Jewish Book Month
Encyclopedia
Jewish Book Month is an important annual event in both the American Jewish community and the publishing world. It is sponsored by the Jewish Book Council
. It is held annually in November, to come shortly before the Chanukah gift-giving season. Book fairs are held in most major cities with Jewish communities, albeit not in New York, and feature lectures by visiting authors.
Jewish communities sponsor the fairs to promote Jewish culture. For the industry, they are a major marketing tool. According to Publisher’s Weekly book fairs generate over $3 million in annual revenue. For many years the Jewish Book Council
held its annual meeting simultaneously with Book Expo America, enabling Jewish book fair planners to look over the forthcoming books and meet the authors. In 2004 this system was replaced by an annual meeting of the Jewish Book Network coordinated by the Jewish Book Council
.
Since 1994, the Council has been run by Carolyn Starman Hessel who is credited with growing Jewish Book Month and the associated book tours into one of the most important marketing events in American publishing, and a cultural center of American Jewish life. Hessel is credited with a knack for picking hot new novelists, she is said to have launched the careers of Nathan Englander
, Myla Goldberg
, Nicole Krauss
and Jonathan Safran Foer
by selecting them and sending them on tours of the Jewish book fairs.
The annual meeting is, effectively, an annual author’s audition. The New York Times calls it, “a bizarre rite of passage: the Jewish book tour casting call.” Jeffrey Goldberg
characterized the audition as an experience “somewhere between JDate
and a camel auction.” Authors of books that range from serious works of religious history to comic novels stand and speak for precisely 60 seconds to an audience of over one hundred organizers of Jewish book fairs and lecture series. Getting signed to a tour of these venues is said to have the power not merely to launch a Jewish-themed book, but to lift titles from Jewish to general success.
Jewish Book Council
The Jewish Book Council, founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of quality English language books of Jewish content in North America". It is the only...
. It is held annually in November, to come shortly before the Chanukah gift-giving season. Book fairs are held in most major cities with Jewish communities, albeit not in New York, and feature lectures by visiting authors.
Jewish communities sponsor the fairs to promote Jewish culture. For the industry, they are a major marketing tool. According to Publisher’s Weekly book fairs generate over $3 million in annual revenue. For many years the Jewish Book Council
Jewish Book Council
The Jewish Book Council, founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of quality English language books of Jewish content in North America". It is the only...
held its annual meeting simultaneously with Book Expo America, enabling Jewish book fair planners to look over the forthcoming books and meet the authors. In 2004 this system was replaced by an annual meeting of the Jewish Book Network coordinated by the Jewish Book Council
Jewish Book Council
The Jewish Book Council, founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of quality English language books of Jewish content in North America". It is the only...
.
Since 1994, the Council has been run by Carolyn Starman Hessel who is credited with growing Jewish Book Month and the associated book tours into one of the most important marketing events in American publishing, and a cultural center of American Jewish life. Hessel is credited with a knack for picking hot new novelists, she is said to have launched the careers of Nathan Englander
Nathan Englander
Nathan Englander is a Jewish-American author born in Long Island, NY in 1970. He wrote the short story collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., in 1999...
, Myla Goldberg
Myla Goldberg
Myla Goldberg is an American novelist and musician.-Biography:Goldberg was born into a Jewish family. She was raised in Laurel, Maryland, and graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School. She majored in English at Oberlin College, graduating in 1993...
, Nicole Krauss
Nicole Krauss
Nicole Krauss is an American author best known for her novels Man Walks Into a Room , The History of Love and, most recently, Great House...
and Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer is an American author best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...
by selecting them and sending them on tours of the Jewish book fairs.
The annual meeting is, effectively, an annual author’s audition. The New York Times calls it, “a bizarre rite of passage: the Jewish book tour casting call.” Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Mark Goldberg is an American journalist. He is an author and a staff writer for The Atlantic, having previously worked for The New Yorker. Goldberg writes principally on foreign affairs, with a focus on the Middle East and Africa...
characterized the audition as an experience “somewhere between JDate
JDate
JDate is an online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. The service is one of a number of demographically focused online match-making websites operated by Spark Networks plc.JDate offers two tiers of service: free and premium...
and a camel auction.” Authors of books that range from serious works of religious history to comic novels stand and speak for precisely 60 seconds to an audience of over one hundred organizers of Jewish book fairs and lecture series. Getting signed to a tour of these venues is said to have the power not merely to launch a Jewish-themed book, but to lift titles from Jewish to general success.