Jesus and the Jews
Speakers: Susannah Heschel, Miri Rubin, David Cesarani Why is Jesus the source of fascination in modern Jewish thought? How has Christianity changed Jewish practice and how did Judaism shape the medieval imagination? We discovered the Jews who insisted on Jesus’ Jewish-ness, the movement to identify Jesus as an Aryan, and how an examination of the […]
Lives Remembered
Speakers: Miriam Frank, Rosemary Friedman Miriam Frank had to adjust to new countries and new languages before becoming a successful anaesthetist and respected translator. Prolific writer Rosemary Friedman gives us an insight into the world of books, theatre and television. Together they discuss what is remembered, revealed or kept silent in autobiographies.
Poetry: Ruth Fainlight
Speakers: Ruth Fainlight Each of Ruth Fainlight’s poems is a balancing act between thought and feeling, revealing otherness within the everyday. She read from her New and Collected Poems, covering work written over 50 years.
Arthur Miller Biography Part Two
Speakers: Christopher Bigsby Back by popular demand, Christopher Bigsby returned to JBW to talk to us about Arthur Miller from 1962 – the year of Marilyn’s death – to that of the playwright’s own in 2005. He shed new light on his complexities, his politics, his growing awareness of the impact of Holocaust and the […]
Jerusalem, the Biography
Speakers: Simon Sebag Montefiore Who better to have opened JBW than a captivating and charismatic storyteller on the most iconic city of the world, the capital of three faiths, the prize of many conquerors, the jewel of many empires, and the eye of the storm of today’s battle of civilisations: Jerusalem. Simon Sebag Montefiore’s epic […]
Nicole Krauss & Naomi Alderman
Nicole Krauss mesmerised readers, critics and judges of literary prizes alike with The History of Love. Her third novel, Great House, a 2010 National Book Award nominee, looks set to do the same. Her writing isn’t just appreciated – it is loved. Her books are about memory in the face of loss, the nature of […]
David Grossman in conversation with Lyse Doucet
Speakers: David Grossman,Lyse Doucet An event to celebrate the launch of To the End of the Land
Chez Elles
Speakers: Agnès Desarthe, Claudia Roden Agnès Desarthe, the award-winning author of Five Photos of My Wife and Chez Moi, spoke to Claudia Roden about her passions for writing and cooking and how they complement each other, about translating and being translated, about love, motherhood and the pursuit of happiness.
Writing to Change the World
Speakers: Michael Arditti, Nina Caplan, Amanda Craig, Moris Farhi Here were three writers not afraid to tackle serious issues: racism and homophobia, the right to die, the meaning of art, the absurdity of cycles of vengeance, faith and religion – and much more. Their novels are gripping, generous and thought provoking. They discussed the role […]
Celebrating Irène Némirovsky
Speakers: Olivier Philipponnat, Denise Epstein, Sandra Smith edmund De Waal, the ceramicist and acclaimed author of The Hare With The Amber Eyes turns a new page in his family’s story. He came to Jewish Book Week to present his grandmother’s novel, The Exiles Return. Elisabeth de Waal’s book follows four exiles as
Time Travelling in Polish Literature
Speakers: Henry Goodman, Beverley Klein, Lemez Lovaz From the urban decadence of Yiddish theatre to the timeless world of the shtetl, Henry Goodman and Beverley Klein will give voice to the prose, poetry and drama of a century of Jewish Poland interspersed with new musical arrangements from Lemez Lovaz. They take us into an irrecoverable […]
The Human Condition
Speakers: Amy Bloom, Lionel Shriver We are delighted to launch two great works of fiction: Amy Bloom’s Where the God of Love Hangs Out and So Much for That, by the author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver. The two American authors discuss love in and outside marriage, families tested by illness, […]