Jewish family history – Sandi Krawchenko Altner

I am very excited to announce that I will be participating in the Jewish Book Council Network. What a fantastic organization. The Network program supports authors who write books that are of appeal to a Jewish audience.

From the JBC website: For authors, this is an opportunity to go on an all-expenses-paid book tour around North America. For program directors, it is the source of a wide selection of interesting authors who will speak in your community without an honorarium.

In June they will bring together a couple of hundred people from all over Canada and the US who are looking to book authors for events and speaking engagements. Authors, like me, will have a two minute opportunity to make an impression that will hopefully lead to invitations to speak. It has been described by one participant as a combination of the Gong Show and Speed Dating. Can’t wait. Here’s a little video about the event.

More to come. I will update you on all of the details of my trip. I am set to present on June 3rd. It happens that my daughter, Katiana Krawchenko, will also be in New York, so I am looking forward to memories that will be made. Katiana is a journalism senior at the University of Florida and has been granted a ten week internship at CBS News in New York. How proud are the parents?

DSCN3038 — Sandi Krawchenko Altner at McNally Robinson Nov.29, 2011

I am very grateful and overwhelmed by the early response to Ravenscraig. What a fantastic week in Winnipeg.

We were delighted to learn Ravenscraig made it to the top of the McNally Robinson best seller list for paperback fiction by the first weekend.

And now we have the first review, which was written by Jane Enkin, and appears in the Winnipeg Jewish Review.

SANDI KRAWCHENKO ALTNER LAUNCHES BOOK RAVENSCRAIG WITH MANY JEWISH CHARACTERS-THANKS LOUIS KESSLER, DONALD WEIDMAN

Here is an excerpt:

“As a newcomer to Winnipeg, I had everything to learn from the gripping true stories – the phenomenally fast growth of Winnipeg at the turn of the 20^th century, political and business intrigue and the ways of life for the rich and poor

Donald Weidman

of the city. It was always a treat to see how Altner brought real people into the lives of the Willows and Zigman families.

The imagined characters, living in these exciting times, are connected to two families, one wealthy and part of Winnipeg’s high society, the other new Jewish immigrants. The homes and luxuries, and also the stresses and concerns, of the wealthy characters from British backgrounds were new to me, and fun to discover.

The stories of Jewish immigrant families, starting with their dangerous lives in Ukraine, to their poverty in Canada, through to their gradual success, are very familiar. It’s a story I never tire of hearing, because it’s the story of my own family – my grandmother crossed a river carrying her son to sneak across a border, thought she had started a secure new life in a different part of Europe, then had to start all over again in Canada.”

Click hereto see the entire article in the Winnipeg Jewish Review.

A dream week, with lots to celebrate, and a great deal to be thankful for. Thank you, Manitoba for your enthusiasm for stories about the rich history of Winnipeg!

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