I wholly disagree that memoir is trashy, primitive or low-rent. It's tough. It's human. It's revelatory. When done well, it's the full-body shivers or deep-buried sigh or unbidden tears. I love interviewing authors and I particularly like hearing from my colleagues here in Israel writing in English as we share so many commonalities. I'm happy ...
Jennifer Rosner is the author of the novels Once We Were Home and The Yellow Bird Sings, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award; the memoir If A Tree Falls: A Family's Quest to Hear and Be Heard, about raising her deaf daughters in a hearing, speaking world; and a children's book, The Mitten String, which is a Sydney Taylor Book Award ...
Bio Tara Ison is the author of the novels The List (Scribner), A Child out of Alcatraz (Faber & Faber; a Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Rockaway (Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press; featured as one of the "Best Books of Summer" in O, The Oprah Magazine). Her essay collection, Reeling Through Life: How I Learned to Live, Love, and...
There's something universal about the desire for change in general, and the urge to become the person you would like to be, not simply the person you were born as. I was delighted when Angela Himself contacted me and would like to extend a warm welcome to her today on gilagreenwrites. She speaks so to the point about the struggles many writers have...
"The series was created because I wanted to do something to counter all the negative publicity Israel tends to get. I wanted to have a main character who simply had a love of the country." by Stephen J. Gordon I am thrilled to welcome author Stephen J. Gordon to gilagreenwrites. Today he will be talking about his mystery-thrill...
"I would encourage a Jewish young person to express their Jewish identity in any way that feels comfortable to them." Bio Jacqueline Jules is the author of over fifty books for young readers including the Zapato Power series, the Sofia Martinez series, The Porridge-Pot Goblin, My Name is Hamburger, Never Say a Mean Word Again, and Tag Your Dreams: ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
"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...
I'm so excited to have Nancy Churnin visit gilagreenwrites. Her new children's book is an absolute delight to read! After all of these years with Charles Dickens, this book explores a refreshing, new (well, new to me), Jewish angle that is so well done. Nancy doesn't hit the reader over the head with a hammer, yet gets her message across about "spe...
At the times when you're feeling dispirited or disillusioned with the process – when you're bogged down in editing, or querying and getting nowhere – holding onto the reason you created the story you chose to can really help you to keep going and hold onto what matters to you. by Author Kit Mallory One of the nicest things about receiving invitatio...
People who suffer from mental illness are individuals, they are not the illness. by Author Florence Kraut Today Florence Kraut visits gilagreenwrites. I just finished writing my seventh novel titled "A Good Eye," which explores narcisstic personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (specifically as suffered by veterans). As such, I was ...
"I briefly considered writing my story as a memoir, but I just couldn't do it, it was too painful, so I chose to go the fictional route." by Author Christina Hoag I recently participated in a panel titled "How True Events Inspire Crime Fiction." Thank you UK-based author Madeline Dyer for inviting me to participate for the second ye...
Today on gilagreenwrites, I'm so pleased to share my interview with author Lori Banov Kaufmann. Lori is a fellow writer living in Israel, writing in English, so I was immediately drawn to her work and that was before I knew it took place in my favorite city: Jerusalem. As someone with deep roots in the Holy City, I am fascinated by this book, which...
Ann Bausum is an award-winning author of 16 works of nonfiction for children, teens, and adults. Her books often explore under-told stories and examine social justice history, but she's also written twice about a famous dog! Earlier this year National Geographic published her latest book for middle graders and up: Ensnared in the Wolf's Lair—Inside...
"My main issue was to stay true to historical events and personalities." by Barbara Krasner Barbara Krasner is one of those authors I've met online who I would love to meet in person. We share so many of the same interests, particularly history and a fascination with the 1930s and 1940s. While Barbara approaches this time period from a differ...
Please welcome author Barbara Stark-Nemon to gilagreenwrites. Barbara Stark-Nemon bio from her site An undergraduate degree in English literature and Art History and a Masters in Speech-language Pathology from the University of Michigan led Barbara to a teaching and clinical career. She's come to appreciate the way different languag...
BIO Sharon Kirsch is most recently the author of The Smallest Objective, released by New Star Books, Vancouver. Her earlier book, What Species of Creatures, was an imaginative telling of first encounters between early settlers to North America and unfamiliar "beasts." Reviewers described the title as "remarkable" and "unsettling." The Smallest Obje...
I like complex, flawed and vulnerable characters who struggle with moral questions and try to navigate the world with a sense of purpose, and most importantly, a sense of humor. by Author Ann Lambert I'm so pleased to welcome author Ann Lambert to gilagreenwrites. Wonderful to have a fellow Canadian here with me and I'm sure many of you will be int...
When meeting a Jewish Iranian, an important question needs to be: What city did you come from? Each city has a story of its own—leaving a unique imprint on generations to follow. by Esther Amini Recently I was interviewed by Drora Arussy as part of her New Works Wednesday Series on behalf of the American Sephardi Association and Institute of J...
Today, I'm so pleased to welcome fellow Canadian Karen Schauber to gilagreenwrites. If I would have known Karen one year ago, I would definitely have met up with her last year in Vancouver to talk flash fiction, something I taught online for a decade. As it turns out, I met her virtually only after my trip to participate in&nbs...
Back in March 2020, I had the privilege of participating in an SCBWI webinar with amazing authors Rajani LaRocca and Erica S. Perl. Naturally, I could not let such an opportunity go to waste and immediately invited both Erica and Rajani to gilagreenwrites. Both readily agreed and generously shared their time, but Rajani h...
The February 2020 Vancouver Jewish Book Festival seems like it took place in another world. In a way, it did. Still, I flew from Israel to Germany to Vancouver and then back to Tel Aviv via Toronto as hard as that is to imagine today. On the way I met so many creatives, authors, and many readers at a variety of book talks. I d...
Thank you so much to Melissa Schack for interviewing me in the recent edition of Quail Bell Magazine. MS: How have the Australian wildfires affected your work? GG: First, thanks so much for having me on your forum. I am delighted to have the opportunity and appreciate your time. The Australian fires burned my publisher to the groun...
Today on gilagreenwrites, I'm delighted to welcome children's author Dr. Lea Kirshenberg. It's always a pleasure to meet writers and I hope these interviews inspire you and expand your definition of genres, languages, and other possibilities. For this author expanding her possibilities doesn't only mean considering another age group or g...
