July's Book of the Month!

Sun Jul 5 15:03:09 BST 2026

5 July, 2026

** A SUMMER OF READING
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Whether you’re packing books for a holiday or finding refuge in a cool quiet corner against the soaring temperatures, it’s that time of the year to unwind and do what we love best - reading.

Read on for July’s Book of the Month Autocorrect, why Howard Jacobson sees himself as “the Jewish Jane Austen”, and what’s new with our Jewish Playwrights Programme.

https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/book-of-the-month-july-2026

** JULY’S BOOK OF THE MONTH:
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** Autocorrect
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What better book to choose for summer than Autocorrect by Israeli author Etgar Keret, a collection of 33 short stories in which anything, truly, is possible.

Translated by Jessica Cohen and Sondra Silverston, the stories range from sci-fi scenarios to fictional thought-experiments and short vignettes, capturing the absurdity of daily life and all the existential angst that comes with it.

And as a special treat this month, we’re sharing an exclusive short story written by Etgar himself, that he thinks you’ll particularly enjoy. As Etgar said,

“As someone who spends his life trying to make sense of the world through stories, I hope you enjoy this short story I wrote, which may be a Jewish habit in its own right."

Along with the short story, enjoy an exclusive preview of Autocorrect and make the most of our limited discount.
EXPLORE JULY’S PICK (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/book-of-the-month-july-2026)

** MEET THE JEWISH JANE AUSTEN
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Ahead of our October Reading Retreat in Bath, we asked Aviva Dautch to give us a flavour of what to expect on the retreat, and why Howard Jacobson might just be the perfect companion for it…

“At a literary festival a few years ago, Howard Jacobson was asked, not for the first time, whether he sees himself as the “English Philip Roth”. “No,” he replied, “I’m the Jewish Jane Austen”. In a Jerusalem Post article he explained that, like Jane Austen, he writes comedies of manners and, as a British Jewish writer, he is steeped in the history of the English novel, more influenced by Austen and George Eliot than by American Jewish writers such as Roth and Saul Bellow.

The location of our retreat, Bath, is where many of Austen’s most famous scenes, plus a few of Eliot’s are set, so it seems an ideal location to explore the concept of ‘the anxiety of influence’ as Harold Bloom famously described it. We’ll set Howard’s writing alongside both Daniel Deronda, George Eliot’s novel about Jews, and Reuben Sachs, by Oscar Wilde’s protégé Amy Levy, who has perhaps more right to claim the title of “Jewish Jane Austen” than Jacobson does. With a little Elaine Feinstein, Chaim Potok and Philip Roth thrown in, we’ll ask questions about what it means to write as a Jew about Jews, what we feel are the differences between American and British Jewish writing and what makes an Anglo-Jewish novel.”

Aviva Dautch

Poet and Literary Scholar leading literary sessions at the retreat

Taking place 5-7 October at the Queensbury Hotel in Bath. Be quick - early bird tickets have now sold out!
TELL ME MORE (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/events/reading-retreat-with-howard-jacobson)

** APPLICATIONS OPEN!
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** Jewish Playwrights Programme
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Our second Jewish Playwrights Programme is back - offering six months of sustained script development for eight emerging and early-career playwrights, mentored by award-winning playwright and director Julia Pascal.

Open to Jewish playwrights, or those working on a play that engages with Jewish themes or culture, its goal is to strengthen the presence of Jewish artists, culture and storytelling within UK theatre, representing it in all its diversity.

Expect in-person sessions, structured writing deadlines, peer feedback, dramaturgical support, and an industry day with a leading director and professional actors to test extracts from your script.

Applications close on 3 August 17:00 BST.
FIND OUT MORE (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/awards-prizes/jewish-playwrights-programme)

** JBW 2026 ON JLF PLAYER
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Watch this week’s new releases for free on our JLF Video Player, spotlighting the best of JBW.
The Einstein Vendetta (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/videos/the-einstein-vendetta)
Heroism & Rebirth in Nazi Europe (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/videos/heroism-rebirth-in-nazi-europe)
Death in a Shallow Pond (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/videos/death-in-a-shallow-pond)
Spark: How Genius Ignites (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/videos/spark-how-genius-ignites)
BROWSE THE PLAYER (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/jlf-player)

EXPLORE THE JEWISH LITERARY FOUNDATION (https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/)
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https://jewishliteraryfoundation.co.uk/

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