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in a city that loves to read them

Upcoming Events


Global Conversations: Samuel Kassow & David Slucki Discuss ‘The Rudashevski Diary’

The upcoming issue of The Jewish Quarterly presents the diary of Yitskhok Rudashevski, a Jewish teenager in the Vilna Ghetto. An only child, Rudashevski was transferred to the ghetto at age 13 and used a small notebook to chronicle his experiences, wonder, hopes and regrets. The diary was later discovered in an attic which was the final hiding place for him and his parents. On Tuesday 12 November, join Samuel Kassow in conversation with David Slucki as they discuss Yitskhok Rudashevski's remarkable diary, filled with the observations of a teenager whose belief in culture, history and knowledge defied the cruelty that surrounded him.

Tuesday November 12, 2024
7.30pm—9.00pm
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Mark Raphael Baker: His Literary and Intellectual Legacy

Sunday August 18, 2024

Mark Raphael Baker was a Holocaust scholar, an inspiring teacher and the critically acclaimed author of The Fiftieth Gate and Thirty Days. He was also a much-loved member of the Melbourne and Sydney Jewish Communities. In this session, panellists who knew Mark well, will speak on aspects of his life and work and Michelle Lesh…

Unforgotten: The Shoah and ancestors lost

Sunday August 18, 2024

Australia has had the largest influx of Holocaust survivors post war outside of Israel. Those survivors are now few in number leaving second and third generations to piece together their family’s stories. Rachelle Unreich has captured her mother’s story in A Brilliant Life. Tess Schofield -Peters’s book, Dear Mutzi tells of her grandfather’s experience fleeing…

On Being Jewish

Sunday August 18, 2024

Michael Gawenda’s arresting memoir, My Life as a Jew, preceded October 7 yet eerily prophesied the difficult questions that confront Jews today, in terms of identity, place and time. Hear Gawenda as he cuts to the core of what it is to be a Jew, then and now, in a heartfelt, honest conversation with former…

Don’t Look Away: New contemporary fiction 

Sunday August 18, 2024

Unflinching, raw, honest. Hear from three of the hottest new voices on the contemporary literature scene, Nadine J. Cohen, Elise Esther Hearst and Jonathan Seidler, in conversation with Elissa Goldstein. They will be discussing their latest novels, books which don’t shy away from the beauty and the heartache of the human condition.

Modern Family: The ties that bind

Sunday August 18, 2024

Three authors, three very different books. But one common thread: families in the 21st century. From parenting together and apart, to how the concept of “family” has changed, to what happens when pregnancy doesn’t end with a baby, this session -featuring Katia Ariel, Isabelle Oderberg, Marina Kamenev, and Roz Bellamy as moderator – delves into…

Yiddish Hauntings in New Fiction and Film

Sunday August 18, 2024

Join Tali Lavi in conversation with Eleanor Reissa, Dr. Leah Kaminsky and Professor Rebecca Margolis as they speak of the power of Yiddish in representing the Ashkenazi Jewish experience in new fiction, television and film. What happens when today’s artists employ Yiddish in their work? This session will draw upon the mysterious and the uncanny in reimagining Jewish pasts….

Shaping Identity, Writing the Soul: Memoir

Sunday August 18, 2024

How does our sense of self form, and how much of our identity is shaped by our genes, by the imprint of our forebears and by our own life experience? In this session, Debbie Lee speaks with Hilton Koppe, Sandra Goldbloom Zurbo and Michelle Scheibner, three authors who follow different paths but find common ground in the…

When Fact Becomes Fiction: Bringing history to life

Sunday August 18, 2024

The scale of history can be overwhelming. Fiction allows us to focus on the individual. Our panel of Australian Jewish authors has recently published four acclaimed novels all with Jewish protagonists. A life in middle-class Vienna upended by the Great War; a woman leading an extraordinary spy ring in Palestine; a self-effacing Japanese diplomat saving…

Revelations: Poetry as Performance

Sunday August 18, 2024

Poetry lends itself to being lifted off pages and into the air. When asked to read their own work poets might consider how and why some verses wield performative power in terms of theme, rhythm and sounds. Some resonate and echo — travel through space with striking clarity or confounding chaos. Join Alex Skovron, Louise…

Arnold Zable: A life in words

Sunday August 18, 2024

Few Australian authors are as greatly loved or widely revered as Arnold Zable. Recently recognised with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, he continues to chart new territory on the map of our national consciousness. Join Arnold in conversation with Bram Presser as they discuss his storied life at the forefront of…

