The George Washington University and its Department of English unveiled the Spring 2015 Schedule for Jewish Lit Live.

Jewish Lit Live hosts rising and renowned Jewish American writers to speak with the GW and literary community. Guest Speakers include emerging leaders, National Humanities Award Recipients, international bestsellers, and UN-Award Winning Writers, e.g. Michael Chabon, E.L. Doctorow, Nicole Krauss, and Erica Jong.

Nick Kotz: Thursday, February 5 The Harness Makers Dream, Marvin Center Ampitheater 7:00 – 8:30 PM

As a reporter for the Washington Post and the Des Moines Register, and in six pathbreaking books, Nick Kotz won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, the National Magazine Award, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, and eight other renowned prizes. A Marine Corps veteran, educated at Dartmouth College and the London School of Economics, Kotz and his wife, author Mary Lynn Kotz, live on a cattle farm in Broad Run, Virginia.

Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket: Thursday, February 19 Why We Broke Up, City View Room on the 7th floor of the Elliot School at 1957 E St NW – 7:00 – 8:30 PM

As Lemony Snicket, he has written the best-selling series All The Wrong Questions as well as A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has sold more than 60 million copies and was the basis of a feature film starring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep, with Jude Law as Lemony Snicket. In 2014, Netflix acquired rights to produce an original series based on  A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Jean Korelitz: Tuesday, March 3 Admission Marvin Center Room 301 7:00 – 8:30 PM

Born and raised in New York City and educated at Dartmouth College and Clare College, Cambridge, she lives in New York City with her husband, Irish poet Paul Muldoon, and their children. In 2013, her novel Admission was turned into a romantic comedy-drama film directed by Paul Weitz and starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.

Tom Beller: Thursday, March 26 Nine Stories (author J.D. Salinger). Marvin Center Ampitheater 7:00 – 8:30 PM

Thomas Beller is the author of J.D. Salinger: The Escape Artist. He is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker’s Culture Desk, has edited numerous anthologies including two drawn from his website, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, and was a cofounder of the literary journal Open City. See more at:

Michelle Brafman: Thursday, April 9 Washing the Dead Marvin Center Ampitheater 7:00 – 8:30 PM

As the author or her debut novel, Washing the Dead, Michelle Brafman’s short fiction has also recieved special mention in the Pushcart Prize Anthology, and  she has written essays and stories appearing in Slate, The Washington Post, Tablet, Lilith Magazine, the minnesota review, and numerous other publications. She is currently working on a third book of fiction, a novel titled Status Change. See more at:

Gary Shteyngart: Thursday, April 23 Little Failure  Jack Morton Auditorium 7:00 – 8:30 PM

Gary Shteyngart was born in Leningrad in 1972 and came to the United States seven years later.  His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Travel + Leisure, Esquire, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications and has been translated into twenty-six languages. Shteyngart lives in New York City and upstate New York. See more at:

Jewish Literature Live was established by David Bruce Smith, BA ’79, a member of GW’s Board of Trustees and an alumnus of the English Department. All events are FREE and open to the public and take place in the GW Marvin Center.