People of the Book

Meryl chats with Rabbi Menachem Creditor about his insights as part of the recent UJA-Federation mission to Israel, the impact of October 7 on Jews throughout the world, and the global increase in antisemitism. They also discuss his new book, Am Yisrael Chai: Essays, Poems, and Prayers for Israel, which was published on October 17.

Rabbi Menachem Creditor serves as the Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar in Residence at UJA-Federation New York and was the founder of Rabbis Against Gun Violence. An acclaimed author, scholar, and speaker with over 3 million views of his online videos and essays, he was named by Newsweek as one of the fifty most influential rabbis in America. His numerous books and 6 albums of original music include the global anthem "Olam Chesed Yibaneh" and the COVID-era 2-volume anthology "When We Turned Within." His latest volume is Am Yisrael Chai: Essays, Poems, and Prayers for Israel which was published on October 17.
Rabbi Creditor and his wife Neshama Carlebach live in New York, where they are raising their five children.

Meryl chats with Evonne Marzouk about her novel, The Prophetess. They discuss how Evonne came to write and publish the book over the course of 20 years and what inspired her. They also talk about the current situation in Israel, the increase in antisemitism around the world, and what it means “to grow into your gifts.”

Meryl chats with Michelle about her new novel, Babylon: A Novel of Jewish Captivity (September 12, 2023). They discuss how Michelle came to write about the Biblical saga of the Babylonian exile, and its meaning for today. They also talk about historical fiction and Michelle’s writing and research process.

Michelle is the award-winning author of several works of historical fiction and poetry including Beyond the Ghetto Gates, The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz, and In the Shadow of the Globe. Her new novel, Babylon: A Novel of Jewish Captivity is the multi-generational Biblical saga of Sarah, her children and grandchildren, exiled to Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar’s army conquers Judea and destroys the Temple. Michelle lived in Israel for fifteen years and served as an officer in the Israeli army teaching air force cadets technical English. She is a director of The Writers Circle, a NJ-based organization that offers creative writing programs to children, teens, and adults. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and has two grown sons.

Meryl chats with Meryl Frank about her new memoir, Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust. They discuss the author’s multi-year, multi-country research journey to unravel the story of what happened to her cousin, Franya Winter, a celebrated actress in the Yiddish Theater who perished during The Holocaust. They talk about the resurgence of antisemitism today and the importance of keeping alive the memory and lessons of The Holocaust.

Ambassador Meryl Frank (ret) is an international champion of women’s leadership, human rights and political participation. She is the former mayor of Highland Park, NJ and was named one of “The Fifty Most Influential Jews in the World” by The Jerusalem Post. Frank serves as President of Makeda Global Network and sits on the US Holocaust Memorial Council and the Board of YIVO, the Institute for Jewish Research. Her memoir, Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust is available from Hachette Books.

Meryl chats with Linda Kass about her new novel, Bessie (September 12, 2023). They discuss Bess Myerson’s early life and her crowning as the first and only Jewish Miss America in 1945. They also talk about antisemitism in the wake of the Holocaust and World War II, the publishing industry, and Gramercy Books, Linda’s independent bookstore in Columbus, Ohio.

Linda Kass is the author of the new novel, Bessie, which was named A Hasty Book List Most-Anticipated Historical Fiction Title for 2023. She has also written two other historical novels, Tasa’s Song and A Ritchie Boy. A Ritchie Boy was the 2021 IPPY Gold Medal Winner in Historical Fiction. Linda began her career as a magazine journalist and correspondent for regional and national publications. She is the founder and owner of Gramercy Books, an independent bookstore in Columbus, Ohio.

Author’s website: lindakass.com

Meryl talks with Corie Adjmi about her new novel, The Marriage Box, the story of Casey Cohen, a sixteen-year-old in New Orleans in the 1970s. When Casey gets into trouble, her parents decide to return to their roots, the Orthodox Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn. Meryl chats with Corie about how and why it took her 20 years to write this book and how that community has changed over the past 50 years.

