Fiction

Content type
Collection
"Moonstone Covenant" Book Cover

A Jewish Narnia Comes Alive in "The Moonstone Covenant"

Mildred Faintly

Jill Hammer's fantasy debut is an enchanting blend of female friendship, Jewish mysticism, and epic adventure. 

Collage of Clara Lemlich with buildings and pages of books in the background

Exploring Intersectionality in Literature

Liza Feinstein

I find myself thanking all the authors I have read, my family, my friends, and every other Brave Girl out there writing advocating, and proudly showing their Jewish feminist identity.

Topics: Fiction, Feminism

Elana Dykewomon

Elana Dykewomon was a poet, novelist, editor, theorist, lesbian, and cultural worker. Her lesbian and Jewish identities and commitments informed and shaped her award-winning novels and other writings, and she made significant theoretical contributions to lesbian separatism and fat liberation.

Janice Weizman and Book Cover

Q & A with Author Janice Weizman

Jennifer Lang

JWA chats with Janice Weizman about her recently reissued novel, The Wayward Moon. 

Topics: Fiction, Israel
"The Familiar" Book Cover

A Summer Read with Substance

Zia Saylor

Leigh Bardugo's latest novel provides a layered summer read that is as shallow or as deep as the reader wants it to be.

"Joyful Song" by Lesléa Newman Book Cover

The Name Game: The Birth of 'Joyful Song'

Lesléa Newman

Three experiences converged and showed up one morning when I picked up my pen, and Joyful Song was born.

Collage of woman reading in nature

Lessons from "Miss Rumphius"

Talia Richmond

Twelve years later, "Miss Rumphius'" message of exploring faraway places to find community still resonate with me.

Rachel Luria

Rachel Luria (Rokhl Lurye) was a writer of Yiddish short fiction and investigative journalism in the early twentieth century. She was known for her complex and often cynical writing about immigrant life, especially in regards to portrayals of sexuality and gender.

black and white drawing of people dancing in couples at a ball, circa 1800s

Scandalous Dance Scenes, Romance Plots, and Jewish Literary Modernity

Sonia Gollance

Long before Fiddler on the Roof, Jewish writers used partner dance as a powerful metaphor for social changes that transformed Jewish communities.

"Letters from Rifka" book cover

From 'Rifka' to a Lifelong Love of Jewish Books

Isadora Kianovsky

It was through Jewish books that I, and many women like me, learned to challenge the world around us, just as Rifka did. 

Collage of The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Authentic Representation in "The Gilded Wolves"

Aria Lynn-Skov

My love for the novel is due to the care that Roshani Chokshi took in writing a diverse cast of characters whose identities are important but aren’t their defining features.  

Topics: Fiction, Publishing
Woman with long brown hair, dark rimmed glasses and dark shirt

Q & A with Leah Berkenwald, Co-Creator of "A Feminist Romance Novel, Podcast!"

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with Leah Berkenwald, co-creator of the new audio-drama, A Feminist Romance Novel, Podcast! Temptations at Sweetwater Creek.

Collage of Alte Zachen

Healing Trauma through Intergenerational Relationships in "Alte Zachen"

Julia Brode Kroopkin

In addition to sharing messages of patience, understanding, and unwavering love, Alte Zachen balances stories of Jewish suffering with stories of Jewish joy.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Cover: red background with black dragon in the background, Sarah J Maas at the bottom

A Cult Favorite with Jewish, Feminist Themes

Dr. Jamie Ehrenpreis

In her hugely popular fantasy series, Sarah J. Maas puts Jewish texsts and biblical women at the forefront. 

Topics: Fiction, Bible, Feminism
Collage of open book, torn paper, and Jewish star

Reading Beyond Holocaust Literature: Prioritizing Jewish Joy

Halleli Abrams Gerber

Learning about the Shoah became a constant as I explored my local libraries. This sent me the message that Jewishness was inextricably linked to suffering. What if it wasn't?

Topics: Fiction, Holocaust
Headshot of woman with long dark blonde hair and book cover reading "Death Valley by Melissa Broder" in pink with image of eye on top of cactus

Grief is a Desert in 'Death Valley'

Abby Richmond

The poignant and often hilarious novel made me consider my own experiences with grief and (metaphorical) lostness.

Topics: Fiction, Theology, Ritual
Collage of stack of books superimposed over antique printed paper

Understanding My Identity Through Books

Aria Lynn-Skov

Every day I find new books to read, and I know that they will continue to help expand my understanding of my own identity, and of the world around me.

Topics: Fiction, Non-Fiction
Sara Lippman Headshot

Q & A With Author Sara Lippmann

Sarah Groustra

JWA talks to author Sara Lippmann about suburbia as an irresistible setting for fiction, radical retellings of the Torah, and more. 

Topics: Fiction, Rabbis, Bible
Zia Saylor Reading - cropped

Add One (or More) of these Graphic Novels to Your Summer Reading List

Zia Saylor

Add one of these graphic novels with badass female heroines to your summer reading list. 

Topics: Fiction

Episode 95: Word of the Week: Shiksa

From Portnoy’s Complaint to Seinfeld, the word “shiksa” is firmly embedded in popular culture. Where does the word come from, and how has its meaning changed over time? In this episode, we’re bringing back our “Word of the Week,” feature, where we dig into one word and explore how it relates to Jewish women. Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Keren McGinity, and Kylie Ora Lobell give us their takes.

Bookshelves collaged on orange patterned background

The Future of the Jewish-American Literary Canon

Irene Y. Raich

The Jewish-American literary canon is not only dismissive of women but hostile to them, and this is insidious and damaging to the narrative we tell as Jews and women.

Topics: Publishing, Fiction
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret film still: girl with hands clasped in prayer,

A Coming-Of-Age Story for Every Generation

Sarah Jae Leiber

The film, like the book on which it’s based, acknowledges that sixth-grade feelings are among the realest we ever feel.

Topics: Film, Fiction, Children
Judith and Ma'ayan Rosenbaum sitting on a stage with microphones, red curtain behind them

Celebrating and Challenging Margaret in Book and Film

Judith Rosenbaum

JWA's CEO Judith Rosenbaum reflects on a recent screening of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the film adaptation of Judy Blume's groundbreaking novel. 

Topics: Feminism, Film, Fiction
Animal drawings by Liana Finck on orange gradient background

Making Space

Judy Ruden

In Liana Finck's exploration of the kabbalistic concept of Tsimtsum, the idea of God's contraction as a means of creation, I find the beginnings of a Jewish feminist future. 

Line drawings of a book and pens on light blue background

Interpreting The Sun Also Rises

Maya Viswanathan

Reading The Sun Also Rises was the first time I encountered depictions of antisemitism as an almost normal part of conversation and interaction. I didn’t know how to react to it.

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