United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC’s
Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival 2020-2021
All events, unless otherwise noted, are free with RSVP or tickets required, and will take place virtually until further notice. For more information about the Festival, to sponsor, or volunteer, contact Patty Shelanski at 757-452-3184 or Pshelanski@ujft.org.
Montreal Toronto Express: Jewish Culture and Literature North of the Border with poet Chantal Ringuet | A 3-Part Series
Monday, March 1, 2021 | 3 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Montreal Toronto Express: Jewish Culture and Literature North of the Border with poet Lisa Richter | A 3-Part Series
Monday, March 1, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Why Jews Do That: Or 30 Questions Your Rabbi Never Answered with author Avram Mlotek
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Asteroid Goldberg: Passover in Outer Space with author Brianna Caplan Sayres
Thursday, March 11, 2021 | 6 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Citizen 865: The Hunt for Hitler's Hidden Soldiers in America with author Debbie Cenziper
Monday, March 15, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Crushing The Red Flowers with author Jennifer Voigt Kaplan
Monday, March 22, 2021 | 7 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Montreal Toronto Express: Jewish Culture and Literature North of the Border with author Melanie Loisel | A 3-Part Series
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Newark Minutemen with author Leslie Barry
Monday, April 12, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
My Year of Kaddish: Mourning, Memory and Meaning with author Naomi Baum, Ph.D.
Monday, May 3, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
What We Will Become: A Mother, A Son, and a Journey of Transformation with author Mimi Lemay
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Careful What You Wish For with author Hallie Ephron
Thursday, May 13, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
#QuietingtheSilence with The Blue Dove Foundation
Thursday, May 20, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Sadie's Shabbat Stories with author Melissa Stoller
Thursday, June 3, 2021 | 6 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Faster with author Neal Bascomb
Wednesday, June 9, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
The Apple and the Shady Tree with author Lisa Goldberg
Monday, June 14, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Previous Events
Words of My Father: Love and Pain in Palestine with author Yousef Bashir
Thursday, February 25, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Becoming Brianna with author Terri Libenson
Thursday, February 11, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me with author Bess Kalb
Monday, February 8, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
The A-Z of Intermarriage with author Rabbi Denise Handlarski
Thursday, February 4, 2021 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Getting Good at Getting Older with author Rabbi Laura Geller
Monday, January 25, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
What To Eat When Cookbook with author Dr. Michael Roizen
Thursday, January 21, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
In Case You Get Hit By A Bus with authors Abby Schneiderman, Adam Seifer, and Gene Newman
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech For All with author Suzanne Nossel
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Saving Free Speech... From Itself with author Thane Rosenbaum
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
LATKEPALOOZA!
The Ninth Night of Hanukkah with author Erica Perl
Tuesday, December 15, 2020 | 6 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Going Rogue (At Hebrew School) with author Casey Breton
Sunday, December 13, 2020 | 11:30 am
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
The Last Kings of Shanghai with author Jonathan Kaufman
Monday, December 7, 2020 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Can Robots Be Jewish: Inspirational Rabbis Answer Pressing Questions of Modern Life with editor Amy Schwartz
Wednesday, December 2, 2020 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Daylight: An Atlee Pine Thriller with author David Baldacci
Sunday, November 22, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $36 with book (includes shipping).
Kid in the Kitchen with author Melissa Clark
For parents with kid chefs!
Sunday, November 22, 2020 | 1 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: Free or $30 with book (includes shipping).
No Time Like the Future with author Michael J. Fox
Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $36 with book (includes shipping).
Israel Story in conversation with world-renowned author Etgar Keret
Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Wandering Dixie: Dispatches from the Lost Jewish South with author Sue Eisenfeld in conversation with Dr. Amy K. Milligan
Wednesday, November 18, 2020 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
As Needed For Pain: A Memoir of Addiction with author Dan Peres
Monday, November 16, 2020 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
The Way Back with author Gavriel Savit
Sunday, November 15, 2020 | 6 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
The Night Archer and Other Stories with author Michael Oren
Thursday, November 12, 2020 | 2 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $6 or $36 with book (includes shipping).