Corie is an award-winning, best-selling author. Her first book was a collection of short stories titled, LIFE AND OTHER SHORTCOMINGS, and her most recent publication is a novel titled, THE MARRIAGE BOX. Corie writes both fiction and non-fiction about marriage, family, community, Jewish life, patriarchy, and culture. Her work has appeared in HuffPost, Newsweek, North American Review, Indiana Review, Motherwell, Kveller, and others. When she is not writing, Corie does volunteer work, cooks, bikes and hikes. She and her husband have five children and a number of grandchildren, with more on the way. She lives and works in New York City.

Meryl chats with A.J. Sidransky and Miriam Abrahams about A.J’s new book, Incident at San Miguel, a novel about two brothers on opposite sides of Castro’s Cuban revolution. Sidransky based his story on the experiences of Abrahams’ father and uncle.

A.J. Sidransky writes about ordinary people faced with extraordinary situations and events. Genres include mystery, thriller, and historical fiction. His work has been described as a mystery wrapped in history and tied in a bow with a little romance. His books include, Forgiving Maximo Rothman, Forgiving Stephen Redmond, Forgiving Mariela Camacho and The Interpreter. Incident at San Miguel, a thriller set during the Cuban Revolution is his newest work and was released May 19, 2023. AJ’s short stories have appeared in anthologies, magazines, and e-zines. A.J. Sidransky lives in upper Manhattan with his wife.

Miriam Abrahams was born in Havana in 1961, raised in Brooklyn, and currently lives in Long Beach after 27 years in the Five Towns on Long Island. She’s a graduate of Brooklyn College, a wife and mother of 3 and grandmother of 2. Miriam is fluent in Spanish and Hebrew. She is a longtime volunteer book reviewer for Jewish Book Council and former Hadassah Nassau One Region One Book coordinator. A certified yoga instructor for 13 years, she is a lifelong avid reader and a slice of life essayist.

Renee Weingarten, founder of the Facebook group, Renee’s Reading Club, chats with Meryl Ain about her new Historical Fiction novel, Shadows We Carry, the sequel to her award-winning debut novel, The Takeaway Men. The program was a special presentation of the Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence, LI, where Renee is a librarian..

Renee Weingarten is a librarian at Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence, LI and the founder of the Facebook group, Renee’s Reading Club, which has more than 43,600 members. Meryl Ain is a writer, author, career educator and host of the podcast, People of the Book. The Takeaway Men, her award-winning post-Holocaust debut novel, was published in 2020. The sequel, Shadows We Carry, was published in April. Meryl is the founder of the Facebook group, Jews Love To Read!

Avid readers and activists in the Jewish community, Randi Brenowitz and Bayla Lovens chat with Meryl Ain about her new book, Shadows We Carry, the sequel to her award-winning debut novel, The Takeaway Men.

Fraternal twins Bronka and JoJo find themselves on the cusp of momentous change for women in the late 1960s. With the United States in the grip of political and social upheaval, the twins and their peers, including a Catholic priest and the son of a Nazi, struggle with their family’s ancestry and how much influence it has on their lives.

Randi Brenowitz has just been elected to her second term as the International President of the Board of the Melton School for Adult Jewish Learning. Bayla Lovens has been involved in working in the Jewish Community, both professionally and as a volunteer, for most of her life. Meryl Ain is a writer, author, career educator and host of the podcast, People of the Book. The Takeaway Men, her award-winning post-Holocaust debut novel, was published in 2020. Meryl is the founder of the Facebook group, Jews Love To Read! Both Bayla and Randi are active members.

Meryl chats with Jennifer Rosner about her new novel, Once We Were Home (March 14, 2023).

Meryl chats with Rabbi Sandy Sasso about her mission of engaging the religious imagination of children through her books, and her career as one of the first women to become a rabbi in America.

Rabbi Sasso was the first woman ordained from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1974 and the first to serve a Conservative congregation together with her husband, Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso. They were the first practicing rabbinical couple in world Jewish history. Following 36 years of service to Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, Indianapolis, Indiana, she is now its Senior Rabbi Emerita. She is an internationally known award-winning children’s author who has published twenty-five children’s books and two adult books. Active in the arts, civic and interfaith communities, she has written on midrash, women, and spirituality.

Meryl Ain chats with Claudia Long about her 2023 novel, Our Lying Kin, the sequel to Nine Tenths of the Law. Both books are about two sisters who seek to solve mysteries and uncover family secrets. They talk about the relationship of sisters, the weight of family secrets, and the writing process.

