Get ready to get cozy with a stack of books, AND their authors! Check out this fall's lineup of fantastic world renowned authors and cultural events, starting October 14!
Stay tuned for author details, and for additional information, subscribe to the JCC's newsletter.
Opening Night: Wednesday, October 14
Musician & Author Steve Katz, Founding member of Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Blood, Sweat, and My Rock n' Roll Years: Is Steve Katz a Rock Star?
Three-time Grammy Award winning blues-rock guitarist of 60s rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, Steve Katz joins us for an evening of sweet guitar licks and rock n' roll reminiscence. Katz' memoir, Blood, Sweat, and My Rock n' Roll Years: Is Steve Katz a Rock Star? details his life on the edge of the 60s rock spotlight as a nice Jewish boy-turned-nerdy-rock-star who got to sit at the cool kids table and dig the hot chicks. From numerous affairs, to rock rivalries and epic jam sessions, Steve Katz is able to paint a less-addled picture than most of the real rock scene that became a cultural phenomenon.
Tuesday, October 20
Author Susan Jane Gilman
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street
New York Times bestselling author Jane Gilman digs in to her newest book The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street with us, where she paints a brilliant fictional portrait of 20th Century America through the eyes of protaganist and anti-hero Lillian Dunkle, a woman determined to find love, fame, and power on her own terms. No stranger to the New York Time's Bestseller list, Susan Jane Gilman also provides commentary for NPR, and has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Ms. Magazine. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and divides her time between Geneva, Switzerland, and her hometown of New York.
Wednesday, October 28
Author and Rabbi Sherre Hirsch
Thresholds: How to Thrive Through Life's Transitions, to Live Fearlessly and Regret-Free
Transitioning from one stage of life to the next can be painful, fearful, and downright terrifying. But what if we embraced these changes, and saw them as a doorway of opportunity and wellspring of motivation? An expert in her field, Rabbi Sherre Hirsch accomplishes this as she guides us through uncertainty with her new book, Thresholds. Highly respected and sought-after Rabbi, inspirational speaker, and author, Rabbi Hirsch is a spiritual life consultant for Canyon Ranch Properties and is an expert in her field who frequently appears on Today, ABC News, PBS, and more.
Sunday, November 1
Author Karen Gooen
Searching for Bubbe Fischer: The Path to Mah Jongg Wisdom
Playing Mah Jongg is simple. Excelling at it is another matter entirely, unless you add author Karen Gooen to the mix. Gooen made it her mission to find the quintessential Mah Jongg Maven, and doesn't disappoint. In her book, Searching for Bubbe Fischer, Gooen documents her search for Mahj mastery and provides tips, etiquette & more. Writer, wife, mother of two, and Mah Jongg instructor in Randolph, New Jersey, Karen Gooen has spent years researching and analyzing the ten-minute activity that's captivated Jewish communities for years. After a myriad of jobs, she has found her true passion at the Mahj table and relishes the chance to make order out of chaos.
Thursday, November 5
Local Author Bill Rabinowitz
The Chase: How Ohio State Captured the First College Football Playoff
Local author Bill Rabinowitz shares the inside story of Ohio State's unprecedented 2014 football season with his latest book The Chase. Rabinowitz takes us from the final moments of their 2014 Orange Bowl loss to Clemson, and to the championship celebration in Arizona a year later. Bill Rabinowitz has been a sports writer with the Columbus Dispatch for over 15 years with a special focus on Ohio State football for almost five of those years. Rabinowitz has won multiple awards on the state and national level for his reporting and writing.
Wednesday, November 11
Comedian Linda Belt
with local Comedian Karen Jaffee
New Jersey native and recovering PTO member Linda Belt brings the laughs by touching on all areas of modern life. Opening for Linda is local comic Karen Jaffee, who has a gift for impressions and harassing Sesame Street stars. Karen Jaffee is a local favorite at Wiley's Comedy Club in Dayton and has worked with notable comedians such as Todd Yohn, Kristin Key, and John Roy.
Sunday, November 15
Local Author Brian E. Forschner
Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders in Dayton, Ohio
The year is 1909, and Dayton, Ohio is in the grisly grips of a serial murder rapist. More than 100 years later, local author Brian Forschner is on the case, piecing together the missing evidence on a murder trail gone cold and overlooked by local authorities. His book Cold Serial provides the long overdue justice and voice the victims so richly deserve. Brian Forschner is an author with many hats, having been a teacher, counselor, consultant, and writer. His knowledge of the Dayton area and pechant for research and criminology has helped him bring to life areas of our local past that had for years gone cold. Guest speaker and Lawyer David Greer has spent his life in Dayton and was integral to the Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman (1977) court case that led to the final push in desegregating Dayton City Schools. Greer carries with him a vast knowledge of the historical ethinic patterns within Dayton's residential areas that play a key role in understanding Dayton's cultural history in relation to the serial murders
.
Tuesday, December 1
Author Eddie Shapiro
Nothing Like A Dame; Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theatre
Who doesn't remember their first Broadway thrill? Whether it was seeing veteran stage actress Chitia Rivera or recent starlets like Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, writer Eddie Shapiro has interviewed them all for his most recent book, Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theatre. Eddie Shapiro grew up singing the music of Broadway, and there's not a cast show he doesn’t know by heart to a show he hasn't seen over the past 30 years. Having attended over 1200 Broadway performances, he brings his passion for the stage to life in his writing. A regularly featured writer in Out Magazine, Instinct, and Backstage West, Shapiro is also the former Director of AIDS Walk New York and the Producer of Gay Days at Disneyland.
Tuesday, December 1
Author Dan Ephron
Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel
In his book, Killing a King, Journalist Dan Ephron pieces together the story behind the single most consequential event in Israel's recent history: The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Ephron relates parallel stories of Rabin and his stalker, Yigal Amir, over the two years prior to the fateful assassination which fundamentally altered the trajectory for both Israel and the Palestinians. 15 year veteran of Newsweek, holding the titles of National Security Correspondent, Deputy Washington Bureau Chief and Jerusalem Bureau Chief during various stages of his career, Dan Ephron has followed the Middle East since the mid 1990s. His writing has also been featured in Esquire, The New Republic, The Village Voice, and The Washington Monthly.
Closing Night: Thursday, December 3
Author Tess Gerritsen
Playing with Fire
Nationally recognized author and creator of the characters Rizzoli & Isles, Tess Gerritsen premiers her newest book, Playing With Fire. The novel's protagonist stumbles into a curious power held in the most unexpected place: a beautifully chilling piece of music, leading Julia to uncover a heartbreaking secret of tragedy and devastation and a powerful struggle for the truth. A graduate of Stanford University with a Medical Degree from the University of California, San Franciso, author Tess Gerritsen is widely known as the "medical suspense queen". Using her medical background to weave her New York Times bestselling books, Gerritsen is also the creator of characters Rizzoli & Isles, who have taken on a life of their own with the TNT drama series based off their crime scene capers.
Friday, December 4, 10:20AM @ Centerville Library
An Interview with author Tess Gerritsen
Playing with Fire
Author Tess Gerritsen will be interviewed by library staff about her writing process and more, followed by an audience Q&A. Due to limited space, please RSVP online for this event through the Washington Centerville Public Library at wclibrary.info
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Excited for CABF? Can't wait to support our 2015 events? Contact Karen Steiger at ksteiger@jfgd.net or 610-1555 to show your support and be recognized in the upcoming CABF event brochure!
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