Lesléa Newman | Tiferet Talk with Gayle Brandeis

Lesléa Newman is the author of 70 books for readers of all ages, including A Letter to Harvey Milk; October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard; I Carry My Mother; The Boy Who Cried Fabulous; Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed; and Heather Has Two Mommies. Lesléa just released a new book of poetry titled Lovely.

She has received many literary awards, including creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Artists Foundation, two American Library Association Stonewall Honors, Massachusetts Book Award, Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award, Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, a Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fiction Writing grant, James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, Cat Writer's Association Muse Medallion, and the Dog Writers Association of America's Maxwell Medallion. Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award Finalists.

Ms. Newman is a popular guest lecturer, and has spoken at numerous college campuses including Harvard University, Yale University, University of Oregon, Bryn Mawr College, Smith College and the University of Judaism. From 2008-2010 she served as the Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA. She is currently a faculty mentor at Spalding University's brief residency MFA in Writing program.

Recently published books include the poetry collection I Carry My Mother (Golden Crown Literary Society Award and Massachusetts Center for the Book "Must Read" title); picture book Here Is The World: A Year of Jewish Holidays (Sydney Taylor Notable); and Ketzel, The Cat Who Composed (Massachusetts Book Award, Sydney Taylor Award, and Cat Writers Association Best "Litter-ary" Award). Forthcoming titles include two picture books, Sparkle Boy (Lee and Low, 2017) and Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story (Abrams, 2018).