"Wise and thought provoking."
Alice Elliot Dark, author of Fellowship Point
"A stunning collection of literary excellence."
Weike Wang, author of Chemistry and Joan is Okay
"Elegant and heartbreakingly true stories."
Eileen Pollack, author of Maybe It's Me: On Being the Wrong Kind of Woman
"This book is beautiful and wonderfully readable. I loved it."
Charles Baxter, author of The Feast of Love
"...funny and harrowing stories...excellent collection that addresses difficult issues of Jewish identity and social expectations about marriage and family with complexity." Foreward Reviews
Joan Leegant's story collection, DISPLACED PERSONS: STORIES, winner of the New American Fiction Prize, will be out in June 2024.
Her earlier books won the PEN/New England Book Award, the Wallant Award for Jewish Fiction, and finalist citation for the National Jewish Book Award and selection as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick.
From 2007 to 2013, Joan was the visiting writer at Bar-Ilan University outside Tel Aviv where she also gave talks on American literature and culture under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy and was a volunteer ESL teacher for African refugees and asylum seekers, experiences that made their way into her fiction. She lives in Newton, Massachusetts.
PRESS
Appearances
Literary Modi’in (virtual) Click here for link.
Sunday, June 9, 2024, 1 PM EDT
Boston Hadassah Tikvah Chapter
Monday, June 17, 2024, 1:30 PM
Westbury Memorial Library, Westbury, NY (virtual)
Thursday, June 20, 2024, 7 PM. VIRTUAL. Check back for link.
Temple Ahavat Achim, Gloucester, MA
Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 7 PM
Jewish Federation of Binghamton, NY
Sunday, September 8, 2024, 10:30 AM
Temple Beth-El, Ithaca, NY
Sunday, September 8, 2024, 7 PM
Temple Israel, Portsmouth, NH
Sunday, September 15, 2024, 10:30 AM
Congregation Beth Israel, Worcester, MA
Co-sponsored with the Worcester JCC
Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 7:30 PM
Temple Emanuel Sisterhood, Newton, MA
Thursday, September 19, 2024, 8 PM
Temple Beth Torah, Holliston, MA
Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 6:30 PM
Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua, NH
Saturday, October 26, 2024, noon
Congregation B’nai Israel, Northampton, MA
Sunday, November 3, 2024, 10:30 AM
Temple Israel, Boston, MA
Sunday, November 10, 2024, 11:00 AM
Temple Beth Elohim, Acton
Sunday, November 17, 2024, 7 PM