January 2021 – Page 2 – Ann S. Epstein Writer

North American Review to Publish “Death, Shmeath”

I’m thrilled to announce that my story “Death, Shmeath” will be published by North American Review, the oldest literary journal in the U.S., with a jaw-dropping roster of authors since its founding in 1815. Here’s the log line: In “Death, Shmeath,” set in 1932 Brooklyn and based on a real character, an Orthodox father struggles with his son’s worldwide fame as the first and only gay Jewish matador. I first read about Sidney Franklin, the real-life matador, two years ago in a series of articles written during Gay Pride Week. I knew there was a story there, but it took a while to figure out who it belonged to. When I decided it was the father, I was ready to write this work of fiction. Read more in SHORT STORIES.

Sidney Franklin, the gay Jewish matador from Brooklyn

Learn History Through Fiction: Outspoken Women

100 years ago today ago, on January 5, 1921, suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst harangued the jury at London’s Guildhall to protest her arrest on the charge of sedition. Pankhurst said she faced death many times for her beliefs and was not afraid to do so again. She was sent back to Holloway prison, and continued to speak out against the suppression of women, fascism, racism, and economic inequality. Read about strong women fighting social norms in an American immigrant family during that era in On the Shore. Order on Amazon. Read more about the book in NOVELS.

Sylvia Pankhurst: Outspoken suffragette and fighter for human rights

Immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when children rebel a century ago

A Writer’s Dream: The Nailed Phrase

Every writer strives to “nail the phrase” that captures an idea or clinches a scene. The writer-as-reader both applauds and envies when another author does. So kudos to Ian Frazier (“Rereading ‘Lolita,’” The New Yorker, December 14, 2020), describing driving down Old Route 66 as an adult: “I’ll see something I remember from my childhood, and the tiny neural address that held the memory in my brain will still be there.” I hope Frazier did a jig when the phrase “tiny neural address” danced into his mind. For more of my thoughts on writing, see REFLECTIONS.

A “tiny neural address” stored in the memory of childhood road trips

Why writers write: “Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic.” – Carl Sagan

New Year, New “To Read” List

Looking to expand your reading list for 2021? Look at these books, and check out the libraries of the independent presses that publish them:

From A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press): “Something we take on as an obligation can become an act of love.” A probing fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. Order on Amazon.

From On the Shore (Vine Leaves Press): “She was much wider than when they’d stood under the wedding canopy twenty years ago, proof he’d become a good provider in America.” An emotionally charged tale of an immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when their children rebel during WWI. Order on Amazon.

From Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press): “Workers gather at the window on the ninth floor. No one was able to warn them.” The heartfelt and suspenseful story of an unwed Italian immigrant who survives the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. fire and the daughter who seeks her father 50 years later. Order on Amazon.

2021 Resolution: Read More Fiction

If reading more fiction is on your list of new year’s resolutions, resolve to visit safely but closely with these:

From On the Shore (Vine Leaves Press): “Eighteen, ‘chai’ in Hebrew, meant ‘life.’ He wanted to prove he was ready to give his.” An emotionally charged tale of an immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when their children rebel during WWI. Order on Amazon.

From Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press): “Firemen bang with crowbars outside the locked doors.” The heartfelt and suspenseful story of an unwed Italian immigrant who survives the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. fire and the daughter who seeks her father 50 years later. Order on Amazon.

From A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press): “He saw a colorful board game and stepped closer to see the title: Juden Raus, Jews Out! It was like a sinister version of Monopoly.” A probing fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. Order on Amazon.