International Writers Festival in Jerusalem comes back for 9th time

The international writers taking part this year are: Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born British writer whose novel The Satanic Verses unleashed fury against him in the Muslim world; the American author Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of works such as Everything is Illuminated, which won a Jewish Book Award; French writer Vanessa Springora, whose memoir, Consent, tells the story of a sexual relationship she had with author Gabriel Matzneff when she was just 14 and has sparked a debate in France about some Gallic intellectuals’ forgiving attitude toward pedophilia: Harlan Coben, the best-selling American author of Tell No One and many other mysteries and thrillers; Avni Doshi, who was born in the US to Indian immigrants, currently lives in Dubai, and has just published a new novel, Burnt Sugar; Emmanuel Moses, an award-winning French poet who has translated Israeli writers such as David Grossman, S.Y. Agnon and Yehuda Amichai into French; Domenico Starnone, an Italian novelist, journalist and screenwriter (who, like his wife, translator Anita Raja, has been rumored to have written the works of Elena Ferrante, rumors both have denied); and Norwegian novelist and journalist Linn Ullmann, who is the daughter of actress Liv Ullmann and director Ingmar Bergman.

Israeli writers taking part include David Grossman, Meir Shalev, Etgar Keret, Eshkol Nevo, Dror Mishani, Zeruya Shalev and Agi Mishol.

The opening event will be a conversation with Rushdie, Grossman, winner of the Man Booker International Prize and one of the world’s most acclaimed writers, and Prof. Liad Mudrik, titled “Catch 21,” about the unique challenges of writing during a global pandemic and a politically turbulent time.

Other events include a conversation between Coben and Mishani about the secrets of writing good suspense novels and whether there is such a thing as Jewish suspense fiction; Ullmann speaking with television host Goel Pinto about her novel Unquiet and the issues it raises concerning art, family and aging; and Dr. Dorit Shilo and Springora discussing literary scandals and how literature can help heal trauma.

A number of musicians will participate in events, some of which include musical performances. These include Safran Foer in a conversation with Asaf Avidan, in which they discuss a short story Foer wrote about how Avidan was attacked by a dog he had adopted; actor/musician Shuli Rand in a literary-musical event with Keret; and Ehud Banai in a podcast with Maya Kosover.