Claudia Hagadus Long is an author, a lawyer-mediator, a wife, mother, grandmother, and cook. She’s written books about Jewish women living as Catholics in colonial Mexico, and professional female writers struggling to effect change in early 20th Century California. And now, with Nine Tenths of the Law and Our Lying Kin, she’s writing about women in contemporary California and New York, whose lives are powerfully affected by their parents’ history.
Nine Tenths explored the emotional trials that two daughters of a Holocaust survivor suffered, including the guilt, not just over their mother’s trauma, but the sensation that their own griefs could never compare with hers. In Our Lying Kin, it’s their father who struggled with the baggage he inherited from his own parents, who fled Hungary in the terror of the early twentieth century

Meryl chats with Becca Kantor about the history and mission of Jewish Book Council and its annual literary journal, Paper Brigade. They also discuss current trends in Jewish writing, the definition of a Jewish book, and the many ways JBC empowers authors and readers.

Becca Kantor is the editorial director of Jewish Book Council and its annual print literary journal, Paper Brigade. She received a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. Becca was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to Estonia to write and study the country's Jewish history. She now lives in Brooklyn.

Meryl chats with Linda Pressman about her memoir, Jewish Girls Gone Wild, a coming-of-age story about her life in Arizona after her parents transplant their family of seven daughters from Skokie, Illinois. Linda shares her journey from outsider and rebel to rediscovering her Jewish roots.

Linda Pressman is the author of the recently published memoir, Jewish Girls Gone Wild. Her previous memoir, Looking Up: A Memoir of Sisters, Survivors and Skokie won the Grand Prize in the Writer’s Digest 20th Annual Contest and is part of the permanent collections of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and the National Library of Israel. Her freelance writing has appeared on Kveller, in Motherwell Magazine, Six Hens, and others. She is a book coach and teaches memoir on an individual basis and through Scottsdale Arts.

Meryl chats with Robin Kall about her career as a book broadcaster, book influencer and organizer of book events. In a freewheeling conversation, they talk about Long Island, Rhode Island, the trajectory of Robin’s success, and Jewish books and authors.

Robin grew up on Long Island, graduated from Binghamton University, and has lived in Rhode Island since she was 22. She is famously known as a “book pusher,” “fairy book mother,” and “all around nice person.” In 2002, after hosting author events and merchandising several local bookstores, Robin founded the highly regarded talk radio show "Reading With Robin," which is now available on podcast. After the passing of her mother Carol in 1997, it became Robin’s mission to educate women on the importance of early detection and advocate for them. In 2009, Robin and her sisters, Laura and Jennifer, established the Love Carol Foundation to honor their mother’s memory and invest in types of projects that were important to her.

In 2016, with the assistance of her cohort and daughter Emily, launched the now 2x award-winning The Cardigan Connection(formerly Point Street Reading Series), which brings together people looking for a good story and fun night.  Since COVID-19, Robin has shifted her focus to bringing engaging digital content to readers across the nation on social media and Crowdcast.

Meryl chats with Kitty Zeldis about her 2022 novel, The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights, which takes readers into the lives of three very different women living in Brooklyn during The Roaring Twenties. In this lively conversation, they discuss the themes of the book, including female vulnerability, pregnancy, religious intolerance, and the relationship of mothers and daughters.

Born in Israel, Kitty Zeldis is the pen name of a Brooklyn-based author of nine novels and almost 40 books for children.  Her new historical novel, The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights, was published in December. Her fiction, essays and articles have appeared in numerous national and literary publications including the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Family Circle and O, the Oprah Magazine and she has been the Fiction Editor of Lilith Magazine for the last twenty years.

Author’s Social Media

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Meryl chats with Deborah Levison about her 2022 novel, A Nest of Snakes, a harrowing story of abuse, complicity, and trauma. They also discuss The Crate, her award-winning non-fiction account of Holocaust survival and present-day murder.

Deborah is an author and publicist. Her life has two parts: the first in Canada, where she attended University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the second in Connecticut, where she lives with three children, two doodles, and one husband.

