The Acclaimed Author Series, presented by Jewish Experiences, a collaboration of Jewish Federation and The J, returns this season with five authors coming to Kansas City to share their stories.
Each event is free to attend, and this year, guests will have the option of pre-ordering the author’s book at a discounted rate to be signed at the event. Interested individuals can visit thejkc.org/aas for more information and to register.
“We are thrilled to kick off our fourth season of the Acclaimed Author Series,” said Megan Pener, manager of Jewish Experiences. “This year’s lineup offers a rich tapestry of voices, each sharing unique stories that span a wide variety of genres — from gripping fiction and personal memoirs to inspiring narratives and thought-provoking perspectives. It's a celebration of storytelling that invites every reader to find a new favorite voice and connect deeply with the written word.”
Dan Slater’s “The Incorruptibles”
This season kicks off on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. with Dan Slater’s “The Incorruptibles: A True Story of Kingpins, Crime Busters, and the Birth of the American Underworld.” The event will be held at the Lathrop GPM Building (2345 Grand Blvd. Ste. 2200, Kansas City, MO 64108) and will be moderated by local retired journalist Dan Margolies.
Slater’s “The Incorruptibles” explores the presence of Jewish crime networks from the late 19th to early 20th century across multiple regions, with particular influence in the U.S., especially in New York's Jewish neighborhoods. Jewish criminals engaged in various illicit activities, including bootlegging during Prohibition. Wealthy Jewish leaders such as Jacob Schiff and Felix Warburg, concerned about the impact on the Jewish community’s reputation, formed a private vigilante group, "The Incorruptibles," to counter this involvement, motivated by a shared sense of responsibility amid anti-immigrant sentiments.
Beth Kander’s “I Made It Out of Clay”
Beth Kander is a novelist and playwright with tangled Midwestern/Deep South roots. The granddaughter of immigrants, her writing explores how worlds old and new intertwine — or collide. Kander will share her novel, “I Made It Out of Clay,” on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. at Monarch Books & Gifts (7713 W 151st St. Overland Park, KS 66223), the Acclaimed Author Series’ official bookseller. Community member Lindsay Fineman will moderate the event.
“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to bring another talented romcom author to Kansas,” Pener said. “This genre has been a standout favorite among our audiences in past years, bringing warmth, humor and relatable stories to the community. This year's featured author promises to continue that tradition, delivering the perfect blend of romance and laughter that our attendees have come to love."
Lee Yaron’s “10/7: 100 Human Stories”
On Jan. 15, 2025, Lee Yaron will bring a definitive account of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre through the stories of its victims and the communities they called home in her book “10/7: 100 Human Stories.” The event, which will be held at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Campus (5801 W. 115th St., Overland Park, KS 66211), will be moderated by Neta Meltzer, interim executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|AJC.
A work of investigative journalism by acclaimed Haaretz reporter Lee Yaron, “10/7” chronicles the massacre that ignited a war through the stories of more than 100 civilians. These stories are the products of extensive interviews with survivors, the bereaved, first responders in Israel and beyond. The victims run the gamut from left-wing kibbutzniks and Burning Man-esque partiers to radical right-wingers, from Bedouins and Israeli Arabs to Thai and Nepalese guest workers, peace activists, elderly Holocaust survivors, refugees from Ukraine and Russia, pregnant women and babies.
Chris Heath’s “No Road Leading Back”
Award-winning journalist Chris Heath brings his story “No Road Leading Back: An Improbable Escape from the Nazis and the Tangled Way We Tell the Story of the Holocaust” to Kansas City on March 4, 2025, at 7 p.m. The event will be held in Heritage at The J (5801 W. 115th St., Overland Park, KS 66211) and will be moderated by Dr. Shelly Cline, historian/director of education at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.
“No Road Leading Back” is the story of a dozen prisoners who escaped from the site where more than 70,000 Jews were shot in the Lithuanian forest of Ponar after the Nazi invasion of Eastern Europe in 1941. Anxious to hide the incriminating evidence of the murders, the S.S. enslaved a group of Jews later in the war to exhume every one of the bodies and incinerate them all in a months-long labor – an episode whose specifics are staggering and disturbing, even within the context of the Holocaust. From within that dire circumstance emerges the improbable escape made by some of the men, who dug a tunnel with bare hands and spoons while they were trapped and guarded day and night.
Stuart E. Eizenstat’s “The Art of Diplomacy”
The series will end on May 6, 2025, at 7 p.m. as U.S. diplomat Stuart E. Eizenstat brings his book “The Art of Diplomacy.”
In one readable volume, diplomat and negotiator Stuart E. Eizenstat covers every major contemporary international agreement, from the treaty to end the Vietnam War to the Kyoto Protocols and the Iranian Nuclear Accord. Written from the perspective that only a participant in top-level negotiations can bring, Eizenstat recounts the events that led up to the negotiation and the drama that took place around the table, and he draws lessons from successful and unsuccessful strategies and tactics. The stories come from interviews with more than 60 key figures in American diplomacy, including former presidents and secretaries of state, and major political figures abroad.
The Acclaimed Author Series is co-sponsored by Jewish Experiences and the Jewish Book Council and is supported by the Sam Schultz Jewish Book Fair Fund.
Monarch Books & Gifts is the exclusive bookseller of the Acclaimed Author Series. Only copies purchased from Monarch Books & Gifts will be eligible for author signing by the author.
More information about the Acclaimed Author Series and other programs developed by Jewish Experiences is available at TheJKC.org/jewishexperiences.
