I’m excited to announce that Your Presence Is Mandatory comes out in paperback on Nov. 4! With a lovely new look, I hope you pre-order one today. If you already have it, thank you, but also it makes the perfect snowy gift for the holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah or even Soviet New Year’s). Strong pre-orders tell bookstores to stock Your Presence Is Mandatory, which will allow me to keep up this authoring gig a little longer.
This cover was inspired by the French edition of my novel. My team at Bloomsbury loved the snowy design of the French so much that they decided to adapt it for the paperback. I hope the new look will help get it into the hands of readers who love historical fiction, cozy winter reads or just need more blue books for their bookshelf.
To celebrate the launch, I’m having a reading party on Nov. 4 where I’ll share the stage with a few of my close author supporters: Susanne Pari, Olga Zilberbourg, Lee Kravetz, Jacqueline Doyle and Molly Antopol. I’m doing a couple of other little events, but not going all out as I’ve done over 50 events over the past 1.5 years since the book came out.
Sami Rohr Prize Ceremony
Last month, I traveled to New York to receive the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. The ceremony was held at a stunning venue and I met the three Rohr children who instituted this prize in honor of their father, the famous Rabbi David Wolpe, the three finalists, and a lot of supporters of Jewish literature. I was quite nervous about my speech, but it helped to have my husband and a few of my girlfriends in the audience. Apparently my husband teared up while I spoke, which was only the second time he’d ever teared up (the first was when he saw our first-born). If you’re curious, you can watch the speech and the ceremony here.
I’m beyond grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime experience and the generosity of the Rohr family.
What I’m Reading
Fiction: Boy from the North Country by Sam Sussman is an autofictional novel about a son who returns to care for his dying mother and discovers the story of her turbulent romance with Bob Dylan, whose son he may or may not be. I met Sam at my Sami Rohr event in New York and highly recommend you pick up this novel.
Nonfiction: Chesnok by Polina Chesnakova is a gorgeous new cookbook featuring perfected recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
On my nightstand: Kaplan’s Plot by Jason Diamond about a Jewish-Ukrainian grandfather/Chicago gangster, Tell Me Yours I’ll Tell You Mine by Kristina Ten is a short story collection perfect for the spooky season.
I hope you’re enjoying the Fall season, wherever you may be.
xx Sasha