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Read all about it: Jewish Book Week 2024 has a new name

Now billed the Jewish Literary Foundation’s Book Week, or Bookweek24, it has an eclectic line-up including Booker Prize nominee Sarah Bernstein

January 12, 2024 17:23
Copy of SaraGibbs3(c)JulietMcKeePhotography.jpg
Chanukah delight: Sara Gibbs (Photo: Juliet McKee)

ByElisa Bray, Elisa Bray

4 min read

Jewish Book Week has a new name for its 73rd year. Now billed the Jewish Literary Foundation’s Book Week, or Bookweek24, it has an eclectic line-up including Booker Prize nominee Sarah Bernstein, poet Lemn Sissay, and former Israeli ambassador to the US Itamar Rabinovich.

The rebranding intends to highlight not just the festival’s coverage of literary writing, but also pop culture and current affairs. It features the festival’s first comedy night, a celebration of Leonard Bernstein with classic songs from West End stars, and a staged reading of Kafka.

Opening on 2 March with a discussion on what it’s like being Jewish in Britain today, the festival keeps a focus on the current situation in Israel, with the mix of political discussion and lighter events aimed at “addressing those issues, but also providing an escape — which are both perfectly valid responses to what’s going on”, says Book Week’s Tom Ryan.

Around a quarter of the festival’s 90 events, which take place at Kings Place in King’s Cross and online from March 2 to 10, are free of charge. The £5 ticket offer for under-30s continues.