Howard Lovy

Category: Publishing

This is my home for author interviews. I produce podcasts and interview indie authors for the Alliance of Independent Authors; and I write about Jewish authors and Jewish-themed books for Publishers Weekly. This area will be updated with new stuff, greatest hits, and some commentary/advice for authors and editors. Enjoy!

  • From Lipstadt, I Learned How Antisemitism is the World’s Oldest Conspiracy Theory

    From Lipstadt, I Learned How Antisemitism is the World’s Oldest Conspiracy Theory

    antisemitism
    I learned a great deal from my Publishers Weekly interview with Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt. When I talked to her, it was just before the 2019 Women’s March, and Jews were trying to decide whether to ignore the antisemitism of the movement’s leaders and attend, or skip the march entirely. Deborah was strongly on the side of not attending.
     
    She was promoting her latest book, Antisemitism: Here and Now. We talked about why this ancient hatred is rearing its ugly head again, and how antisemitism is like herpes. “I think of antisemitism as the herpes in society; it keeps asserting itself at times of tension, at times of dislocation, and that’s one of the reasons we’re seeing it.”
     

    ‘Left Wing’ and ‘Right Wing’ Antisemitism?

    Most of all, though, Deborah connected the dots in many ways for me on how anti-Semitism is the world’s oldest conspiracy theory. The Holocaust scholar helped me realize that there is fundamentally, no difference between “left wing” and “right wing” antisemitism, since they all draw upon the same mythology of secret Jewish power, money, control, and dual loyalties. This is why if Israel went away or if Zionism never existed, so-called “left-wing anti-Semitism” would still be around. Anti-Zionism is the excuse, the drawing-room and academic-conference respectability the antisemitism virus feeds upon. But it could always find something else
     
    Deborah also allowed me to use the entire interview in my Emet – Truth podcast. I begin with my own first antisemitic experience from my early childhood in Georgia. Then Deborah and I discuss a range of topics, from the Women’s March to Alice Walker to the roots of antisemitism and what we can do about it.
     
    You can read my Publishers Weekly interview with Deborah Lipstadt here, or click on the arrow below for the full half-hour interview.
     

    Listen to the Podcast

     
  • In Search of the American Jewish Future

    In Search of the American Jewish Future

    Jack WertheimerIn an article for Publishers Weekly, I asked Jack Wertheimer, author of The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today, whether the current rise in anti-Semitism is leading to increased Jewish religious involvement. His answer did not make the final edit in my piece, but here’s what he said about how anti-Semitism impacts the American Jewish future.

    “Synagogues have served as gathering places at times of stress and Jews who otherwise might not attend on a Friday night or a Sabbath morning do attend when there’s some major crisis. Does that translate into ongoing Jewish religious involvement? I haven’t seen evidence of that.”

    He may be right, but Wertheimer was measuring specifically Jewish religious involvement and not this feeling of cultural solidarity that the rise in anti-Semitism has created between Jews. Most religious Jews dismiss “cultural Judaism” as not sustainable. I am not so certain.

    My complicated relationship with Judaism is handled in my memoir-in-progress, but I’m searching for how others connect. And I’ve interviewed many Jewish thinkers over the years, and most of them say that this notion of Judaism without God or synagogue is not sustainable. I’ve been told this by rabbis of all denominations for 35 years. Yet cultural Judaism endures.

    As for synagogue-based Judaism, Wertheimer seems more positive, since Jews previously on the fringes have been forcing synagogues to change and adapt for them. I know I’m a little out of date, but I remember how attending B’nai Jeshurun on New York’s Upper West Side was almost akin to going to a Broadway show. I’ll have more to say about “BJ” later, since it appears in my memoir, but here’s a link to my full feature on Jack Wertheimer.

    The American Jewish Future May Be Found in the Margins

    Pinning down how Jews in the United States practice their religion can be tricky, since there are so many ways they define themselves. So, is there a way to corral the disparate pieces into a full picture of American Jews? Professor of American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary Jack Wertheimer says there is, and it’s precisely this diversity and constant state of innovation that gives him some hope in a future for U.S. Jewry. More here.

    Longer Version of Wertheimer Feature

    Or, you can read the unedited, 1,140-word version at this link from my old Patreon page, which goes a bit more into Wertheimer’s thoughts on whether the current rise in anti-Semitism is bringing American Jews back into synagogues. He also talks about Tikkun Olam as a phenomenon among progressive Jews and whether that translates into Jewish religious commitment. You might be surprised by his answers. More here.

  • Audio Interview: Indie Author Jane Davis Uses Fiction to Place ‘Unblame’ For Disaster

    Audio Interview: Indie Author Jane Davis Uses Fiction to Place ‘Unblame’ For Disaster

    My two best freelance gigs are at the Alliance of Independent Authors and at Publishers Weekly because they both give me the the opportunity to grab some wisdom from authors. I get paid to interview them, and there’s nothing better than that. This one is from self-published author Jane Davis. One of her editors is a guy I greatly admire for many reasons, my co-host when I do the News Update podcast for ALLi once a month, Dan Holloway.

    Jane, though, is one of the few rock stars of the indie publishing world. She was recently recognized as one of the best self-published authors of the year with the new Selfie awards for her book called Smash All The Windows, which is also smashing all the preconceptions many people have about self published books. Smash all the Windows is based on a real disaster in a football stadium in 1989. In our interview, Jane discusses how fiction can help humanize big disasters, placing them in perspective while assigning what she calls “unblame.”

    Click the “play” button below for the 10-minute interview, where she’ll explain what she means.

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