Her first book, an acclaimed nonfiction called THE CRATE, is a true crime story with echoes of the Holocaust. Reviewers called it “gorgeous and poetic,” “heart-wrenching,” and “a brilliant story.” The Jerusalem Post wrote: “exquisite.” The book won seven literary awards.

Levison’s debut novel, A NEST OF SNAKES, is part thriller, part courtroom drama based on real-life abuse at elite New England private schools. Reviewers call it “a roller-coaster ride of surprising twists” leading to a “staggering climax and an absolutely perfect ending.” Monster Librarian hails A NEST OF SNAKES as one of the fall’s most talked-about novels.

Meryl chats with Nora Gold about JewishFiction.net, the prestigious online literary journal, which she founded and is the editor-in-chief. In addition, they discuss her three books, The Dead Man, Fields of Exile, and Marrow and Other Stories. They also talk about wide-ranging topics related to literature, including the definition of “a Jewish book”.

Meryl chats with Rick and Annette Schwarz Kaye about their 2022 memoir, Revelation, which chronicles Rick’s shocking discovery of his biological origins that were revealed through DNA testing. Rick and Annette share the emotional roller coaster they experienced as Rick wrestled with deception, secrets, and lifelong memories now seen through a new lens.

Rick and Annette live in Fairfield County, Connecticut, where they raised their two sons. Rick has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Cooper Union and a Master’s in Business Administration specializing in Operations Research. Annette holds Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in communicative disorders from Queens College of the City University of New York.

In addition to co-authoring their new book, Revelation: A Memoir of Deep Family Secrets, Discovery, and Identity, they co-founded and manage a software design company that services the jewelry industry. Annette and Rick have four grandchildren and make time to be actively involved in their lives. They also enjoy traveling, hiking, long-distance cycling, and racquet sports.

Publisher website and info:

Meryl chats with Zibby Owens about her new memoir, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, in which she shares her personal journey of loss, anxiety, food issues, finding love, reverence for literature -- and ultimately reinvention and fulfillment. They also discuss Zibby’s many other ventures, including Zibby Mag, Zibby Books, and her podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books!

Zibby is a podcaster, author, CEO, and mother of four. Zibby founded Zibby Media which includes Zibby Books, a publishing home for fiction and memoir, Zibby Mag, a literary lifestyle destination, and Zibby Audio, a podcast network, which includes her own award-winning daily show Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. Named “NYC’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” by Vulture, Zibby is a regular contributor to "Good Morning America," a media personality, and an avid essayist. She has edited two anthologies, written a children’s book, Princess Charming, and released a memoir, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature. A graduate of Yale and Harvard Business School, she currently lives in New York (and sometimes L.A.) with her four children and her husband Kyle Owens, founder and CEO of Morning Moon Productions.

On today’s episode of People of the Book, Meryl chats with Isabel Vincent about her new book, Overture of Hope: Two Sisters’ Daring Plan That Saved Opera’s Jewish Stars from the Third Reich. The book chronicles the amazing story of two English sisters – both opera buffs and spinsters -- who mastermind a daring plan to rescue Jewish opera stars in Germany and Austria from the Nazis and get them to safety in England.
Isabel, an award-winning investigative journalist for the New York Post, is the author of Overture of Hope: Two Sisters’ Daring Plan That Saved Opera’s Jewish Stars from the Third Reich. The book, which has been described as “Schindler’s List Meets the Sound of Music” was published in September. In addition, Isabel’s account of the Swiss bank accounts left dormant after the Nazi era, Hitler’s Silent Partners, won the Yad Vashem Award for Holocaust History. She is also the author of the bestselling memoir, Dinner with Edward as well as three other books. A native of Canada, Isabel covered South American drug cartels for the Globe and Mail and later reported on conflicts in Kosovo and the civil war in Angola. For many years, she has covered New York City for the Post and a host of other publications.

Meryl and her husband Stewart Ain, a veteran journalist and recent kidney recipient, chat with Martha Gershun about her book, Kidney to Share (2021), which she co-authored with John Lantos, MD. The book chronicles Martha’s experience as an altruistic kidney donor and provides a medical perspective about kidney transplants.

In 2018 Martha Gershun donated a kidney at the Mayo Clinic to a woman she read about in a Jewish newspaper. She then co-authored a book, Kidney to Share, published by Cornell University Press in 2021. She was later named Special Advisor to the Kidney Transplant Collaborative and serves on the regional board of the National Kidney Foundation.

