Another lit fest is coming to D.C., and this is one Bubbe would approve of. Nearly 30 authors are taking part in the 10-day Jewish Literary Festival hosted by the Washington DCJCC from October 18th through the 28th.
The full list of authors and events is here. We’ve rounded up some highlights below, all held at the DCJCC unless otherwise noted. Tickets are on sale for individual events, or get a festival pass to access them all ($100 or $90 for DCJCC members, students, and seniors).
Sunday, October 18th at 7 p.m.: The New York Times called him a genius, and his homeland calls him “the voice of young Israel” and awarded him their Prime Minister Prize. Acclaimed short story author Etgar Keret kicks off opening night with an event on his memoir, The Seven Good Years: A Memoir. The book employs comedy and tragedy to tell stories from the birth of Keret’s first child up to his father’s death. Tickets are $25 or $20 for DCJCC members, students with ID, and seniors, and are available here.
Wednesday, October 21st at 8 p.m.: Michael Pollan has challenged how Americans relate to food for 25 years as a premiere expert on sustainable living and ethical eating. He’ll be discussing these topics and others covered in his popular books The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Cooked, In Defense of Food and The Botany of Desire. This event will be held at GW Lisner Auditorium. Tickets are $40 or $34 for GWU students, and are available here.
Saturday, October 24th at 7:30 p.m.: I Am Bialik is an Israeli mockumentary that tells a mostly true story about its director/protagonist, Aviv Talmor. Talmor, a poet and teacher, starts researching his family tree and finds that he might be the illegitimate great-grandson of a national figure. He excitedly publishes the news, which does not go over so well with everyone. Tickets are $12 and are available here.
Sunday, October 25th at 7:30 p.m.: Attorney and bestselling author Alan Dershowitz combines his expertise in a new book Abraham: The World’s First (But Certainly Not Last) Jewish Lawyer. It’s an illustrative history of not only Abe, who argued with God on behalf of the doomed sinners of Sodom, but his many notable successors. Despite their mixed success and reputations, they mostly share in “following the biblical command to pursue justice.” Tickets come with a book and are $30 or $25 for DCJCC members, students with ID, and seniors, and are available here.
Tuesday, October 27th at 7:30 p.m.: This evening will feature a wine and cheese reception with local authors. Mix and mingle with a preselected group of D.C. authors and hear about/buy their books. Entry is free, but RSVPing is encouraged.
Wednesday, October 28th at 7:30 p.m.: How does an anxious author with a dark sense of humor and no television experience get his own TV show? Shalom Auslander will explain in the Festival’s closing event. Auslander created the satirical comedy series “Happyish,” about a 40-something advertising executive forced to embrace technology and generally reevaluate his life (sad side note: Phillip Seymour Hoffman had been slated for the starring role, but died weeks after filming the pilot). Auslander also authored the short story collection Beware of God, a novel Hope: A Tragedy, and memoir Foreskin’s Lament. He contributes to NPR’s “This American Life” and has written for The New Yorker and The New York Times. Tickets are $25 or $20 for DCJCC members, students with ID, and seniors, and are available here.
The DCJCC Jewish Literary Festival is named for Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein and is a program of the DCJCC’s Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts. This is the 17th year of the Festival, which “celebrates the work of established and emerging authors who explore and engage in Jewish life through words and ideas.”