My Dad, Yogi with author Dale Berra
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $24 with book (includes shipping).
The Boys' Club with author Erica Katz
Monday, November 9, 2020 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Why Did I Come Into This Room with author Joan Lunden in conversation with Holly Firfer, CNN journalist
Sunday, November 8, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $36 with book (includes shipping).
Never Alone with authors Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy in conversation with Nadia Bilchik, local media personality, author, and noted speaker
Sunday, November 8, 2020 | 1 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $6 or $36 with book (includes shipping).
A Better Man with author Michael Ian Black in conversation with Meredith Jacobs, author of Just Between Us: Mother & Son
Wednesday, November 4, 2020 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Can't Do It Yourself: How Commitment to Others Leads to Personal Prosperity with author Mike Leven
Thursday, October 29, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $36 with book (includes shipping). A limited number of signed copies are available.
Don't be a Victim: Fighting Back against America's Crime Wave with author Nancy Grace in conversation with John Lemley, Sirius Radio Host
Tuesday, October 27, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $36 with book (includes shipping). A limited number of signed copies are available.
Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All In Trouble with author Judy Gold in conversation with Mara Davis, Atlanta Media Personality
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $30 with book (includes shipping).
The Firsts: The Inside Story of Women Reshaping Congress with author Jennifer Steinhauer
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
FREE
We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins Before Breakfast with author Jonathan Safran Foer
Monday, October 19, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $25 with book (includes shipping).
The Book of V.: A Novel with author Anna Solomon
Monday, October 19, 2020 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
FREE
Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook with author Yotam Ottolenghi
Friday, October 16, 2020 | 12:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Tickets for this virtual event: $45 with book (includes shipping).
The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell From Grace, and Came Back Stronger Than Ever with author Steve Madden in conversation with CNN journalist Holly Firfer
Thursday, October 15, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $36 with book (includes shipping). A limited number of signed copies are available.
Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad's Fake Diving Resort with author Raffi Berg in conversation with Daniel Limor, the Mossad commander who carried out the mission, found the famed resort and recruited the team involved
Thursday, October 15, 2020 | 12 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
FREE
I Am Anne Frank & I Am Benjamin Franklin (Ordinary People Change the World Series) with author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos in conversation with CNN journalist Holly Firfer
For children ages 5-8
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 | 6:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Tickets for this virtual event: $6 or $23 with either book or $40 with both books (includes shipping). A limited number of signed copies are available.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE ON-DEMAND RECORDING
Overstated: A Coast to Coast Roast of the 50 States with author Colin Quinn in conversation with CNN Journalist Holly Firfer
Thursday, October 8, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $36 with book (includes shipping). A limited number of signed copies are available.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE ON-DEMAND RECORDING
The College Conversation: A Practical Companion for Parents to Guiude Their Children Along the Path to Higher Education with co-authors Eric Furda and Jacques Steinberg
Monday, October 5, 2020 | 8 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
Tickets for this virtual event: $6 or $36 with book (includes shipping). A limited number of signed copies are available.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE ON-DEMAND RECORDING
Politics is for Power: Take Action and Make Real Change with author Eitan Hersh
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 | 7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FREE RECORDING
Florence Adler Swims Forever with author Rachel Beanland
Wednesday, August 26, 2020 | 2 pm
Via Zoom
Pre-registration required.
The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival is held in coordination with the Jewish Book Council, the only organization in the organized American Jewish community whose sole purpose is the promotion of Jewish books.
** Register a community book club and receive the following exclusive perks: discounts on group tickets, reserved seating with book club at author events, book club mention during program welcome remarks, and a special book clubs only reception with a book club author. Please contact Patty Shelanski at pshelanski@ujft.org for more information or to register a book club.
THANK YOU
Special thanks to our Book Festival sponsors
