People of the Book

Meryl chats with Michelle about her new novel, Babylon: A Novel of Jewish Captivity (September 12, 2023). They discuss how Michelle came to write about the Biblical saga of the Babylonian exile, and its meaning for today. They also talk about historical fiction and Michelle’s writing and research process.

Michelle is the award-winning author of several works of historical fiction and poetry including Beyond the Ghetto Gates, The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz, and In the Shadow of the Globe. Her new novel, Babylon: A Novel of Jewish Captivity is the multi-generational Biblical saga of Sarah, her children and grandchildren, exiled to Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar’s army conquers Judea and destroys the Temple. Michelle lived in Israel for fifteen years and served as an officer in the Israeli army teaching air force cadets technical English. She is a director of The Writers Circle, a NJ-based organization that offers creative writing programs to children, teens, and adults. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and has two grown sons.

Author’s website: michelle-cameron.com/
Instagram: @michellecameronwriter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michellecameronauthor

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Meryl chats with Meryl Frank about her new memoir, Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust. They discuss the author’s multi-year, multi-country research journey to unravel the story of what happened to her cousin, Franya Winter, a celebrated actress in the Yiddish Theater who perished during The Holocaust. They talk about the resurgence of antisemitism today and the importance of keeping alive the memory and lessons of The Holocaust.

Ambassador Meryl Frank (ret) is an international champion of women’s leadership, human rights and political participation. She is the former mayor of Highland Park, NJ and was named one of “The Fifty Most Influential Jews in the World” by The Jerusalem Post. Frank serves as President of Makeda Global Network and sits on the US Holocaust Memorial Council and the Board of YIVO, the Institute for Jewish Research. Her memoir, Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust is available from Hachette Books.

Author’s website: www.merylfrank.com/

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Meryl chats with Linda Kass about her new novel, Bessie (September 12, 2023). They discuss Bess Myerson’s early life and her crowning as the first and only Jewish Miss America in 1945. They also talk about antisemitism in the wake of the Holocaust and World War II, the publishing industry, and Gramercy Books, Linda’s independent bookstore in Columbus, Ohio.

Linda Kass is the author of the new novel, Bessie, which was named A Hasty Book List Most-Anticipated Historical Fiction Title for 2023. She has also written two other historical novels, Tasa’s Song and A Ritchie Boy. A Ritchie Boy was the 2021 IPPY Gold Medal Winner in Historical Fiction. Linda began her career as a magazine journalist and correspondent for regional and national publications. She is the founder and owner of Gramercy Books, an independent bookstore in Columbus, Ohio.

Author’s website: lindakass.com

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Meryl talks with Corie Adjmi about her new novel, The Marriage Box, the story of Casey Cohen, a sixteen-year-old in New Orleans in the 1970s. When Casey gets into trouble, her parents decide to return to their roots, the Orthodox Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn. Meryl chats with Corie about how and why it took her 20 years to write this book and how that community has changed over the past 50 years.

Corie is an award-winning, best-selling author. Her first book was a collection of short stories titled, LIFE AND OTHER SHORTCOMINGS, and her most recent publication is a novel titled, THE MARRIAGE BOX. Corie writes both fiction and non-fiction about marriage, family, community, Jewish life, patriarchy, and culture. Her work has appeared in HuffPost, Newsweek, North American Review, Indiana Review, Motherwell, Kveller, and others. When she is not writing, Corie does volunteer work, cooks, bikes and hikes. She and her husband have five children and a number of grandchildren, with more on the way. She lives and works in New York City.

Author’s website: corieadjmi.com
Instagram: @CorieAdjmi

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Meryl chats with A.J. Sidransky and Miriam Abrahams about A.J’s new book, Incident at San Miguel, a novel about two brothers on opposite sides of Castro’s Cuban revolution. Sidransky based his story on the experiences of Abrahams’ father and uncle.

A.J. Sidransky writes about ordinary people faced with extraordinary situations and events. Genres include mystery, thriller, and historical fiction. His work has been described as a mystery wrapped in history and tied in a bow with a little romance. His books include, Forgiving Maximo Rothman, Forgiving Stephen Redmond, Forgiving Mariela Camacho and The Interpreter. Incident at San Miguel, a thriller set during the Cuban Revolution is his newest work and was released May 19, 2023. AJ’s short stories have appeared in anthologies, magazines, and e-zines. A.J. Sidransky lives in upper Manhattan with his wife.

