Get ready for the 7th Jewish Book Festival!

By Gayle Dorio, 2021-22 Jewish Book Festival chair

“Are you ready for some football?!” When the football season begins, you hear this sung with a melody that sticks in your brain. Wouldn’t it be great to have a similar refrain for the book festival? So, JBF supporters, book lovers, everyone, “Get ready for the 7th Jewish Book Festival!” You’ll have to imagine the music and be grateful I’m not singing.

We requested a variety of fabulous authors. It was difficult to choose just 25 from so many excellent options in the list of 225. Some authors preferred only virtual events. Some were willing to come in person. Our goal was to reinforce the Lucky 7 theme for this 7th book festival by having 7 in person and 7 as virtual events. We wanted to have 18 (chai) authors, but that didn’t happen. So, we have 15 events with 17 authors, 6 in person and 9 virtual. As the saying goes, “Man plans (in this case, mostly women) and G-d laughs”… or the Jewish Book Council in New York, as was the case here.

The majority of in-person events will also be livestreamed. Yes! Livestreaming will enable those who prefer to remain at home to still participate using a Zoom link. The exception is the People of The Book event, because we want the community to turn out in person for this. Those who want to get out and socialize again will be able to do so.

We kept the patron levels the same as last year: Platinum at $500, Silver at $225 and Bronze at $118. By keeping it simple, we hope you will sign up and we know you will enjoy the selections!

We will hear about medical marijuana and explore ethical questions about modern technology, hearing viewpoints of different rabbis. We will enjoy both Jewish historical fiction and nonfiction. A magician will delight us. A bestselling author, who is also a comedienne, will be sure to provide laughter. We will hear stories about being an undercover spy. We have some mystery and some imaginative, hopeful world views. There are inspirational stories about people we should get to know and appreciate. Different stories about the Holocaust that we haven’t heard, but need to hear. And stories about the world of entertainment told by a son of one of our own Naples friends.

So, thought provoking, entertaining and enlightening — a complete package for the 7th JBF!

The preview event, which will give you more information about each author and book, will be held virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. Iris Shur will put this together, along with other JBF committee members and friends to further whet your appetites! Put it on your calendar and be sure to register at www.Jewishnaples.org, using the active link under the Jewish Book Festival image.

Sometimes, we are asked if it is necessary to read the book in advance of an author’s presentation and we want to assure you that it isn’t an absolute necessity. We use two important factors to determine which authors are selected: 1) the author has to have an engaging presentation style, be entertaining and interesting; and 2) the book has to be well written. For these reasons, you will find that it isn’t necessary to have read the book in advance. Of course, if you choose to do so, it will surely add to your enjoyment and probably lead you to ask some questions. Several books have won awards, and many have considerable ongoing publicity and name recognition.

If you choose to read the books in advance, Barnes & Noble has ordered all the books, which will be displayed, as in past years, on an end cap. As a strong supporter of the JBF, Barnes & Noble shows the complete listing of our events and encourages readers to sign up and participate. You may choose to hear the presentations and then purchase the books either at the event or afterward. There are links to do this online as well. We are grateful to Barnes & Noble and to all our sponsors!

We hope you are looking forward to the events, which begin on Tuesday, Nov. 9 and end on Thursday, March 17 … four months of engagement, entertainment and enlightenment! Please sign up, attend events, become a patron, become a sponsor and join us!

With your support, we look forward to a wonderful year. The Jewish Book Festival is just one of many ways the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples enriches our community.

On behalf of myself and the committee members, we are grateful to be able to bring you this festival. It provides such a valuable way to bring our community together. Thank you. We look forward to seeing you at all the events!