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
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 […]
True Tales?
Speakers: John Canter, Rachel Holmes, Esther David, Irma Kirtz, Ed Kritzler For the first time, JBW commissioned new work; storytelling with a common theme. We entitled this evening ‘True Tales?’ and selected some of our favourite writers who presented works of either truth or fiction. The tales were themed ‘Imprints of Home and Exile’. Through […]
Democracy at Risk
Speakers: John Kampfner, Eric Kaufmann, Dominique Moïsi Our panel discusses the threats to democracy. In Freedom for Sale John Kampfner explores the widespread surrender of freedom for stability and wealth. Eric Kaufmann in Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? examines the implications of the rise of religious conservatism and fanaticism; and Dominique Moïsi, in the […]
36 Arguments for the Existence of God
Speakers: Rebecca Goldstein, Steven Pinker Rebecca Goldstein is glamorous, incredibly bright and has a great sense of humour. Together with her husband, Steven Pinker, his generation’s most influential cognitive theorist, they form ‘America’s brainiest couple’ according to Salon magazine. Here they discussed Goldstein’s hilarious new novel, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God. They explored […]
The Dove Flyer
Speakers: Eli Amir When his Uncle Hizkel is arrested, Kabi and his family face an uncertain future as do all Jews living in Baghdad. It is 1950 and each member of Kabi’s circle has a different dream: his mother wants to return to the Moslem quarter where she felt safer; his father wants to emigrate […]
The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law: Albie Sachs & Helena Kennedy
Speakers: Albie Sachs, Helena Kennedy Shortly after his retirement from South Africa’s Constitutional Court Albie Sachs joined Helena Kennedy to reflect on a life dedicated to human rights, justice and the fight against apartheid
What have we learnt (if anything) from the economic crisis?
Speakers: Oliver James, Adam Le Bor, Gillian Tett Have we learnt anything from the economic crisis that rocked the world only too recently? At the time of going to print, the UK was one of the few Western countries still not officially out of recession. Gillian Tett followed the crisis closely, Adam LeBor looked at […]
Voodoo Histories
Speakers: David Aaronovitch, Francis Wheen David Aaronovitch has always been fascinated by the absurdity of conspiracy theories, from allegations that the moon landings were fake, to the attribution of the 2004 tsunami to Israeli nuclear tests. We seem unable to accept that some events might just be accidental or that authorities may not be systematically […]
Judeities
Speakers: Hélène Cixous, Nicholas Royle Hélène Cixous, one of France’s foremost intellectuals, talks to writer and literary critic Nicholas Royle. They will consider “Judeities”, a word and notion in the plural, favoured by Jacques Derrida over the more conventional terms “Judaism” and “Jewishness”. Together, they will reflect on the multiple political and poetical stakes of […]
Bad Ideas? How our Finest Inventions May Finish Us Off
Speakers: Robert Winston Professor Winston, one of the world’s leading experts in human reproduction, takes a fresh look at man’s greatest discoveries and asks whether our dependence on science and technology has led us into a precarious situation? As well as tracing the history and fall-out of our very worst ideas, he also advocates the […]
Arthur Miller
Speakers: Christopher Bigsby Access to previously undisclosed papers proved a gold mine to captivating storyteller Christopher Bigsby. In his masterly biography, he relates how Miller survived the Great Depression, WW2, McCarthyism, marriage to Marilyn Monroe, and became the writer of such extraordinary plays and film scripts.