Isaac Blum is an award-winning author and educator. His debut novel, The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and won the William C. Morris Award from the American Library Association. His second YA novel, The Judgment of Yoyo Gold, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. You can visit him online at isaacblumauthor.com and follow him on Instagram @isaacblum_

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Keynote: Two Rabbis Walk into a Writers Conference

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, the first woman to lead this flagship congregation in its 185 year history. Under her leadership, Central Synagogue has grown to become one of the largest synagogues in the world, including congregants attending via livestream in more than one hundred countries. Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, she is the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi in North America. Rabbi Buchdahl was invited by President Barack Obama in 2014 and President Joe Biden in 2023 to share blessings for the White House Hanukah Party. She has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR, Wall Street Journal, PBS and Newsweek's Most Influential Rabbis. Rabbi Buchdahl and her husband, Jacob Buchdahl, live in New York City and have three children.

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Zeeva Bukai, Jewish Stories Before and Beyond the Holocaust

Zeeva Bukai was born in Israel and raised in New York City. Her work has appeared in Smashing the Tablets: A Retelling of the Hebrew Bible, Frankly Feminist, Short Stories by Jewish Women, CARVE, The Master’s Review, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern and elsewhere. Her honors include fellowships at Hedgebrook, the Center for Fiction, and Byrdcliff AIR program. She holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and is the Assistant Director of Academic Support at SUNY Empire State University. The Anatomy of Exile is her first novel. Her second, The World Between, is forthcoming from Delphinium Books February 2026.

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Michael Davis, Project Shema Listening Session

Michael Davis brings over 20 years of experience as an educator, including 15 years as a Hebrew school teacher and 13 years in early childhood education. With a degree in Psychology focused on child development from SUNY Empire State University, Michael has dedicated their career to fostering inclusive learning environments for diverse communities. Over the past five years, they have expanded their impact by co-facilitating Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) trainings, as well as sessions for religious schools, nonprofits, and Jewish camps across the United States. Michael also serves on the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism, contributing to initiatives that create more inclusive spaces within Jewish communities.

Michael’s approach to facilitation is rooted in empathy, storytelling, and collaboration. Passionate about bridging divides and uplifting marginalized voices, he is committed to creating spaces where individuals feel seen, heard, and inspired to take action. An advocate and educator, Michael believes in the transformative power of education to build stronger, more inclusive communities.

Erika Dreifus, Community Rising: Collective Jewish Storytelling

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. Erika writes and lectures widely and is also the publisher-editor of The Practicing Writer, a popular newsletter for writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. She lives in New York City. Web: ErikaDreifus.com.

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Naomi Firestone-Teeter, Writing While Jewish: The Business of Being a Jewish Writer

Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Naomi Firestone-Teeter is the CEO of Jewish Book Council. She graduated from Emory University with degrees in English and Art History and, in addition, studied at University College London. Prior to her role as executive director and now CEO, Naomi served as the founding editor of the JBC website and blog and managing editor of Jewish Book World. In addition, she has overseen JBC’s digital initiatives, and also developed the JBC’s Visiting Scribe series and Unpacking the Book: Jewish Writers in Conversation.

Peter Fox, The Lighter Side: Jewish Humor in Writing

Peter Fox is a writer and cultural commentator whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, Wired, CNN, The Jerusalem Post, Newsweek, The Forward, and Tablet Magazine. He is currently querying his first novel, a Mean Girls-style satire set on a college campus in the aftermath of October 7. For his irreverent takes on culture, identity, and the hot mess of modern life, subscribe to his newsletter at WhattheActualFox.com and follow his mischief everywhere @thatpeterfox.

Iddo Gefen, Jewish Stories Before and Beyond the Holocaust

Iddo Gefen, born in 1992 in Tel Aviv, is an author and a Ph.D. student in cognitive neuroscience at Columbia University, currently based in New York City. His research explores the intricate relationship between narrative understanding, human memory, and decision-making. Gefen’s debut short story collection, Jerusalem Beach, won the 2023 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. One of the stories from the book is currently being adapted into a film by Ryan Gosling’s production company.

