Barry Sonnenfeld will be the keynote speaker for opening night of the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival on Sunday, November 1. Sonnenfeld will speak about his new book Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker. His sometimes outrageous and hilarious memoir traces his idiosyncratic upbringing in New York City, his break into film as a cinematographer with the Coen brothers, and his unexpected career as the director behind such huge film franchises as The Addams Family and Men in Black, Get Shorty, Pushing Daisies and A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Now in its 42nd year, the Festival is nationally recognized for both its excellence and its size – it is one of the largest in the country. People from all backgrounds and faiths come to Festival events to hear premier speakers on topics such as history, music, politics, cooking, family, religion, sports, and more. This year, the Festival expects to attract even more people through its accessible online format.
In addition to Sonnefeld, authors include: Ron Balson, a festival favorite and award-winning author of Once We Were Brothers will speak about his newest book Eli’s Promise.
New York Times bestselling author of the VI Warshawsky, Sarah Paretsky novels will speak about her latest, Dead Land. Bruce Feiler, known to the festival for his many books including The Council of Dads, will be speaking about his new book Life is in the Transitions. In addition, Joan Lunden award- winning journalist and host of Good Morning America for nearly 20 years will speak about her latest book Why Did I Come Into This Room?
Festival-goers can take advantage of the Premier Pass, which grants access to all Jewish Book Festival Events in November including preview events before the official start.. Passes will go on sale September 1st. Visit stljewishbookfestival.org for the latest information on summer events leading up to the festival.
The Jewish Book Festival, which runs November 1-8, is a program of the Jewish Community Center.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.