Springfield JCC Kicks Off Fall 2022 Slate of Adult Programs

Longmeadow Native Lynda Cohen Loigman to Discuss Her Latest Novel

SPRINGFIELD, MA (September 28, 2022) – The Springfield Jewish Community Center will kick off its Fall 2022 Adult Education series with an in-person event on Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the JCC’s Goldstein Auditorium. Bestselling author and Longmeadow native Lynda Cohen Loigman will discuss her latest novel, The Matchmaker’s Gift, in conversation with Leverett-based writer Jennifer Rosner, author of The Yellow Bird Sings. Presented in partnership with the Richard Salter Storrs Library, the event is free and open to the public.

Loigman’s novel is the story of Abby, a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, who inherits her grandmother’s journals – the professional records of a woman who was a rare, female matchmaker in the crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side in 1910. As Abby studies the volumes, she finds more questions than answers in its pages. What did Abby’s grandmother hope she would discover? Is Abby willing to uphold her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger?

“Combining authentic historical fiction with mystery and a touch of romance, Loigman artfully reminds us that the past is never far, the present is a gift, and the future is ours for the making,” said Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman with the Blue Star. “The Matchmaker’s Gift is timely and timeless, and readers should make time for this original and touching story about the things that matter most.”

The Matchmaker’s Gift has been featured in Parade Magazine and was recently selected as one of People® Magazine’s “Best New Books.” Loigman’s debut novel, The Two-Family House, was a USA Today bestseller and a nominee for the Goodreads 2016 Choice Awards in Historical Fiction. Her second novel, The Wartime Sisters, was selected as a Woman’s World Book Club pick and a Best Book of 2019 by Real Simple Magazine.

Jennifer Rosner’s debut novel The Yellow Bird Sings has been called “exquisite, heart-rending…an absolutely beautiful and necessary novel” by The New York Times Book Review and was a finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Award.

 This author talk is part of Literatour, the Springfield JCC’s community-wide celebration of Jewish books and authors. Odyssey Books will have books available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required. To register, visit SpringfieldJCC.org or call 413-739-4715.