Book of the Week 22 May 2025
Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai By Matti Friedman When the poet and singer Leonard Cohen announced that he was abandoning his music career, a transformational event was to turn that around. In October 1973, Cohen decided to give a concert tour at the front lines of the Yom Kippur War. With nothing […]
Book of the Week 14 May 2025
Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonathan Drori Jonathan Drori’s number one bestseller is the perfect companion for nature enthusiasts. From the trees of Britain and the redwood forests of California, to India’s sacred banyan tree, Jonathan shows us the emotional, spiritual, inspirational, healing, and nutritious power of trees. Why do we love it? […]
Book of the Week 7 May 2025
Hanns and Rudolf by Thomas Harding A story that delves into the astonishing capture of the Kommandant of Auschwitz Rudolf Höss by his great uncle Lieutenant Hanns Alexander. Shifting between the Middle-Eastern campaigns of WWI to Berlin in the 1920s, the terror of the concentration camps and the trials in Belsen and Nuremberg, this is […]
Thomas Harding announced as first mentor for 25-26 Emerging Writers
First 2025-2026 Emerging Writers Mentor Announced The best-selling and award winning historian and author Thomas Harding has been announced as the first mentor for the newly opened 2025-2026 Genesis JLF Emerging Writers Programme. Thomas has written for the Sunday Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian, among other publications. In 2024, he was elected as a visiting fellow of Jesus […]
Book of the Week 30 April 2025
A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman This short novel unfolds over a single night at a dingy comedy club in Netanya, as a comedian’s final performance veers into something raw and unsettling. In the dance between comic and audience, the life of the stand-up comic begins to take shape, full of guilt, […]
JLF Player Now Live
JLF Player: The home of Jewish ideas We’re proud to announce the arrival of the JLF Player: the home of Jewish ideas. The newly-designed video player features +1000 talks, debates and performances from previous festivals and Jewish Literary Foundation events, including star turns from Simon Schama, David Grossman, Judith Kerr, Howard Jacobson and Judy Blume. It […]
Kalman & Leopold: Surviving Mengele’s Auschwitz
Free online event – 23 April at 5pm BST For decades, Richard Lowy’s father, Leopold, remained silent. A survivor of Auschwitz and Josef Mengele’s inhumane experiments, his story is one of loss, resilience, and an extraordinary reunion. After 56 years, he and Kalman—another child survivor—found each other again. But they were more than long-lost friends. […]
Book of the Week 26 March 2025
Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin Part novel, part memoir, part travelogue, this rediscovered cult classic imagines the ill-fated summer spent by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife at Baden for their honeymoon, the famous German spa town. Written by Soviet Jewish writer Leonid Tsypkin, this is a book that invents its own genre, described as a […]
That’s a wrap!
What an incredible ending to our 74th edition of JBW. With stellar speakers, engaged and thoughtful audiences, a wonderful sense of community and memorable conversations, that is what the festival is all about. A big thanks to everyone for making it such a special nine days. We hope you enjoyed the festival as much as […]
Stagetext at Jewish Book Week 2025
Live Captions at Jewish Book Week 2025 18 million adults in the UK are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. This means 1 in 3 of us can benefit from subtitles and captions to experience the joy of live theatre, to sing along with our favourite musicals, to take guided tours around museums, or to see our […]
Our most accessible festival ever
Jewish Book Week 2025 features the highest number of free-to-access events ever, with every online event free to watch and a treasure-trove of fringe talks at Kings Place. From free film screenings to a workshop on how to get published, our Kings Place fringe events are free to book for all audience members. You can […]
Friday Tours and Talks
On Friday 7 March join us for tours of London cultural highlights with leading experts. 11am Art Tour: Ori Gersht studio visit + Studio Voltaire Led by Sabine Casparie Location: Walking Tour: meet at Clapham Common Station Join us on this art tour led by art historian Sabine Casparie and explore how two artists use […]