Houstonia’s The Must List tells you about something going on in Houston that you absolutely cannot miss.

For the past 53 years, the Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival has welcomed thousands of visitors—last year’s attendance reached 3,500. It claims space as one of the nation’s largest events celebrating Jewish contributions to literature, art, and film, and this year, over a span of two weeks, attendees will gather at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center to hear talks and lectures presented by 20 different authors, as well as take part in a number of artsy activities. Attendees can jam to a family-friendly concert by the Macaroons (puppy petting opportunities included), watch the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless, view work by featured artist Ya’ara Eshet, and, because this is Houston, enjoy plenty of food.

The Macaroons will offer a spread of bagels and schmear at their show. Cookbook author and chef Beejhy Barhany plans to feed guests three of her beloved Ethiopian recipes: messer wot (red lentil stew), gomen hamli (collard greens), and tikil gomen (cabbage served with potatoes and carrots). And if you’re a book club fanatic, there will be a lunch and discussion about Alka Joshi’s historical fiction novel Six Days in Bombay. But it’s only a part of what makes this festival such a hit.

“We are a destination [that] authors want to come to, [to] share their books. We have authors who actually seek us out,” says festival chair Vicki Teller, who adds that it’s not unusual for writers to come out of their way. “It actually happened where they called us to say, ‘This author isn't really touring, but he's chosen three venues that he wants to do this year. He's going to waive his fee, and he just wants to come and speak at your festival.’”

Despite the city’s bottomless pit of a collective stomach, the real stars of the annual event are the books and art. Opening night welcomes the influential Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, who led prayers during one of the Obama administration’s Hanukkah celebrations. She’ll discuss her memoir Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging with art history professor Beth Merfish, who is also the director of University of Houston’s School of Art and inaugural chair of the Houston Women’s Commission.

Local authors, including Adam Chandler; Gerald Blumenthal; Laurie Bricker; Darlene P. Campos; Dottie Lee; Manizeh Mirza-Gruber; Shelley Nadel; Joy Preble; Melanie, Chris, and Noah Promecene (who publish together under the name The Family Promecene); and David Sandberg will also take part in a panel discussion about their most recent works. Children’s book writers Ilana Wieder and Nancy Churnin will read their own stories during toddler-friendly events. “We also want to represent various parts of our community and different genres, and we want to make sure that we have a breadth of topics,” Teller says.

As part of its traditional programming, the Jewish Book & Arts Festival screens a movie and invites one visual artist to present their works as a gallery show. Eshet’s illustrations center on Jewish folklore and mysticism as symbols of the values and resilience that she professes, arising from her grief and fear after October 7, 2023. This year’s film selection, Diane Warren: Relentless, profiles the titular songwriter behind hits for Aerosmith, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé. Including the cinematic and visual arts helps tie together many of the themes explored in the featured books and provides a broader perspective on Jewish history, culture, and life.

Teller describes the process of developing the lineup as “very dedicated” and “hands-on,” with 40 to 50 committee members of various ages, representing different Jewish perspectives, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds. The decision-making process begins in February, when participants gather info on books by authors and writers who have published works focused on Jewish themes within the past year before the festival.

From there, they craft a spreadsheet and go over every candidate together. The Jewish Book & Arts Festival partners with the Jewish Book Festival, sending some committee members to its annual conference in New York to hear over 200 authors deliver summaries of their current works. The list of possibilities is whittled down to about 80 or 90, and then the final 20 are selected based on factors like whether the author is currently on a book tour or their honorarium request. Diversity of perspective is also valued when designing the programming. This year, the events cover topics like history, antisemitism, travel, cooking, sports, parenting, entertainment, and family programming.

“What we're doing is we're also offering the Jewish community and beyond a taste of something that might interest them,” Teller says. “…It means that we're touching different parts of the community that we might not have otherwise.”