"Encouraging the publication of more Jewish board books by spreading the word of new Jewish board books is one of the best gifts you can give our kids." Bio Nancy Churnin is the award-winning author of multiple children's books including the National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor Honor winner and Junior Library Guild selection Dear Mr. Dickens. ...

Testimonials "As members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gila and I have swapped several manuscripts as each other's beta reader. Her comments have been both helpful and supportive. She is a consummate professional, a writer/editor with a heart, delivering her services in a timely and diplomatic manner. I recomme...

START DATE: Ongoing. We choose the same day each month to meet. There are options for weekly or twice-a-month meetings. DURATION: 4 meetings with the chance to renew for additional meetings. LOCATION: Email, Google Drive, Zoom FEEDBACK: Instructor feedback and critique on a shared Google document and via Zoom (optional) CONTACT: Through this&n...

Author Joanne Levy

I am very happy to welcome Joanne Levy to gilagreenwrites today. I love this interview. It's packed with valuable information for readers and writers alike about a very important topic. Thanks so much, Joanne for stopping by. Please drop me a line when you're ready for another visit. BIO: Joanne Levy is the author of the Sydney Taylor Notable and C...

I am thrilled to be teaching at Lounge Writers this fall. Only 10 spots available Date: 10/2 Time: 10:00 am - Noon PDT Cost: $40/$32 for members Class Level: Emerging - Intermediate Link and materials will be emailed at least 30 minutes before class. Memoir is as popular as ever. An increasing number of people have realized that their oral his...

Not long ago, I received a beautifully illustrated book in the mail titled A Visit to Moscow, written by Anna Olswanger. The graphic novel takes place in the 1960s and is inspired by a rabbi who traveled to the Soviet Union as part of a rabbinical delegation to visit Jewish victims of government-sponsored anti-Semitism. I approached Anna for a...

I am writing from New Vessel Press to request permission to reprint your short story "Roller Coaster" in a collection of Chanukah stories to be published on September 12, 2023...The title of the book: One for Each Night: The Greatest Chanukah Stories of All Time. I received a very early Chanukah 2023 present this year and it's my birthday this...

"Within a couple of days he had produced an exquisite black and white storyboard that he had photographed himself and had arranged a meeting with his contacts at Hogarth Worldwide - London's premier post-production house."  Author Bio Back in the distant mists of time, Alex spent three years at art college in Maidstone; a college that David Ho...

"Something I discovered early on in the novel writing process is that all I needed to do was tell the story, describe the settings and the characters, and let the symbolism emerge on its own." Although I earned an MFA in Creative Writing thirty years ago and wrote a novel as my thesis -- a novel I never tried to publish, as it felt like more of a l...

"I say go wild! Use whatever you want to. Throw out the damn rule book. Who made it, anyway? Use whatever you want, only: learn your craft and use these things well."  In July I had the pleasure of participating in YA Thriller Con for the second year in a row. This gave me the opportunity to interview some talented, wonderful authors and ...

WATCH LIVE PANEL WITH Q&A: "How Do You Write a Novel? Pantsing Vs Planning" with Amy McCaw, Kathryn Foxfield, Tracy Darnton, Dawn Kurtagich, with moderator Gila Green. WATCH IT HERE. I had so much fun interviewing these talented published authors. There's a ton of excellent advice here for new and established authors. I tried to cover ever...

Sally Constain

Today on gilagreenwrites, I'm excited to welcome Sally Constain, author of The Keys to Fanny. In addition to writing, we both teach English as a Foreign langauge, so it's always nice to meet others from around the world with the same occupations and learn from their experiences. Plus, she says she was very close to her grandmother and mine is still...

Author Eileen Grace Brill

Today on gilagreenwrites, I wish to welcome debut author Eileen Brill. Brill's just released novel has a fascinating origin, an actual letter in the wall that she found in her own home. So many times I have been inspired to write a story about real life events that never came to fruition, so cheers to Eileen who followed up on an amazing inspiratio...

Fiction can be full of ideas and can tackle important issues, but I now understand that it's usually not interesting when the writer has predetermined the points he or she wants to impart. by Avner Landes I'm excited to have author Avner Landes visit gilagreenwrites today. Way back (in another life), I met Avner at Bar Ilan University while I was s...

April Jewish Book Carnival

I'm thrilled to be the host of this month's Jewish Book Carnival. Passover is a season for growth, famil,y and fun, but also for time off to read and explore new authors. Welcome! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the contributing bloggers and to wish all of them and all of you a chag Pesach kasher V'Sameach!&nbs...

