Fourteen-y
ear-old Jewish piano prodigy, Zhanna, escapes a Nazi killing field in the Ukraine, only to go into hiding as a prized pianist for the Nazis. Her true story, Hiding In The Spotlight, as told by her son, Greg Dawson, will open Tampa’s 2011 Jewish Book Festival.
Greg and Zhanna Dawson will present her story on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at the University of South Florida’s (USF) School of Music Barness Recital Hall, 3755 N. Holly Dr., on the USF Tampa campus, at 7:30 PM. This event is open to the entire Tampa Bay community. An optional $5 donation will be taken at the door. Two young local pianists, Miriam Hinds and Marlin Jacobson, from Hillel Academy, will assist in the telling of Zhanna’s story. A book signing and a dessert reception with the Dawsons will follow the presentation.
Greg Dawson is a career journalist who has worked for newspapers in Boston and Indianapolis and is currently at the “Orlando Sentinel.” Hiding in the Spotlight, about his mother’s odyssey from Jewish persecution to Holocaust survivor, has resulted in wide acclaim for this, Dawson’s first book. It has been translated into three languages and is the subject of numerous documentaries, two of which will premiere this year.
The 2011 Jewish Book Festival, hosted by the Tampa Jewish Community Center (JCC), will feature 9 prominent authors over 12 days, beginning with Dawson on November 5, and including: Thanassis Cambanis, a prize-winning author whose book addresses Hezbollah’s ability to create martyrs out of everyday people; Alicia Oltuski’s book about growing up in the diamond industry; Ted Gup’s story about his Jewish grandfather’s role as “secret Santa” during the depression; well-known novelist, Pam Jenoff; scholar Jay Michaelson on the religious case for homosexuality; children’s author Laurel Snyder; local author Elaine Shimberg’s memoir about growing up Jewish in a small town; and best-selling author Dan Senor.
JCC Arts & Cultural Director, Brandy Gold, notes that “our Book Festival line-up is full of remarkable stories of extraordinary people. It doesn’t matter if you are Jewish or not or if you read or want to read the book; you only need come to our events and hear these life-changing stories.”
For more information about the 2011 Jewish Book Festival or the Greg Dawson event which is being sponsored by the USF Music School, the Clarion Society and the Jewish Community Center, please contact Brandy Gold at the Jewish Community Center at 813-869-4725 or .
SOURCE: Tampa Jewish Community Center
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