Special event to commemorate National Reconciliation Week.
Daniel James, a descendent of Aboriginal activist William Cooper, in conversation with Simon Holloway, Head of Education, Melbourne Holocaust Museum, discussing Cooper’s extraordinary life of activism, including his protests against Nazi persecution of Jews.
Daniel James and Dr Simon Holloway
On Sunday 29 May at Glen Eira Town Hall, we have a full day of panels, interviews and even a children’s program. One of our initiatives is to create what we are calling the Publishing Hub, a room between the Lunch Hub and Bookselling Hub, where authors can hold a book launch/reading/signing or other activities. These events are free, and we encourage you to include the Publishing Hub in your Sunday Schedule.
No bookings are required for Publishing Hub events.
10:00-10:45 am
Andy Mia Kranz: Reading
Come along to an immersive telling of the true tale, The Secret Home. Read in person by Tomi Kalinski, live music by Adam Starr, accompanied by visual projections of the richly coloured watercolour illustrations from the book, painted by the author & illustrator Andy Mia Kranz.
11:00-11:45 am
Joe Reich: Book launch
In his novel Ein Stein, Joe Reich weaves an interesting – sometimes outrageous – blend of fact and fiction, history and current times, drawing the reader into the fictional life and exploits of the protagonist, the elderly “survivor” Jack (Yaakov Stein). With false memoirs all the rage, this fictitious is at once highly entertaining and deadly serious. Joe Reich will be interviewed by MJBW Festival Director Nicholas Brasch.
12:00-12:45 am
B’nai B’rith Jewish Non-Fiction Book Club session: Growing up Jewish
Peter Schattner, chair of the B’nai B’rith Jewish Non-Fiction Book Club, will interview Helen Wolfers whose autobiography titled Growing up Jewish analyses Jewish identity and how it is influenced by events and surroundings. This session will not only explore the nature of Jewish identity but will also use this example to help illustrate how this book club tries to meet its aims of increasing its members’ knowledge of and appreciation for Jewish history and civilisation.
1:00-1:45 pm
Launch of Gad Ben-Meir’s Poetry collection,
Siren of the Heart
Gad Ben-Meir was born in Baghdad in 1931. He published in Israel two collections of poetry in classical Arabic, Nightingales of Intimacy (2004) and Dialogue of the Hearts (2008), and one collection in the Egyptian dialect, Ya Manal Ya Manali (2004). After more than fifty years of living in England and Australia, his first collection of poetry in English, Siren of the Heart (2020), celebrates his appreciation and insight into love and friendship and their repercussions. Launched by Dr Tina Giannoukos.
2:00-2:45 pm
What’s on @ Bookcycle
Bookcycle is Australia’s first P2P book sharing platform. We enable communities to give and get books in their local area using digital features to make the experience of discovering great pre-loved books engaging, inclusive and sustainable. At this year’s MJBW Publishing Hub we are excited to share more about Bookcycle including tips to help you get the most out of the platform and we also look forward to having some fun with a little competition on the day!
3:00-3:45 pm
The Mistress of Mirth’s Comedy Tour with Justine Sless
Enjoy a reading from Justine’s book The Mistress of Mirth’s Comedy Tour and get your copy signed by the author.
4:00-4:45 pm
Joanne Dannon, USA Today Best Selling Author: Discussion
Do you want to be an author? Do you have a brilliant idea for a book? Not sure where to start? Come and ask Joanne, she has 30+ published books as well as audio books, and translations. She’d love to answer your questions.
And if you love romances and reading, come and meet Joanne…she’d love to chat. She’ll have signed romance books, of hers, that she’ll be giving away for free.
Pre order your Kosher Classique lunch box.
4 lunch box options to choose from:
Orders need to be received by close of business on Friday 13 May 2022 to guarantee supply. Lunch boxes will be supplied by Kosher Classique.
Collection of lunch boxes on Sunday is from the kitchen door (opposite the auditorium) at the Glen Eira Town Hall from 12.45 – 200 pm
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
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 Golderg, Julie Szego
Join Howard Jacobson in conversation with Sarah Kanowski discussing his recent memoir, Mother’s Boy — an exploration of belonging and not belonging, of being an insider and outsider, and of being English and Jewish.
Howard Jacobson is an international guest and will be appearing via live video-link.
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
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 video-link.
Simi Genziuk facilitates a unique creative writing workshop for children by combining her two passions, circus and writing. Participants learn the basis of three to four circus skills and use the experience as the inspiration for creative writing exercises. As part of the event, storyteller Zoe Bell will be doing a reading of Simi’s book, So She Did.
This workshop is one hour in duration, and participants find it extremely gratifying. Most kids leave with a skill and a story!
Dr Hubble is Australia’s favourite bubble man. He loves bubbles and can make them do amazing things. He manipulates simple soap bubbles to create miraculous moments of wonder. Dr Hubble will show you bubbles you have never seen before: the square bubble, the octagon bubble, the chimney and the explode-a-bubble. This is a fun, funny and slightly educational show with subtle storytelling and a message of sustainability woven through it. You’ll have to see it to believe it.