Brandeis’ Book & Author day features national authors and brand-new books

MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

On March 13, Brandeis National Committee Phoenix Chapter hosts its annual Book & Author event, bringing authors and patrons from across the country. The day includes author talks, book sales and signings, boutiques and a luncheon. This year celebrates the 75th anniversary of both Brandeis University in Massachusetts and the Brandeis National Committee.

Carol Kern, co-chair of the event, first brought Book & Author to the Greater Phoenix area 33 years ago when she saw a similar event held by the Los Angeles chapter. She has been the chapter, regional and national president of the Brandeis National Committee, in addition to chairing the event many times over the years.

“They made this wonderful event called ‘Authors & Celebrities’ and they would get this enormous crowd of people. I said, ‘We have to do this!’” said Kern.

Kern said when it first started, she had a contact in Texas who had an “in” with publishers and helped get authors to attend. But over the years, the Phoenix Chapter has established relationships with publishers, publicists and authors.

“We have an author committee, and several people start working on it at the beginning of summer and by the fall, they have our authors already,” said Jan Lebovitz, co-chair.

“The key to our books is that they are not out yet,” said Linda Ullman, co-chair. “They’re brand-new books; three came out in November and December of last year and two are coming out now."

“We usually have a Jewish author or an author that has a connection to Brandeis,” added Kern. “The author may not be Jewish but their book has Jewish content, either about the Holocaust or the war.”

The five authors featured this year are Wanda M. Morris, Rebecca Makkai, Rabia Chaudry, Larry Lofti and Dani Shapiro. Olivia Fierro, co-host of Good Morning Arizona and host of “Olivia’s Book Club,” is the moderator.

Ullman said she noticed something when looking at the programs from previous years. “If you look at all the authors who have come to this over the years, some were famous at the time, most were not, but have become very famous. Like James Patterson, Dennis Lehane and Brad Meltzer.”

Book & Author was held in person last year, after a year on Zoom in 2021, along with all the chapter’s other programming, including its study groups.

A portion of the proceeds from Book & Author goes to whatever the university’s fundraising campaign is for that year. This year, the “Legacy of Louis: Inspiring Inquiry,” named after Louis Brandeis, the university’s namesake and the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, raises funds for the construction of a research archive. Brandeis’ family donated original letters, photographs, documents and family objects to the university, and the library wants to create an interactive addition for people to access these objects.

“The Brandeis library is incredible,” said Lebovitz. “It’s a world-class library and everything we do seems to add to it at some point.”

She added, “I moved here six years ago from Chicago. A friend told me, ‘When you move, you have to join Brandeis and you have to go to their Book & Author event — do not miss that event.’”

The Phoenix chapter began in 1950 and is the largest in the country, with 1,100 members and more than 90 study groups.

“People wonder if we are all alumni and we are not,” said Ullman of the chapter. “Ninety-nine percent of us haven’t gone to Brandeis. It’s an incredible university with incredible values and represents so many things — we’ve all made lifelong friends.”

“Even though you join for socialization, study groups or some of the programs, you find that we have so much in common and you want to support something that has the same values as you do,” said Kern. JN

For more information, visit brandeisphoenix.org.