Photo credit Noam Galai

Lindsay Gordon Bezalel, Writing While Jewish: The Business of Being a Jewish Writer

Lindsay Gordon Bezalel is the Associate Publisher and Director of Marketing and Publicity for both Avery and Tarcher. She has spent her career promoting and publicizing non-fiction authors and their books. As Associate Publisher Lindsay oversees all of the customized publicity and marketing campaigns aimed towards securing as much media as possible and effectively getting the books in front of consumers in new and innovative ways.

Lindsay has overseen and worked on the campaigns of numerous New York Times and national bestselling titles, including Atomic Habits by James Clear, Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means, The Book of Joy by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté, The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon, Shabbat by Adeena Sussman, The XX Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Set Boundaries, Find Peace and Drama Free by Nedra Glover Tawwab, The Odd 1s Out by James Rallison and Unwinding Anxiety by Dr. Jud Brewer. Prior to joining Penguin Lindsay worked at the Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group at Random House, Inc.

Diane Gottlieb, Community Rising: Collective Jewish Storytelling

Diane Gottlieb is a writer, educator, mom, grandma, wife, friend—who’s terminally curious. She loves to learn, explore, and share with others what she discovers. Oh—she also loves birds, trees, lizards, and supporting writers, readers, and all kinds of kind and courageous people.

She writes flash fiction, essays, and dabbles in poetry. Her work has appeared in River Teeth, Huff Post, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Rumpus, Split Lip, Barrelhouse, among others, and has recently been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Best Microfiction anthology. She is the Prose and Nonfiction Editor of Emerge Literary Journal, the editor of Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness (Oct 2023), and on the Hippocampus Magazine reviews team.

Max Gross, The Lighter Side: Jewish Humor in Writing

Max Gross was born in New York City and is the son of two writers. Gross attended Saint Ann's School and Dartmouth College. His first job in journalism was at the Forward newspaper and he worked for 10 years at The New York Post before becoming Editor in Chief of Commercial Observer. Gross previously wrote a book about what it's like to look like Seth Rogen called From Schlub to Stud and his novel The Lost Shtetl won a National Jewish Book Award and the Association of Jewish Libraries Fiction Award. Gross lives in Forest Hills, Queens with his wife and son.

Photo credit Julian Voloj

Alison Hammer, Jewish Stories Before and Beyond the Holocaust

Alison Hammer is half of the writing duo Ali Brady (along with her BFF Bradeigh Godfrey.) They are the USA TODAY Bestselling authors of romantic, heartwarming, funny novels including The Beach Trap, The Comeback Summer, Until Next Summer, Battle of the Bookstores, and the novella, One Night, Two Holidays. Their books have been “best of summer” picks by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Parade, and Katie Couric Media. Alison lives in Chicago and works as an advertising creative director. She’s also the Founder and Co-President of The Artists Against Antisemitism, and the author of You and Me and Us and Little Pieces of Me. She has no pets, plants or kids, but she does have three nephews—two human and one canine.

Lynn Harris, The Lighter Side, Jewish Humor in Writing

Lynn Harris is the founder of the startup GOLD Comedy, the comedy school, creative network, and content studio centering women/non-binary folks. She is also an award-winning journalist/novelist whose writing has measurably shifted perceptions of violence against young women and led to new federal protections for them. She is author of six humorous fiction and non-fiction books, including Death By Chick Lit and Breakup Girl to the Rescue! Her writing—on gender, culture, and a range of social issues—has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Salon, Glamour, and a 25-year career’s worth of national newspapers, magazines, and anthologies.

Vanessa Hidary, Writing for Change

Vanessa Hidary is a trailblazing spoken word artist, educator, and advocate whose work has had a profound impact on both the Jewish community and beyond. Over two decades ago, she began performing her powerful poetry in New York City venues, becoming a pioneering voice for Jewish identity in the slam poetry scene.

Inspired by her own Syrian-Jewish heritage, she founded the Kaleidoscope Project, a narrative-arts initiative that amplifies the stories of Jews of Color, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, and those with interfaith experiences. In addition to her work in the arts, Vanessa has become a prominent advocate for Jewish unity in the wake of the rising antisemitism post-October 7th, 2023. She intensified her activism, traveling to Israel to show solidarity, perform new works, and document stories. Through her spoken word performances, workshops, and advocacy, Vanessa Hidary has created a lasting legacy by amplifying marginalized voices and fostering unity within the Jewish community.

