Lane Dworkin Authors + Innovators Festival
November 10–21 2024
Sun.
Nov. 10
Mon.
Nov. 11
Tues.
Nov. 12
Wed.
Nov. 13
Thurs.
Nov. 14
Fri.
Nov. 15
Sat.
Nov. 16
11 AM
Opening Day: Food Demo and Tasting with Micah Siva,
Nosh
more info >>
11 AM
Family Day w/Ryan Lavarnway,
Baseball and Belonging
more info >>
12 PM
Rochester’s Own: Helena Temkin Greener presents My Involuntary Journeys
more info >>
7 PM
Headliner
Amir Tibon, The Gates of Gaza
more info >>
Stop by the Festival Bookstore and pick up books for the upcoming speakers.
Bookstore also open event days.
12 PMSun.
Nov. 17
Mon.
Nov. 18
Tues.
Nov. 19
Wed.
Nov. 20
Thurs.
Nov. 21
Fri.
Nov. 22
Sat.
Nov. 23
10 AM
Rochester’s Own:
Stephen Jacobs, The history of Jews in the toy and game industry
more info >>
12 PM
Rochester’s Own:
Peter Lovenheim,
Gift shop of Gratitude
more info >>
12 PM
Community Reads Event:
Lunch w/Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner,
Streams of Shattered Consciousness
more info >>
Stop by the Festival Bookstore and pick up your books for tomorrow’s closing day speakers.
Bookstore also open event days.
7 PM
Closing Day:
Abigail Pogrebin & Rabbi Dov Linzer,
It Takes Two to Torah
more info >>
11 AM Opening Day: Recipe Demo and Tasting with Micah Siva, Nosh
11 AM
Family Day with Ryan Lavarnway, Baseball and Belonging
12 PM
Rochester’s Own Helena Temkin Greener presents her mother’s memoir, My Involuntary Journeys
7 PM
Headliner Event: Amir Tibon, The Gates of Gaza
Don’t forget to visit our Festival Bookstore! Open November 6-21, 2024. JCC Yiddish Room.
Mon.-Thur. 9-11 AM, 5-7 PM and 1 hour before all scheduled festival events.
10 AM
Rochester’s Own: Stephen Jacobs, Jews, Toys, and Games!
12 PM Rochester’s Own: Peter Lovenheim, Gift Shop of Gratitude
12 PM Community Reads Event: Lunch w/David-Seth Kirshner, Streams of Shattered Consciousness
Don’t forget to visit our Festival Bookstore! Open November 6-21, 2024. JCC Yiddish Room.
Mon.-Thur. 9-11 AM, 5-7 PM and 1 hour before all scheduled festival events.
7 PM Closing Day: Abigail Pogrebin & Dov Linzer, It Takes Two to Torah
Opening Day
November 10, 11AM
Micah Siva, Nosh
Cooking Demo and Tasting Party
JCC Auds
JCC Member: $25, Non-member: $30
Tickets include tasting after the event*
Join us as Micah prepares two vegetarian dishes from her plant-forward Jewish cookbook. Tasting to follow.
With the rise in plant-based eating across the globe, Nosh is an ideal guide for those looking to connect with and share their Judaism in a way that feels authentic in today’s landscape.
Micah is a registered dietitian, food photographer, and recipe writer. Her love for food started in her grandmother’s kitchen and has turned into a career where she shares her love of Jewish Cuisine… with a twist! Nosh is a comprehensive, plant-forward recipe collection spanning breakfast right through to desserts.
Facilitated by: Ron Von Perlstein
*Samples prepared at Temple Beth El under supervision. Both samples include nuts. (Morrocan-spiced roasted carrot and chickpea salad and Pomegranate Lentil Tabboulleh)
Generously Underwritten By: Deborah G. Goldman
Community Partners:
Family Day With Ryan Lavarnway
November 11, 9:30AM-3PM
A full day of fun!
