Upcoming Events
Julian Borger in conversation with Rachelle Unreich
Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and World Affairs Editor at The Guardian, Julian Borger in conversation with Rachelle Unreich, author of ‘A Brilliant Life’. They will be discussing Julian’s breakthrough, investigative memoir, ‘I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust’.
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Keynote Conversation: David Grossman
In a Melbourne first, one of the most respected writers of our times, David Grossman, will speak to Tali Lavi in an intimate conversation about love, vulnerability and home, encompassing his recent novel More Than I Love My Life, and his life’s work. David Grossman is an international guest and will be appearing via live…
Cultural Tensions in Australia
How tolerant are the various Jewish communities when faced with stories and articles that question or provide external insights into their ways of life? What have been the experiences of novelists who have provided narratives that question accepted norms, or of journalists whose articles have caused controversy and dissent? Bram Presser (moderator), Lisa Emanuel, Ashley…
Yiddish in Performance
Yiddish performance, whether in theatrical, spoken or music form, is alive and well in Melbourne. Our panel of practitioners and researchers discuss what such performances tell us about ourselves, our past and our identity. Nicola Mensa Hearn (moderator), Galit Klas, Rebecca Margolis, Simon Starr
Telling Authentic Stories Through Food
Alice Zaslavsky, the friendliest voice in Australian food, leads the discussion with this team of highly respected culinary figures. How do we write about food? Who gets to write about food? What is it like being a caretaker of a cuisine? Alice Zaslavsky (moderator), Dani Valent, Joanna Hu, Tony Tan
Lost Gems Uncovered
Our panel of keen writers and readers review and discuss some of the less well-known books by Jewish authors, or on Jewish themes, which have given them great pleasure over the years. Expect a lively discussion of some unearthed and rare titles. Bram Presser (moderator), Andrea Goldsmith, Lee Kofman, Veronica Sullivan
Not a Pity Party: On Grief, Trauma, Storytelling and Surrender
Natasha Sholl’s recently published memoir Found, Wanting, tells the story of Natasha’s attempt to rebuild her life in the wake of her partner’s sudden death, stumbling through the grief landscape and colliding with the cultural assumptions about the ‘right way’ to grieve. Natasha will be in conversation with Dalit Kaplan, who has had a few…
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch: A Conversation With Novelist Rivka Galchen
Join Elissa Goldstein as she chats with Canadian-American novelist, essayist and New Yorker contributor Rivka Galchen. Her range as a writer is vast and brilliant, encompassing everything from wry, psychological literary fiction to ruminations on motherhood, to reporting from the COVID frontlines in a New York City hospital. Galchen’s most recent novel, Everyone Knows Your…
The Passenger: Unearthing a Dunera Boy’s Story
Two recent books have offered new insights into the remarkable exploits and achievements of the ‘Dunera Boys’. Leah Garrett’s X Troop recounts the story of a secret commando group made up of Jewish refugees in Australia and elsewhere, who returned to Europe to liberate concentration camps. The Passenger, a lost novel by Ulrich Boschwitz, a…
Opening Night Gala: In Our Nature
Join us as Melbourne Jewish Book Week presents In Our Nature – an opening night of original storytelling featuring writers, musicians and performers live on stage at Melbourne’s Memo Hall. Travel to landscapes near and far, real and imagined, thriving and disappearing. Meet creatures of flight, fur, and fancy from places urban and remote, vast…