C

Helen Epstein traced her mother's roots.

Eleanor Korn and Nancy Lipsey, seated, check book lists while Carrie Kushner looks on.

tics. They'll talk about themselves
and what motivates them," Kushner
said.
Wolfe said Detroit Free Press
columnist and author Mitch Albom
wanted to participate in the Fair, and
she expects 800 people will show up
to hear him speak Wednesday, Nov.
12, on his memoir, Tuesdays With
Morrie.
Turning down their invitations
were comedian/author Paul Reiser
and law professor/author Alan
Dershowitz, both of whom won't
speak without a fee. Book Faior rep-
resentatives were told Saul Bellow
was too old to travel, Kirk Douglas
was too infirm to come and Phillip
Roth doesn't speak publicly. Howard
Fast would have shown up, but he
was getting hip-replacement surgery.
The Book Fair has never paid its

authors, and doesn't plan to change
its policy.
"We have only our reputation and
the quality of the, Fair to draw these
people. It's certainly not the weather,"
Lipsey said.
At the JCC in Oak Park, at least
50 volunteers were beginning to set
up for the Fair. JPM Assistant
Director Leslee Magidson said a lay
committee headed up by Eileen Polk'
was set up this year to coordinate the
volunteers, setup and speaker sched-
ule and to handle transportation for
authors.
Magidson expects about 100 vol-
unteers to work the Fair by the time
it opens. Altogether, close to 300 vol-
unteers make the overall event hap-
pen.
Aside from hosting more speakers
this year — 13 in all — the JPM will

Michael R. Bloomberg, king of a multimedia
empire.

carry more books — over 3,000 —
and will host the blues performance
by Mudpuppy and an afternoon of
music on Sunday, Nov. 16, that fea-
tures Paul Winter and Bloomfield
Hills poet Edith Covensky (Jerusalem
Poems), with flute and piano accom-
paniment.
Magidson is excited about four
children's programs this year at the
Fair that will feature storytelling by
children's book authors and "experi-
ential" activities like challah-cover
making and challah baking.
"I think the community is more
aware that we [JPM] actually have
Book Fair, and every year that builds.
Outreach by the lay committee is
part of the reason. We have contacted
hundreds of people in the communi-
ty to ask them to participate in the
Book Fair. We're doing a lot of pub-

licity. The Huntington Woods librari-
an has sent brochures to 100 libraries
in her network," she said.
This year, visitors can expect better
customer service, Lipsey said. The
JCC in West Bloomfield will feature
an information desk and both centers
will have more staff on the floor
helping people find what they need.
And, this year's Fair could be as
profitable as last year's — one of the
event's most profitable at $83,000 —
but then, that isn't the objective. .
"The goal is to get Jewish books in
Jewish homes," Lipsey said, disap-
pearing into an office and then reap-
pearing with another folder in hand.
Plus, the profits are absorbed in
printing, shipping and setup costs.
Last year's Book Fair drew 15,000
to 20,000 visitors. Lipsey expects the
same this year. ❑

11/7
1997

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