Ben Hyman, Writing While Jewish: The Business of Being a Jewish Author

Ben Hyman is editorial director of Schocken Books, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Penguin Random House. Prior to joining Schocken in 2024, he held editorial roles at Bloomsbury Publishing and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He has edited multiple New York Times bestsellers, as well as winners or finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Awards, National Jewish Book Awards, Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, Publishing Triangle Awards, and other honors.

Adam Kirsch, Writing for Change

Adam Kirsch is a poet, literary critic and editor at the Wall Street Journal. He is the author most recently of On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence and Justice.

Joshua S. Levy, Community Rising: Collective Jewish Storytelling

Joshua S. Levy is the author of several middle grade novels, including (the very Jewish) The Jake Show (a Sydney Taylor Honor Book) and Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop (a Sydney Taylor Honor Book and National Jewish Book Award winner). He is also co-editor of the middle grade short story anthology, On All Other Nights. Josh lives with his wife and children in New Jersey. Visit him online at www.joshuasimonlevy.com or here and there on social media, @JoshuaSLevy.

Photo credit Abbie Sophia Photography

Beth Lipschutz, Mi Sheberach Workshop

Beth Lipschutz (she/her) is the wellness educator at BeWell, the mental health and wellness initiative of Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) in partnership with the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (The Network). She creates and facilitates different mental wellness programs and trainings in a variety of settings throughout the Jewish community. She is committed to supporting the mental health and wellness of youth and those who care about them. Her career has been focused on community building, leadership development, inclusion, and mental wellness education. Before BeWell, Beth was the Regional Director of NFTY-Missouri Valley and spent many summers at camp or leading teen immersive travel experiences. She earned her MSW at the University of Denver and is also a Youth and Teen Mental Health First Aid Instructor. She lives in Denver and enjoys live music and the mountains.

Sara Lippmann, Community Rising: Collective Jewish Storytelling

Sara Lippmann is the author of the novel Lech and the story collections Doll Palace and Jerks. Her fiction has won the Lilith Fiction Prize and has been honored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and her essays have appeared in The Millions, The Washington Post, Catapult, and elsewhere. With Seth Rogoff, she co-edited the anthology, Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible. She is a co-founder of Writing Co-lab, an online teaching platform, and the editor of Epiphany magazine. Her new novel, Hidden River, will be published in 2026.

Photo credit m. price

Jean Meltzer, Jewish Stories Before and Beyond the Holocaust

Dubbed “The Queen of Jewish Romance,” Jean Meltzer is an international bestselling author and the recipient of several writing honors including Amazon Best Romance, Apple Best Book of October, Apple Best Audiobook of the Year, Booklist Top Ten Romances for 2023, a Kirkus Star, a Booklist Star, and LibraryReads. Jean’s commitment to uplifting Jewish stories has made her a leading figure in Jewish literary advocacy. She has served as a judge for the National Jewish Book Awards, is a founding member of The Artists Against Antisemitism, and is the Founder & CEO of Jewish Joy LLC—the umbrella organization to Jewish Women Talk About Romance Books, The Jewish Joy Book Club, The Jewish Joy Box, and the upcoming Jewish Joy Con.

Photo credit Lisa Damico

Dena Neusner, Writing While Jewish: The Business of Being a Jewish Author

Dena Neusner is Executive Editor at Behrman House and its children’s book imprint, Apples & Honey Press. She has been with Behrman House for more than seventeen years. She received the 2019 Jewish Book Council Mentorship Award for her commitment to guiding authors and colleagues to create their best work. Apples & Honey Press publishes compelling children’s books that help kids explore their world through the lenses of universal ethical themes, Jewish culture and practice, and diverse perspectives. On her wish list are picture books and chapter books that spotlight diverse backgrounds and life experiences; stories that highlight personal growth or overcoming social or emotional challenges; and historical stories that illuminate a moment in Jewish time while highlighting character strengths and values to inspire children. Learn more at behrmanhouse.com and applesandhoneypress.com.

