LITERATURE | Jewish Book Festival 

Celebrating 27 years, the annual Louis S. Wolk JCC Lane Dworkin Rochester Jewish Book Festival this year features 21 authors, thinkers, and speakers on topics ranging from politics to history, comedy, health, and food (including a Thursday, November 7, talk by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook, authors of "Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious"; pictured). The festival kicks off on Sunday, November 3, with a talk by Rochester native Rebecca Erbelding, who works as an archivist, curator, and historian at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. She'll discuss her book, "Rescue Board: The Untold Story of America's Efforts to Save the Jews of Europe," at 10 a.m. in the JCC's Hart Theater. Also speaking at 2 p.m. that day will be Philip Wexler, author of "Social Vision: The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Transformative Paradigm for the World." In the evening at 7:30 p.m., Alan Zweibel, former SNL writer and co-author (with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach) of "A Field Guide to the Jewish People," will bring the laughs at Comedy @ the Carlson. Notably, the festival includes a book release and discussion for Daniel Oz's "Further Up the Path," a book of flash fables in Hebrew and English published by BOA Editions (Sunday, November 10, 7:30, Dryden Theatre).

Dozens more events are featured during the festival's run, from Sunday, November 3, through Wednesday, November 13. Events take place at the JCC of Greater Rochester (1200 Edgewood Avenue) unless otherwise noted. Ticket prices vary. For a full schedule and more information, visit rjbf.org.