The Gallery: Prose
OUR TRIBE, Talia Carner
About the artist: Novelist Talia Carner has authored six historical and psychological suspense novels that shed light on social indignities and unexplored historical events. Both The Boy With The Star Tattoo and The Third Daughter were named Finalists by the Jewish Book Council in the Book Club Categories. Formerly the publisher of Savvy Woman magazine and a lecturer at international women’s economic forums, Carner has turned recently from trailblazing projects centered on women’s issues to fighting for Israel’s image. Born in Israel, she lives in New York and Florida. Her addictions include chocolate and social justice. www.TaliaCarner.com
PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP, Erika Dreifus
A note from the artist: An earlier version of this essay was published in *Heritage Writer*. Some of the details included in this essay have also been woven into the short story “Lebensraum,” which appears in the author’s collection *Quiet Americans*.
About the artist: Erika Dreifus is the author of *Birthright: Poems* and *Quiet Americans: Stories*, which was named an American Library Association/Sophie Brody Medal Honor Title for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. An active literary consultant and advocate, Erika teaches at Baruch College/CUNY; serves on the boards of The Artists Against Antisemitism and the Leo Baeck Institute; and is a Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute fellow. Visit Erika online at ErikaDreifus.com.
HOME TEAM, Elan Barnehama
A note from the artist: This short story, HOME TEAM, helped me shape my second novel, ESCAPE ROUTE, which is, set in New York City during the \ 1960s, and told by Zach, the son of Holocaust survivors who becomes obsessed with the Vietnam War and finding an escape route for his family for when he believes the US will round up and incarcerate its Jews. https://amzn.to/3Mevrlz. In a different form this was published in Boog City 137: The Baseball Issue.
About the artist: Elan Barnehama has published two novels: Escape Route and Finding Bluefield. His flash fiction collection is forthcoming in January 2026 from Poets Wear Prada. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Gooseberry Pie. Nora Gold’s Jewish Fiction, Paris Lit Up, Synchronized Chaos, 10x10 Flash Fiction, Boog City, Drunk Monkeys, Rough Cut Press, Boston Accent, Red Fez, Syncopation Lit, HuffPost, public radio, and more. Elan served as the flash fiction editor at ForthMagazineLA, a radio news reporter, and was a mediocre short-order cook. He’s a New Yorker by destiny. A Mets fan by geography. More @ https://elanbarnehama.com
I RECITE THE SHEMA WHEN MY FATHER WALKS TO SYNOGOGUE, Natalie Malka
A note from the artist: This piece was inspired by a conversation I had with my father, where I begged him not attend synagogue due to the attacks on local synagogues around my city.
About the artist: Natalie M is a PhD student whose work focuses on the representation of teenage girls within young adult fiction. Her creative works have explored her feelings as Jewish woman today, as the great-granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, and someone who faces relentless antisemitism on her university campus. Her work is inspired by autoethnographic methodologies, memory, and Jewish pride through a feminist lens.
THE SOUND OF TWO HANDS, Lisa Grunberger
A note from the artist: The Sound of Two Hands is a little parable about hope, tragic-comic in tone, like a Yiddish folk tale. A story about mothers, generations, transmission of stories, memory, and survival. A story about hope.
About the artist: Poetry Pushcart nominee and Temple University Professor Lisa Grunberger is a first-generation American artist who writes about motherhood, war, and women. Her full-length poetry book, For the Future of Girls was nominated for an Eric Hoffer Independent Book Award. A widely published poet and essayist, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Southern Review, and The Laurel Review. Her play about technology and loneliness as a public health crisis, Alexa Talks to Rebecca, won the Audience Choice Award at the Squeaky Bicycle Theatre in NYC. ALMOST PREGNANT, her play about motherhood and IVF is published by Next Stage Press. Lisa teaches Yoga workshops and lives with her family in Philadelphia. She’s working on a memoir called Me and My Makers: A Memoir of Genes, Adoption and Love.
FROM THE HELL OF AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU: THE RENEWAL OF SPIRIT AND HOPE, Liza Wiemer
A note from the artist: This Community Arts Project inspired me to express my thoughts and to continue to process what I witnessed during my recent tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Writing enabled me to channel the sorrow and hope intermingled within my heart and soul. During my trip to Poland, I thought a great deal about Elie Wiesel, who survived Auschwitz. In his Nobel Peace Prize speech, he said, "Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair. I remember the killers, I remember the victims, even as I struggle to invent a thousand and one reasons to hope." (Source: https://tinyurl.com/4unf4dyr) Elie Wiesel is a mentor and inspiration to me. For him, for every survivor, and for every murder victim, I will continue to bear witness and speak up against antisemitism and other forms of hatred, bigotry, and injustice.
About the artist: Liza Wiemer is an award-winning educator with over twenty-five years of teaching experience. Her second novel, The Assignment, was published by Delacorte Press and has received 12 honors, including being named a Sydney Taylor Notable Book. To date, The Assignment has also been translated to Russian, Polish, Italian, and Korean and has been optioned for film. In addition, Liza has had two adult nonfiction books published and several short stories included in the New York Times bestselling Small Miracles series. Since August 2020, she has presented over 650 talks and workshops across the globe. She’s been interviewed by media outlets like NPR, BBC, ABC, and gave a TedXTalk at the UW-Madison. Her debut picture book, Out and About: A Tale of Giving, was published by Kalaniot Books. Every month, she writes a kidlit column for the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. She serves on the board of the Holocaust Education Resource Center in Milwaukee. Liza received the honor of being named one of “The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2021” by the Algemeiner. A graduate of UW-Madison, Liza has two married sons and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband, Jim.
