Michèle Dawson Haber
Chair
Michèle writes about family secrets, identity, and step adoption. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Manifest Station, Salon, Oldster Magazine, and The Brevity Blog, and she has appeared on NPR’s This American Life, CBC’s Tapestry, and other popular podcasts. Her Substack, Who’s My Daddy?, explores the links between identity and having one unknown birth parent. She has interviewed authors for many years, chiefly for Hippocampus Magazine and more recently The Missouri Review, and is one of 28 contributors to the anthology Relative Strangers: Inheritance, Identity, and the Meaning of Kinship, edited by B.K. Jackson. micheledhaber.com
Dr. Nora Gold
Nora is the prize-winning author of six books and the recipient of multiple awards, including a Canadian Jewish Literary Award, a Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award, and a Canada Council translation grant. Her books have been praised by Dara Horn, Cynthia Ozick, Alice Munro, and Irwin Cotler, and have received international acclaim, including from the New York Times Wirecutter, Los Angeles Review of Books, Hadassah Magazine, and Publishers Weekly. A former professor, she is the founder and editor of the literary journal Jewish Fiction, which has published 650 Jewish-themed stories originally written in 23 languages and never before published in English. She has appeared on podcasts in Canada, the USA, Spain, India, and Australia, and has over 100,000 followers on LinkedIn. noragold.com
Bonnie Goldberg
Bonnie is a lawyer by profession but an avid reader by vocation. Ever since a knowledgeable book seller put a Judy Blume book into her hands, she has been an unstoppable consumer of books. As a young teen she worked at The Story Tree bookstore, cementing her skill at sharing the books she has read. Decades later, she remains an avid reader, book club convener, book reviewer, and promoter of all things book-related.
Stefanie Goldschmied
Stefanie has brought readers together through Stefinitely Reading, leading six monthly book clubs with more than 125 participants. She holds a degree in English Literature and Professional Writing from the University of Waterloo and, before turning her passion for books into her focus, spent her career in corporate talent acquisition in the software industry. She also partners with organizations including the Azrieli Foundation, Jewish Book Council, and Canadian Young Judaea on book clubs and author events. Her clubs primarily focus on contemporary and popular fiction, but she has increasingly dedicated space to Jewish authors and Jewish stories, particularly since October 7th. She is passionate about ensuring Jewish voices and experiences continue to be read, discussed, and celebrated, including through her Bookstagram community, @stefinitely.reading.
Rachel Levy
Rachel is a communications and marketing professional based in Toronto, where she lives with her husband, their two young children, and their Goldendoodle. A lifelong reader, she shares book reviews, recommendations, and literary discussions on her Bookstagram, @rachels.booknook, with a particular passion for Jewish books and stories, alongside contemporary fiction and memoirs.
Shonna Petrook
Shonna is a Toronto-based Bookstagrammer with a passion for books, television, and pop culture. She shares book recommendations on Instagram at @thoughtsonplots and posts reviews on Goodreads. She reads diversely with a focus on Jewish authors, shares her thoughts about Jewish identity, and tries to raise awareness about antisemitism.
Shelly Sanders
Shelly is the bestselling author of historical fiction celebrating unsung women entangled in underexplored historical events. The Night Witches, based on the first all-female combat aviation regiment in history, is out Nov. 10, 2026 in Canada and January 19, 2027 in the US. Her novels include two bestsellers published by HarperCollins: The Night Sparrow (2025), about the first Jewish female sniper in history, and Daughters of the Occupation (2022), inspired by her discovery of her Jewish-Latvian roots and the intergenerational trauma that runs down her maternal line. She is also the author of three acclaimed young-adult novels informed by her grandmother’s escape from a Russian pogrom. A journalist for 20 years, she has written essays for Writer’s Digest, LitHub, and the Jewish Book Council’s PB Daily. She has been Scholar-in-Residence at Beth Tikvah in Naples, Florida, and was awarded a fellowship at the Ventspils International Writer’s and Translators’ House. Born in Canada and raised in Chicago, she now lives in Ontario.