Jewish Book Council

06/19/2026

On , we're turning to Kyra Davis Lurie's essay "Correcting the Injustice of Forgetting: The Black Angelenos of Sugar Hill." Lurie's novel, THE GREAT MANN, illuminates the vibrant Black community of Sugar Hill, too often "devalued, dismissed, and erased" in contemporary history. Read the essay here. https://bit.ly/3ZvN1L5

"Remem­ber the wealth that was built by many African Amer­i­cans at a time when they were not treat­ed as full cit­i­zens and had lim­it­ed rights. Remem­ber the civ­il rights war­riors who fought not on bat­tle­fields but in court­rooms. Remem­ber the Black actors who con­vinced Hol­ly­wood to hire more minori­ties and strug­gled to bring dig­ni­ty and pride to the demean­ing roles they were too often pushed into." ~Kyra Davis Lurie

My new novel, The Great Mann, is a reimagining of The Great Gatsby set in 1945 Los Angeles’ Sugar Hill, a neigh

06/18/2026

We're thrilled to announce that submissions are now open for the 76th National Jewish Book Awards. Learn more today! https://bit.ly/4vmDZhl

06/17/2026

"When I began mak­ing space in my cre­ative life for my newest thriller, THE LAST TIME WE SAW HER, to reveal itself to me I became trans­fixed by the Azores. An arch­i­pel­ago locat­ed in the Atlantic Ocean mid­way between the Unit­ed States and Por­tu­gal, these Por­tuguese islands are exceed­ing­ly remote and also, to my sur­prise, once home to an excep­tion­al­ly small — few­er than three hun­dred at its hey­day — Jew­ish community." ~Jaclyn Goldis

Jaclyn Goldis's shares how her propulsive new novel came to feature "The Untold Story of the Jews of the Azores." https://bit.ly/3QnZMpx (Atria Books)

One of my favorite parts of being an author is disappearing into a labyrinth of my own curiosities. And chief among those curiosities has always been setting.

06/16/2026

"Roar­ing up to the cre­ma­to­ri­um came three offi­cers on motor­bikes. Fifty boys were plucked out of the gas cham­ber. Dazed, they were cart­ed off, togeth­er with a stow­away, to make fifty-one." ~Linda F. Burghardt

Just out this month is Naftali Schiff and Michael Calvin's MIRACLE: THE BOYS WHO ESCAPED THE GAS CHAMBERS AT AUSCHWITZ. This powerful narrative brings to light this little-known history and the legacy of these boys. Read more below. https://bit.ly/4oNOTKN (Harper Horizon)

It was Simchat Torah, one of the most celebratory festival days of the Jewish year. But the murder at Auschwitz-Birkenau went on that day as usual. There was, after all, a quota to fill.

06/15/2026

Sum­mer camp. The words offer the tan­ta­liz­ing promise of nature, close friend­ships, romance, and ven­tur­ing away from home — and, for those of us too old to attend camp our­selves, deep nos­tal­gia. Jewish Book Council's editorial director recommends eight reads to height­en the antic­i­pa­tion of going to sum­mer camp or let you relive the angst and joy of being there. Check them out below!

Summer camp.

06/14/2026

What's the JBC team reading this month? Find out below! And share your June reads with us!

With summer almost here, it's time for vacation, relaxation, and, of course, reading!

06/13/2026

What's your ?

We're digging into Natalie Adler's stunning new novel, WAITING ON A FRIEND. JBC reviewer Sacha Lamb writes, "The novel is a tender, almost painful exploration of what it means to exist on the margins of society. Renata's bitterly funny narrative voice tempers the devastation of the events that unfold around her, as the boundaries between living and dead are blurred by the advance of the AIDS pandemic."
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Click below to read more from our review of this new book.⁠ https://bit.ly/4xmDBkn

06/12/2026

We mourn the passing of renowned author Jane Yolen. Yolen wrote over 400 books, spanning the genres of children's literature, science fiction, fantasy, and more. Her insightful and compelling stories inspired readers of all ages. May her memory be a blessing.

Read more on her books here. https://bit.ly/4fIQajB

And explore an essay from Yolen on "'If the Muse comes calling'" below. Yolen writes, "My soft spot as a writer is the place where his­to­ry, poet­ry, and leg­end com­bine to tell a deep­er truth." https://bit.ly/4xoZcIZ
Pho­to cred­it: Jason Stemple

06/12/2026

in 1929 Anne Frank was born. In honor of this, we're revisiting Ruth Franklin's of Anne Frank. THE MANY LIVES OF ANNE FRANK explores the legacy of her in arts and culture in the years since the diary was published in 1947. https://bit.ly/4e3Kob9

Ruth Franklin wrote for JBC on "Anne Frank as Idea and Inspiration." Click below to read more. https://bit.ly/3Ejrayy
Jewish Lives
📷️ Pass­port pho­tographs of Anne Frank, 1939

06/11/2026