Miriam Abrahams was born in Havana in 1961, raised in Brooklyn, and currently lives in Long Beach after 27 years in the Five Towns on Long Island. She’s a graduate of Brooklyn College, a wife and mother of 3 and grandmother of 2. Miriam is fluent in Spanish and Hebrew. She is a longtime volunteer book reviewer for Jewish Book Council and former Hadassah Nassau One Region One Book coordinator. A certified yoga instructor for 13 years, she is a lifelong avid reader and a slice of life essayist.

Website: ajsidransky.com/
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ajsidranskybooks/

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Meryl chats with Becca Kantor about the history and mission

Becca Kantor is the editorial director of Jewish Book

Website: www.jewishbookcouncil.org/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JewishBookCouncil/

Instagram: @jewishbookcouncil

People of the Book is a copyrighted work © of Meryl Ain and

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Meryl chats with Howard Kaplan about his new novel, The Syrian Sunset, a sweeping novel of international intrigue about the Syrian Civil War.
Howard Kaplan, a native of Los Angeles, has lived in Israel and traveled extensively through Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. At the age of 21, he was sent on a mission into the Soviet Union to smuggle a dissident's manuscript on microfilm to London. His first trip was a success. On his second trip, he transferred a manuscript to the Dutch Ambassador inside his Moscow embassy. A week later, he was arrested in Khartiv in the Ukraine and interrogated for two days there and then two days in Moscow, before being expelled from the USSR. The KGB had picked him up for meeting dissidents and did not know about the manuscript transfers. He holds a BA in Middle East History from UC Berkeley and an MA in Philosophy of Education from UCLA. He is the author of six novels. DAMASCUS COVER is now a major motion picture starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Sir John Hurt and Olivia Thirlby available now on Tubi.
Website: howardkaplanbooks.com/
Facebook Author Page:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/howard.kaplan.359

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Renee Weingarten, founder of the Facebook group, Renee’s Reading Club, chats with Meryl Ain about her new Historical Fiction novel, Shadows We Carry, the sequel to her award-winning debut novel, The Takeaway Men. The program was a special presentation of the Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence, LI, where Renee is a librarian..

Renee Weingarten is a librarian at Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence, LI and the founder of the Facebook group, Renee’s Reading Club, which has more than 43,600 members. Meryl Ain is a writer, author, career educator and host of the podcast, People of the Book. The Takeaway Men, her award-winning post-Holocaust debut novel, was published in 2020. The sequel, Shadows We Carry, was published in April. Meryl is the founder of the Facebook group, Jews Love To Read!

Meryl’s website: merylain.com/

Jews Love To Read! www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744
People of the Book: www.facebook.com/PeopleOfTheBookWithMerylAin
Facebook: facebook.com/MerylAinAuthor/
Amazon: a.co/d/ec5DbXn
Twitter: @DrMerylAin
Instagram: meryl_ain

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Avid readers and activists in the Jewish community, Randi Brenowitz and Bayla Lovens chat with Meryl Ain about her new book, Shadows We Carry, the sequel to her award-winning debut novel, The Takeaway Men.

Fraternal twins Bronka and JoJo find themselves on the cusp of momentous change for women in the late 1960s. With the United States in the grip of political and social upheaval, the twins and their peers, including a Catholic priest and the son of a Nazi, struggle with their family’s ancestry and how much influence it has on their lives.

Randi Brenowitz has just been elected to her second term as the International President of the Board of the Melton School for Adult Jewish Learning. Bayla Lovens has been involved in working in the Jewish Community, both professionally and as a volunteer, for most of her life. Meryl Ain is a writer, author, career educator and host of the podcast, People of the Book. The Takeaway Men, her award-winning post-Holocaust debut novel, was published in 2020. Meryl is the founder of the Facebook group, Jews Love To Read! Both Bayla and Randi are active members.

Meryl’s website: merylain.com/
Jews Love To Read! www.facebook.com/groups/455865462463744
People of the Book: www.facebook.com/PeopleOfTheBookWithMerylAin
Facebook: facebook.com/MerylAinAuthor/
Amazon: a.co/d/ec5DbXn
Twitter: @DrMerylAin
Instagram: meryl_ain

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Meryl chats with Jennifer Rosner about her new novel, Once We Were Home (March 14,

Note: Here is the link to the event Meryl talks about at the beginning of the episode, One Book, One Hadassah: Live with Pam Jenoff, author of Code Name Sapphire. Free on Zoom, open to everyone. Register at: https://events.hadassah.org/codenamesapphire

In this episode, Jennifer Rosner and Meryl Ain discuss the response of the Jewish community to child survivors

Jennifer is the author of the novels, Once We Were Home, and The Yellow

Author’s website: jennifer-rosner.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100062410157920

Instagram: @jennifer.amy.rosner

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