Now an annual fixture on the Melbourne Jewish Book Week calendar, the Beth Din of Books brings together writers and critics Tali Lavi, Elissa Goldstein and Bram Presser as they preside over some of the best new Jewish books around. Fun, irreverent but deeply imbued with a love of the written word, the Beth Din of Books is sure to help you find your next favourite read!
Event Topic: Jewish Identity & Culture
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Global Conversations: Adam Kirsch in conversation with Michael Gawenda
The current issue of The Jewish Quarterly presents: The Z Word: Reclaiming Zionism by Adam Kirsch.
In the aftermath of October 7, Zionism has increasingly been used by critics of Israel as a term of derision. From university campuses to TikTok and Twitter/X, the term is employed as a self-evident slur that presumes that Zionists are racist and supremacist. Yet, as Adam Kirsch writes in this groundbreaking essay, the challenge for Jews today is not merely to counter attempts to distort and corrupt the meaning and origins of Zionism. The Jewish people, he argues, do not need to defend the term – they need to reclaim it.
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Writing Lives: Shifra Horn
Welcome to the latest episode of Writing Lives. Our guest is award-winning Israeli author, Shifra Horn, in conversation with Melbourne-based author and writing mentor, Dr Lee Kofman. This conversation with the internationally renowned Shifra Horn focuses on her latest book Scorpion Dance and her life as a writer.
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Global Conversations: Mindless: What’s Happened to Our Universities?
In this special conversation, Emeritus Professor Cary Nelson discusses the state of university discourse after October 7 in conversation with Professor Kim Rubenstein. Nelson argues that the university – an institution dedicated to the search for truth, knowledge and freedom – became overrun by a toxic and dangerous fervour. Civil discourse was abandoned, as campuses became the epicentre of hate speech, bigotry, conspiracy theories, denialism and antisemitism.
Yet, as Nelson reveals, this betrayal of the university’s ideals was decades in the making. -
Melbourne Jewish Book Week Opening Night Gala: Of Ghosts and Golems
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- winning author, playwright and performer Elise Esther Hearst, and featuring the incredible talents of international authors Eleanor Reissa (USA), Marina Benjamin (UK) and Hila Blum (Israel), and local writers and performers Bram Presser, Arnold Zable, Alex Skovron, Octopussy, and Evelyn Krape. With haunting artworks from Anita Lester as well as live music from Susan-Ann Walker (piano), Helen Mountfort (cello) and Alice Hurwood (cello).
Set Design: Dann Barber
Event image: Anita Lester, from her book The Hidden Farmacopeia
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Raheen cocktail soiree: Deborah Conway, Willy Zygier and Alma Zygier
A life in music, a life in song, a life in the public eye, a life as child, a mother, a Jew and a Zionist and always a truth telling iconoclast…
Melbourne Jewish Book Week is proud to present this exclusive event at Raheen, featuring Deborah Conway discussing her candid memoir, Book of Life with daughter and extraordinary vocalist, Alma Zygier.
Accomplished musician, Willy Zygier will be joining his wife and daughter on stage for a remarkable family performance.
Part interview, part concert, part therapy, this cocktail soiree offers a unique glimpse into the life of one of Australia’s most respected artists.
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Arnold Zable: A life in words
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 Australian literature and human rights advocacy.
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Shaping Identity, Writing the Soul: Memoir
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 process of writing memoir and revealing the soul.
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Don’t Look Away: New contemporary fiction
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.
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Mark Raphael Baker: His Literary and Intellectual Legacy
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 and Raimond Gaita will read from A Season of Death, Mark’s posthumous memoir, forthcoming.