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2009-10 Bookfair Schedule

Currently, details are being finalized for author appearances through April. However, the following events and author appearances are being planned:

Chris Bohjalian, author of Skeletons at the Feast, on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. at the JCC. Based on the actual diary kept by his friend's East Prussian grandmother from 1920 to 1945, Bohjalian's WWII love story is set in January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines. Among the group is 18 year old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a 20 year old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family's farm as forced labor. And there is a 26 year old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred - who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz. As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna's and Callum's love, as well as their friendship with Manfred - assuming any of them even survive. Chris Bohjalian is the critically acclaimed author of eleven novels, including the #1 New York Times Bestseller and Oprah's Book Club selection Midwives.

Barbara Levenson, author of Fatal February, on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. at the Northeast Jewish Community Campus, 150 E. Granville Rd., New Albany. For half-Jewish, half-Southern Baptist Miami criminal defense attorney Mary Magruder Katz, life starts to spin completely out of control when a minor fender bender turns out to be an unlikely shot from Cupid's bow. Carlos Martin, the other car's driver, isn't just a distracted driver; he's distracting. Carlos is charming, handsome, and mysterious. Hardly before she knows what hit her, Mary breaks off her engagement, jumps into a sizzling romance with Carlos, gets fired from her former fiancé's highbrow law firm, starts her own practice, and lands her first client, Lillian Yarmouth. But Lillian isn't just any client; she's the prime suspect in what's become the Miami society murder of the year. While investigating Lillian's alleged crime of passion, Mary finds that this case, like all matters of the heart, is anything but black and white. And Mary has clearly stumbled onto something that has someone seeing red. February may be the shortest month of the year, but Mary's got some long days (and nights) ahead. This month could be a real killer.

Bryan Mark Rigg, author of Lives of Hitler's Jewish Soldiers: Untold Tales of Men of Jewish Descent Who Fought for the Third Reich, on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth Tikvah, 6121 Olentangy River Rd., Worthington. This companion volume to Rigg's very successful first book, Hitler's Jewish Soldiers, provides a closer look at the experiences of nearly two dozen of these soldiers, deepening our understanding of the complex intersection of Nazi race laws and German military service, before and during WWII. Bryan Mark Rigg is a former US Marine Corps officer and volunteer in the Israeli Army. His work has won the William E. Colby Award for Military History, has been featured on NBC-TV's Dateline, and has been translated into eleven languages.


• Plans currently are being finalized for an April 2010 Bookfair event. An announcement with more details will be coming soon!

For more information on any of the Bookfair events, contact Melanie Butter at mbutter@columbusjcc.org or (614) 559-6233.

Autumn Bookfair

Bookfair opened with record attendance on Nov. 1, with an appearance by Jeffrey Zaslow, author of The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship. In addition to talking about the book, he thrilled the audience with his humorous stories of life as a Wall Street Journal columnist and the people he has interviewed during his career. Click here to view follow-up interviews with Jeffrey and members of the Columbus community discussing "The Girls from Ames" and others.

Bookfair's second author appearance featured Martin Fletcher, author of Breaking News, who gave a presentation on his three decades of covering wars, revolutions, and natural disasters. During his presentation at the JCC on Nov. 3, he also talked about working his way from news agency cameraman to top network correspondent, facing down his own fears while facing up to mass killers, warlords, and murders. He is currently the NBC News Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv, and he covers the Israel-Palestinian conflict from Gaza. Click here to view a recent interview with Martin on MSNBC.


Charlotte Gordon, author of The Woman Who Named God: Abraham's Dilemma and the Birth of Three Faiths, spoke at the JCC on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Her presentation focused on the saga of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, and how theirs is the tale of origin for all three monotheistic faiths. Long a cornerstone of Western anxiety, the story chronicles a very famous and troubled family, and sheds light on the ongoing conflict between the Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds. Gordon gave her Bookfair audience a startling perspective on three biblical characters who - with their jealousies, passions, and doubts - actually behave like human beings.

Alan Veingrad, a former Offensive Lineman with the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, and a member of the Super Bowl XXVII World Champion Dallas Cowboy Team in 1992, gave a special Bookfair presentation on Sunday, Nov. 8, at the JCC about his experiences as a professional football champion, and how they led him on a journey toward becoming an observant Jew. Alan currently is writing a book about his journey and what it takes to win. His appearance at Bookfair was presented in partnership with the Columbus Community Kollel.


• Steve Sheinkin, author of The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey, gave a very interesting presentation on Nov. 10 about how he creates his books' characters and their stories, which actually are based on classic Jewish folktales, Talmudic teachings and Hassidic legends. His graphic novels highlight the adventures of being Jewish in the Wild West, and contain layers of humor and timeless wisdom that entertain and inspire readers of all ages. OSU Professor Stephen Fink preceded the talk by giving a brief presentation on the growing trend toward graphic novels, and how the Jewish Graphic Novel has become an iconic art form. Sheinkin's appearance at Bookfair was presented in partnership with the Melton Center for Jewish Studies at The Ohio State University.


Michael J. Rosen, author of You, Me, and the ABCs, came to the JCC on Nov. 12 to visit with new readers and their favorite grown-ups. Children also participated in story time with the Columbus Metropolitan Library, played with interactive ABC stations, and visited the Bookmobile. The event was supported by the PJ Library of the Columbus Jewish Federation, the Parent Committees of the JCC College Avenue, JCC North, and JCC New Albany Preschools, Jewish Family Services, and the Rose Caplan Endowment for Youth Literacy.

Alan Katchen, author of Abel Kiviat, National Champion, gave a presentation about Kiviat (aka "The Hebrew Runner") at the JCC on Nov. 12. Katchen's engaging biography centers Abel Kiviat's life and his sport firmly in the context of American social history - from his first schoolboy competitions on city playgrounds, to his world records at Madison Square Garden, to his pioneering role as track's press steward in the age of emerging media. (Katchen even revealed that he had met Kiviat during a track meet in which Katchen was competing and Kiviat was officiating. Katchen himself now holds the distinction of serving as announcer at Capital University track meets.)

Austin Ratner, author of The Jump Artist, on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 12:30 p.m. at the JCC. (A light lunch will be offered. Book groups and knitting circles may enjoy this casual gathering for the author discussion.) The Jump Artist features Philippe Halsman, famous for his photographs of celebrities jumping in the air, for putting Marilyn Monroe (among countless others) on the cover of Life Magazine, and for his bizarre collaborations with Salvador Dali. What is not well known is his role in the "Austrian Dreyfus Affair" which rocked Europe in the years leading up to WWII. While hiking in the Tyrolean Alps, Philippe's father was brutally murdered when Philippe went ahead on the trail. The year was 1928, Nazism was on the rise and Philippe, a Jewish 22 year old from Latvia, was charged with the murder. He spent several years in an Austrian prison and the trial became a public scandal that pitted many prominent intellectuals, including Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, against the rising tide of fascism.

Stay Tuned for the a Line-Up of Author Appearances at the next JCC Jewish Bookfair!

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