A View From the Couch: Lifting the lid on mental health

Sunday August 18, 2024

When Hilton Koppe was diagnosed with PTSD, the much-loved country doctor had no choice but to retire from general practice. In this session Hilton chats with courageous authors, Roz Bellamy and Jonathan Seidler about their own personal and familial experience with mental health, as well as with social worker, Romi Grossberg whose work with street…

For the Love of Bubba

Sunday August 18, 2024

Oma, bubba, nanna, gran – whatever we know them by, our grand and great grandmothers leave an indelible mark. Yet their matriarchal reach and rich histories are often untold or defined by stereotype, undermining the complexity and vibrancy of their lives. In this panel, three writers re-imagine their grandmothers’ lives across genre, from poetry to…

The Ultimate Betrayal: When children are prey

Sunday August 18, 2024

Since time immemorial, people in power have sought to take advantage of their innocent subjects. This is no more prevalent than within religious institutions, where the semblance of piety, coupled with the naivety of the young and faithful, provides a perfect cloak and cover for child sexual abuse. Michael Visontay discusses the ultimate betrayal with…

In conversation with Hila Blum: On Love and Literature

Sunday August 18, 2024

Israeli novelist Hila Blum will speak to Tali Lavi about love and literature. Delving into How to Love Your Daughter, a masterful story of intense psychological suspense which dissects a fractured relationship between a mother and daughter, they will further explore the profound relationship between readers and literature and the ways upon which stories might…

Journalism and its Discontents

Sunday August 18, 2024

In The Constitution of Knowledge Jonathan Rauch argues that the key institutions of liberal democracies – academia, law, government and journalism – all build knowledge through gathering evidence and testing it against different viewpoints. But journalism appears to have lost its way. So what has gone wrong, how did we get to this moment and…

In conversation with Marina Benjamin: Secret Messengers – housework, sleepless nights and midlife crises

Sunday August 18, 2024

What do these experiences all have in common? They are times when uninvited introspection and reflection rise from the shadows to unsettle us. These are the deep waters in which British author and journalist Marina Benjamin bathes. Senior editor at Aeon, a digital magazine of ideas and culture, her insightful and lyrical writing deftly explores…

JQ live – Whitewash: The Jews and Poland

Sunday August 18, 2024

Jan Grabowski, world-renowned Holocaust historian, discusses his ground-breaking essay ‘Whitewash’ with Jewish Quarterly Editor, Jonathan Pearlman. Grabowski examines how museums, schools and state institutions have downplayed and denied the role of Poles in the destruction of the country’s Jews. He recounts how his work led to him becoming the victim of a notorious lawsuit, and…

Laugh a Little: An exposé on resilience

Sunday August 18, 2024

All of us go through good times and bad and develop coping mechanisms through life’s experience. But how much of our resilience is in-built and how much can be learnt with positive behavioural techniques, self-care and mindfulness? Hear from the experts about the power of laughter, the importance of alone time, and the ability to…

Melbourne Jewish Book Week Opening Night Gala: Of Ghosts and Golems

Saturday August 17, 2024

Step into an evening of grand theatricality as our writers and performers dazzle us with mystical tales, dipping their toes in the dark landscapes of ghosts and golems. Prepare to be enchanted, entertained, and transported across the shtetls and oceans of your dreams, all the way from Prague to Ripponlea. Hosted and curated by award-…

Hadley Freeman & Irris Makler discuss ‘Blindness: October 7 and the Left’

Thursday June 20, 2024

In her Jewish Quarterly essay ‘Blindness’, Hadley Freeman addresses a most perplexing phenomenon that has arisen out of the Gaza war, rearing its head immediately after October 7: the exponential rise in antisemitism on a world stage. This has been all the more shocking as it has been most evidently propagated within the political left, taking many by surprise.

In this Global Conversation, join Hadley in conversation with foreign correspondent Irris Makler for an examination of the equivocations, contortions and hypocrisy displayed by elements of the left across the political, media, arts and higher education sectors.

Julian Borger in conversation with Rachelle Unreich

Tuesday May 21, 2024

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and World Affairs Editor at The Guardian, Julian Borger in conversation with Rachelle Unreich, author of ‘A Brilliant Life’. They will be discussing Julian’s breakthrough, investigative memoir, ‘I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust’.

Writing Lives: Katia Ariel on ‘The Swift Dark Tide’

Saturday May 4, 2024

Katia Ariel discusses her 2024 Stella shortlisted sensation, ‘The Swift Dark Tide’, in conversation with playwright and theatre producer, Jessica Bellamy. Ariel’s memoir deftly flows between journal entry and reminiscences of a childhood in Odessa, emigration to Australia, a happy family life, and the urgency and turmoil of a same-sex love affair. The depth and honesty of this ‘Writing Lives’ is both disarming and profound.

