Lane Dworkin Authors + Innovators Festival
Authors + Innovators Festival
November 10–20, 2025
This is a special year, marking the 100th anniversary of the first Jewish Book Week, which was started in 1925 by a Boston librarian named Fanny Goldstein.
Fanny promoted the idea of Jewish Book Week as an antidote to antisemitism, proclaiming, “Jewish Book Week does not call for swords or bayonets, gases or bombs. It is a dignified, majestic emphasis on our heritage, and a rededication to the sanctity of our homes through literature.”
2025 Festival Schedule
Monday, Nov. 10, 7pm
Rabbi Yitzi Hein
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ Legacy
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1–2:30pm
Family Day
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 7pm
Al Kinel
Israeli Innovations
Wednesday, Nov.12, 7pm
James Druckman, PhD
Partisan Politics + Democracy
Thursday, Nov. 13, 11:45am
Fiction Panel
Kosher Lunch Included
Friday, Nov. 14, 12pm
Professor Gerald Gamm, PhD
The History of the Senate
Saturday, Nov. 15, 7pm (at TBK)
Scholar in Residence
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin
Monday, Nov. 17, 7pm
Diana Goldman
Food Demo + Tasting
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7pm
Jean Meltzer
Rom-Com Night
Wednesday, Nov.19, 7pm
Lisa Barr
The Goddess of Warsaw
Thursday, Nov. 20, 4pm
Dr. Katie Hannigan
Multimedia Performance
+ Closing Night Party
2025 Festival Schedule
Click an image below for details.
Monday, Nov. 10
7pm
Rabbi Yitzi Hein
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ Legacy
Tuesday, Nov. 11
1–2:30pm
Family Day
7pm
Al Kinel
Israeli Innovations
Wednesday, Nov.12
7pm
James Druckman, PhD
Partisan Politics + Democracy
Thursday, Nov. 13
11:45am
Fiction Panel
Kosher Lunch
Included
Friday, Nov. 14
12pm
Professor Gerald Gamm
The History of the
Senate
Saturday, Nov. 15
7pm (at TBK)
Scholar in Residence Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin
CANCELLED
Monday, Nov. 17
7pm
Diana Goldman
Food Demo + Tasting
Due to unfortunate circumstances, Diana has had to cancel this event. We are working to reschedule.
Ticket holders, watch your email for details.
Tuesday, Nov. 18
7pm
Jean Meltzer
Rom-Com Night
Wednesday, Nov.19
7pm
Lisa Barr
The Goddess of Warsaw
Thursday, Nov. 20
4pm
Dr. Katie Hannigan
Multimedia Performance + Closing Night Party
NEW! Festival Passes
When you purchase a Festival Pass you elevate and celebrate Jewish programming at the JCC.
Wear your pass proudly and show your support of Jewish authors, innovators and events.
Passholders get JCC Member pricing for the sum of all included events. Physical passes can be picked up at your first event.
To purchase, click one of the options below!
You will receive an order confirmation with a form to let us know which events you plan to attend.
All Festival Pass:
Come to all 2025 Festival events!
Rochester’s Own Festival Pass:
All 2025 events indicated by
the “Rochester’s Own” icon.
Individual Event Tickets
Scroll down to see all of our 2025 Authors + Innovators Festival events!
Timeless Wisdom, Timely Voice
Monday, November 10, 7pm
JCC Auditoriums
JCC Member: $8, Non-member: $10
Rabbi Yitzi Hein
Judaism’s Life-Changing Ideas:
A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible
Join Rabbi Hein as he discusses the works of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948–2020), of blessed memory. Learn how he transformed how we see Torah, bringing ancient wisdom into the heart of today’s moral conversations. His teachings inspired Jews and non-Jews to view daily Torah study as relevant, powerful, and deeply human. Join Rabbi Yitzi Hein as he explores how Rabbi Sacks gave voice to Torah as a guide for the 21st century. Discover how the Rabbi’s legacy, through his books and thought leadership, continues to shape minds and hearts around the world.
Community Partner:
Family Day: Read to Dogs and Read About Dogs!
Tuesday, November 11
1–2:30pm
JCC Auditoriums
FREE, All Ages
Read to Dogs: Grab a book and read to a gentle dog! We’ll have handlers from RocDog on hand to keep you and your child company. Reading to trained therapy dogs is a great way for your child to practice their reading skills.
PJ Library: Join us for a fun, interactive program featuring stories about dogs. We will have special guests reading, acting, and engaging our young friends with a “Paw-nderful” story.
Community Partners:
Temple Sinai: The School of Jewish Life and Learning
Israeli Innovation
Tuesday, November 11, 7pm
JCC Auditoriums
JCC Member: $8, Non-member: $10
Al Kinel, R2i Connect
with Eric Weinberg, MD and Ram Haddas, PhD
Enhancing Research, Collaboration, and Commerce with Israel
Join us as Al and guests provide an overview of Israeli innovation and its impact on the world, along with examples of how our community has benefited. The session will share activities and ways in which members of our community can help enhance research, collaboration, and commerce between our community and Israel.
Underwritten by:
Sharon Kovalsky
Community Partners:
Ruach
Partisan Hostility and American Democracy
Wednesday, November 12, 7pm
JCC Hart Theater
JCC Member: $8, Non-member: $10
Professor James Druckman, PhD
Partisan Hostility and American Democracy: Explaining Political Divisions and When They Matter
Moderated by Adam Chodak,
Evening Anchor and Managing Editor, News 8.
