Melbourne Jewish Book Week 2026 Opening Night Gala: “If You Don’t Laugh…..”

Jessica Bellamy is a playwright, producer and theatre-maker who has created works in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, regional New South Wales, Singapore, and the Philippines. Her works are diverse in form and touch on various issues including climate, feminism, Judaism and rap music. Collaborations include ‘A is for Apple’ (Griffin Theatre, Sydney),  ‘Thick Beats for Good Girls’ (Checkpoint Theatre Singapore),  ‘Shabbat Dinner’, ‘Compass’ and ‘Sprout’.

Rachel Cockerell was born and raised in London, the sixth of seven children. She did her BA at the Courtauld Institute and her MA at City University. Melting Point is her first non-fiction book. Her research has taken her to Texas, Ohio, New York, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  Rachelisa 2026 MacDowell Fellow and has spoken widely about her work on the BBC, CNN, NBC, and at TEDx, as well as at universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford and NYU.

Yishai Ishi Ron is an acclaimed Israeli author, a former elite combat soldier, and a survivor of severe PTSD. Writing has been an essential part of his healing journey, enabling him to transform deeply personal wounds into stories of trauma, resilience, and redemption. His novel, Dog, is a searing and powerful work of literary fiction that confronts the invisible scars of war. With his unique background as both a soldier and a psychology graduate, Ron brings authenticity and profound psychological depth to his storytelling. The Hebrew edition was long-listed for the Sapir Prize, and the novel received two National Jewish Book Awards from the Jewish Book Council. His previous works in Hebrew include Holiday Apocalypse and Vincent’s Nose.

Ayelet Tsabari is the author of Songs for the Brokenhearted, winner of a National Jewish Book Award for fiction and a Canadian Jewish Literary Award for fiction. Her memoir, The Art of Leaving, won a Canadian Jewish Literary Award for memoir, and an Apple Books and Kirkus Review Best Book of 2019. Her first book, The Best Place on Earth, winner of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice.

Ali Berg is a creative director, copywriter and brand voice lead who helps companies sound like humans. With Michelle Kalus, she is also an internationally bestselling co-author of four rom-coms and co-founder of Australia’s travelling library Books on the Rail. Her work has appeared in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Mamamia, and The Herald Sun. Ali and Michelle live in Melbourne with their respective families and colour-coordinated bookshelves.

Danny Ben-Moshe is a Walkley Award winning documentary filmmaker who has made multiple films for the ABC, SBS and broadcasters worldwide including the BBC. As well as TV networks, his films have had impact screenings at eminent institutions including the Tate Modern in London and the Knesset.  Danny recently published his first novel with Harper Collins, The Watchmaker’s War, which is inspired by the true story he told in his documentary film Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer.

Katia is an award-winning author, book editor and educator from Melbourne/Naarm. She was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Her memoir, The Swift Dark Tide, was shortlisted for the Stella Prize in 2024 and won the 2024 Society of Women Writers NSW Non-fiction Prize. Katia’s work has appeared in the Age, Womankind Magazine, Archer and The Guardian. She was the recipient of the Varuna Residential Fellowship (2022) and Bundanon Writing Residence (2024). Katia holds an Arts/Law degree from Monash University and Graduate Diploma and Publishing and Editing from RMIT. Her second book, Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch, was published by Wild Dingo Press in June 2025.

Alan Fyfe is the author of two novels and a poetry collection. His work has been recognized in the Victorian Literary Award, the Paragraph Fellowship, the Judith Wright Poetry Prize, The Newcastle Poetry Prize, and the Chaffinch Press Aware Prize. He is a winner of the WA Premier’s Poetry Book of the Year, as well as overall Book of the Year; and of the Karl Popper Philosophy Award. His current novel, The Cross Thieves, is available from Transit Lounge.

The author of Everything Goes to the Dogs was a Melbourne university lifer, who excelled as a business ethics researcher and was the only Australian in the prestigious Journal of Business Ethics list of leading global business ethics scholars. He spent thirteen years as editor of a leading British ethics research journal and for three years was the President of Australia’s largest applied ethics association. He also helped convene Melbourne ethics conferences. Billy Albert is the pen name of an Australian satirist. So why the pen name Billy Albert? Well because of his marvellous mother-in-law! A beautiful woman filled with intelligence, integrity and humour. Her name was Birdie Albert. If there is a heaven she will read my satire there and laugh out loud. I chose the pen name Billy Albert to honour her memory.

Galit Klas is a Melbourne-based writer, director and performer creating original work at the intersection of Yiddish language, music and theatre. She co-wrote Yentl, which has been staged at the Sydney Opera House and in London’s West End. Her original works include The Ghetto Cabaret and the award-winning Yiddish electronic cabaret Durkh a Modne Gloz. Galit also performs as a singer and cantorial soloist.

Outside of mathematics and finance, Adrian Banner is an accomplished pianist and composer who frequently plays jazz and Eastern European klezmer music.

Lola Kalinski-Digaletos is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne, working mainly with sculpture and watercolour. Her practice is informed by ancestry, folk and fairy tales, and the perspective of the child self. Lola has been a member of ceramic studios in Edinburgh and Alice Springs, and has taught ceramic workshops and art classes for children and adults, alongside her practice as a Steiner teacher.

Charlotte Hayward is a Melbourne-based book content creator who shares romance recommendations across Tiktok and Instagram. Through reviews, rankings and reading discussions, she has built an engaged online community of readers and collaborates with publishers and authors to promote new releases. Charlotte is passionate about storytelling, sparking conversations about books and the role social media plays in helping readers discover books they love.