Fig Tree Books Blog

Our blog features essays, book reviews, coverage of FTB titles, and noteworthy news of American Jewish experience by our publisher.

Report­ing Anti­semitism in the Lit­er­ary World – from the Jewish Book Council

Posted on June 2, 2025

If you know of a local book­store that has ques­tions about nav­i­gat­ing dif­fi­cult sit­u­a­tions and cre­at­ing a safe space for Jew­ish authors and read­ers, share the book­store resource guide cre­at­ed by The Artists Against Anti­semitism in part­ner­ship with Jew­ish Book Council.  Jew­ish Book Coun­cil is ded­i­cat­ed to sup­port­ing and uplift­ing Jew­ish and Jew­ish-inter­est books and authors through mar­ket­ing […]

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The publishing industry is canceling Jews

Posted on May 2, 2025

Following the path of old Hollywood, it is time to make our own successes. Books. Credit: Pixabay. ARNON Z. SHORR Arnon Z. Shorr is a master storyteller whose films, books and comics frequently delve into Jewish identity tradition and folklore, blending action-packed narratives with deep reflections on heritage. His latest comic book is The Beast […]

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Essay from Actor Michael Rapaport: A Message to My Haters up North

Posted on April 1, 2025

A Canadian politician is trying to bar me from the country where I’m scheduled to perform a few gigs.  I’m offering her front-row seats. MICHAEL RAPAPORT SPEAKS AT RALLY OUTSIDE ‘THE HOSTAGES AND MISSING SQUARE’ ON DECEMBER 16, 2023, IN TEL AVIV, ISRAEL. (ALEXI J. ROSENFELD VIA GETTY IMAGES) By Michael Rapaport I’ve seen a […]

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Jewish authors confront growing backlash in literary world

Posted on March 3, 2025

Calling Jewish writers Zionists as an epithet and the reason to be excluded from the annals of publishing unless we denounce our attachment to our identities is frightening. By Joan Leegant – December 21, 2024 In May, a color-coded Google spreadsheet titled “Is your fav author a Zionist???” began circulating online. Its creator scrutinized the […]

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Blacklisted for Israel support, author draws strength from Holocaust survivor grandma

Posted on February 2, 2025

Bestselling writer Lisa Barr – targeted by hecklers and review bombers – vows that though she wants to ‘curl up in a ball’ after Oct. 7, she will ‘fight back constructively’ Bestselling author Lisa Barr never expected to call her newest novel “eerily relevant” to modern times. Historical fiction, “The Goddess of Warsaw” is a […]

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The Resistance: Five People Standing Up to Book Banners

Posted on January 2, 2025

For many, defending the freedom to read has come at a steep cost. We recently talked with five librarians and educators who are standing up to the would-be censors. By Andrew Richard Albanese and Nathalie op de Beeck | Sep 16, 2024 With the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week set to begin on […]

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Ad for Israel Book Canceled

Posted on December 2, 2024

Ad for Israel Book Canceled Because ‘Customers Might Complain’ Magazine rejects advertisement for Bernard-Henri Lévy’s work because it will give booksellers ‘trouble they haven’t asked for and don’t wish to have.’ By Francesca Block October 23, 2024 A prominent trade publication refused to advertise a new book because it feared the word Israel in its […]

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Book Publishing and Antisemitism

Posted on November 3, 2024

When a list of Jewish authors is circulating with instructions to boycott them, publishing cannot remain silent by Kathleen Schmidt; May 13, 2024 I debated whether to wade into these waters, but the “yes” outweighed the “no” in my gut, so here we are. I will preface this post by saying I am not getting […]

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Jewish writers say the post-Oct. 7 English literary world has blacklisted them

Posted on October 1, 2024

As the war in Gaza goes on, authors say that when they don’t face outright hostility for being Jews, they are marginalized as publishers claim their voices aren’t marketable By CATHRYN J. PRINCE – 13 April 2024 13 April 2024 NEW YORK — Erika Dreifus has spent the better part of two decades sharing resources […]

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3 am by Eve Barlow, creator of Blacklisted

Posted on September 5, 2024

I learned how to write at this time. This is when you become a writer. In the wee hours. The brain needs out of the head. Sometimes it’s the plague of a worry that refuses to die in slumber. Sometimes it’s the rush of an idea that required a subconscious requiem to bring it into […]

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