- 9:30AM Hall of Fame Brunch
- 11AM Headline Event: Ryan Lavarnway, Baseball and Belonging
- 12PM Book signing with Ryan; photo ops with Spikes from the Red Wings
- 12PM-2PM Lunch, games and photo ops with Ryan
- 2PM Film screening: Israel Swings for Gold
9:30AM
JCC Hall of Fame Brunch
Auds B-C
Kick off the day with the JCC Hall of Fame’s annual brunch. Each year we honor Jewish athletes and this year we will induct distinguished golfer, Judy Seppen, a 1976 graduate of Pittsford Sutherland High School. We’ll aslo honor local highschool students with the Les Harrison award. Separate registration required >>
11AM Main Event: Storytime with Ryan Lavarnway
Baseball and Belonging
JCC Hart Theater
JCC Member: $10
Non-member: $12
Children $5 Recommended for ages 5 and up
Join Ryan Lavarnway as he reads his book, Baseball and Belonging, and answers audience questions. Ryan’s unique speaking style will leave you inspired to embrace your own journey toward faith and self-discovery.
As a child, Ryan’s confidence soared when he had a glove and a ball in his hand. Off the field, he struggled to find where he belonged. Playing in the Word Baseball Classic and Olympics with his teammates changed his life. By embracing his Jewish identity, Ryan found where he belonged.
Ryan Lavarnway is a retired Major League Baseball catcher. Over his fifteen-year career, Ryan represented eight different teams in the Major Leagues, including the 2013 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. He also proudly represented Israel internationally in both the World Baseball Classic and the Olympics, which earned him recognition in the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. Recently, Ryan was named at the 11th most influential Jewish athlete of all time.
After story time, Ryan will autograph his book. Stay longer and you will have the opportunity to take photos of Ryan with your child.
Make sure to stop at the Festival Bookstore and purchase the book prior to the event!
12PM
- Book signing with Ryan Lavarnway
- Photo ops with Spikes, the Redwings mascot!
Generously Underwritten By: The Miller Family Foundation-Carolyn, Michael, Deanna, Sophie, Andrea and Aaron
Community Partners:
12PM-2PM Family Day Activites
Join us for activities and games in the gym (free)
Kosher snacks provided
Photo ops with Ryan (free)
2PM Bonus Event: Film screening of Israel Swings for Gold
JCC Hart Theater
Bundled with Ryan’s talk: $3
Movie only: $8
Some language and themes may not be appropriate for younger children.
Community Partner:
Rochester's Own
November 12, 12 PM
JCC Auds
JCC Member: $8, Non-member: $10
Brown Bag Lunch and Learn*
Helena Temkin Greener Presents:
“My Involuntary Journeys: A Memoir”, by Hanna Temkin, is a story of a life journey through some of the most difficult episodes of the 20th Century. It depicts the author’s escape from Poland to the Soviet Union as the Nazis invaded in 1939, her life in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust and WWII, her return to Poland, and then having to flee again in 1968 due to an antisemitic campaign instigated and fueled by the Polish government.
Hanna’s daughter, Helena, will read passages from the book, and there will be time for discussion and a Q&A.
Helena was born in Warsaw, Poland and left the country as a teenager in 1968, together with her family, fleeing the antisemitic campaign unleashed by the Polish government after the Six-Day Arab-Israeli war of 1967.
Helena has been a Rochester, NY resident since 1977. She is a Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
*Bring your own kosher-style lunch or stop by Fox’s at the JCC before the talk.
Generously Underwritten By:
Community Partners:
Headliner: Amir Tibon
November 13, 7 PM
JCC Hart Theater
JCC Member: $15, Non-member: $18
Amir Tibon, The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands
On the morning of October 7, Amir Tibon and his wife were awakened by mortar rounds exploding near their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, a progressive Israeli community less than a mile from Gaza City. Soon, they were holding their two young daughters in the family’s reinforced safe room, urging them not to cry as gunfire echoed just outside the door. With his cell phone battery running low, Amir texted his father: “The girls are behaving really well, but I’m worried they’ll lose patience soon and Hamas will hear us.”
Some 45 miles north, Amir’s parents had just cut short an early morning swim along the shores of Tel Aviv. Now, they jumped in their Jeep and sped toward Nahal Oz, armed only with a pistol but intent on saving their family at all costs.
