Books are just the beginning ...

We are very excited to re-launch the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival blog. We have been busy preparing a great program for 2014 and now it’s live!

Books are just the beginning at this year’s SJWF which takes place from 21-24 August and features film, theatre, television, ideas and much more. As many of our fans already know, the Festival is a chance to get up close and personal with talent from overseas and around Australia, engage with big ideas and issues, and add to your personal bookshelf.

This year’s Festival combines writers from multiple genres and types with a film producer, television critic, analysts and actors. They will be speaking about Israel, homosexuality, architecture, Holocaust memorialisation, Jewish cooking, spirituality, publishing tips and much more over three days of varied programming.

Comedian & author John Safran

The SJWF kicks off on Thursday 21 August with John Safran’s one-man live show, ‘Murder in Mississippi’, at 8.00pm at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre. Safran tells the true story of how he met a white supremacist, befriended his black killer and wrote a book. His show will include excerpts from his bestselling book of the same name and share tales of his unique escapades in the Deep South. We are very excited to be co-presenting the show with Network.

The festival continues on Saturday 23 August with a fascinating and provocative evening which will delve into different aspects of Israel.  ‘Secrets and Lies’ features Dr Yoaz Hendel, an expert on Israel-Iran relations, and Rafael Epstein, the author of Prisoner X about Australian Ben Zygier who died in an Israeli prison. This will be followed by one-woman show, ‘Four Faces of Israel’, by Israeli performer Helen Gottstein. Both entertaining and confronting, the four characters share their views on the nature of the state, Middle East history, modern Jewish identity and the complex challenges Israel faces.  (Warning: remember it’s just a show!) Some of the material is quite confronting but sit tight because the show is very thought-provoking and funny.

The program on Sunday 24 August is packed with a range of stimulating sessions including The New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum, Oscar-winning film producer Emile Sherman, best-selling author Alan Gold and prominent journalist David Leser.

The Monday Morning Cooking Club

Aspiring writers should be sure not to miss, ‘Getting published is really hard, but…’ This session will take a realistic look at the hurdles to becoming a published author and will include debut Melbourne author Eli Glasman, veteran writer Joanne Fedler who has just completed her eighth book, and Lisa Goldberg from the Monday Morning Cooking Club.

The Monday Morning Cooking Club will also be wrapping up the SJWF with a session not to be missed from 7.00–8.00pm on Sunday called ‘Taste the stories (literally)’. They will talk about the inspirational stories and recipes behind their second cookbook, The Feast Goes On, while the audience samples some of their favourite creations.

It’s going to be a fantastic Festival and we can’t wait! Until then, stay tuned to this blog because we’ll be featuring posts by some of our featured authors, which will be sure to intrigue and entice you to attend their sessions on the day!

Full program details and ticket information are available at www.sjwf.org.au or call 9381 4160. Join us on Facebook and Twitter @SJWFestival #SJWF2014