Daniel Sieradski, a prominent blogger in the Jewish community, recently began a new blog called “31 Days, 31 Ideas.”  The basic gist of this month-long blog was to present his innovative ideas of ways to improve upon the Jewish community at a time when our society is progressing forward at an unprecedented rate, and to ultimately generate support for these ideas in order for them to come into fruition.

For the most part, Daniel’s ideas are original and pretty novel in my opinion (although he does lend credit where credit is due); and most have something to do with the Internet. All of these ideas were fascinating and though-provoking, but several of them seemed worth creating conversation about.

I encourage you to check out Daniel’s blog for yourself, but in the meantime, here are a few of the ideas that I felt were worth sharing:

1. Open Source Beit Midrash – an online study hall that uses web conferencing and video chatting in order to have multiple people looking at the same page of text, with a teacher guiding a live, video-enabled lecture. This type of website could forever change the study of Jewish texts across the world.
2. Jew It Yourself: The Jewish Catalog 2.0 – This would provide online resources that facilitate self-directed Jewish learning and practice to those who do not affiliate Jewishly in traditional ways or who do not have access to a Jewish education
3. Jewish Book of the Month Club – as an avid reader with a love for learning about the Jewish community, I am obviously a fan of this idea, and am confused as to why this never existed?
4. Jewish Non-Profit Employees Union – a union for the tens of thousands of employees of all non-profit Jewish organizations, ranging from day schools, synagogues, JCC’s, to advocacy groups, with Jewish and non-Jewish employees alike.

These concepts definitely bring a new perspective to the Jewish community table. And with a new Jewish experience just at our fingertips, Daniel’s ideas could potentially be the change the community needs for revitalization.

-Emily

 I’m sure most of you by now have read all about the Amazon-Macmillan face-off that happened over this past week. If not, I shall summarize.

On Friday afternoon, after months of debates over e-book pricing, Amazon drastically pulled all Macmillan (one of the top six American publishing companies) e-books and print books off of their virtual shelves.

Amazon e-books currently sell $9.99, and Macmillan wants to charge between $12.99 and $14.99. Macmillan and other publishers have criticized Amazon for this low price on best-selling e-books, saying the price could potentially hurt hardcover sales.

Just 3 days later, Amazon threw in the towel and agreed to sell Macmillan e-books at their demanded price. Amazon says it had no choice in the matter, having to cede pricing control to Macmillan even though that meant increasing its e-book prices, and therefore decreasing the attractiveness of the Kindle.

Now, let us not forget that up until Tuesday, a publisher like Macmillan had no real alternative if it was unhappy with Amazon’s e-book prices. But when Apple announced its iPad and an upcoming iBook store last week, the e-book landscape changed. Five publishers were announced to be working with Apple, and Macmillan is one of them.

The basic consensus of this weekend’s events is that Amazon was in the wrong, and in many ways. They (allegedly) toyed with antitrust federal laws, stealthily removed Macmillan books in a shady manner, acted not only against Macmillan but against its authors too, and failed to come out with a formal statement (as Macmillan’s CEO did).

Whichever side you’ve decided to take, we cannot deny the role the e-book will play in the future of the publishing industry. But is this faceoff a foreshadowing of what’s to come? And did Amazon mistakenly pave the way for the Apple iPad to take over?

Needless to say, the coming months will surely not be void of excitement in the world of e-books.

-Emily

JPS is proud to announce its National Jewish Book Award and Sydney Taylor Book Award recipients! As a 120-year old publisher with a rich history, a broad spectrum of books, and accomplished authors, JPS continues to thrive in the publishing industry by creating and reviving literary works that enhance Jewish culture around the globe.

We’re honored to have received major awards from two venerable organizations:  the National Jewish Book Awards, sponsored by the Jewish Book Council (www.jewishbookcouncil.org), honor some of the best and brightest books and authors in the field of Jewish literature. The program is the longest running awards program of its kind in the field of Jewish literature. The Sydney Taylor Book Awards, presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries, are given each year to outstanding books for children and teens that portray the Jewish experience.

The conversation about books, both print and digital, has reached new heights as the technological revolution brings e-books to center stage. As writers and publishers adapt to this rapidly changing world, JPS remains at the forefront of Jewish literature and culture – in whatever mediums readers use to access text.

Here is a list of JPS works recognized in 2009:

1. The JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible – is a recipient of the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Illustrated Children’s Books and a Finalist in the category of Jewish Family Literature.  It has also been named a Notable Book for Readers of All Ages by the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee.
2. Celebrating the Jewish Year, the Spring and Summer Holidays – recipient of the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Jewish Family Literature.
3. Subversive Sequels in the Bible – recipient of the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Scholarship.
4. Meneket Rivkah: A Manual of Wisdom and Piety for Jewish Women  – a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist in the category of Women’s Studies.
5. Naomi’s Song – named a Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor for Books for Teen Readers.
6. Elvina’s Mirror – named a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book for Older Readers.

We congratulate our esteemed authors, and thank our readers for their support!

-Emily