ALA 2026 Panels to Explore How Authors and Librarians Are Safeguarding Holocaust Memory

ALA 2026 Panels to Explore How Authors and Librarians Are Safeguarding Holocaust Memory Amsterdam Publishers brings leading Holocaust memoir authors to Chicago for two timely conversations on remembrance, education, and inherited testimony Saturday, June 27, 2026, 2:30pm and Sunday, June 28, 2026 | 12:3opm CHICAGO, IL – At the 2026 American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, two special panels will examine how authors and librarians can help preserve Holocaust memory for future generations at a time when living survivor testimony is rapidly disappearing and antisemitism, Holocaust distortion, and historical illiteracy continue to rise. Organized by Liesbeth Heenk, founder and editor-in-chief of Amsterdam Publishers, the internationally recognized publishing house for Holocaust memoirs, the programs will bring together prominent authors whose books illuminate survival, inherited trauma, resilience, moral courage, and the enduring responsibility to remember. Press are invited to attend. “Preserving Holocaust memory requires more than publishing books. It requires partnership,” said Liesbeth Heenk. “Authors, librarians, educators, and publishers all have a critical role to play in ensuring these stories remain visible, accessible, and relevant for generations to come. As living witnesses leave us, the work of remembrance becomes even more urgent.” Featured books include stories of a young girl who smuggled food into the Warsaw Ghetto and later joined the Polish resistance, a daughter uncovering the hidden wartime history of her Holocaust survivor musician parents, and descendants confronting the silence, trauma, and legacy carried across generations. The first panel will focus on preserving Holocaust narratives beyond the era of living witnesses and on how librarians can support remembrance through collections, educational programming, and community engagement. The second will consider authors as memory keepers, exploring how memoir can connect past and present while speaking to themes of courage, loss, intergenerational trauma, identity, and resilience. Book signings will follow both sessions. Panel One Saturday, June 27, 2026 | 2:30–3:20 p.m. Diversity in Publishing Stage, Booth #5242 After the Witnesses: Holocaust Narratives and the Librarian’s Role in Preserving Inherited Memory Moderator: Sally Stieglitz, Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Long Island Library Resources Council Participating Authors include Janet Bond Brill, PhD – Little Edna’s War The story of Edna Szurek, who at age seven smuggled food into the Warsaw Ghetto, later found refuge in a convent, joined the Polish resistance by age ten, and survived through courage, resourcefulness, and extraordinary resolve. Alexa Morris – The Courtyard The memoir of Benjamin Parket, born in Paris to Polish immigrants, whose family was hidden by neighbors during the Nazi occupation. For more than two years, young Benjamin risked his life to find food while others risked theirs to keep the family alive. Janet Horvath – The Cello Still Sings A daughter’s discovery of her Holocaust survivor parents’ hidden musical and wartime past, revealing how music served as both lifeline and testimony after liberation. Fern Lebo – The Boy in the Back The story of Jan Blumenstein, who survived Auschwitz and Mauthausen and chose, at age 96, to finally tell his story in the aftermath of October 7, linking historical memory to the urgency of the present day. Mark Prelas – In the Time of Madmen An account of the wartime experiences of Prelas’s parents, including his mother’s forced labor in Germany and his father’s escape after being targeted as Roma. Grace Feuerverger – Winter Light A memoir exploring the emotional legacy of being raised by Holocaust survivor parents and the lifelong search for healing, joy, and identity. Anne Hand – Austrian Again A personal journey through memory, ancestry, and citizenship as Hand uncovers the family history hidden behind generations of silence. Panel Two Sunday, June 28, 2026 | 12:30–1:20 p.m. Chapter One Stage, Booth #1328 Authors as Memory Keepers Moderator: Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Book Publishers Association Participating Authors include Janet Horvath (2G) – The Cello Still Sings Janet’s parents, both professional musicians and Holocaust survivors, buried the memories of who and what they were before the war. Music was their lifeline. After five decades of secrets, their daughter Janet, also a cellist, asks an innocent question about music. The author’s father reveals that after liberation from slave labor he played 200 morale-building concerts for survivors in the displaced persons camps of Bavaria from 1946-48, two of which were with Maestro Leonard Bernstein. It is the clue that leads to unravelling the past. Fern Lebo – The Boy in the Back The story of Jan Blumenstein, who survived Auschwitz and Mauthausen and chose, at age 96, to finally tell his story in the aftermath of October 7, linking historical memory to the urgency of the present day. Jonathan Schloss (3G) – Four Survivor Grandparents Four orphaned teens, Jonathan’s grandparents, survive the unimaginable horrors of World War II through courage, quick thinking, and resilience. This book weaves together their prewar lives, wartime survival under Nazi persecution, and their postwar journeys to America, where they rebuilt full and meaningful lives. The narrative shifts across generations with warmth, wit, and deep respect. It shows how the traits that helped them survive also helped them build lasting legacies – and why that still matters today. Grace Feuerverger (2G) – Winter Light This story is one of surviving the traumas of Holocaust survivor parents. At the core of this memoir stands a little girl struggling to find a path toward the “life force.” Her beloved city Montréal offered the chance of a lifetime when she discovered the joie-de-vivre of her French-Canadian neighbors. As Grace’s life unfolded, other serendipitous “rescues” followed in unexpected places and from unexpected people in many parts of the world. This is an emotional rags-to-riches story. Martin Bodek (3G) – Zaidy’s War This memoir about Martin’s grandfather is an exploration about not giving up. Benzion Malik served first in the Romanian army at 21, then was forced into hard labor by the Hungarian Army, then found himself in the German army and finally, the Soviet army. It was a dance with death he endured for six years. Even after the war, he had to confront the ruins of his family and community. Again, he persevered, and instead of bemoaning his fate, he helped rebuild a community. Anne Hand (3G) – Austrian Again While pursuing Austrian repatriation citizenship, created for the descendants of those victimized by the Nazi and Austrofacist regimes, Anne uncovered her family’s hidden history. She digs through family stories and documents to trace her Austrian and Czech roots, piecing together a story withheld by her ancestors. Her journey becomes a reflection on memory, loss and resilience, legacies both long buried and still cherished, and an exploration of what it means to reclaim a lost heritage. About Amsterdam Publishers Amsterdam Publishers is an independent publishing house dedicated to preserving Holocaust memory through memoirs, and family narratives by survivors and their descendants. Founded by Liesbeth Heenk in 2012, the press has published more than 130 Holocaust-related books for readers, educators, libraries, and communities worldwide. 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