Event Type: Video

Sue Smethurst is an award-winning author and journalist who has spent more than 20 years working in the media across television, radio and magazines. She is currently a senior writer with The Australian Women’s Weekly and has written eight books, including Behind Closed Doors, Spartacus and Me, Blood on the Rosary and A Diamond in the Dust. In her book chat, Sue talks about her latest work, ‘The Freedom Circus’, the remarkable true story of her parents-in-law’s epic journey to Australia.

Sue discusses the importance of recording family history, putting her journalistic skills to use on a highly personal project, and the final conversation she wishes she could have with Mindla, her extraordinary grandmother-in-law.

Orly Castel-Bloom is the author of 11 books, and is a multi-award-winning leading voice in Hebrew literature today. Her postmodern classic Dolly City has been included in UNESCO’s Collection of Representative Works. In 2016, Orly Castle-Bloom was awarded the Sapir Prize for An Egyptian Novel, a family saga that ranges from contemporary Israel to Egypt to Inquisition-era Spain.

In this book chat, Orly discusses the complexities of balancing fact and fiction, particularly when it comes to writing family stories, and the importance of capturing the stories of our loved ones before we forget.

Yaniv Iczkovits was a former lecturer in philosophy at the University of Tel Aviv. The Slaughterman’s Daughter, his third novel in Hebrew garnered top awards in Israel. Described by critics as ‘highly relevant and resonant today’ despite its 19th Century setting, Iczkovits was awarded the Wingate Literary Prize for The Slaughterman’s Daughter (translated into English by Orr Scharf) in 2021.

In his book chat, Yaniv explores what he was able to achieve by setting a narrative in late 19th Century Russia, and discusses the concept of ‘tikkun olam’ — ‘repairing the world’.

Nir Baram was born into a political family but turned his back on politics for a literary career. In 2010 he received the Prime Minister’s Award for Hebrew Literature. His non-fiction title Land Without Borders in 2017 was long listed for the JQ Wingate Literary Prize. His novels, The Remaker of Dreams, Good People and his latest publication, At Night’s End, were short listed for Israel’s Sapir Prize for Literature.

In his book chat, Nir explores the unique power of adolescent friendship, and discusses how award-winning translator Jessica Cohen brought ‘the music of the Hebrew’ to the English-language versions of his novels.

Ilana Kurshan has worked in literary publishing both in New York and in Jerusalem, as a translator and foreign rights agent, and is the books editor of Lilith magazine. In 2018, Kurshan was awarded the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for All the Seas Were Ink. This engaging memoir is a celebration of renewal, through learning Talmudic literature, on how to fall in love again.

In her book chat, Ilana discusses her experience of learning the Talmud — leading to the very different and new reading she presents in her work.

Benjamin Balint is an American Israeli author, a renowned cultural journalist and the editor of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. He was awarded the 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for his book “Kafka’s Last Trial: The Case of a Literary Legacy.” This nonfiction work is an account of the controversial trial between Germany and Israel that determined the fate of Kafka’s unpublished manuscripts.

In his book chat, Benjamin discusses Kafka’s literary afterlife — in particular, how the author’s legacy has become inextricably bound in the stories Germany and Israel tell about themselves.

Ayelet Tsabari is an Israeli writer who was born into a large family of Yemeni descent. She has also spent many years living in Canada. Her first book, the collection of short stories The Best Place on Earth, was the recipient of the 2015 Sami Rohr Prize and a New York Time’s Book Review Editor’s Choice. Tsabari’s second book, The Art of Leaving, a memoir in essays was published in 2019, and won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Memoir. Ayelet teaches creative non-fiction writing in Canada at the University of Guelph, and University of King’s College.

In her book chat, Ayelet discusses her experience growing up as a Yemini Jew in Israel, and the conflict between longing for freedom and a sense of home.

Sue Silberberg is a historian, curator and arts administrator who also studied at the International Centre for the Conservation of Cultural Material (ICCROM), an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide. She holds a doctorate in History from the University of Melbourne, where she has been a research fellow at the eScholarship Research Centre.

In her book chat, Sue Silberberg explores the cultural diversity that made up colonial Melbourne. Sue gives a new slant to Melbourne’s development and connects Melbourne Jewry into wider historical themes and experiences such as space and place, urbanisation, imperial networks and diaspora.

Ashley Browne has spoken, written and edited books and contributed articles about AFL football for The Age, Slattery Media and various radio platforms for over 30 years. He was the joint editor of ‘People of the Boot: The Triumphs and Tragedy of Australian Jews in Sport’ in 2018. A Season Like No Other: AFL 2020 is his most recent publication.

In his book chat, Ashley discusses the AFL’s restricted 2020 pandemic season, the unique challenges faced by an author writing about recent events — and muses about the lasting legacy the events of 2020 may have on the future of Australian rules.

Joanne Fedler is a mentor, retreat leader and the bestselling author of 12 books which have been translated into several languages and have sold over 750,000 copies globally. She also presents online writing courses for aspiring writers. Her thirteenth and recently published book Unbecoming unravels the secrets of the wild country called ‘midlife’.

In her book chat, Joanne explores what motivates her to write about motherhood, and how one’s identity as a mother is challenged as children grow and no longer want or need to be ‘mothered’ — and explains why she celebrates mid-life and menopause as a freeing relief.