Ali Rosen, The Lighter Side: Jewish Humor in Writing

Ali Rosen is a bestselling author of both cookbooks and novels, and is the Emmy and James Beard Award-nominated host of Potluck with Ali Rosen on NYC Life. Her latest novel— described in a starred review by Kirkus as “a swoonworthy romance reminiscent of a Nora Ephron movie”—is Unlikely Story. She is also the author of three cookbooks including the recently released 15 Minute Meals. She has frequently been featured on shows like NBC’S Today Show and ABC’s Good Morning America, and in publications including The New York Times, Bon Appetit, The Washington Post and New York Magazine. She is originally from Charleston, SC but now lives in New York City with her husband, three kids, and rescue dog.

Photo credit Melanie Dunea

Tali Rosenblatt-Cohen, Writing for Change

Tali Rosenblatt-Cohen is the host of The Five Books podcast, interviewing Jewish authors about the books near and dear to them. She has toggled between the publishing world and Jewish communal life. After graduating from Barnard College, she was co-director of the Jewish student group, Lights-in-Action, and then worked as a literary agent for nearly ten years. She has served on the Boards of numerous Jewish institutions, including the Natan Fund where she currently chairs their Notable Books award committee. She has taught writing classes for Gotham Writer’s Workshop and written reviews for Kirkus. Her writing has been published by New York Family Magazine (where she was also a staff writer and editor of their parenting blogs), The New York Jewish Week, The Forward and others.

Rabbi Rena Rossner, Keynote: Two Rabbis Walk into a Writers Conference

Rabbi Rena Rossner is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars Program, she studied at Trinity College, Dublin and holds an MA in History from McGill University. She is the author of the cookbook Eating the Bible (Skyhorse, 2014) and the novel, The Sisters of the Winter Wood (Redhook/Orbit, 2018) which was named "One of the 100 best books of 2018" by Publisher's Weekly. She has been at The Deborah Harris Agency since 2012. Rena is interested in representing Literary and Upmarket Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thrillers, Horror, and Science Fiction and Fantasy. She has a particular love for novels in verse. She accepts queries for Adult, Young Adult, Middle Grade and Picture Books projects and also works with illustrators.

Jill Santopolo, Welcome: Opening Remarks

Jill Santopolo is the internationally best-selling author of Stars in an Italian Sky, Everything After, More Than Words and theThe Light We Lost, which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick and has been optioned for film. Her books have been translated into more than 35 languages and have been named to the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Apple, and Indie Bound bestseller lists. She is also the author of the Alec Flint Mysteries, the Sparkle Spa series, and the Follow Your Heart books. Jill holds a BA in English Literature from Columbia University, an MFA in Writing for Children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and a certificate in Intellectual Property Law from NYU. She is the publisher of Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, where she edits many critically-acclaimed, award-winning, and best-selling books including She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, Girling Up by Mayim Bialik, Calling All Minds by Temple Grandin, Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Rafael Lopez, and Superheroes Are Everywhere by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Mechal Roe. Jill has worked as a thesis advisor at The New School in their MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults and was on the faculty of the Columbia Publishing Course. She was also an adjunct professor at McDaniel College, where she helped develop the curriculum for their certificate program in Writing for Children. Jill has traveled all over the U.S.—and to Canada and Europe—to speak about writing and storytelling. She lives in New York with her husband and daughter.

Rabbi Marcus Mordecai Schwartz, JTS Special Collections Guided Tour

Marcus Mordecai Schwartz serves as the Henry R. And Miriam Ripps Schnitzer Librarian for Special Collections of the JTS Library, where he oversees the largest collection of Hebrew manuscripts in the world. Rabbi Schwartz is also a member of the Talmud faculty at JTS where he has taught the last 15 years.

He is a past recipient of the prestigious Professor Saul Lieberman and Dr. Judith Berlin Lieberman Graduate Fellowships in Talmudic Studies. He is also an alumnus of the University of Nebraska.

Rabbi Schwartz has taught at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. He has written articles for the Hebrew Union College Annual, Zeramim, the Encyclopedia Judaica Online, and the Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture. His book, Rewriting the Talmud, on the effect of tradition from the Land of Israel on the composition of the Babylonian Talmud, was released in the summer of 2019.

The 2025 Jewish Writers Mifgash Speakers

The 2025 Mifgash Team

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