In The Gates of Gaza, Amir Tibon tells this harrowing story in full for the first time. He describes his family’s ordeal–and the bravery that ultimately led to their rescue–alongside the histories of the place they call home and the systems of power that have kept them and their neighbors in Gaza in harm’s way for decades.
Woven throughout is Tibon’s own expertise as a longtime international correspondent, as well as more than thirty original interviews: with residents of his kibbutz, with the Israeli soldiers who helped to wrest it from the hands of Hamas, and with experts on Gaza, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the failed peace process. More than one family’s odyssey, The Gates of Gaza is the intimate story of a tight-knit community and the broader saga of war, occupation, and hostility between two national movements–a conflict that has not yet extinguished the enduring hope for peace. The story was featured on 60 Minutes >> and the film rights been optioned by Leviathan Productions, with Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz (Fauda) set to write the script.
Amir Tibon is an award-winning Israeli journalist who covers diplomatic affairs for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Foreign Affairs and other leading U.S. publications.
Generously Underwritten By:
The George L. and Elizabeth C. Todd Trust
Additional Support:
The Gary and Marcia Stern Family Foundation
Community Partners:
Fiction Panel Lunch
Friday, November 15
JCC Auds
JCC Member: $25
Non-member: $30
Ticket includes a kosher lunch provided by Lipman’s Kosher Butcher and Market
Lunch available at 11:30 AM
Panel starts at 12:00 PM
Join us for conversation with three amazing authors.
Moderated by journalist and Authors + Innovators committee member Ellen Comisar.
Sara Goodman Confino
Don’t Forget to Write
When Marilyn Kleinman is caught making out with the rabbi’s son in front of the whole congregation, her parents ship her off to her great-aunt Ada for the summer. If anyone can save their daughter’s reputation, it’s Philadelphia’s strict premier matchmaker. Either that or Marilyn can kiss college goodbye. To Marilyn’s surprise, Ada’s not the humorless septuagenarian her mother described. Not with that platinum-blonde hair, Hermès scarf, and Cadillac convertible. She’s sharp, straight-talking, takes her job very seriously, and abides by her own rules…mostly.
Sara Goodman Confino teaches high school English and journalism in Montgomery County, Maryland, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and miniature schnauzers, Sandy and Gracie.
When she’s not writing or working out, she can be found on the beach or at a Bruce Springsteen show, sometimes even dancing onstage. Confino is the bestselling author of She’s Up to No Good and For the Love of Friends.
Lee Matthew Goldberg
The Great Gimmelmans
Middle child Aaron Gimmelman watches as his family goes from a mild-mannered reform Jewish clan to having over a million dollars of stolen money stuffed in their RV’s cabinets while being pursued by the FBI and loan sharks. From Jersey, down to an Orthodox Jewish community in Florida where they hide out, and up to California, The Great Gimmelmans goes on a madcap ride through the 1980s. This thrilling literary tale mixes Michael Chabon and the Coen Brothers with equal parts humor and pathos. Kirkus review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lee-matthew-goldberg/the-great-gimmelmans/
Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of fourteen novels. He was nominated for an Anthony Award and the Prix du Polar. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, he’s been published in multiple languages and his writing has also appeared as a contributor in CrimeReads, Pipeline Artists, LitHub, Chicago Quarterly Review, Electric Literature, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Mystery Tribune, and others.
Samantha Greene Woodruff
The Trade Off
Inspired by the true story of a pioneering investment legend, The Trade Off is a powerful novel about identity, sacrifice, family loyalties, and the complex morality of money.
Bea Abramovitz has a gift for math and numbers. With her father, she studies the burgeoning Wall Street market’s stocks and patterns in the financial pages. After college she’s determined to parlay her talent for the prediction game into personal and professional success. But in the 1920s, in a Lower East Side tenement, opportunities for women don’t just come knocking. Bea will have to create them. It’s easier for her golden-boy twin brother, Jake, who longs to reclaim all their parents have lost after fleeing the pogroms in Russia to come to America. Well-intentioned but undisciplined, Jake has a charm that can carry him only so far on Wall Street.
