A group of Nashville-based published authors, librarians, educators, and book-loving community members are proud to present The Gordon Jewish Community Center’s 2021-2022 Nashville Jewish Book Series. The Series, now in its sixth year, is a celebration of books, authors, and the power of the written word to educate, inspire and provoke thought. The annual events feature both secular work by Jewish authors as well as books featuring Jewish themes and topics. This year’s Series will be a hybrid event, with three events taking place via Zoom, and five in-person events around Nashville. The Gordon JCC will also be partnering with the Memphis and New Orleans JCCs on the virtual events.   

Spearheaded by event co-chairs Amy Goldstein and Margaret Littman, the literary-loving committee selected authors to speak at Series events. Several speakers were selected after pitching their books to the JCC and Jewish organizations across the country at the National Jewish Book Council’s Annual Conference. Standout speakers were invited to participate in the Series, in addition to authors not affiliated with the JBC, but whose work spoke to the committee.  

The series kicks off December 16 with a hilarious event in partnership with the local Third Coast Comedy Club. SNL and Curb Your Enthusiasm writer Alan Zweibel makes his return to our JCC alongside his friend and colleague Wayne Federman with his book The History of Standup.  

February 7 brings Melissa Gould, Widow-ish, and Zibby Owens, Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids, to the JCC for a panel on the trials and successes of parenting, moderated by Nashville’s Claire Gibson. Local interior and architectural photographer Alyssa Rosenheck joins us at the Bobby Hotel on February 16 for an evening of design and discussion.  

The series rounds out in the spring with two exciting in-person events: Louie Kemp, childhood friend of Bob Dylan and his book Dylan & Me on April 7, and the always enigmatic Jake Cohen and his incredible cookbook JEW-ish on May 15 at the Nashville Jewish Food Fest. Nashville photographer Phillip Fryman, known for his food photography under the name “The Southern Fatty,” will join in on the Food Fest fun. All our In-person events will be held with current coronavirus precautions in mind and are subject to change. 

We are honored and excited to have three virtual events as part of this year’s Series. Award-winning novelist Francine Prose and her dazzling new book The Vixen on January 4, Qian Julie Wang and her moving story of an undocumented child living in poverty in America, Beautiful Country, on March 3, and on March 14, in conjunction with the Memphis JCC, Heather Cabot’s The New Chardonnay, The Unlikely Story of how Marijuana Went Mainstream. 

Sponsors for this year’s Series include Parnassus Books, the Vanderbilt University Asian Studies Department, Third Coast Comedy Nashville, and The Porch. 

We are extremely appreciative of our Jewish Book Series Committee members Amy Goldstein, Margaret Littman, Amy Kammerman, Amy Katz, Miriam Leibowitz, Evan Nahmias, Nancy Riesman, Ellie Rosenbloom, Amelia Edelman, Freya Sachs, Lori Fishel, and Alex Heller of the JCC for their outstanding work.    

The Nashville Jewish Book Series runs from December 2021 to May 2022. Find the full schedule, and ticketing information at nashvillejcc.org/book. Information on Chai Y’All, the membership book society, is also available online. 

For more information, please visit nashvillejcc.org/book, or contact Adult Programs Director, Alex Heller at alex@nashvillejcc.org, or 615.354.1623.