Jewish history is one of pogroms, dispossession and diaspora. Over the centuries, the process of dehumanisation lay the groundwork that underpinned the Holocaust. Medieval historian, Gillian Polack, talks to Tim Darcy Ellis, Richard Zimler and Bram Presser about hidden stories of Jewish faith, endurance and survival from the Middle Ages to present times.
The Panellists
Gillian Polack (Chair)
Dr Gillian Polack is a writer, editor, researcher and teacher. She recently won the 2020 Ditmar for best novel and was awarded the A Bertram Chandler Award for lifetime achievement . She has PhDs in Creative Writing and in Medieval History. Her research includes how writers think of history and how they use it in their fiction (published as History and Fiction: Their Research, Worlds and Stories, 2016), and how other aspects of culture are encoded into novels. Her work on demystifying the Middle Ages can be found in The Middle Ages Unlocked: A Guide to Life in Medieval England, 1050-1300. For more information:
Tim Darcy Ellis
Tim Darcy Ellis (BA BSc, MHSc) is a writer, business owner and formerly a professional archaeologist. His critically acclaimed debut, ‘The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives’ is a fast-paced and meticulously researched historical novel. Tim is passionate about bringing his love of history, archaeology and philosophy together: and to express it by writing great fiction. For further information:
Bram Presser
Bram Presser is a semi-reformed punk rocker, recovering academic, lapsed criminal lawyer and two-time cartoon character. His debut novel, The Book of Dirt, was released to great acclaim and won the National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction (USA), the Voss Literary Prize (Aus) and three prizes in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards: the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing and the People’s Choice Award. For further information:
Richard Zimler
Richard Zimler’s novels have been translated into 23 languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in 12 different countries. His most recent novel is The Gospel According to Lazarus. The Incandescent Threads, which will be published in 2022, is the latest novel in Richard’s Sephardic Cycle, a group of independent works that explore the lives of different generations of a Portuguese-Jewish family. This series also includes: The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Hunting Midnight, Guardian of the Dawn and The Seventh Gate. Richard has lived in Porto, Portugal since 1990. he was awarded the city’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor, in 2017. For further information:
