There are so many goodies on offer at Jewish Book Week, we're having difficulty knowing where to begin. So, rather than damage this monitor by sticking a pin in it, we'll start at the beginning (it's a very good place to start).
JBW kicks off on 27th February, which also happens to be the first day of Purim - so the launch event is all wrapped around the story of Esther, accompanied by Iranian rhythms and an all-star panel. Seriously: there's David Schneider, Simon Schama, David Aaronovitch, Kathy Lette, Debbie Chazan and more.
Find out about Philipp Manes, who organised cultural events in the Czech Theresienstadt ghetto and documented his life there before being deported to Auschwitz, leaving his memoirs unfinished, mid-sentence. For serious-but-lively debate try Anthony Julius on anti-semitism in England or Will Self and Adam Thirlwell on the many manifestations of Judaism. Bibliophiles may like to find their preconceptions challenged by Marcus du Sautoy and George Szpiro as they sing the praises of maths.
There's football (talk of and game of) and film (more football, Arthur Miller and the kindertransport), events for children and the gay community. We genuinely cannot link to everything that's going on, so we'll just drop a few more author names - Jonathan Safran Foer, Lionel Shriver, Anne Fine, George Szirtes, Assaf Gavron - and urge you to check out the programme yourselves.
Jewish Book Week runs 27th February to 7th March at the Royal National Hotel, off Russell Square. Tickets range from £5 - £15. For more information see the festival website or their blog.
