The Whole Megillah- Mid-Week Field Notes–January 26, 2022Some very quick things: I’ve been highly distracted by an auto-immune skin disease, that despite various treatments, continues to spread as a rash and create erosive legions. Each day is a new nightmare. Overnight it has affected my eyes, fingers, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Awards AnnouncedThis morning the Association of Jewish Libraries issued a press release announcing the winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Awards. Congratulations to all the gold medal, silver medal, and notable books and their authors. 2022 Sydney Taylor Book, Manuscript, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots 2022 | Week 3, What You Don’t See about MeWeek 3’s #52snapshots prompt is about what others don’t know or can’t see about you. My first draft was about all missing organs: tonsils, two parathyroid glands, female parts, and gall bladder. But as I was writing about the gall … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- 2021 National Jewish Book Awards AnnouncedToday the Jewish Book Council announced winners and finalists of its National Jewish Book Awards. For the entire press release and list, click here. Mazel tov to all winners and finalists! Children’s Picture Book Winner: Dear Mr. Dickens Nancy Churnin, illustrated … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–January 19, 2022Some very quick things: The first issue of The Sepia Chronicles | Writing the Past went out on Sunday. If interested in subscribing to this or the writing family history and memoir newsletter, please either comment below or send an … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots 2022 | Week 2, I RememberSaturday night trips for books and records Week 2’s #52snapshots prompt is about “I Remember.” I made a list of things I remembered with a time limit of five minutes. The items revolved around trips with my father. I don’t … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–January 12, 2022Some very quick things: I’ve been accepted into the Kenyon Review writing session for teachers and adjuncts later this month. I’m thrilled to be writing with other educators under the auspices of a literary journal I revere. The Sepia Chronicles … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Author’s Notebook | The Book Bible by Susan ShapiroShapiro, Susan. The Book Bible: How to Sell Your Manuscript–No Matter What Genre–Without Going Broke or Insane. New York: Skyhorse, February 2022. Last winter I read Susan Shapiro‘s The Byline Bible and gained inspiration to write about why my grandmother, … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots 2022 | Week 1, My NameInstead of marking #52snapshots as a 2021 done deal, I decided for 2022 I would follow Sonja Livingston’s 52 prompts exactly as laid out in Fifty-Two Snapshots: A Memoir Starter Kit. By the end of the year, I should have … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–January 5, 2022Some very quick things: I have decided on a different #52snapshot journey for 2022. I will write to a different prompt from Sonja Livingston‘s Fifty-Two Snapshots: A Memoir Starter Kit each Friday and blog about the process and insights. I … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes–January 26, 2022
Category Archives: Two-in-One
Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | Hannah G. Solomon Dared to Make a Difference with Author Bonnie Lindauer and Illustrator Sofia Moore
Lindauer, Bonnie. Hannah G. Solomon Dared to Make a Difference. Illustrated by Sofia Moore. Minneapolis: Kar-Ben, 2021. The Whole Megillah (TWM): Welcome, Bonnie Lindauer and Sofia Moore! Bonnie, let’s start with you. What inspired you to write about Hannah G. … Continue reading
Posted in Authors, Two-in-One
Tagged Bonnie Lindauer, Hannah G Solomon, Joni Sussman, Kar-Ben, Sofia Moore
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Two-in-One: The Eight Knights of Hanukkah, written by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Galia–Now a 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book!
Kimmelman, Leslie. The Eight Knights of Hanukkah. Illus. Galia Bernstein. Holiday House, September 2020, 48 pp., $17.99 The Whole Megillah welcomes writer Leslie Kimmelman and illustrator Galia Bernstein to the forum. We asked them a few questions about their book, … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One
Tagged Galia Bernstein, Leslie Kimmelman, The Eight Knights of Hanukkah
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Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | Essie’s Revelation Summer by Deanie Yasner with Publisher Nancy Sayre
Yasner, Deanie. Essie Rose’s Revelation Summer. Golden Alley Press, 2019, 241 pp. $8.99. The Whole Megillah (TWM): Essie Rose’s Revelation Summer captures so many historical (and emotional) details. How much of those came from your memory vs. research? How much … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One
Tagged deanie yasner, Essie Rose's Revelation Summer, Golden Alley Press, Nancy Sayre
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Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | In the Jerusalem Forest by Devora Busheri and illustrated by Noa Kelner
In the Jerusalem Forest by Devora Busheri and illustrated by Noa Kelner, 32 pp., Kar-Ben Publishing, 2019. Israel-based Devora and I met as inaugural fellows at the 2017 Jewish Children’s Literature Tent at the Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA. The … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One
Tagged Devora Busheri, Hayyim Bialik, In the Jerusalem Forest. Noa Kelner, Joni Sussman, Kar-Ben, the pond
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Two-in-One Notebook | Author L.B. Schulman and Senior Editor Mary Colgan, Stolen Secrets
Schulman, L. B. Stolen Secrets. Boyds Mills Press, 2017, 304 pp. The Whole Megillah (TWM): How did you come up with the idea for this book? L.B. Schulman (LS): After listening to an interview on the radio, I realized that before … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One, Uncategorized
Tagged anne frank, Boyds Mills Press, l.b. schulman, lisa schulman, mary colgan, stolen secrets
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Two-in-One Authors’ Notebook | Oedipus in Brooklyn & Other Stories by Blume Lempel, translated by Ellen Cassedy and Yermiyahu Ahron Taub
Oedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories by Blume Lempel, translated by Ellen Cassedy and Yermiyahu Ahron Taub. Mandel Vilar Press and Dryad Press, November 15, 2016. The Whole Megillah (TWM): How did this project come about? Ellen Cassedy (EC): Years ago, … Continue reading
Two-in-One Notebook: Novelist Ruchama Feuerman and Agent Anna Olswanger
The Whole Megillah (TWM): You write for children and adults. How do you balance your time and interest? Ruchama Feuerman (RF): I don’t. I’m all over the place. When I resonate with a project, I devour it and it devours … Continue reading
Two-in-One Notebook Special: Spinoza: the Outcast Thinker with Author Devra Lehmann and Editor Karen Klockner
The Whole Megillah (TWM): Why Spinoza? How did you come to this subject? Devra Lehmann (DL): Spinoza had hovered in my mind ever since high school, when my Jewish history teacher briefly mentioned Spinoza as a Jew tragically gone off the … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One
Tagged devra lehmann, karen klockner, namelos, spinoza the outcast thinker
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National Jewish Book Award Winner| The Patchwork Torah with Author Allison Ofanansky and Illustrator Elsa Oriol
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award Illustrated Children’s Book Category The Patchwork Torah is a global collaboration between U.S.-based publisher, Kar-Ben, author Allison Ofanansky in Israel and illustrator Elsa Oriol in France. The Whole Megillah (TWM): Allison, what inspired you … Continue reading
Posted in Two-in-One
Tagged 2014 national jewish book awards, allison ofanansky, elsa oriol, Kar-Ben, the patchwork torah
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Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | Hidden Like Anne Frank
Welcome to 2015! I’m back after a bout of cancer and am starting the New Year off with an interview with Hidden Like Anne Frank co-author Marcel Prins and translator Laura Watkinson. The book includes 14 oral history narratives of Jews hidden … Continue reading
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