Writing Lives: Anne Sebba on Ethel Rosenberg

Wednesday March 20, 2024

We are delighted to present our next Writing Lives conversation with esteemed British biographer, Anne Sebba, discussing her remarkable book: ‘Ethel Rosenberg: The Short Life and Great Betrayal of an American Wife and Mother’. How did an otherwise non-descript, first generation Russian Jewish émigré, and mother of two young boys, become the first American woman executed on spurious charges, for a crime other than murder?

Anne Sebba is a biographer, journalist and former Reuters foreign correspondent. She has written many books including the best-selling ‘Mother Teresa: Beyond the Image’, ‘Laura Ashley, A Life by Design’ and ‘That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor’. She lives in London.

Global Conversations: Richard Cooke & Deborah Stone Discuss ‘Dark Star: Elon Musk’s Dangerous Turn’

Thursday February 15, 2024

Richard Cooke will speak with Deborah Stone on the roots of the turning in Elon Musk’s rise to power, and what his evolution reveals about a wider shift in the politics of Silicon Valley and beyond.

Global Conversations: Ben Judah & Tali Lavi Discuss ‘Ivrit: The Language That Makes a People’

Thursday August 24, 2023

When award-winning writer, Ben Judah, embarked on a pandemic-fuelled mission to learn Hebrew, he did not anticipate the immensely personal internal shift that would occur in him. Judah will speak with critic and writer Tali Lavi about his experience of longing for and learning the language, and of his belief in Hebrew as the missing connection between Israel and the Diaspora.

Writing Lives: Ruth Weiss & Michael Cohen

Thursday June 29, 2023

Ninety-eight-year-old German born Ruth Weiss is an international treasure. A celebrated anti-apartheid journalist and activist, she was exiled from South Africa and for many years lived in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). This year, Ruth addressed the Bundestag in Westphalia Germany on World Holocaust Day and returned to South Africa to receive the most important award that country bestows upon foreign dignitaries: the “Order of the Companions of OR Tambo”. Interviewed by Dr Michael Cohen, Ruth speaks of her experiences of Jewish activism, exile, and why her work continues to have relevance today.

Global Conversations: Javier Sinay in Conversation with Elissa Goldstein

Tuesday May 30, 2023

The 1994 ‘AMIA Bombing’ was an attack on Argentina’s Jewish centre in which 85 people were killed. Join writer, editor and digital producer, Elissa Goldstein in conversation with award-winning author and journalist, Javier Sinay to discuss his remarkable essay in the May issue of the Jewish Quarterly. The essay examines the ongoing political intrigue surrounding this catastrophic crime and the reasons it remains unsolved.

Rami and Bassam’s Peacebuilding Tour: An MJBW and KDS Event

Wednesday May 24, 2023

Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin are from ‘enemy’ sides but are self-proclaimed ‘brothers’.

Join them on their path of
dialogue and reconciliation.

Shalom Auslander: American Jewish Humour with a Modern Twist

Thursday March 2, 2023

In this live event filmed at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, acclaimed American author Shalom Auslander digs deep in conversation with David Slucki, revealing how his upbringing in an ultra-orthodox community has helped shape him and his view of the world. Shalom uses humour to not just defuse but illuminate the trauma. Please note, the discussion contains expletives.

Global Conversations: Devorah Baum in conversation with Andrew Dean  

Thursday February 23, 2023

Dr Andrew Dean (Deakin University) will interview Devorah on her latest essay, ‘The Myth of the Jewish Literary Mafia’ featured in the Jewish Quarterly. Devorah Baum is Associate Professor in English Literature at the University of Southampton. Her books include Feeling Jewish: a book for just about anyone (Yale University Press), The Jewish Joke (Profile)…

Book Chat: Lee Kofman on ‘The Writer Laid Bare’

Friday February 10, 2023

In this wide-ranging Book Chat, author Lee Kofman discusses the inspiration behind The Writer Laid Bare — a work that is both reflective memoir and practical guide aimed at writers and deep readers. She shares her love of Chekhov, Ferrante and Knausgård, and her theory of writers as ‘builders or renovators’.

