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Come Meet the Author

 

In anticipation of the upcoming Ohio River Festival of Books (ORFOB) on March 8 in Huntington, this Sunday's Let's Talk About It: Jewish Literature Discussion series will feature Deborah R. Weiner, author of the book Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History.

 

The program will be held on Sunday, February 17 at 2pm at the Main Library.

 

Dr. Weiner's book provides the first extended study of Jews in Appalachia. Traveling to southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southwestern Virginia to investigate the coal boom's opportunities during the l880s-1920, some Jewish immigrants found success as retailers and established numerous small but flourishing Jewish communities.

 

Coalfield Jews won the Southern Jewish Historical Prize for the book that has made "the most significant contribution to Southern Jewish history over the past four years."

 

Deborah R. Weiner serves as Research Historian and Family History Coordinator at the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore. Her work has appeared in many scholarly journals and essay collections, and general audience publications, including Southern Jewish History, Journal of Appalachian Studies, Encyclopedia Judaica, and West Virginia Encyclopedia. Dr. Weiner earned a Ph.D. in history from West Virginia University in 2002.

 

The program is part of the related programming to the Jewish Literature Discussion on the theme "Neighbors: the World Next Door." The series is sponsored by the American Library Association and Nextbook. For more information on the Ohio River Book Festival go to www.ohioriverbooks.org or call the Main Library at 304-528-5700.

 

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