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

Shooting food

Guest blogger CRAIG CRANKO photographed the food for Pnina Jacobson and Judy Kempler's  One Egg is a Fortune - the cookbook full of heart.

The brief for One Egg is a Fortune was fairly open.  The challenge was to produce original images that were quirky and fresh, while at the same time reinforcing the concept of the book, which focused on interesting people sharing their lives and loves through food that they have cooked or loved.

We decided to use natural light instead of studio flash. This, of course, leaves the results a little to chance, as the light changes according to the weather and the time of day, but it also helps give a stronger sense of place.

The idea of found objects, authentic homemade food and a sense of the contributors’ stories was a great starting point to give each image it’s own personality. Judy and Pnina  raided their own cupboards as well as the cupboards and homes of friends. They came up with all sorts of knick-knacks with enthusiastic abandon. In the end we decided to let the food speak for itself, with just a touch of a prop here and there.

The wonderful stylist Michele Cranston and I spent hours playing around with objects, colours and textures. She found inspiring  things to include in the shots, like  the old piece of a Victorian pressed-tin ceiling that we used in the kichel shot. 

I thought the old pickling jar containing Granny Bee’s pickled vegetables added just the right mouth-watering touch to the image. 

I was particularly partial to the native violets on Mitzi’s chocolate cake. But then I think there’s not much in the world that can’t be fixed by chocolate.

Creating  images for a cookbook is teamwork. It’s rare that you get such a committed, and sympathetic team as what we had in our various sessions in the studio. Sometimes the light worked against us, other times the food didn’t perform as we expected. Ultimately, the shared vision, accompanied by lashings humour and playfulness helped us along, doing what we love. You can’t ask for more than that. 

The fact that One Egg is a Fortune has gone on to win international awards is, for me, just the cherry on the cake. 

Craig Cranko is a Sydney-based photographer. 

www.craigcranko.com

CHUTZPAH : THREE QUESTIONS THAT CAN ONLY BE ASKED OF A JEWISH AUTHOR

Pnina Jacobson & Judy Kempler

ONE EGG IS A FORTUNE

How does your writing reflect your Jewish identity?


In writing our book, One Egg Is A Fortune, we recalled the happy times from our own childhoods, and also more recently in bringing up our children. Many of these memories are associated with Friday night dinners and Jewish festivals, family and friends getting together and the sharing of meals, experiences and stories.  It is these celebrations that make us who we are as a people. Our writing reveals that food and stories are the very ingredients to our Jewish identity.

Has there been a seminal event in your Jewish life that has shaped the person you are today?


Judy: I find it difficult to pinpoint a single determining event in my Jewish life. I had a wonderful childhood and grew up with a strong connection to family, friends, learning and Jewish traditions – the annual ‘open-house’ breaking of the fast with cousins, and cousins of cousins, and friends of cousins, Friday night dinners and long family Sunday afternoon lunches and high teas– these were all sacred occasions and not to be missed.

When I moved to live in Singapore in the 1990s with my husband John and our three children, for the first time I understood what it was like to be in a minority. We were the only Jewish family in our school community, and the differences in our values and cultures became more noticeable to me.  This experience instilled a great sense of Jewish identity, and made me proud to share my heritage with new friends.  Returning home, it became more important that our children had a Jewish education, to learn to be respectful of others, to motivate involvement in our community and to love being Jewish.


The production of One Egg Is A Fortune has also been quite influential in shaping who I am today. The book’s genesis began over 11 years ago. At the time, I was a carer for my late mother-in-law and realised that so much more was needed to help our ageing community. Pnina and I decided that part of the proceeds from this book would support Jewish aged care. This goal in raising funds for the aged has truly deepened my connection to the community, and strengthened my ongoing personal commitment to give back. In addition to this, through our combined determination and sharing this project, Pnina and I have a formed an extraordinary friendship that will last a lifetime.  


Pnina:  I had a wonderful childhood growing up on a farm in Bethal, South Africa, 100km away from Johannesburg. My parents kept a kosher home and we celebrated all the Jewish festivals with family and friends.  Bethal had a thriving Jewish community with over 100 Jewish families which also included a rabbi, a beautiful synogogue and Jewish community hall. We attended cheder (Hebrew school) three times a week, and children’s services on Shabbat. There was also an active Women's Zionist Federation and many charitable events were held to raise funds for Israel. My parents sacrificed a lot for me and my siblings to attend a Jewish day school in Johannesburg. This upbringing has shaped my Jewish identity and I hope I have provided this same loving and supportive home for my own family here in Sydney.


Ma nishtanah? (aka why is your book different from any other book?)


On the inside cover of One Egg Is A Fortune we have a saying, “A wise man once said, ‘We came, we saw, we conquered - let’s eat!’” This captures the spirit of our book. So read, eat and enjoy! And when you’ve read one story, read another, and another. Heaven forbid you should go away hungry!A three-time award winner on the international stage, One Egg Is A Fortune is not just another cookbook. This recognition, combined with the ongoing positive press in online and print media, is evidence of its unique nature and appeal to a wide variety of readers and cookbook enthusiasts, both within and outside of the Jewish community.Our book is as much, if not more, about the people behind the recipes, rather than the recipes alone.  To be able to provide such insight into the families and traditions of 50 prominent Jewish individuals from around the world is indeed unique. We offer a smorgasbord of stories and cuisines from both men and women alike.

While each contributor tells a story, their anecdotes suggest that the enjoyment of food is the common thread that binds us together. No matter our location, profession or prestige, food and family relationships is an underlying universality of our Jewish heritage


The awards


Best in the World  2012 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, Australia-Pacific Fundraising, Charity and Community
Silver Award for cookbooks,  2012 IPPY
Winner  2012 The National Indie Excellence Awards, Cookbooks


Pnina Jacobson and Judy Kempler will be talking Jews and food at the Sydney Jewish Writers' Festival on Sunday 26 August, from 6.15pm - 7.15pm.
Craig Cranko, the photographer for One Egg is a Fortune, will be our next guest blogger.