Andrea Goldsmith is a well-known Australian novelist. Her novels include The Prosperous Thief, (short-listed for the 2003 Miles Franklin award), and The Memory Trap, awarded the 2015 Melbourne Prize.
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?
Professor Dennis Altman AM is the son of Jewish refugees and a writer and academic who first came to attention with the publication of his book Homosexual: Oppression & Liberation (1971).
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.
The seed for Andy Mia Kranz’s first book, The Secret Home, was formed through a vivid story told to her many times by her grandfather when she was a child. Andy wrote, illustrated and self-published this book. She has also worked as a medical practitioner and maker of fine timber furniture, and currently works as a lecturer in health science.
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.
Mark Dapin is the author of Jewish Anzacs: Jews in the Australian Military (2017) and the crime novel, King of the Cross (2009). For many years, Mark was a popular columnist in The Age’s Good Weekend magazine. He recently presented the series Myths of War for ABC Radio National.
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?
Born in Melbourne to Yiddish-speaking Polish Jews of the Holocaust generation, Anna Epstein’s interest in the plight of those fleeing misfortune was awakened early. Anna worked for twenty years as editor and curator at the Jewish Museum of Australia. Lately she has worked mainly for the Yiddish cultural centre, Kadimah.
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?
Alice Zaslavsky (aka ‘Alice in Frames’) is a cook, a writer and an active listener. She broadcasts on ABC Radio and appears regularly on television. Her previous book, Alice’s Food A-Z was the first cookbook to be given a Notable Book gong by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. In her new book, ‘In Praise of Veg’, Alice encourages people of all ages to find the joy in cooking and eating.
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.
Daniel Lee is a British historian of the Second World War and a specialist in the history of Jews in France and North Africa during the Holocaust. He taught at Queen Mary, University of London. Lee’s first book, Pétain’s Jewish Children, examined the experiences of Jewish youth under the Vichy regime. As a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker, Daniel Lee is a regular broadcaster on radio.
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.
Dr Henry R (Harry) Lew OAM is a retired ophthalmic surgeon. In his spare time he has written a variety of non-medical books: Horace Brodzky, In Search of Derwent Lees, The Five Walking Sticks, The Stories Our Parents Found Too Painful To Tell, Lion Hearts, Smitten by Catherine and Imaging the World, which, although not a medical book, has some medical basis to it. Henry’s book chat centres on his latest work, ‘Patterson of Israel’.
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.
Ramona Koval has played many roles in the Australian literary landscape. She is a writer, journalist, editor and former broadcaster renowned for her in-depth conversations with significant writers for many years on Radio National’s ‘Books and Writing’ program.
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.
David Slucki is an author and historian based in Melbourne. He is the Loti Smorgon Associate Professor in Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture in the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University. He teaches classes on the Holocaust, on genocides, on modern Jewish history, on popular culture, and on comedy.
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’.