Global Conversations: Professor Steven Nadler in conversation with Dr. Rachael Kohn

Thursday December 8, 2022

Presented in partnership with The Jewish Quarterly, the latest entry in our series of Global Conversations is only a few weeks away. Professor Steven Nadler, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has spent a great deal of his professional life researching and writing about Spinoza’s life, philosophy and relationship with his faith. In the current issue…

Book Chat: Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus on ‘Fancy Meeting You Here’

Monday October 10, 2022

Ali and Michelle have been best friends for life. As ten year olds, they could be found ditching play time for writing club. Now, they write books together. ‘Fancy Meeting You Here’ is their latest novel — a charming and unconventional love story about trying to rewrite history. In this Book Chat, Ali and Michelle…

Jewish Quarterly: Sarah Stein in conversation with David Slucki

Tuesday August 16, 2022

In conversation with David Slucki, Sarah Abrevaya Stein discusses her ground-breaking book, ‘Wartime North Africa: A Documentary History, 1934–1950’ (with Aomar Boum).

Book Chat: June Factor on ‘Soldiers and Aliens’

Tuesday August 16, 2022

In this Book Chat, June discusses the ‘Employment Companies’, a uniquely multicultural force in the Army long before the term ‘multicultural’ was coined.

Keynote Conversation: David Grossman

Tuesday May 31, 2022

In a Melbourne first, one of the most respected writers of our times, David Grossman, will speak to Tali Lavi in an intimate conversation about love, vulnerability and home, encompassing his recent novel More Than I Love My Life, and his life’s work. David Grossman is an international guest and will be appearing via live…

Cultural Tensions in Australia

Sunday May 29, 2022

How tolerant are the various Jewish communities when faced with stories and articles that question or provide external insights into their ways of life? What have been the experiences of novelists who have provided narratives that question accepted norms, or of journalists whose articles have caused controversy and dissent? Bram Presser (moderator), Lisa Emanuel, Ashley…

Yiddish in Performance

Sunday May 29, 2022

Yiddish performance, whether in theatrical, spoken or music form, is alive and well in Melbourne. Our panel of practitioners and researchers discuss what such performances tell us about ourselves, our past and our identity. Nicola Mensa Hearn (moderator), Galit Klas, Rebecca Margolis, Simon Starr

Telling Authentic Stories Through Food

Sunday May 29, 2022

Alice Zaslavsky, the friendliest voice in Australian food, leads the discussion with this team of highly respected culinary figures. How do we write about food? Who gets to write about food? What is it like being a caretaker of a cuisine? Alice Zaslavsky (moderator), Dani Valent, Joanna Hu, Tony Tan

Lost Gems Uncovered

Sunday May 29, 2022

Our panel of keen writers and readers review and discuss some of the less well-known books by Jewish authors, or on Jewish themes, which have given them great pleasure over the years. Expect a lively discussion of some unearthed and rare titles. Bram Presser (moderator), Andrea Goldsmith, Lee Kofman, Veronica Sullivan

Not a Pity Party: On Grief, Trauma, Storytelling and Surrender

Sunday May 29, 2022

Natasha Sholl’s recently published memoir Found, Wanting, tells the story of Natasha’s attempt to rebuild her life in the wake of her partner’s sudden death, stumbling through the grief landscape and colliding with the cultural assumptions about the ‘right way’ to grieve. Natasha will be in conversation with Dalit Kaplan, who has had a few…

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch: A Conversation With Novelist Rivka Galchen

Sunday May 29, 2022

Join Elissa Goldstein as she chats with Canadian-American novelist, essayist and New Yorker contributor Rivka Galchen. Her range as a writer is vast and brilliant, encompassing everything from wry, psychological literary fiction to ruminations on motherhood, to reporting from the COVID frontlines in a New York City hospital. Galchen’s most recent novel, Everyone Knows Your…

The Passenger: Unearthing a Dunera Boy’s Story

Sunday May 29, 2022

Two recent books have offered new insights into the remarkable exploits and achievements of the ‘Dunera Boys’.  Leah Garrett’s X Troop recounts the story of a secret commando group made up of Jewish refugees in Australia and elsewhere, who returned to Europe to liberate concentration camps. The Passenger, a lost novel by Ulrich Boschwitz, a…

Opening Night Gala: In Our Nature

Saturday May 28, 2022

Join us as Melbourne Jewish Book Week presents In Our Nature – an opening night of original storytelling featuring writers, musicians and  performers live on stage at Melbourne’s Memo Hall.  Travel to landscapes near and far, real and imagined, thriving and disappearing. Meet creatures of flight, fur, and fancy from places urban and  remote, vast…

Book Chat: Margaret Taft on ‘Leo and Mina Fink: For the Common Good’

Tuesday April 19, 2022

Leo and Mina Fink’s contribution to Australian Jewry is well known but this book is the first that concentrates on their shared contribution, rather than individual efforts.