Samantha Greene Woodruff spent nearly two decades working on the business side of media, primarily at Viacom’s Nickelodeon, before leaving corporate life to become a full-time mom. In her newfound “free” time, she took classes at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, where she accidentally found her calling as a historical fiction author. Sam’s debut novel, The Lobotomist’s Wife, was a #1 Amazon bestseller and First Reads pick. Her writing has appeared in Newsweek, Writer’s Digest, Female First, Read 650 and more.
Note: When you purchase your tickets you’ll be able to choose your sandwich preference(s). The choices are each labeled “optional.” Ignore this and please select which sandwich you’d like. If you are purchasing tickets for more than one person, you can choose more than one option.
Generously Underwritten By: The Rubens Family Foundation
Community Partners:
Rochester's Own
November 17, 10 AM
JCC Auds
JCC Member: $8
Non-member: $10
Coffee and Play Time!
Stephen Jacobs Presents:
The History of Jews in the Toy and Game Industry
Forget about the Dreidel! For over two hundred years, first in Germany and then in the United States, Jewish “Game Changers” shaped the Western Industrialized toy, game, pinball, and video game businesses.
Join Professor Jacobs and learn about the significant impact Jews have had on the toy and game industry. Before and during the World Wars, the U.S. Toy Industry was new, unregulated, and devoid of institutionalized antisemitism– unlike some older, more traditional industries that had official or unofficial policies restricting or preventing Jews from being admitted to college or hired in businesses and government. This made it a place where Jews could pursue opportunities and support their families.
Stick around after the talk and play a game!
Stephen Jacobs is a professor with the School of Interactive Games and Media and an interdisciplinary scholar who works in several different areas that often overlap including courses in game design, interactive narrative, and Free and Open Source Software and Free Culture. Professor Jacobs also holds the position of Visiting Scholar at The Strong National Museum of Play.
Community Partner:
Rochester's Own
November 18, 12 PM
JCC Auds
JCC Member: $8
Non-member: $10
Brown Bag Lunch and Learn*
Peter Lovenheim
Gift Shop of Gratitude: a Journal to Explore the Journey of Your Life
Gift Shop of Gratitude offers a charmingly original way to remember and record the many gifts life has given us. Twenty warm, humorous, and illuminating essays—about common items found in gift shops—prompt readers to recall the people, events, and experiences for which they’re most grateful. Gratitude Pages at the end of each chapter enable readers to record the many gifts of their lives, creating a personal “testament of gratitude” and a precious family heirloom for children, grandchildren, and all whom they’ve loved.
From Kirkus Review: “A warmly rendered work that combines aspects of self-help books, memoirs, and therapeutic journals.”
“Fascinating, fun and informative, “Gift Shop of Gratitude: A Journal to Explore the Journey of Your Life” is ideal for gift giving to a loved one and a prized way of their recording elements of their life and thoughts for future generations. A combination of an instructional guide and a DIY journal, “Gift Shop of Gratitude” is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal and family collections.”–Midwest Book Review
Join Peter for a brief talk about the book, followed by conversation and Q&A.
*Bring your own kosher-style lunch or stop by Fox’s at the JCC before the talk.
Generously Underwritten By:
Harold and Judy Samloff
Community Partners:
Community Reads Event
What if we all read the same book?
A joint venture between JReads and the Authors + Innovators Festival.
November 19, 12 PM
JCC Auds
JCC Member: $25
Non-member: $30
Ticket includes a Kosher lunch from Malek’s Bakery
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner
Streams of Shattered Consciousness: A Chronicle of the First 50 Days of the Israel- Hamas War
On October 7th, 2023, Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner woke up to celebrate his 50th birthday and instead of eating cake, became glued to the news like so many of us. He channeled his anger, fear, and frustration into a daily chronicle, culminating in the acclaimed book, Streams of Shattered Consciousness: A Chronicle of the First 50 Days of the Israel-Hamas War. Far from only an emotional account, the book is replete with history lessons that help us make sense of the current moment.
