SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – The 17th Annual San Diego Jewish Book Fair, with continuing support from Founding Benefactors The Viterbi Family Foundation and presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus, will run November 3-13, 2011. A complete schedule of Book Fair speakers can be found online at sdjbf.org.
North County events on November 3 and 8, sponsored by the Leichtag Family Foundation, will be held at Seacrest Village in Encinitas and the Dove Library in Carlsbad; all other events, including the free-of-charge Family Day will be held at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. Each author presentation is followed by a book signing.
The San Diego Jewish Book Fair is one of the largest and most respected Jewish book fairs in the nation, and the largest literature-related event in San Diego County. More than forty best-selling writers, journalists, and commentators are scheduled to speak on topics ranging from world events to family relations.
Kicking off this year’s book fair is Gilad Sharon, son of Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel. Sharon recounts the remarkable story of his father, which is in essence the story of modern-day Israel itself in Sharon: The Life of a Leader.
The Book Fair also features Adam Mansbach with his “children’s book for adults,” Go the F*** to Sleep; noted journalist Thanassis Cambanis, who explores the people who control or are impacted by Hezbollah in A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollah’s Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel; Rabbi Mark Glickman, revealing one of the greatest discoveries in Jewish history in Sacred Treasure: The Cairo Genizah; absurdist and musician Adam Chester with S’Mother: The Story of a Man, His Mom, and the Thousands of Altogether Insane Letters She’s Mailed Him; popular psychologist Wendy Mogel, who follows up her previous bestsellers on parenting with Blessing of a B Minus; and NBC correspondent Martin Fletcher with his latest novel, The List.
Evening Author Lectures
Lectures by featured authors take place each evening of the Book Fair at 7:30 p.m. with book signings to follow. General admission is $14-$17 for each Evening Author Lecture unless otherwise indicated. All evening lectures take place at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS unless otherwise noted.
Sat., November 5: Soldier, statesman, Prime Minister…and father. Ariel Sharon’s son Gilad tells the remarkable story of his father in Sharon: The Life of a Leader. While his father was in office, Gilad Sharon was more than just a devoted son – he was also one of his father’s closest confidants. Meet the author as he shares the story behind this galvanizing biography and memoir that examines the life of a man whose policies, values, and beliefs continue to shape the future of Israel and the Middle East.
Sun., November 6: “The cats nestle close to their kittens now/The lambs have laid down with the sheep/You’re cozy and warm in your bed, my dear/Please go the f*** to sleep…” If you’re a parent who has ever tried to get your restless child to bed, this phrase – or a PG-rated version of it – has undoubtedly entered your head at one time or another. Join author Adam Mansbach as he shared the story behind his “children’s book for adults,” Go the F*** to Sleep – which began as a frustrated Facebook post and became a viral sensation and Amazon #1 bestseller.
Mon., November 7: Journalist and foreign correspondent Thanassis Cambanis covered the Middle East and Iraq as a Bureau Chief for The Boston Globe for four years. In A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollah’s Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel he explores the people who drive, are driven by, and are tragically used by Hezbollah. Cambanis provides a gripping street level view of Hezbollah that is both illuminating and terrifying.
Tue., November 8 at the Dove Library in Carlsbad: It’s not quite Indiana Jones, but as far as Jewish scholars are concerned, it’s pretty close. In Sacred Treasure: The Cairo Genizah, Rabbi Mark Glickman takes us inside one of the greatest discoveries in Jewish history, an historical bounty of manuscripts and texts – more than 300,000 pages, many more than 1000 years old – uncovered in the genizah (a storage place for sacred texts) in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo.
Wed., November 9: Professional singer, songwriter, and Elton John “stand-in” Adam Chester reads from S’Mother: The Story of a Man, His Mom, and the Thousands of Altogether Insane Letters She’s Mailed Him. For 30 years Adam saved the letters his mother sent him, letters filled with not-so-necessary news, outrageous opinions, and advice no one could really use…but as the saying goes, time changes everything and in his book and in person Adam provides a perspective that makes these often “insane letters” entertaining, therapeutic, and even endearing.
An “In the Mix” evening of cocktails, therapy and comedy begins at 6:00 p.m. for young adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The evening features all you can eat “Childhood Regression Treats” and adult beverages plus reserved seating for the comedy show. Tickets for the reception are $16 in advance and $20 at the door.
Thur., November 10: In her previous book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, psychologist Wendy Mogel gave over-parenting parents the antidote they so desperately needed. In her latest book, The Blessing of a B Minus, she extends these teachings into adolescence where the pressures on children increase tenfold and the need to be able to transform supposed disappointments into opportunities for growth and personal development is ever more pressing.
A “Mom’s Night Out” reception featuring wine, cheese and chocolate will follow Mogel’s program. Tickets for the reception and speaker are $16 to $20.
Sat., November 12: His previous book, Walking Israel, won the Jewish National Book Award, and in his latest, The List, NBC correspondent Martin Fletcher melds his own family history with dramatic events in London and the Middle East following WWII to create a novel like no other. Fletcher’s list of awards and honors is virtually endless: five Emmy awards, the DuPont from Columbia University, five Overseas Press Club awards, several Edward R. Murrow awards, a Hugo gold medal for a documentary on Israel, and an award from the Royal Society of Television in Britain.