Book Chat: Nina Bassat on ‘Take the Child and Disappear’

Tuesday April 19, 2022

In this Book Chat, Nina Bassat not only explores her family’s experiences before, during and after the Shoah, and contemplates how being a child survivor has shaped her life, she also discusses the process of writing a memoir, and how it draws in other family members.

The Other Side of the Story: Rachael Kohn in conversation with Rabbi Fred Morgan

Tuesday March 15, 2022

The Other Side of the Story: Essays on Jews, Christians, Cults, Women, Atheists and Artists, reveals the breadth and depth of Dr Rachael Kohn’s scholarship which led to and informed her creation, production and presentation of more than 1700 programs on religion for the ABC. Rachael Kohn will be in conversation with Rabbi Fred Morgan,…

Global Conversations: Eva Hoffman in conversation with Alex Skovron

Thursday February 24, 2022

MJBW and JQ present the latest in our series of Global Conversations. Join internationally acclaimed author and academic Eva Hoffman and Melbourne poet, writer and book editor Alex Skovron. Eva has written an important new essay for Jewish Quarterly about the remarkable but almost forgotten Polish Jewish poet Zuzanna Ginczanka (Gincburg), who was murdered by the…

MJBW 2021 Summer Reading Guide — featuring Elissa Goldstein, Bram Presser and Tali Lavi

Tuesday December 7, 2021

What happened around this time last year when three Jewish literary tragics entered a room to talk books? Melbourne Jewish Book Week’s bookish version of Margaret and David was a roaring success. Who knew an evening of book recommendations could be so entertaining? Expect even more this year as our passionate book aficionados – Tali, Bram and Elissa –  preview some of the biggest forthcoming books, discuss their recent reads and tell…

Global Conversations: Reading the World Through Writing

Thursday November 4, 2021

Originally from New York, Lauren Elkin lived in Paris for over twenty years and now lives in London. Her most recent book No. 91/92: A Parisian Bus Diary reflects on an earlier Paris. In this conversation with critic, writer and programmer for MJBW, Tali Lavi, Lauren will talk about reading the world through writing, and her recent contribution to The Jewish Quarterly, an exploration of…

Book Chat: Danielle Celermajer on ‘Summertime’

Tuesday October 12, 2021

Professor Danielle Celermajer is a philosopher, and Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sydney. Her books include Sins of the Nation and the Ritual of Apology and The Prevention of Torture: An Ecological Approach. While her professional and academic background have focused on human rights, she has recently shifted her thinking and activism towards environmental, animal…

Book Chat: Anna Cidor on ‘The Boy Who Stepped Through Time’

Tuesday October 12, 2021

In her book chat, Anna discusses The Boy Who Stepped Through Time, her time-slip adventure about a boy transported back 1700 years to Roman times. She explores the complexity — and tremendous fun! — of weaving plot, character development and historical fact into her work.SHOW LESS

Book Chat: Lisa Emanuel on ‘The Covered Wife’

Tuesday October 12, 2021

In her book chat, Lisa discusses The Covered Wife, a fictional examination of the choice made by a young woman choosing to shift from secularism to living by the Torah — and a parallel exploration of why a group of believers might shift from openness to insularity.

Book Chat: Leah Kaminsky and Meg Keneally on ‘Animals Make Us Human’

Tuesday October 12, 2021

In their book chat, Leah and Meg discuss what inspired them to undertake the creation of Animals Make Us Human, a book about the connections of humans with animals in the natural world — and the process of selecting and working with the incredible authors that contributed to the anthology.

Book Chat: Leon Piterman on ‘Living in COVID Times’

Tuesday October 12, 2021

In his book chat, Leon discusses Living in COVID Times, an exploration of Australia’s COVID-19 experience through a variety of lenses — from the political and economic components of the pandemic, to its effects on our shared social and religious practices — and explores what he considers might be involved in the final shift toward ‘Covid normal’.

Book Chat: Michelle Wright on ‘Small Acts of Defiance’

Tuesday October 12, 2021

In her book chat, Michelle discusses Small Acts of Defiance, the story of a young woman who leaves Australia for France in 1940, immediately prior to the Occupation. Michelle explores why she was personally drawn to telling this story, and how themes of family and loyalty — on both a personal and larger level — formed the basis for the work.

Lily Brett in conversation with Michaela Kalowski

Tuesday September 14, 2021

In this conversation, Lily Brett talks with Michaela Kalowski about ‘Old Seems to be Other People’ — and reflects on the need to move, to live and to have fun while you still can.

