The (Jewish) Books That Made Us
This was the topic of discussion for a panel of authors at the 2022 Sydney Jewish Writers Festival (SJWF) moderated by Scott Whitmont. The authors who participated were: Dr Rachael Kohn, Natasha Sholl, Ashley Goldberg
Growing Up Queer – Benjamin Law in conversation with Roz Bellamy and Hayley Katzen
Benjamin Law interviewed two emerging literary talents, Hayley Katzen and Roz Bellamy, about Australian Jewish queer identity and the inspiration behind their writing. With recurring themes of home, migration, and belonging, their collective works are
Susan Neiman in conversation with Michaela Kalowski
Interview with Susan Neiman, the author of Learning from the Germans: Confronting Race and the Memory of Evil Susan Neiman’s most recent book, Learning from the Germans: Confronting Race and the Memory of Evil, combines philosophical reflection
Author Arnold Zable in conversation with Nicole Abadee
Interview with Arnold Zable, the author of The Watermill Celebrated author Arnold Zable returns to SJWF to discuss his latest book, The Watermill. The collection of four stories explores themes of past trauma, healing, displacement and belonging,
Author Esther Amini in conversation with Karmel Melamed
Interview with author of Concealed: Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian Daughter Caught Between the Chador and America Born to Persian Jews who fled Iran, Esther Amini grew up in freewheeling 1960s New York. Concealed: Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian
Author Helena Kriel in conversation with Rita Nash
Helena Kriel’s debut memoir, set in 1990s South Africa, emerges from the darkness of apartheid. The Year of Facing Fire centres around Helena’s dying brother, who has kept his illness a shameful secret as he leads his
Matti Friedman in conversation with Michael Misrachi
Award-winning author Matti Friedman discussing his latest book, Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at The Birth of Israel. Revel in the gripping true story of four Mizrachi agents as they assume Arab identities. We follow their
Esther Safran Foer in conversation with Andrew Jakubowicz
Esther Safran Foer grew up in a home where the past was too terrible to speak of. The child of parents who were each the sole survivors of their respective families, for Esther the Holocaust
Netflix co-founder, Marc Randolph
With over 180 million subscribers, Netflix is one of the world’s most iconic companies. Co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph is an inspiring public speaker, entrepreneur and now author. Marc spoke to Ariel
Diane Armstrong in conversation with Michaela Kalowski
On Monday April 13 2020, Diane Armstrong, a 2019 guest to the Shalom Sydney Jewish Writers Festival, joined Michaela Kalowski for a conversation over Zoom. Diane discussed her writing process, research for her upcoming book,