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Event Topic: Literature & Writing

  • In Search of Safe Haven: The Wandering Jew

    In Search of Safe Haven: The Wandering Jew

    THIS EVENT is proudly supported by:

    Rachel Cockerell, David Marlow, Adam Van Heerden – moderator Michael Visontay

    From a German-Jewish family spanning more than 300 years, to the little-known proposal for a Jewish homeland in Texas, to a contemporary pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, this conversation explores journeys of displacement, resilience and self-discovery. Drawing on family archives, historical research and personal experience, the panel examines how migration shapes identity, how communities preserve memory across generations, and what the search for belonging can teach us about Jewish life, past and present.

  • The Art of Satire: New Jewish Fiction

    The Art of Satire: New Jewish Fiction

    How do writers use satire to challenge assumptions, reveal uncomfortable truths and find meaning in a complex world? What is the role of humour, irony and absurdity in storytelling? The Rising Lights is Steve Toltz’ darkly comic and philosophical novel about a former child psychotherapist confronting modern loneliness and artificial intelligence. Alan Fyfe’s The Cross Thieves is a bold, compassionate and razor-sharp story of two hungry boys whose quest for adventure and revenge brims with street spirit. Billy Albert, in Everything Goes to the Dogs, creates an uproarious yet incisive satire of family, money and morality.

    Speakers: Billy Albert, Alan Fyfe, Steve Toltz – moderator Scott Whitmont

  • The Big Book Balagan: Books We Love

    The Big Book Balagan: Books We Love

    Elise Esther Hearst, Sarah Krasnostein, Dani Valent, Alice Zaslavsky – moderator Bram Presser

    A riotous discussion of Jewish books with some of Melbourne’s brightest book stars who will share their favourite recent reads, some hidden gems and all the books they can’t wait to read. You’ll be in for a wide-ranging and totally unpredictable book balagan with wild opinions, laughs and a dangerous increase to the height of your bedside book stack.

    As promised, here’s the reading list!

    A BOOK FOR GOOD TIMES AND BAD

    Alice Zaslavsky: The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel PhD

    Bram Presser: Fracture by Andres Neuman

    Dani Valent: The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden

    Elise Esther Hearst: My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

    Sarah Krasnostein: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

    A BOOK OR AUTHOR YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD READ

    Alice: Living in an Upside Down World by Rabbi Ralph Genende

    Bram: Elaine Kraf (especially The Princess of 72nd Street)

    Dani: The Dark Room by Susan Faludi

    Elise: The Position of Spoons and Other Intimacies by Deborah Levy

    Sarah: Janet Malcolm

    BIG BOOK/LITTLE BOOK

    Alice: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabriel Zevin / Transcription by Ben Lerner

    Bram: Homebound by Portia Elan / The Last Movement by Robert Seethaler

    Dani: Chess by Stefan Zweig

    Elise: Famesick by Lena Dunham / Heartburn by Nora Ephron

    Sarah: The Power Broker by Robert Caro / The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick

    THE BOOK YOU’RE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO READING

    Alice: My Family by David Baddiel

    Bram: Dead Herzls by Joshua Cohen (February 2027)

    Dani: Howl by Howard Jacobson

    Elise: Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewcz

    Sarah: The Last Best Place on the Internet by Richard Cooke

  • The Human Touch: Creativity In The Age of AI

    The Human Touch: Creativity In The Age of AI

    Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of modern life, driving innovation, productivity and economic growth. Yet it also raises urgent questions about authenticity, authorship and trust. Join Alan Finkel, former Chief Scientist and founder of the international certification organisation, ProudlyHuman™, and highly esteemed academic publishing director, Nathan Hollier, in conversation with John M Green, business leader and board member, Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, whose latest thriller, Staged, stars an investigator who uses AI!

    Speakers: Alan Finkel and Nathan Hollier in Conversation with John M Green

  • Closing Conversation: Jonathan Freedland

    Closing Conversation: Jonathan Freedland

    Melbourne poet and literary critic, Tali Lavi and award-winning journalist and author, Jonathan Freedland, will discuss his bestselling books – The Traitors Circle: The Rebels Against the Nazis and the Spy Who Betrayed Them, the compelling true story of a high-society, anti-Nazi resistance network in 1943 Berlin, and The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World, the remarkable account of the life of Rudolf Vrba, who together with fellow escapee Alfred Wetzler first revealed the full truth of the notorious death camp.

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  • MJBW Beth Din of Books 2025

    MJBW Beth Din of Books 2025

    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!

  • MJBW Literary Dinner 2025: Esther Kister Oration presented by Dr Rachael Kohn AO 

    MJBW Literary Dinner 2025: Esther Kister Oration presented by Dr Rachael Kohn AO 

    Featuring Rachael Kohn AO, a Canadian-born Australian writer, presenter and broadcaster who spent more than 26 years creating and hosting programs on ABC Radio National, exploring religion, the arts, and spirituality. Some of her best-known shows include The Religion Report, Religion Today, The Ark, and especially The Spirit of Things. She has written two books, The New Believers and Curious Obsessions. In 2019, she was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Australia and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.

    Please join us for drinks and a delicious three-course dinner for a highly entertaining evening.

  • Writing Lives: Michael Visontay on ‘Noble Fragments’

    Writing Lives: Michael Visontay on ‘Noble Fragments’

    Noble Fragments by Michael Visontay tells the fascinating story of how a rare book dealer in the 1920s took apart a Gutenberg Bible and sold its pages individually—an act that shocked the literary world. Decades later, this decision would play an unexpected role in Visontay’s own family history, helping them rebuild their lives after fleeing post-war Hungary. Blending history and personal memoir, the book explores how seemingly small events can have lasting and life-changing consequences.

  • Writing Lives: Shifra Horn

    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.