Martha is a retired Executive Director of Jackson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and now provides executive coaching, board development, and strategy consulting services to non-profit clients. Martha lives in Fairway, Kansas with her husband Don Goldman, who is executive director and CEO of Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City.

Meryl chats with Elan Barnehama about his new novel, Escape Route, which takes place in the late 1960s during the War in Vietnam. It is a coming-of-age story seen through the eyes of the teenage son of Holocaust survivors.

Escape Route (published in May 2022) is Elan Barnehama’s second novel. It’s set in New York City during the tumultuous late 1960s and told by Zach, the first-generation son of Holocaust survivors. An avid NY Mets fan, Zach becomes obsessed with the Vietnam War and with finding an escape route for his family for when he believes the US will round up and incarcerate its Jews.

Elan’s writing has appeared on numerous sites, including the Jewish Writing Project, Rough Cut Press, Boston Accent, Jewish Fiction, HuffPost, the New York Journal of Books, and Public Radio. He earned an MFA from UMass, Amherst and a BA from Binghamton. Elan has taught college writing, worked with at-risk youth, had a gig as a radio news guy, and also worked as a short-order cook. He's from New York and says he is a Mets fan by default.

Meryl chats with Rose Ross and Ruth Rotkowitz about their post-Holocaust novels, which were influenced by their first-hand experiences as children of survivors. They talk about the influences on their lives and the responsibility they share to keep alive the story of the Holocaust and its impact.

Ruth Rotkowitz is the author of two novels, Escaping the Whale and the prequel, The Whale Surfaces. She has published fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in literary journals, and was a staff writer and member of the editorial board of the Woman’s Newspaper of Princeton for several years, where her feature articles garnered awards in journalism. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in English and has taught English on both the college and high school levels. She currently conducts book programs for the Phoenix Holocaust Association.

Rose Ross was the first child born in Neushadt, Germany in a Displaced Persons Camp (1946). “Growing up in the Bronx, the only child of Holocaust Survivors affected me deeply, filling up my mind and the very air I breathed.” says Ross. Their story and the stories of other survivors and the second generation children with whom she grew up were the motivation for LILA, her first novel, which she wrote at 73. Rose, a former actress, is also the author of TAR BEACH MEMORIES, a screenplay about growing up in the Bronx. Ross is currently working on a stage play exploring the relationship with her mother set in the safety of movie theaters over thirty years.

Meryl chats with Roni Robbins about her 2022 novel, Hands of Gold, which is loosely based on her paternal grandfather’s cassette tapes. Using literary license, she writes about how he survived TB, a workplace shooting and an accidental killing, and walked thousands of miles across several countries to flee anti-Semitism in pre-Nazi Europe.

Roni has worked for 35 years as a published writer. Currently an editor/writer for Medscape/WebMD and previously associate editor of the Atlanta Jewish Times/The Times of Israel, she has also been a staff reporter for Florida Today/USA Today and The Birmingham News, among others.  Her articles have appeared in The Huffington Post, Forbes, the New York Daily News, Hadassah Magazine and The Forward, to name a few. Her first novel Hands of Gold was published in February 2022. It is a work of fiction loosely based on an inspiring true story. Using literary license, she pulls from the original cassette tapes left by her maternal grandfather, who survived TB, a workplace shooting and an accidental killing, and walked thousands of miles across several countries to flee anti-Semitism in pre-Nazi Europe.

Roni grew up in Hauppauge, Long Island and moved to Asheville, North Carolina after she graduated from high school. She graduated from the University of South Carolina, where she majored in journalism. She and her husband, Ian, currently live in a suburb of Atlanta. They have two grown children.

Meryl chats with Brad Kolodny about his new book, The Jews of Long Island 1705-1918, which chronicles the roots of the Jewish experience on Long Island, why Jews decided to move to Nassau and Suffolk counties, and how they established their communities there. He also discusses plans to establish a Jewish museum on the island under the auspices of the Jewish Historical Society of L.I.