I love featuring authors monthly and learning from every one of them.  I particularly enjoy featuring fellow authors in Israel who write in English. I'm so pleased to say I've met Leah Scheier in person. Yes, I've had the honor and hope to do so again.  Leah's novel THE LAST WORDS WE SAID was just awarded the Sydney Taylor Honor...

BIO: Meryl Ain is a writer, author, and career educator. The Takeaway Men, her award-winning Post-Holocaust debut novel, was published in 2020. In 2021, she founded the Facebook group, Jews Love To Read! Her new podcast, People Of the Book, airs on Authors on the Air Global Radio Network beginning in February. A member of The International Advisory...

My colleague, Marc Kornblatt, has once again generously shared his latest short films with me. Worth watching! From YouTube: "Israeli-born artist Liran Bechar has travelled around the world, tripping over more than a few bumpy spots along the way. In this short video, filmmaker Marc Kornblatt celebrates Bechar's ability to turn his traumas int...

 Thank you so much to author Alex Pearl for including me in his new book.  Within these pages, authors from a wide spectrum of backgrounds wax lyrical about their backgrounds, motivations, and working methods. Among this throng, self-published newbies rub shoulders with award-winning bestsellers from all corners of the globe, including th...

 Photo by Robert Zunikoff on Unsplash Cost: $25  Time: Dec 19, 2021 11:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) Each of us has a story to tell, we just need the impetus to get started. Join me for this 90-minute workshop. We will examine some readings together (sent to you beforehand), and then discuss how we can use objects from the pa...

Thanks so much to author Julie Zuckerman for this poster. I repost here from her site.   Spread some light this Chanukah with the gift of books! There's something for every type of reader here...The books here are written by members of a group of Jewish women writers I'm privileged to be in. Many of them have appeared at Literary Modiin a...

This is a repost of the November Jewish Book Carnival. Thanks so much to Shilo Musings for putting this together this month.  The genre of Jewish Books has many subgenres fiction, biography, history, children's books and even poetry. Please click on the various reviews I've included to read them in their entirety and get to know the different ...

Thanks so much to Alex Pearl for spending time with me this week. Alex Pearl is the author of Sleeping with the Blackbirds and The Chair Man. In 2015, his eclectic collection of blog posts appeared in paperback under the title Random Ramblings of a short-sighted Blogger. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Gila Green onto the website today. ...

I love guest posts, and this one particularly resonated with me. I like to think I'm not alone in beating myself up when my writing routine falls apart or in worrying when I struggle to write. I'm thrilled to have Rabbi Amy Grossblatt Pessah visit gilagreenwrites and offer some deep and meaningful reflections on the practice and art of writing. Wel...

I'm very happy to introduce you to author Jonathan Hale Rosen. Jonathan's new work "The Museum of an Extinct Race"  is a dystopian glimpse into a world in which Judaism has been eliminated. Please welcome, Jonathan Hale Rosen to gilagreenwrites.    For more about the author Bio Jonathan Rosen is a Family Physician who has w...

 Far from being only about books, this entertaining and thought-provoking series of eleven multilingual, eclectic events brings together some of today's top literary minds in interviews and inspiring lectures, along with film, workshops, concerts and Russian dance & culture. Insightful Q&A sessions follow most presentations. These one-...

There is an urgent need for books with religiously diverse characters who don't stand out because of their religion or beliefs.  by Author Marcia Berneger I want to welcome Marcia Berneger to gilagreenwrites. I'm so happy to have her here to share her thoughts on a topic on the minds of many readers and writers: diversity in children's books. ...

Thanks to Barbara Bietz for hosting this month's Jewish Book Carnival. On gilagreenwrites, author Nancy Churnin talks children's book trends, the women in Charles Dickens' life, and Jewish symbols in her new work. Shiloh Musings has reviewed Pamela Braun Cohen's memoir about her decades as an American activist to free Soviet Jewry in HIDDEN HEROES....

First Steps in Writing Your Memoir  The world should know your story.  When: Thursday, October 21, 2021 12 PM ET (2-hour workshop) 7 PM Israel Each of us has a story to tell, we just need to get started.  Cost: $25 Register at Institute of JewishExperience.org

"I wondered, does that mean G-d has stopped talking to people? Are we on our own?" by Evonne Marzouk I'm very excited to have Evonne Marzouk visit gilagreenwrites today. She shares some deep insights into the two decades it took her to write her YA novel The Prophetess and the world she invented with "everyday" prophets. Please welcome Evonne Marzo...