Browsing CategoryThe Best Place on Earth

The Best Place on Earth in Hebrew (and other news)

I have not blogged in ages, but I have the best excuse. I’ve been writing! I’ve been hard at work on my memoir in essays. In fact, it is near finished. Which, of course, leads to a myriad of new anxieties. It just never stops, does it? I’ve been so consumed with work that I neglected to write about the amazing month I spent in Israel this June, launching my book with Am Oved. Am Oved has been my dream publisher ever since I was a little kid. I love their little books, with the red stamp on the top corner,…

CBC Books’ List of 12 Amazing Canadian Short Story Collections

I don’t have time to write anything profound, but this crazy thing happened last month. CBC Books included The Best Place on Earth on their list of 12 Amazing Canadian Short Story Collections, alongside some of my favourite short story collections, and … you know, a Nobel prize winner, a Giller prize winner, and Margaret Atwood. I am still blown away by this.    

Book Tour in Italy

In June I travelled to Italy for my first ever foreign book tour. And it was amazing. It was amazing because, well, it was Italy in June. And because on my first night, at my book launch in Parma, I got to see a dear old friend I hadn’t seen in twenty years, not since our crazy days in Goa. Because everywhere I went I met readers who loved the book and had intelligent, thoughtful things to say about it. Because of the food, and the sunshine, and the wine. Because most of my events took place outside, in various…

Cover girl and other news

So, today I went to pick up the mail and was startled by the magazine I was holding, Jewish Book World, which had my face staring right back at me. And it’s big. Unphotoshoped, fucked-up tooth and frizzy hair big. Inside, there’s a lovely review of my book, a write-up about the award and my essay, “Keeping Promises.” *** More news. I wrote something in HEBREW!!! I know. It’s been so long that I was saddened to discover that I’ve now reversed my sense of insecurity to my mother tongue! It wasn’t easy to write this piece. My words felt…

Some exciting news

Remember when I used to blog? What happened to that? Oh, right. I had a baby. And I work. And I write. Well, sometimes I do, though this past month has been all about grant applications and mentoring other writers (which is also great). June 15th is my day to get back to writing and I cannot wait! I do have several pieces of wonderful news to share: 1) The Best Place on Earth is going to be published  in Italian! The publisher is Nuova Editrice Berti, and they make beautiful books. Sono eccitato! 2) I (finally) signed with a literary agency!…

Event in New York City

I am thrilled to be doing an event in New York City next week, on April 1st. The New America Foundation (“a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States”) invited me to talk about The Best Place on Earth, Mizrahi identity and Israeli contemporary literature at their snazzy Soho location. I get to talk with two fiercely intelligent women, internationally-published and acclaimed journalist Lisa Goldman who is the New America’s Israel-Palestine Initiative director (and whose blog I used to follow when she was a Canadian living…

The Best Place on Earth is One Year Old!

How could it have been a year already? The Best Place on Earth is one year old today! I remember that this day last year was just as gloomy and miserable as today is. I remember feeling anxious and a little bit crazy and not as joyous as I had wanted to feel (that elated feeling came the following day, at my launch, which was hands down the best party I ever had) I remember that that morning I struggled to zip up my parka, which was starting to feel pretty tight on my hugely pregnant belly. I also remember…