Brad Kolodny is the author of the award-winning book, Seeking Sanctuary: 125 Years of Synagogues on Long Island, which was published in 2019. It features more than 350 original photographs and archival images. Brad has photographed more than 600 synagogues in 13 countries over the last 30 plus years including every synagogue building from Great Neck to Montauk. His new book, The Jews of Long Island 1705-1918 published by SUNY Press, was released in March. Brad has worked for The New York Times since 1996, is president of the Jewish Historical Society of Long Island and an active member at Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York.

Meryl chats with Jacqueline Friedland about her new novel, He Gets That From Me (September 2021), which tells the story of a young woman who serves as a surrogate mother and subsequently discovers that she has unwittingly given away her own biological child. They also talk about Jacqueline’s two other award-winning novels, Trouble the Water and That’s Not a Thing, and how she tackles diverse genres.

Jacqueline is the multi-award-winning author of That's Not a Thing and Trouble the Water. Her new bestselling novel, He Gets That From Me, was published in September 2021. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Law School, she practiced law and later taught legal writing and lawyering skills while she began working on her first book in her spare time. After she decided to embrace her passion and pursue writing full time, Jacqueline returned to school to earn her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, graduating from the program in 2016. When not writing, Jacqueline is an avid reader of all things fiction. She loves to exercise, watch movies with her family, listen to music, make lists, and dream about exotic vacations. She lives in Westchester, New York with her husband, four children and two very bossy canines.

Meryl chats with Rabbi Dan Ornstein about his book, Cain v. Abel : A Jewish Courtroom Drama, and the timeless issues it raises about the world’s first murder. These include: sibling rivalry, dysfunctional families, the human family, misogyny, forgiveness – and the perennial question, Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Rabbi Ornstein is the rabbi of Congregation Ohav Shalom and a writer living with his family in Albany, New York, where he also teaches Judaic Studies at the Hebrew Academy of The Capital District.  Rabbi Ornstein is the author of Cain v. Abel: A Jewish Courtroom Drama (Jewish Publication Society 2020).  He blogs at the Times Of Israel, he writes monthly for WAMC Northeast Public Radio, and he has contributed essays to The Jewish Forward, the Jerusalem Post, and the Lehrhaus.  Rabbi Ornstein has also published essays and poetry at the Journal of Conservative Judaism, the CCAR Journal of Reform Judaism, the Jewish Literary Review, and the Pine Hills Review. He and his wife, Marian Alexander, are the proud parents of Joseph, Shulamit and Vered.

Social media and writing links:

Meryl chats with Sharon Gloger Friedman about historical fiction, her recently released novel, In Freedom’s Light, and her 2019 award-winning book, Ashes.Her second novel is set against the background of eighteenth and nineteenth century Charleston and Philadelphia. Her award-winning first novel chronicles one family’s escape from the horrors of a Russian pogrom to the tenements of New York City, and the events that link them to the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

Sharon was born and raised in South Florida and now lives in Georgia with her husband. A former English teacher who left the classroom to raise her daughter and son, she found a new career as a freelance writer and copy editor. Her articles and essays have appeared in The Boston Globe, Woman’s World Magazine, Yahoo News and Examiner.com.

Sharon’s debut novel, Ashes, chronicles one family’s escape from the horrors of a Russian pogrom to the tenements of New York City, and the events that link them to the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Ashes is the 2019 winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Historical Fiction, and the 2019 New Apple Summer E-Book Awards Solo Medalist winner for Historical Fiction. Her second novel, In Freedom’s Light, is set against the background of eighteenth and nineteenth century Charleston and Philadelphia. It explores historical events and their impact on the bonds of family and friends.

Meryl chats with Esther Amini about her 2020 memoir, Concealed, which chronicles her childhood and coming of age in a Persian-Jewish household in Queens, New York during the 1960s. As the American-born daughter of parents who had fled Mashdad, Iran, she shares how she was caught between these two cultures as she sought to carve her own path.

Esther Amini is a writer, painter, and psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice. Her debut memoir, Concealed, was named by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Books of 2020. In addition, both Katie Couric and Zibby Owens selected Concealed as one of their favorite books and showcased it last year at The Streicker Center in Manhattan. Esther’s short stories have appeared in Elle, Lilith, Tablet, The Jewish Week, Barnard Magazine, and numerous other publications. Her essays can also be found in Zibby Owens’ Anthology: “Moms Don’t Have Time To,” as well as in Zibby’s most recently published anthology: “Moms Don’t Have Time To Have Kids.”

