Jewish Book Council

Established in 1944, the Jewish Book Council is the oldest organization dedicated solely to promoting and celebrating Jewish literature. For more than seventy years, we have utilized literature as a way to foster meaningful conversations about Jewish life, identity, and culture. The written word has been essential in the growth and strengthening of Jewish communities globally. The Jewish Book Council is honored to continue this vital legacy.

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Illustrating the Emotion of Jewish Life: A Conversation with Jenny Kroik

3 days ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Becca Kantor

Jenny Kroik is a renowned illustrator whose work has appeared in literary journals such as The New Yorker and The Paris Review, news outlets including The Washington Post and The LA Times, streaming services and broadcasts like HBO and PBS, and many more. Kroik has also illustrated short stories published in JBC’s literary journal, Paper Brigade—most recently “The Roman Palms” by Barak Kassar.
Glass Century

1 week ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Ross Barkan

Review By – May 5, 2025 Glass Century, Ross Barkan’s ambitious and wide-reaching second novel, starts with a comedic deceit: Saul Plotz, married father of two, arranges a fake wedding with his lover, Mona Glass, to trick and appease Mona’s old-world parents. It’s New York City in the early seventies, and the two lovers believe that, despite their fictional union, their arrangement — involving Saul sneaking out to see Mona on a weekly basis — will be okay, at least for now.
JBC Bookshelf: Summer 2025

1 week ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Simona Zaretsky

Summer officially begins on June 20 and lasts through September 22. For JBC, this means taking ample time to sit outside with a book, a beverage, and (depending on your location) a breath of fresh air. During this gloriously long stretch of summer, a plethora of thrilling books will come out. Below are ten we’re particularly excited about, along with three late spring books not to be missed.
Blast

2 weeks ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Kristin Harmel |Michael Berkowitz

Not all wars end the day peace is declared. In Claire Deya’s novel Blast, translated from the French by Adriana Hunter, this immediately becomes clear. Blast takes place in Spring 1945 on the southern coast of France as World War II is nearing its end. The characters not only carry the psychological burdens of personal trauma and guilt; they are also tasked with the still-dangerous cleanup after the fighting is over.
Go On Pretending

2 weeks ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Alina Adams

Review By – April 28, 2025 Like Alina Adams’s previous two historical novels, Go On Pretending follows three generations of Jewish women in Russia and America. Adams, who was born in Odessa and came to the USA as a child, is intimately familiar with this subject. Go On Pretending mainly takes place in America. Protagonist Rose falls in love with an African American man and moves with him to Russia during the Krushchev era.
The Light Keeper

2 weeks ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Karen Levine

By – April 28, 2025 This story is set in a shtetl in Europe, but its themes — bravery, overcoming fears, family responsibility, and the importance of community — are universal. Ten-year-old Shmuel wants to help his family, who are poor and depend on one another to pitch in order to make ends meet. However, he is only an inexperienced boy and no one is willing to hire him for any kind of work.
Do You Find the Interracial Jewish Family in My Novel Unbelievable? Good!

2 weeks ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Alina Adams

Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina, “All happy families are alike. Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”Well, according to some, all Soviet Jewish immigrant families are alike, too. As are all interracial families. When my first historical fiction novel, The Nesting Dolls—which features the daughter of Soviet Jewish refugees dating an African American man—came out in 2020, I was advised that I didn’t understand how immigrant families worked.
I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children, and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust

1 month ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Julian Borger

Review By – April 7, 2025 In August, 1938, a classified ad in The Manchester Guardian read: “I seek a kind person who will educate my intelligent Boy, aged 11, Viennese of good family.”The ad — and others like it, which ran alongside the crossword puzzle, radio programming and competing pitches for stamps and musical instruments — was placed in the British newspaper by Leo Borger, a Viennese Jew.
‘America Was Founded with Chutzpah’: A Conversation with Senator Ron Wyden

1 month ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Becca Kantor

Ron Wyden, a senior United States senator from Oregon for nearly thirty years, now brings us It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change. In conversation with JBC, he reflects on how chutzpah provided the foundation for his career and the US as a whole, and how it remains “the indispensable instrument for making change in your world.” Becca Kantor: To start off, I’d love to have you define “chutzpah” in your own words.
Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance

1 month ago | jewishbookcouncil.org | Stefan Hertmans |David McKay

Memoirs written by poets and novelists often have a special charm to them, even when they deal with difficult and painful subjects, and Joe Dunthorne’s book, based on his family’s history, takes this a step further, infusing energy and intensity into the narrative and bringing the reader directly into his remarkable adventure.