Jewish writers

June 6, 2018, 8:46 am

Author Ilana Kurshan wins $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature

Program recognizes promising emerging writers who articulate the Jewish experience

By JTA

Judy Blume in New York City in 2004. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images/via JTA)

May 24, 2018, 2:48 pm

10 writers not named Roth who capture female US Jewish experience

These women of words speak to today's generation, in which gender and culture are perceived very differently

By Emily Burack

Aaron Galligan-Stierle, Jim Stanek, Megan McGinnis, and Amie Bermowitz in 'Goldstein, the Musical.' (Jeremy Daniel)

April 25, 2018, 4:00 am

With bickering jokes, ‘Goldstein, the Musical’ sets Jewish family life to music

Running through the end of July, the hit play about three generations of a dysfunctional Jewish clan is a sometimes true, always poignant, airing of dirty laundry

By Danielle Ziri

Rebecca Miller filming her father. (Inge Morath/The Igne Morath Foundation/Magnum Photos/HBO/via JTA)

March 14, 2018, 6:12 pm

Arthur Miller’s daughter made an intimate HBO documentary about her father

Premiering March 19, Rebecca Miller's depiction of the hardened playwright's story fills the gaps between his public and private lives

By Curt Schleier

Canadian sports journalist Saul Fisher, known as Red Fisher, 14 December, 2009. (CC BY 2.0 US Embassy Canada/Wikipedia)

January 22, 2018, 3:46 am

Red Fisher, Canada’s foremost hockey writer, dies at 91

Prolific Jewish sports reporter covered the Montreal Canadiens for almost 70 years; he was honored with the Order of Canada shortly before his death

By JTA

Dara Horn's new novel, 'Eternal Life' is about a woman who can't die. (Michael B. Priest)

January 20, 2018, 10:39 pm

Blessing or curse? A matriarch grapples with immortality in new Dara Horn novel

Spanning from the fall of the Second Temple until today, 'Eternal Life' traces the exceptionally long life of Rachel, the archetypical Jewish mother

By Renee Ghert-Zand

October 27, 2017, 3:05 am

With thriller, Nathan Englander spies heartbreaking circle in Mideast conflict

An allegory for region's struggles, new novel 'Dinner at the Center of the Earth' reflects author's sadness at cycles of violence following collapse of 1990s peace process

By Renee Ghert-Zand

Abby Sher, author of 'All the Ways the World Can End.' (Courtesy/Franck Goldberg)

August 21, 2017, 3:00 am

A young adult novel gives cancer the comic treatment

Abby Sher has written soulful nonfiction and performed with Chicago's Second City. Now two worlds combine in a hilariously touching coming of age story

By Judy Batalion

From left: Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman and Nathan Englander. (Photo of Chabon courtesy; Waldman by Reenie Raschke; Englander by Juliana Sohn)

August 18, 2017, 3:51 am

Jewish authors join chorus of condemnation against Trump’s ‘moral equivalency’

Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman and Nathan Englander warn Jews as president fails to address alt-right's ramped-up anti-Semitic rhetoric

By Yaakov Schwartz

Steven Nadler, left, and Ben Nadler, the father-son duo who wrote 'Heretics! The Wondrous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy.' (Courtesy the Nadlers)

June 15, 2017, 5:34 am

With graphic book ‘Heretics!’ a father-son duo juxtapose sacrilege and critical thought

Written for those whose school days are a blur, this new illustrated history resonates in today's era of science skepticism

By Cathryn J. Prince

Idra Novey, author of 'Ways to Disappear.' (Donata Zanotti)

May 20, 2017, 3:21 am

The award-winning novel that appeared out of nowhere

Acclaimed translator Idra Novey's debut book 'Ways to Disappear' is a five-year secret project turned Sami Rohr Prize winner

By Cathryn J. Prince

April 30, 2017, 9:04 am

New, aptly titled novel ‘The Patriots’ is a story for our times

In a tumultuous political climate, Ukraine-born author Sana Krasikov's book focuses on Americans who immigrated to the Soviet Union, and their decision's fallout

By Cathryn J. Prince

Austrian writer Stefan Zweig (public domain)

November 29, 2016, 9:47 am

Letters show paternal side of literary giant Zweig

A trove of previously unseen correspondence highlights Austrian Jewish author's concern with the fate of Jews, admiration for Zionist visionary Herzl

By Jonah Mandel

Barbara Sukowa as Friderike Zweig and Josef Hader as Stefan Zweig in 'Stefan Zweig' (Dor Film)

November 14, 2016, 1:54 pm

Austria’s Oscar contender explores exile’s tragic effects on Jewish writer Stefan Zweig

Innovative historical feature film takes on new meaning for audiences watching through lens of contemporary political events

By Renee Ghert-Zand

An image from 'Curious George' (YouTube screenshot)

August 6, 2016, 12:00 pm

The Jewish refugees behind ‘Curious George’

H.A. and Margret Rey fled the Nazis on self-made bicycles, carrying manuscript for book on the now world-famous monkey

By Hillel Italie