Book Chat: Joe Reich on ‘Ein Stein: A Novel’

Saturday August 7, 2021

In his book chat, Joe discusses the process of melding fact and fiction in creating the protagonist of his latest work, and how his career as an ophthalmologist led him to the story of Ernst Leitz II — creator of the Leica, and the “photography industry’s Schindler”.

Book Chat: Gabby Leibovich on ‘Catch of the Decade’

Saturday August 7, 2021

In his book chat, Gabby discusses the importance of building a strong workplace culture, hiring ‘intrapreneurs’, and explores the role of trust in business and family life.

Book Chat: Rick Held on ‘Night Lessons in Little Jerusalem’

Saturday August 7, 2021

In his chat, Rick explores the difficult decision to fictionalise his father’s extraordinary story, and takes us on a journey through the Romanian (now Ukranian) city of Czernowitz — his father’s hometown and the setting of Night Lessons in Little Jerusalem.

Book Chat: Joanne Fedler on ‘Unbecoming’

Saturday August 7, 2021

In her book chat, Joanne explores what motivates her to write about motherhood, and how one’s identity as a mother is challenged as children grow and no longer want or need to be ‘mothered’ — and explains why she celebrates mid-life and menopause as a freeing relief.

Book Chat: Ashley Browne on ‘A Season Like No Other: AFL 2020’

Saturday August 7, 2021

In his book chat, Ashley discusses the AFL’s restricted 2020 pandemic season, the unique challenges faced by an author writing about recent events — and muses about the lasting legacy the events of 2020 may have on the future of Australian rules.

Book Chat: Sue Silberberg on ‘A Networked Community’

Saturday August 7, 2021

In her book chat, Sue Silberberg explores the cultural diversity that made up colonial Melbourne. Sue gives a new slant to Melbourne’s development and connects Melbourne Jewry into wider historical themes and experiences such as space and place, urbanisation, imperial networks and diaspora.

Global Conversations: The Art of Translation in the State of Israel Today

Tuesday August 3, 2021

Presented in partnership with The Jewish Quarterly. Featuring award-winning Israeli author and journalist Nir Baram and Man Booker International prize-winning translator Jessica Cohen in conversation with The Jewish Quarterly editor Jonathan Pearlman, ‘The Art of Translation in the State of Israel Today’ will provide insights into Baram’s piece in the forthcoming issue of JQ, life…

MJBW Winter Book Club: ‘The Believer’ by Sarah Krasnostein

Tuesday July 13, 2021

Sarah Krasnostein — multi-award winning author of The Trauma Cleaner — will be interviewed by journalist Meredith Lake about Sarah’s latest publication, The Believer, and her explorations into the fascinating and labyrinthine realm of belief.

Book Chat: Ayelet Tsabari on ‘The Art of Leaving’

Wednesday June 16, 2021

In her book chat, Ayelet discusses her experience growing up as a Yemini Jew in Israel, and the conflict between longing for freedom and a sense of home.

Book Chat: Benjamin Balint on ‘Kafka’s Last Trial’

Wednesday June 16, 2021

In his book chat, Benjamin discusses Kafka’s literary afterlife — in particular, how the author’s legacy has become inextricably bound in the stories Germany and Israel tell about themselves.

Book Chat: Ilana Kurshan on ‘If All the Seas Were Ink’

Wednesday June 16, 2021

In her book chat, Ilana discusses her experience of learning the Talmud — leading to the very different and new reading she presents in her work.

Book Chat: Nir Baram on ‘At Night’s End’

Wednesday June 16, 2021

In his book chat, Nir explores the unique power of adolescent friendship, and discusses how award-winning translator Jessica Cohen brought ‘the music of the Hebrew’ to the English-language versions of his novels.

Book Chat: Yaniv Iczkovits on ‘The Slaughterman’s Daughter’

Wednesday June 16, 2021

In his book chat, Yaniv explores what he was able to achieve by setting a narrative in late 19th Century Russia, and discusses the concept of ‘tikkun olam’ — ‘repairing the world’.

Book Chat: Orly Castel-Bloom on ‘An Egyptian Novel’

Wednesday June 16, 2021

In this book chat, Orly discusses the complexities of balancing fact and fiction, particularly when it comes to writing family stories, and the importance of capturing the stories of our loved ones before we forget.

New Populism and Old Hatreds

Tuesday May 11, 2021

Join Melbourne Jewish Book Week and world-renowned historian Simon Schama, a high-profile contributor to the new issue of The Jewish Quarterly with the editor Jonathan Pearlman – to explore why the stoking of ancient hatreds is so potent right now. 

Book Chat: Sue Smethurst on ‘The Freedom Circus’

Wednesday March 31, 2021

Sue discusses the importance of recording family history, putting her journalistic skills to use on a highly personal project, and the final conversation she wishes she could have with Mindla, her extraordinary grandmother-in-law.