David-Seth Kirshner is the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Closter New Jersey where he is entering his 18th year of leadership. He holds a BA degree from York University in Toronto, Canada and earned an MA in Hebrew Letters and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Streams of Shattered Consciousness has more than 10,000 copies in circulation and earned mention in the February 2024, NY Times Book Review.
Moderated by: Joy Getnick, PhD, Executive Director UR Hillel
Generously Underwritten By: The Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust
Community Partners:
Rochester Board of Rabbis and Cantors
Closing Day
November 21, 7 PM
JCC Hart Theater
JCC Member: $15
Non-member: $18
Abigail Pogrebin & Rabbi Dov Linzer
It Takes Two to Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses
It Takes Two to Torah is not just an education, it is an invitation–to join the oldest book club in the world.
Over a two-year period, Linzer and Pogrebin talked their way through the Five Books of Moses with candor, humor, emotion, personal revelation, and scholarship. These lively exchanges were part of a series of podcasts for Tablet Magazine and are now available in this collection.
This unlikely pairing–Abigail Pogrebin, journalist and author, and Rabbi Dov Linzer, President and Rosh HaYeshiva (Rabbinic Head) of the Modern Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical Seminary — share what they learned about Torah and working together.
In a world often divided by differences, what sets this book apart is the respectful exploration of the Torah. The contrasting viewpoints provide a captivating dynamic, encouraging readers to think critically and question their own beliefs.” Aleeza Ben Shalom, matchmaker, author, and star of “Jewish Matchmaking” as seen on Netflix.
Moderated by Authors + Innovators Committee Member and Journalist, Stacey Freed
Abigail Pogrebin is the author of the National Jewish Book Award finalist My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew” and “Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish”. She’s written for The Atlantic, the Forward, and Tablet, and moderates public conversations for The Streicker Center and the Jewish Broadcasting Service.
Rabbi Dov Linzer is the President and Rosh HaYeshiva (Rabbinic Head) of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, an Orthodox rabbinical school and Torah center, which promotes a more open and inclusive Orthodoxy. He has written for the Forward, Tablet, and The New York Times, and hosted highly popular Torah podcasts.
Generously Underwritten By: Dan and Victoria Goldstein
Community Partner:
Support Our Festival
About the Festival
The JCC Jewish Book Festival is back with a new name and an expanded focus. For 30 years, you’ve connected with your favorite authors and to other readers who care about books as much as you do fostering important community conversations. The new Lane Dworkin JCC Rochester Authors + Innovators Festival expands the core of a Book Festival beyond a traditional lineup by welcoming creative innovators to share their world-changing ideas and adding interactive workshops and events.
The JCC Lane Dworkin Authors + Innovators Festival exists to create a showcase for Jewish authors and innovators, and/or books of Jewish content. In so doing, the festival promotes awareness, appreciation, and pride in the diversity of the Jewish people; strengthens community consciousness of Jewish identity, history, and culture; and provides a community forum to stimulate dynamic and provocative dialogue.
WITH FOND MEMORIES OF SHELDON A. LANE
The JCC Lane Dworkin Authors + Innovators Festival is presented in memory of Sheldon A. Lane. His vision for the Festival continues through the support of his loving family.
JEWISH BOOK COUNCIL
The Jewish Book Council is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1943 to promote the publishing, writing and reading of books of Jewish interest. Visit jewishbookcouncil.org for more information.
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
Marni Port
FESTIVAL ADVISOR
Andrea Miller
FESTIVAL CHAIR
Elizabeth Hornak
FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
Barbara Appelbaum
Henra Briskin
Ellen Comisar
Nikki Druckman
David Dworkin
Wendy Dworkin
Linda Epstein
Stacey Freed
Hannah Harnest
Wendy Howitt
Sharon Kovalsky
Caroline Korn
Sharon Kovalsky
Jacqui Lipschitz
Ron Newman
Liza Robbins Theuman
Festival Bookstore
Open November 6–21, 2024
Location: JCC Yiddish Room
Mon-Thurs
- 9-11am
- 5-7pm
- 1 hour before and after all scheduled festival events at the JCC.
Books provided by:
View past festival brochures:
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 2017 |  2016 |  2015 |  2014 | |
 2013 |  2012 |  2011 |  2010 |