Alice Austen and David Herman
Jewish Book Week: 33 Place Brugmann
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Summary
On the eve of the occupation of Brussels in 1940, life for those living in the apartments at 33 Place Brugmann is about to change forever. An art dealer’s family disappears, leaving behind only their priceless collection. A Nazi functionary moves into the building and the residents’ lives become increasingly entwined. Internationally acclaimed playwright and filmmaker Alice Austen joins us online from the US to discuss her debut novel 33 Place Brugmann, a propulsive and hopeful tour de force championing the restorative power of love, courage and art in times of great threat. Learn More
In partnership with the Jewish Literary Foundation.
Alice Austen
Alice Austen is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, and playwright. A graduate of Harvard Law School, she co-founded the Harvard Human Rights Journal, and she was the first American to receive a fellowship to the European Court of Human Rights. She studied creative writing under Seamus Heaney and has been awarded a Royal Court Residency; and her work has been honoured with an Independent Spirit Award, a Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination and a Terrence McNally Award Premiere Five. Austen has two films going into production, one with Alfonso Cuarón, and the other with Steven Soderbergh. Austen lived for a period in Brussels, in a Beaux Arts building called 33 Place Brugmann. In her time living in the building, she forged friendships with the building’s older residents, including an intrepid former Belgian Resistance fighter. It was here that the seed for her debut first took root. photo credit Joe Mazza
David Herman
David Herman is a freelance writer based in London. Over the past 20 years he has written almost a thousand articles, essays, and reviews on Jewish history and literature for publications including the Jewish Chronicle, the Jewish Quarterly, Jewish Renaissance, the Guardian, the New Statesman, and Prospect. He has taught courses on Jewish culture for the London Jewish Cultural Centre and JW3. He is a regular contributor to Jewish Book Week, the Association of Jewish Refugees, and the Insiders/Outsiders Festival on the contribution of Jewish refugees to British culture.