Other Highlights
Sun., November 6, 12:00 noon – Susan Orlean, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend
In her first book since The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean takes you into the factual history, enduring legend, and iconography of one of the world’s most famous canines, Rin Tin Tin. Learn about the dog discovered on the battlefield in WWI, the first of the many Rin Tin Tins, who became a bona fide Hollywood star in the ‘20s, moved on to radio in the ‘30s, and was forever stamped into the American psyche on TV in the ‘50s.
Mon., November 7, 10:00 a.m. – Marc Agronin M.D., How We Age: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Growing Old
As Director of Mental Health and Clinical Research at the Miami Jewish Health Systems, and a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist, Dr. Marc Agronin has more hands-on clinical experience with aging than just about anyone else in the country. His remarkable stories – gathered from his patients – are nothing short of illuminating and inspiring.
Mon., November 7, 4:00 p.m. – Myla Goldberg, The False Friend
Her first novel, Bee Season, was a critical and popular success, spawning a movie of the same name and earning legions of fans. Her latest novel tells the story of Celia Durst, a woman in her 30s returning to her hometown after many years on a mission to un-do a tragic wrong. Goldberg describes her book as being “about memory, hometowns and the adults that children turn into.”
Wed., November 9, 12:00 noon – Charles Fox, Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music
You may not know his name, but you definitely know his songs. Here’s a sample: “Sunday, Monday, Happy days…we’re gonna do it our way, yes, our way…the loooove boat, soon will be making another run…” But he wrote more than just unforgettable TV theme songs. Also to his credit are “I Got a Name,” and the Grammy –winning classic “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” This musical memoir is a journey through the composer’s formal education in Paris in the late 1950s to working with some of the biggest names in the business – Lena Horne, Fred Astaire, Barry Manilow – and beyond.
Thur., November 10, 12:00 noon – Alice Hoffman, The Dovekeepers
The author of Here on Earth, Practical Magic, and many other unforgettable works reads from and discusses her latest novel, a tour de force set in ancient Israel that Novel Laureate Toni Morrison calls “beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature.”
Fri., November 11 – Mary-Lou Weisman, Al Jaffee’s MAD Life
Born in Savannah, Georgia, uprooted to a Lithuanian shtetl, and–eventually–gone stark, raving MAD (MAD magazine, that is), Al Jaffee has led a singular life. This page-turning biography of the page-folding artist is an uproarious and engaging look at an incredibly creative cultural icon.
Special Theatre/Literature Event
Thurs., November 3, 7:30 p.m. – General Orders No. 11
When General Ulysses S. Grant banishes Jews from his military district on 24 hours notice, 30 families from Paducah, Kentucky, flee upriver to Cincinnati, not knowing if they’ll ever see their homes again. Join the San Diego Jewish Book Fair and the Performing Arts Series, Straight From the Page, in a collaborative event melding theatre and literature. Commemorating the Civil War Sesquicentennial, this program will include a staged reading by professional actors and a facilitated discussion with Dr. Joellyn Zollman, historian.
YOM LIMMUD: San Diego’s Community Day of Learning
Sun., November 13, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
YOM LIMMUD: San Diego’s Community Day of Learning, joins forces with the San Diego Jewish Book Fair to explore issues of the Middle East, Judaism, parenting, food, and other topics of general interest. The Keynote Speaker is David Siegel, Israeli Consul General, whose presentation Israel: Meeting the Challenges of the Middle East will cover a wide range of challenges and potential solutions. The closing performance at 3:30 is Life in a Jar: Irena Sendler Project, about the inspirational life of a Catholic woman who knocked on Jewish doors in the Warsaw ghetto and, in her own words, “tried to talk the mothers out of their children.” In the end, she was responsible for rescuing more than 2,500 children.
Family Day!
Family Day takes place on Sun., November 6, 11:00-2:00 p.m. The day features puppeteer (and daughter of Shari Lewis) Mallory Lewis with Lambchop; visiting children’s authors Ellen Bari, Amy Meltzer, and Rabbi Joe Black; storytelling; a special music performance by J*Company singers On the Town; Bal Yoga for Kids, exciting activities at the Kid Zone, a craft station, and an obstacle course. Children are encouraged to bring new or gently used children’s books for donation to the Ronald McDonald House. Family Day is underwritten by Dr. Andrew and Erna Viterbi. Admission to Family Day is FREE.
The Bookstore
The bookstore will offer thousands of titles for sale and is open to the public Nov. 3, 6-9:30 p.m., Nov. 5, 7-9:30 p.m., Nov. 6-10, 9:00 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Nov. 11, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., and Nov. 13, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. The books have been carefully selected by members of the Book Selection Committee after months of reading, research, and attendance at national and international booksellers conventions. Most have been published within the year or have been released for the first time in paperback in the past year. Proceeds from the sale of books support the programs of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture.
General Information
There is an admission charge for some authors, but the Book Fair, Family Day, and a variety of guest lectures are free and open to the public. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is located at 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Seacrest Village is located at 211 Saxony Road, Encinitas; and the Dove Library is at 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the JCC Box Office at 858-362-1348 or visit the web site at sdjbf.org
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Preceding provided by the Centre for Jewish Culture.