Book Chat: David Slucki on ‘Sing This at My Funeral: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons’

Wednesday March 31, 2021

In his book chat, David Slucki explores what brought him to write his memoir, ‘Sing This at My Funeral: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons’, and shares the history of the Bundists — a Jewish socialist movement, still active in Melbourne, centered on the concept of ‘Doikayt’ or ‘hereness’.

Book Chat: Ramona Koval on ‘A Letter to Layla’

Wednesday March 31, 2021

Ramona discusses her new book ‘A Letter to Layla’, in which she travels the world in a quest to understand our deep past — and what may be our near future. In this chat, Ramona outlines her case for optimism for the future.

Book Chat: Henry Lew on ‘Patterson of Israel’

Wednesday March 31, 2021

In the chat, Henry shares the story of John Henry Patterson, the non-Jewish British army officer who led the ‘Jewish Legion’ during the First World War, and explores the underexplored interactions between the ANZACS and the Jewish troops at Gallipoli and Palestine.

Book Chat: Daniel Lee on ‘The SS Officer’s Armchair’

Wednesday March 31, 2021

In his book chat, Daniel shares the fascinating story of the piece of furniture that serves as the focal point of his latest book, ‘The SS Officer’s Armchair’ — and explores the complexity of historians who find themselves inadvertently part of the stories they’re trying to tell.

Book Chat: Alice Zaslavsky on ‘In Praise of Veg’

Wednesday March 31, 2021

In her book chat, Alice discusses what drew her to writing ‘In Praise of Veg’, which vegetables get the worst rap, and shares how her Georgian and Jewish heritage influences the way she cooks.

Kosher Soul and the Cooking Gene: How Award-Winning Writer Michael Twitty Explores Identity and History Through Food

Tuesday March 9, 2021

Elissa Goldstein will be in conversation with Michael Twitty, a riveting storyteller and a 21st-century multi-hyphenate talent. Michael is a culinary historian and educator with a focus on African, African-American and Jewish cuisines; a Judaic studies teacher; and a historical interpreter who specialises in the foodways of enslaved people, which profoundly influenced contemporary America. 

MJBW Summer Bookclub: ‘The Watermill’ by Arnold Zable

Tuesday February 9, 2021

The conversation between Arnold Zable and Tali Lavi offered readers an insight into The Watermill, a quartet of true stories of displacement, of survival and and of resistance, and how Zable sheds a ray of light in the darkest of places.

Nicole Krauss In Conversation With Tali Lavi

Thursday January 28, 2021

In a highly-anticipated event, critically acclaimed American writer Nicole Krauss (Man Walks Into a Room, The History of Love, The Great House, Forest Dark and the newly released To Be a Man: Stories) talks to Tali Lavi about freedom, strange truths, restlessness, Kafka and the fluid landscape of fiction writing.

Book Chat: Anna Epstein on ‘Melekh Ravitsh’

Monday January 11, 2021

In her book chat, Anna explores her work of non-fiction — Melekh Ravitsh: The Eccentric Outback Quest of an Urbane Yiddish Poet from Poland. What was Melekh Ravitsh’s outback quest, and how much did the How much did the modernist art of Yosl Bergner, Ravitsh’s son, influence her decision to write the story?

Book Chat: Mark Dapin on ‘Australia’s Vietnam: Myth vs History’

Monday January 11, 2021

In Mark’s book chat, the author discusses his latest work, Australia’s Vietnam: Myth vs History. Was Vietnam a case of Australia fighting ‘other people’s wars’ — and how did the real experiences of veterans differ from our ‘official’ account of their treatment as returnees?

Book Chat: Andy Mia Kranz on ‘The Secret Home’

Monday January 11, 2021

In her book chat, Andy discusses the development of her unique visual style, and balancing tale, allegory and fable against the stark background of war and the Holocaust.

Book Chat: Dennis Altman on ‘Unrequited Love’

Monday January 11, 2021

In Dennis’s book chat, the author discusses his memoir, Unrequited Love — exploring the American and Australian influences on his life and writing, and the cultural gap between generations in terms of gay social politics.

Book Chat: Andrea Goldsmith on ‘Invented Lives’

Monday January 11, 2021

In Andrea’s book chat, the author discusses her latest novel, Invented Lives, a story of identity and exile. How do we ‘invent’ our lives, and is it possible to be exiles within our native countries?

Book Chat: Philip Salom on ‘The Returns’

Monday January 11, 2021

In Philip’s book chat, the award-winning author discusses his latest novel, The Returns, a story about the eccentricities, failings and small triumphs that humans are capable of.

