annsepstein@att.net

St. Lawrence Book Award Finalist

I’ve been named a finalist in the Black Lawrence Press 2022 St. Lawrence Book Award contest for my story collection Women, Working. See the list of finalists and semi-finalists. About the book: The fourteen stories collected in Women, Working dramatize women’s ongoing fight to balance work and family, intimacy and independence, tradition and progress. Spanning two centuries, the narratives highlight a forward march impeded by social upheaval, physical and psychological assault, and patriarchal resistance. The women — including an 1820 mill worker, a 1911 Triangle fire survivor, a Depression packhorse librarian, a chicken catcher in feminism’s early days, a contemporary trucker — are notably different, yet they share an unsinkable spirit, unflagging determination, and unwavering peer support. Read more about each piece in SHORT STORIES. The winner will be announced in the coming weeks. Wish me luck!

Why writers write: “To survive, you must tell stories.” – Umberto Eco

Learn History Through Fiction: A Cautious Hand

“We did not lift a hand to help the Jews — or perhaps it would be fairer to say that we lifted just one cautious hand, encased in a tight-fitting glove of quotas and a thick layer of prejudice” (Freda Kirchwey, Editor-in-Chief, The Nation). History shows America failed to end WW2 sooner or admit those fleeing Nazi persecution. Read about a German Jewish family who tries to escape to the U.S. in the novel One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

To help Jews, U.S. lifted a hand gloved in quotas and prejudice

Berlin, 1937. Jewish newlyweds flee Germany for Brooklyn before the Nazi slaughter begins

Survivor Story: Rails Must Roll

“We were herded onto boxcars bearing a Nazi sign “Räder müssen rollen für den Sieg” (Rails Must Roll for the Victory). Our trip, typically 10 hours, took three days because Slovenian partisans destroyed the tracks at junctions in Austria.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Berlin, 1937. Jewish newlyweds flee Germany for Brooklyn on the eve of the Nazi slaughter

Survivor Story: You Must Try to Walk

“My sister was ill and weak. I told her, ‘You must try to walk, you must.’ I stood her up and put one foot in front of the other, twice a day, until she was able to walk on her own again. To this day, she swears that without me, she wouldn’t have survived.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

To survive, these women had to appear strong

What I’m Reading: Have You Eaten Rice Today?

My Goodreads and Amazon review of Have You Eaten Rice Today? by Apple Gidley (Rating 5) – Complex and Captivating. Apple Gidley’s novel, Have You Eaten Rice Today?, weaves history, adventure, and romance into one captivating tale. Underlying the drama is a lesson in Malaysia’s fight for independence, a bloody struggle that most westerners know little about. Readers are immersed in the enervating heat and ever-present buzz of the ulu, the jungle, then dropped into the cool elegance of Britain’s colonial outposts. It is at one of these establishments that Simon, a former British soldier and now cool intelligence gatherer, meets Dee, a young and feisty Australian nurse, igniting a spark that decades and oceans apart cannot cool. Two generations later we meet Max, Simon’s adoring grandson, an aspiring writer, and Jessica, Dee’s granddaughter, an emergency room physician and her grandmother’s temperamental match. What happens next (no spoilers) is a physically and emotionally challenging journey as inevitable as the promise of redemption. A writer of historical fiction myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire Gidley’s ability to blend fact and invention in just the right proportions. Have You Eaten Rice Today? transports readers to another time and place. Required carry-on: Minds and hearts.

Why writers read: “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C. S. Lewis

Learn History Through Fiction: Bomb Auschwitz?

U.S. leaders, including FDR, dismissed a proposal to bomb Auschwitz. They said the Germans would just rebuild the concentration camp elsewhere. History shows America failed to end WW2 sooner or admit those fleeing Nazi persecution. Read about a German Jewish family who tries to escape to the U.S. in the novel One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

FDR said if America bombed Auschwitz, Germany would rebuild the camp elsewhere

Survivor Story: Life-Saving Trade

“When asked our line of work, I answered carpenter; my father replied bricklayer. Carpenters were transferred to another camp. My father told me, ‘Though I must stay here, you have an obligation to go and save yourself.’ I never saw him again.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Jewish carpenters forced to build a Nazi work camp

Survivor Story: Hot Milk

“Throughout October 1941, we received instructions each time a street in the ghetto would be evacuated to the work camps. To avoid deportation, we moved to other streets, but knew our turn would come soon. The night before, Mom bought two liters of milk and boiled them in a large pot. In the camps later, suffering from starvation, the memory of hot milk accompanied us with longing.” Read about two Holocaust survivors, German Jewish newlyweds sent to America by their parents to have children to “save our people,” in One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.

Starving camp residents were obsessed by memories of food

One Person’s Loss Reading at Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival

Thanks to the 35th annual Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival for hosting an event with seven local authors on November 13, 2022, including me reading from One Person’s Loss. The receptive crowd of 60 attendees enjoyed free bagels and presentations on a diverse range of books. Read more about my book in NOVELS.

Ann S. Epstein at the 35th annual Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival

Ann S. Epstein talks with readers at the 35th Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival

Learn History Through Fiction: Complacent Cowards

“If we had behaved like humane and generous people instead of complacent, cowardly ones, millions of Jews lying in Hitler’s crowded graveyards would be alive and safe” (Freda Kirchwey, Editor-in-Chief, The Nation). History shows America failed to end WW2 sooner or admit those fleeing Nazi persecution. Read about a German Jewish family who tries to escape to the U.S. in the novel One Person’s Loss. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.