Connecting with authors

The 2020 Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival will feature a lineup of renowned authors, all presenting virtually, Nov. 1-19. The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center is also hosting the Authors In Conversation online series this fall, including designer Steve Madden, author of The Cobbler:  How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell From Grace, and Came Back Stronger Than Ever, Oct. 15, presented with the JCC Literary Consortium. Actor Cameron Douglas will present his memoir, Long Way Home, Oct. 22. Opening night of the festival will feature Max Brooks, author of Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre, a Bigfoot thriller. Other festival highlights include journalist Joan Lunden, author of Why Did I Come Into This Room?: A Candid Conversation About Aging, Nov. 8. This year’s Community Read event, Nov. 9, features Esther Amini, author of Concealed: Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian Daughter Caught Between the Chador and America. Abby Stein, author of Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman, will present on Nov. 12. The festival concludes Nov. 19 with four-time Emmy-winning comedy writer Merrill Markoe, author of We Saw Scenery: The Early Diaries of Merrill Markoe. Pictured is festival chair Debbie Kaplan. See more at erjcchouston.org. 

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