Book Chat: Miriam Sved on ‘A Universe of Sufficient Size’

Monday December 7, 2020

In Miriam Sved’s book chat, the author discusses how the life of her grandmother inspired ‘A Universe of Sufficient Size’, and the process of setting a work between two very disparate locations and time periods: Budapest in the ’30s and Sydney in the early 2000s.

Book Chat: Daniel Ziffer on ‘A Wunch of Bankers’

Monday December 7, 2020

In Daniel Ziffer’s book chat, the journalist discusses the gruelling stories of Australians dudded by trusted banks and financial institutions — and shares what surprised him most about the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.

Book Chat: Jeff Sparrow on ‘Fascists Among Us: Online Hate and the Christchurch Massacre’

Monday December 7, 2020

In Jeff Sparrow’s book chat, the award-winning writer, editor and broadcaster discusses the 2019 Christchurch massacre, the urgent need to truly fight fascism, and the complexities of far-right responses to climate change.

Book Chat: Suzy Zail on ‘I Am Change’

Monday December 7, 2020

In Suzy Zail’s book chat, the author of ‘I am Change’ discusses the decision to write about the lives of young women in Uganda, opting for fiction over biography, and writing to empower young women In Australia and Africa.

Book Chat: Suzanne Leal on ‘The Deceptions’

Tuesday December 1, 2020

In Suzanne Leal’s book chat, the writer discusses the responsibilities an author has when writing a novel about the Holocaust, and whether it’s ever really possible for an author to leave one’s stories and characters behind.

Book Chat: Ginger Gorman on ‘Troll Hunting’

Monday November 23, 2020

In Ginger Gorman’s book chat, the award-winning journalist — and author of ‘Troll Hunting’ — discusses the spectre of online harassment. Blending both personal experience and rigorous research, Gorman explores the concept of trolling, and highlights strategies to make technology companies accountable to the public good.

MJBW Summer Reading Guide — featuring Elissa Goldstein, Bram Presser and Tali Lavi

Tuesday November 10, 2020

What happens when three Jewish literary tragics enter a room to talk books? (Admittedly, it is a virtual room.) Expect passions to be stirred, differences of opinion to be had, raucous laughter and a river of tears to be experienced – and that’s only at your end. It’s Melbourne Jewish Book Week’s bookish version of Margaret and David….

Alex Miller on Max Blatt

Sunday November 8, 2020

Australian literary legend, Alex Miller talks with MJBW Festival Director, Nicolas Brasch, about his first work of non-fiction, Max — the search for threads of the life of his best friend, Max Blatt.

Reconciliation, Identity and Imagined Futures

Tuesday October 13, 2020

Melbourne journalist Isabelle Oderberg was joined by Noongar writer Claire G. Coleman and writer, Black American and Orthodox Rabbi Shais Rishon as they journeyed through the variegated terrain of identity and belonging. Exploring experiences of connection and community alongside those of disconnection and divide, Oderberg uncovered Coleman and Rishon’s realities, fears and hopes through the…

Why Do We Harm Each Other?

Tuesday September 8, 2020

Dr Paul Valent MBBS, DPM, FRANZCP, discusses the enigma of violence and its relationship to love with Dr Rachael Kohn AO, FRSNSW. Violence, for Valent, is not an isolated feature of the human condition. Surprisingly close to violence are struggles for love. Find out more about that aspect of humanity.

MJBW Seasonal Bookclub – The Writing on the Wall by Juliet Rieden

Tuesday August 11, 2020

Our first MJBW seasonal book club selection – Juliet Rieden’s ‘The Writing on the Wall’ — was a memoir uncovering a personal Holocaust tragedy of epic proportions. The conversation between Rieden and Bram Presser offered readers an intriguing and rewarding chat with particular viewpoints from audience members being eloquently answered.

From Page to Screen: Ben Lewin in conversation with Jan Epstein

Tuesday July 14, 2020

Ben Lewin, internationally renowned Australian film director, considers himself a ‘forty year overnight success.’ Join us for an evening packed with his witty insights as he talks to local film critic Jan Epstein about his recent work The Catcher Was A Spy and beyond. Lewin will consider the creative complexities involved in successfully bringing a book from page…

Colum McCann in conversation with Mark Raphael Baker

Thursday June 25, 2020

Broadcast live from New York to Melbourne, Melbourne Jewish Book Week — in partnership with Plus61J — is thrilled to bring you Colum McCann, the international award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin, discussing his new book Apeirogon with Mark Raphael Baker.