The Southern California community turns out to celebrate Jewish Book Month
While trendsetters might argue that Los Angeles is the defining point of Western civilization, others could point out that Los Angeles is behind the curve when it comes to Jewish book festivals.
True enough. Los Angeles has had a difficult time staging a Jewish book festival over the years. Whether because of large geographical distances or simply because of lack of adequate funding, Los Angeles institutions have not cultivated the tradition.
Children gather in the tent, listening intently to stories read by their authors.
Author Michael Chabon intrigues the audience with personal experiences that have influenced his writing.
November, which is Jewish Book month, welcomed a hugely successful book festival, AJU’s Celebration of Jewish Books. Sure to become an annual event, the Celebration attracted more than 3,000 guests from all parts of Southern California. The publishing industry was well represented with inperson appearances from popular Jewish authors, such as Michael Chabon, Tony Kushner and Anita Diamant.
More than 30 authors joined the week-long event, which culminated with Sunday’s festival, featuring Israeli music and dance, children’s acts, entertainment and an array of trendy, kosher food vendors.
Why did the Celebration of Jewish Books meet with such success? Vice President of AJU’s Whizin Center for Continuing Education, Dr. Gady Levy, explains, “This shows there is a need in the community for a book fair of this kind. Plus, it’s a natural for the University to sponsor the event, since we are about people, books and learning. With good marketing and generous funding, we hit the mark. Stay tuned for next year.”
“…there is a need in the community for this kind of book fair”
— Gady Levy, Vice President, Whizin Center for Continuing Education
