Jewish Book Fairs and Festivals for 2025
By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
Book festivals and fairs are held year-round all over the world. As a book marketing specialist, I am the first to impress on authors the new and powerful marketing avenues open to all authors on the Internet – from websites and book trailers to social networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. While these are excellent tools when used properly, authors should never overlook opportunities to meet the reading public face-to-face.
Consider visiting some of these Jewish book fairs and festivals
If you are a Jewish author or specialize in writing about Jewish issues, you should consider visiting some of these Jewish book fairs and festivals.
October 2024 – May 2025: 44th Berrin Family Jewish Book Festival of Alper JCC Miami (Miami, FL). Featuring 40+ renowned authors beginning in September each year. Whether you’re a book lover or simply interested in hearing from names synonymous with pop culture and bestsellers, there’s an event for everyone. https://www.alperjcc.org/pages/bookfestival/
November 17, 2024 – March 19, 2025: 25th Cleveland Jewish Book Festival (Beachwood, OH). In its 25th year, opening night kicks off a calendar of 13 events in November 2024 and March 2025. From fiction and non-fiction, books highlight Jewish life, Israel, Amercian diplomacy, spirituality, art, mystery and more. Most events are free and open to the public. All in-person and virtual author presentations are accompanied by lively Q&A sessions. Books will be available for purchase at our partner Mac’s Backs-Books of Coventry in Cleveland Heights. https://mandeljcc.org/Book-Festival
December 9, 2024 – April 2, 2025: Greater Naples Jewish Book Festival (Naples, FL). Celebrating Ten Years of Bringing Authors and Books to Our Community. The Greater Naples Jewish Book Festival brings a showcase of Jewish authors and books of Jewish content to our community. We strive to enrich, entertain and engage the members of our community while providing opportunities to come together for experiences that are both educational and social. https://www.jewishnaples.org/jewish-book-festival
January 16, 2025, St. Louis JCC’s 46th Annual Jewish Book Festival (St. Louis, MO): The St. Louis Jewish Book Festival is an annual celebration of authors, books, and ideas during early November, with additional author events year-round. The range of author topics is vast: business, cooking, economics, family, fiction, history, music, religion, sports, and more. https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-book-festival/
February 1, 2025, Marcus JCC Atlanta’s 34th Edition of the Book Festival of the MJCCA (Dunwoody, GA). Mark your calendars for the annual Book Festival of the MJCCA—featuring more than 40 renowned authors in November each year. Whether you’re a book lover or simply interested in hearing from names synonymous with pop culture and bestsellers, there’s an event for everyone. The Book Festival of the MJCCA is one of the most highly regarded cultural events in the Southeast. https://www.atlantajcc.org/our-programs/arts-authors/book-festival/upcoming-events/
February 10–16, 2025: Books That Changed My Life festival. The Books That Changed My Life festival is thrilled to announce its first-ever Author in Residence. For an entire week in February, Maya will be in the lobby of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, ready to meet with community members and listen to their life stories. This is your chance to share your unique experiences with a celebrated author—who knows, you might even inspire a character in her next book! https://mmjccm.org/arts-film/conversations/book-festival
February 16–23, 2025: Jewish Book Festival 2025 (Durham, NC). This year they’ve got a mix of in-person and virtual events planned for you to hear authors read excerpts from their books, answer your questions, and share their inspiration and challenges in writing these words. This series spotlights diverse stories from across the Jewish world. https://www.jewishforgood.org/book-festival
February 22–27, 2025, Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival (Vancouver, BC): There will be author talks and Q&As. This event usually attracts over 5,000 people of all ages. For more details, call 604-257-5156 or email [email protected]. https://jccgv.com/jewish-book-festival/
March 1–9, 2025, London International Literacy Festival’s Jewish Book Week (London, UK): It will feature Jewish writers and themes and a number of interesting discussions. https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/jewish-book-week
March 12, 2025, 74th National Jewish Book Award Celebration (New York, NY): The celebration will feature remarks from a selection of the 73rd winners in addition to special guests of Jewish Book Council. Each ticket supports Jewish Book Council’s efforts to enrich, educate, and strengthen the community through literature. https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards
April 28, 2025: South African Jewish Literary Festival. The South African Jewish Literary Festival (JLF) is a one-day smorgasbord for lovers of literature, current affairs, and thought-provoking dialogue. Our fifth festival since its 2016 inception will be in held in Cape Town on Freedom Day, 28 April, 2025. The JLF is a bi-annual event for readers and writers of books with a Jewish connection across all genres. https://jewishliteraryfestival.co.za/
June 23-29, 2025: Yetzirah 2025 Jewish Poetry Conference. For participants, Yetzirah’s third Jewish Poetry Conference will be held June 23-29, 2025, in the mountains of Western North Carolina, in partnership with the University of North Carolina—Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies. Our time together will consist of a mix of generative workshops focused on Jewish questions and themes, discussion panels, craft talks, readings with Faculty and our Fellows, Scholars, and Contributors, as well as many shared meals and celebrations. https://yetzirahpoets.org/programs/conference/
Throughout 2025, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival (Virginia Beach, VA): For over 40 years, the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival has celebrated Jewish authors, illustrators, and books, providing opportunities to engage with bestselling and up-and-coming writers. For further details, contact Jill Grossman at 757-965-6137 or [email protected]. https://federation.jewishva.org/arts-ideas/book-festival
Book fairs typically seek out guest speakers. By volunteering to speak at a Jewish book fair, you will pique the interest of new readers, promote your book, and potentially gain a few new fans. Additionally, you can add the speaking appearance to your resume. Be sure to plan ahead because book fairs, speaking engagements and readings are all planned months in advance. For a complete list of book fairs and festivals visit https://westwindbookmarketing.com/
The Bottom Line: Reach out to the Jewish community and attend a book fair! You will be happy you did.
If you are a #Jewish #author or specialize in #writing about Jewish issues, you should consider visiting some of these Jewish #bookfairs and festivals. Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers! 𝕏About Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at https://WestwindBookMarketing.com or contact Lorenz at [email protected] or 734-667-2090 or fill out the form below. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist. Want help titling a book? Check out Scott Lorenz’s new award winning, bestselling book: Book Title Generator- A Proven System in Naming Your Book www.BookTitleGenerator.net.
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