction
Natasha Diaz and Book Cover

An Interview with Natasha Díaz about "Color Me In"

Mikki Pugh

JWA sat down with author Natasha Díaz to discuss her debut novel, Color Me In, one of our Book Club picks.

Topics: Fiction
Disobedience Book Cover

"Disobedience" and the History of Jewish Lesbian Obscenity

Sophie Hurwitz

Naomi Alderman's acclaimed novel Disobedience is the latest in a long line of Jewish works about women in love and owes much to predecessors like Gut fun Nekome.

"Gittel's Journey" Book Cover

A Passover Story: Lesléa Newman's "Gittel's Journey"

Dr. Helene Meyers

Gittel’s Journey overlaps with one of the central themes of Pesach: that having been strangers ourselves, we are ethically obligated to remember the stranger.

Topics: Immigration, Fiction
Ayelet Tsabari / The Best Place On Earth

Video Interview with Ayelet Tsabari

Judith Rosenbaum

Judith Rosenbaum interviews author Ayelet Tsabari about her book, The Best Place On Earth, one of JWA's Book Club picks.

Topics: Fiction
Forest Dark Book Cover

Review: Nicole Krauss's "Forest Dark"

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

Forest Dark is an exploration of what happens when the relationships, material objects, and geographic locations that have come to constitute an identity fall apart.

The Waiting Room Book Cover

Leah Kaminsky On Her Book "The Waiting Room"

Leah Kaminsky

Exclusively for JWA, Leah Kaminsky reflects on the inspiration for her book, The Waiting Room and contemplates the power of memory.

Topics: Fiction
Eternal Life Crop

An Interview with Dara Horn about "Eternal Life"

Rebecca Long

JWA sat down with award-winning author Dara Horn to discuss her latest novel, Eternal Life, one of our Book Club picks. Eternal Life tells the story of Rachel, a woman who cannot die.

Topics: Fiction
Regina Persisted Book Cover

An Interview with Rabbi Sandy Sasso about Regina Jonas

Judith Rosenbaum

JWA Executive Director Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Rabbi Sandy Sasso about her 2018 children’s book, about the world’s first woman rabbi. Watch their fascinating conversation here, and learn about Regina Jonas’s legacy and impact on Rabbi Sasso and the other women rabbis who followed in her footsteps.

Topics: Rabbis, Fiction
Gateway to the Moon Book Cover

The Origin Story of "Gateway to the Moon" by Mary Morris

Mary Morris

In an exclusive piece for JWA, Mary Morris details her inspiration for her newest novel, Gateway to the Moon.

Boat Stock Image

Ask Emma: New Beginnings, and Long-Distance Love

Emma G.

I’m about to start law school in another city, and I’m really excited. The only problem? I will be leaving my partner behind, so our relationship will be long-distance for three years. I’m really nervous about it.

Rachel Kadish with the Weight of Ink

Video Interview with Rachel Kadish

Emily Cataneo

“What does it take for a woman to not be defeated when the whole world is telling her to sit down and mind her manners?” This is the question that Rachel Kadish, author of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award-winning historical novel of The Weight of Ink, wanted to answer when she sat down twelve years ago to write this ambitious and mesmerizing novel.

New American Best Friend

Ode to Slam Poetry

Josephine Rosman

I’ve always been in love with words. As long as I can remember, I’ve read everything and anything I could get my hands on. My love for stories turned me into a storyteller. However, my writing used to always be about hypotheticals and was firmly entrenched in the fiction genre. My protagonists tended to be straight, white, Christian people, because they’re mostly who you see in literature. 

Topics: Fiction, Poetry
Winding Road Stock Photo

Ask Emma: Pulling Up Your Big-Kid Bloomers, and Running for the Hills

Emma G.

A friend I haven’t seen for over a year is planning to visit my city and stay for two weeks. Do I have an obligation to host her?

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