Leading Authors to Host Panel on Antisemitism and Publishing at Scarsdale Library

This Moment in Time, a panel on discussion on antisemitism and publishing will be held on Thursday, January 16th at 10am.  The panel will be moderated by author Barbara Josselsohn, and will feature Fredric Price, novelist and publisher of Fig Tree Books, which publishes books about the American Jewish experience; Jackie Friedland, author of several novels including the upcoming Counting Backwards, Samantha Woodruff, author of the best seller The Trade-Off; and Haya Leah Molnar, award-winning memoirist.

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Commenting on the event, Josselsohn explained, "Many in our community are highly aware of, and many are personally affected by, the impact of antisemitism. As we all know, Scarsdale is a town that loves reading — just witness how incredibly popular and busy our library is! Over the summer, Fredric Price—the publisher of Fig Tree Books and a novelist in his own right—and I started to brainstorm the idea of a panel discussion on this topic for concerned readers and writers. We have put together a fabulous multi-genre panel, and I’m looking forward to hearing their analysis of where we stand now and where we go from here. I think it’s going to be a very insightful discussion, and we welcome the community to come with questions and thoughts."

Here's more on the moderators and panelists:

Fredric Price grew up and still lives in Westchester and is the founder, publisher, and editor of Fig Tree Books LLC, which is dedicated to publishing the best literature of the American Jewish experience. He is also the award-winning novelist of My Mother’s Son and Jacobo’s Rainbow, writing under the pseudonym David Hirshberg.

Barbara Josselsohn is the best-selling author of eight novels, including the recently published The Forgotten Italian Restaurant, a sweeping, multi-generational story of the Resistance in northern Italy during World War 2. She teaches fiction writing at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence and Westport Writers Workshop, and also leads the Writers Center at Scarsdale Library.

Jacqueline Friedland USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of He Gets That From Me, That’s Not a Thing, and Trouble the Water, Friedland graduated Magna Cum Laude from both the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Law School. She practiced as a commercial litigator at the New York law firms of Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP and Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP. After determining that office life did not suit her, Jacqueline began teaching Legal Writing and Lawyering Skills and working on her first book in her limited spare time. Finally deciding to embrace her passion and pursue writing full time, Jacqueline returned to school to earn her Masters of Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, graduating from the program in 2016.

Haya Molnar was born in Bucharest, Romania under Communist rule. Her parents were Holocaust survivors who hid her Jewish identity to protect her from anti-Semitism. When she discovered that she is Jewish — Haya’s life and her self-identity changed forever. Haya’s family emigrated to the US when she was thirteen. Even while struggling to learn English, Haya loved to write. As an adult, she became a copywriter and creative director at global advertising agencies, winning over 25 industry awards. Haya’s first book, "Under a Red Sky: Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania" about growing up and escaping Communism was published by Farrar Straus Giroux and won the National Jewish Book Award.

Samantha Greene Woodruff is the author of two #1 Amazon bestselling historical fiction novels, The Lobotomist’s Wife (2002) and The Trade Off (2024). Sam has a BA in history from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. After studying in the continuing education program at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, Woodruff completed her first novel, The Lobotomist’s Wife, which was an Amazon First Reads pick. The Trade Off was amongst She Reads Best Historical Fiction of 2024, and is a finalist for for three Zibby awards. Sam’s writing has appeared in Newsweek, Writer’s Digest, Female First, LitHub, Writer’s Read and more. In addition, she has contributed an essay entitled “Jew-ish” about her lifelong conflicted relationship with Judaism, to the anthology, On Being Jewish Now (2024) edited by Zibby Owens. All proceeds from the sale of her book will go to Artists Against Antisemitism, a non-profit founded in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks in Israel. Woodruff lives in southern Connecticut with her husband, two children, two dogs and a small reptile zoo.

A book signing will follow the discussion, with books supplied for sale by Scarsdale bookstore Bronx River Books.

Register to attend here.