On November 20, 2025, Rona Arato and I gave talks to students at the Ottawa Jewish Community School. Rona spoke about her award-winning book, The Last Train, and I spoke about researching and writing biographies. We both enjoyed telling the students about our work and answering their many thoughtful questions. Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for the Writers-in-the-Schools program, which sponsored our readings.
On Sunday October 27, 2024, I attended the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards (CJLA) event at the Miles Nadal JCC in Toronto. It was a wonderful event, celebrating authors who have published masterful works this past year. Here’s Sidura Ludwig, winner in the Youth category for her heartwarming book, Rising, with me and Rona Arato, good friend and CJLA jury member. Thanks to Edward Trapunski, jury members, winners, and organizers for a truly memorable event filled with joy and gratitude! For more information about the CJLA, go to: https://cjlawards.ca/
I was thrilled to meet two fellow authors from Second Story Press at the OLA Conference last week in Toronto. Patrick Crowe, has written a moving graphic biography of Susanna Moodie’s, Roughing It in the Bush. My writer-friend, Rona Arato, was signing her new book, The Ship to Nowhere: On Board the Exodus. Both authors tell their stories through skilful prose and remarkable illustrations.