She was named one of Aspen Words’ best emerging memoirists and awarded its Emerging Writer Fellowship in 2016 based on her memoir. Her pieces have been performed by Jewish Women’s Theatre and was chosen by as their Artist-in-Residence in 2019. ChaiFlicks, (Jewish Netflix), is presently streaming an excerpt from “CONCEALED” called AM-REE-KAH. Esther lives in New York City with her husband.

Meryl chats with Dan about his new book, By the Grace of the Game, which chronicles his family’s journey from the Holocaust to the NBA, the essential role of basketball in his family, and his own commitment to share the lessons of the Holocaust.

Dan Grunfeld is a former professional basketball player, an accomplished writer, and a proud graduate of Stanford University. An Academic All-American and All-Conference basketball selection at Stanford, Dan played professionally for eight seasons in top leagues around the world, including in Germany, Spain, and Israel. Dan’s writing has been published numerous times in media outlets such as Sports Illustrated, The Jerusalem Post, and NBC News. Dan is the author of the bestselling book By the Grace of the Game, which chronicles his family’s journey from the Holocaust to the NBA. Dan earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2017 and lives with his wife and family in the Bay Area.

Meryl chats with Rabbi Sandy Sasso about her mission of engaging the religious imagination of children through her books, and her career as one of the first women to become a rabbi in America.

Rabbi Sasso was the first woman ordained from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1974 and the first to serve a Conservative congregation together with her husband, Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso. They were the first practicing rabbinical couple in world Jewish history. Following 36 years of service to Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, Indianapolis, Indiana, she is now its Senior Rabbi Emerita. She is an internationally known award-winning children’s author who has published twenty-five children’s books and two adult books. Active in the arts, civic and interfaith communities, she has written on midrash, women, and spirituality.

Meryl chats with Thane about Holocaust literature, Holocaust writers, his own post-Holocaust fiction, and his new non-fiction book, Saving Free Speech…from Itself.

Thane Rosenbaum is a novelist, essayist, law professor and Distinguished University Professor at Touro College, where he directs the Forum on Life, Culture & Society. He has written numerous works of fiction and nonfiction and hundreds of essays in major national and global publications. He is the legal analyst for CBS News Radio and appears on cable TV news programs. His most recent book is entitled “Saving Free Speech . . . from Itself.”

Thane’s website and social media links:

Meryl chats with Julie Zuckerman about her novel-in-stories, The Book of Jeremiah, and what it’s like to be an English-speaking writer in Israel, where she founded the monthly author series Literary Modiin.

More about Julie Zuckerman

Julie Zuckerman‘s debut novel-in-stories, The Book of Jeremiah, was published in May 2019 and has been selected by dozens of synagogue, sisterhood, Hadassah and private book clubs for discussion. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in CRAFT, Jewish Women’s Archive, Tikkun, The Maine Review, Crab Orchard Review, and Sixfold, among other literary magazines. She is the founder of the Literary Modiin monthly author series, connecting readers and writers of Jewish books. She is a graduate of Barnard College and holds an MA from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. A native of Connecticut, she made aliyah in 1995, and lives in Israel with her husband and four children in Modiin.

Meryl chats with Michelle Cameron about her novel, Beyond The Ghetto Gates, which tells the little known story of how Napoleon liberated the Jewish Ghetto in Ancona, Italy.

Michelle Cameron is the award-winning author of works of historical fiction and poetry: including Beyond the Ghetto Gates (2020), The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz (2009), and In the Shadow of the Globe (2003). Beyond the Ghetto Gates won a Silver medal for Historical Fiction, The Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs); was First Place, Best in Category for the Chanticleer Goethe Awards; and was a finalist in the 2020 Foreword Indies.

Michelle lived in Israel for fifteen years (including three weeks in a bomb shelter during the Yom Kippur War) and served as an officer in the Israeli army teaching air force cadets technical English. She is a director of The Writers Circle, an NJ-based organization that offers creative writing programs to children, teens, and adults. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and has two grown children.

More about Michelle here: