In the 12th annual Ladino Day, bestselling fantasy author Leigh Bardugo ("Shadow and Bone") discusses her new novel, "The Familiar," its use of Ladino, and the family history that inspired it, with UW professor Canan Bolel.
Presented with the Sephardic Brotherhood of America, this writing contest opened a new space for Sephardic stories.
Winner, general category. A conscripted husband miraculously reunites with his pregnant wife after fighting in the Balkan Wars in the Ottoman army — the great-grandfather and great-grandmother of author Nuia Menda Malki.
Runner up, general category. Gloria DeVida Kirchheimer offers a hilarious tribute to her feisty, theatrical mom, who came from Alexandria, Egypt, to New York in the 1930s.
Winner, student category. Liza Cemel tells the story of her family's history, first across cities in Turkey, then across countries, bringing their validjas of memories and relationships with them.
Runner up, student category. Nesi Altaras recounts summers spent on the island of Buyukada, close to Istanbul, and the "traditional but extremely practical" feeling of being Sephardic in Turkey.
Update letter from Devin E.S. Naar, Isaac Alhadeff Professor in Sephardic Studies and chair of the UW Sephardic Studies Program.
Graduate fellow Büsra Demirkol tells the story of the Romanian Jewish doctor who chose to live in Ottoman Istanbul and became a prominent member of its Jewish medical community — and an outspoken feminist.