The rise of partisan animosity — the tendency of Democrats and Republicans to dislike and distrust one another — is one of the most notable developments of 21st century American politics. Professor Druckman and Adam Chodak will discuss how animus influences a wide range of political behaviors and why the growth of partisan animosity does not inevitably mean that democracy is eroding.
Underwritten by:
Kate and Jonathan Goldstein
Judy and Harold Samloff
Joyce Schachter
Community Partners:
Fiction Panel Lunch
Thursday, November 13, 11:45am
JCC Auditoriums
JCC Member: $25, Non-member: $30
Includes boxed lunch by Lipman’s Kosher Market. Meat and veggie options available.
Moderated by actor and journalist Pam Sherman.
Laney Katz Becker
In the Family Way
Set in 1965 America, this novel captures the experiences of women on the cusp of liberation as they struggle with their complex feelings about being wives, mothers, and women with their own dreams and ambitions.
Jennifer S. Brown
The Whisper Sister
In this historical coming of age novel set in New York during the Prohibition, Minnie, a Jewish immigrant, navigates the misogyny, antisemitism, and class struggles of the times.
Elizabeth L. Silver
The Majority
A riveting novel of motherhood, ambition, love, friendship, and one woman’s fight to be a Supreme Court Justice. Caught in a tug-of-war between career and family, truth and convenience, progress and patience, Sylvia Olin Bernstein has a chance to change the course of American history.
Underwritten by:
Rubens Family Foundation
Community Partners: 
Steering the Senate
Friday, November 14, 12pm
JCC Auditoriums
JCC Member: $8, Non-member: $10
Professor Gerald Gamm
Steering the Senate: The Emergence of Party Organization and Leadership 1789–2024
(with Steven S. Smith)
Drawing on the history of the Senate, from 1789 to 2024, the co-authors identify, for the first time ever, the origins of the Senate party caucus, steering committees, and floor leadership. This book is unparalleled in detailing how the position of floor leader was invented in 1890, then strengthened through the 20th and 21st centuries.
Bring your own lunch to enjoy during the talk! (We apologize, but due to temporary staffing issues, Fox’s Deli will not be open at this time.)
Underwritten by:
Debi and Ralph Brenner
Jewish Home
Community Partner:
TBK Scholar in Residence
Saturday, November 15
7pm Havdalah and Dessert
7:30pm Speaker
Temple B’rith Kodesh
General Admission: $8
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin
Inviting God In: A Guide to Jewish Prayer
Rabbi Salkin first set the Jewish world on fire with the publication of Putting God On The Guest List. This new book is the rightful successor — a deep dive into the meaning of Jewish prayer, written for students of all ages.
Dessert provided by Malek’s Bakery.
Underwritten by:
Cooking Demo and Tasting
CANCELLED
Due to unfortunate circumstances, Diana has had to cancel this event. We are working to reschedule.
Ticket holders, watch your email for details.
Rom-Com Night
Tuesday, November 18, 7pm
JCC Hart Theater
JCC Member: $25, Non-member: $30
Jean Meltzer
The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah
Can these exes rekindle their love this Hanukkah? Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. Who needs family when you’ve got long hours, impossible deadlines, and a dream job? That is, until an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines and she’s shocked to find
her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor.
Join us after the event for kosher wine, and dessert provided by Malek’s Bakery.
Underwritten by:
Linda Epstein
Wendy Howitt and Jeffrey Levinson
Community Partners:
. 
From the Warsaw Ghetto to Hollywood
Wednesday, November 19, 7pm
JCC Hart Theater
JCC Member: $15, Non-member: $18
Lisa Barr
The Goddess of Warsaw
Lisa Barr is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Goddess of Warsaw, Woman on Fire, The Unbreakables and the award-winning Fugitive Colors.
In this enthralling tale, a legendary Hollywood screen goddess keeps a dark secret about her life in the Warsaw Ghetto. When the famous actress is threatened by someone from her past, she must put her skills into play to protect herself, her illustrious career, and those she loves. A tale of survival, love, revenge,
and courage.
Moderated by Rochester native Mitzi Rapkin, founder, host, and producer of the literary podcast First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing.
Underwritten by:
We Go On, Oswego
Thursday, November 20, 4pm
JCC Hart Theater
JCC Member: $20, Non-member: $25
Professor Katie Hannigan, PhD
Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Nazareth University
“We Go On, Oswego” is a multimedia vocal presentation dedicated to women’s narratives of the emergency refugee shelter at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY. The Fort was the only U.S.-sanctioned shelter during WWII to assist those fleeing persecution in Nazi Europe.
Join Professor Hannigan as she discusses the history and scope of her sabbatical project. There will also be a vocal/piano performance. This is an exclusive sneak preview for the world premiere performance at Nazareth University on December 4.
Please join us for a reception after the event. Nosh provided by Malek’s Bakery.
Underwritten by:
Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust
Community Partners:
Festival Bookstore
Location: JCC Yiddish Center
Open 1 hour before and after all scheduled festival events at the JCC.
Books provided by:
About the Festival
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 CHAIR
Wendy Howitt
FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
Henra Briskin
Ellen Comisar
Nikki Druckman
David Dworkin
Wendy Dworkin
Linda Epstein
Adina Feldman
Stacey Freed
Hannah Harnest
Sharon Kovalsky
Jacqui Lipschitz
Ron Newman
Liza Robbins Theuman
Lisa Waltzer
Festival Bookstore
Location: JCC Yiddish Center
Open 1 hour before and after all
scheduled festival events at the JCC.
Festival books provided by:
View past festival brochures:
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 2013 |  2012 |  2011 |  2010 |