Mothers loom large in Jewish culture and literature in general. They feature in the titles – and contents – of the latest books by two of the most acclaimed authors around; Shalom Auslander’s novel Mother for Dinner and Howard Jacobson’s memoir Mother’s Boy.

Now as the opening event of the 72nd annual Jewish Book Week, these two much-loved, extremely funny, Wingate-winning writers join broadcaster Francine Stock to discuss their careers to date, identity and, of course, Jewish Mothers.

In Association with Jewish Renaissance.

Shalom Auslander is the internationally-acclaimed novelist and memoirist of such books as Foreskin’s Lament, Mother For Dinner and Hope: A Tragedy, which critics on both sides of the Atlantic have named the funniest book of the decade. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire and many others. He lives, sadly, in Los Angeles.

Howard Jacobson is a multi-award-winning writer of 13 novels and five works of non-fiction, as well as a regular contributor to major newspapers and journals, including a regular column for The Independent. He won the Man Booker Prize for The Finkler Question.

Francine Stock is a broadcaster, critic and writer who has fronted a range of arts and current affairs programmes for BBC Television and Radio including Newsnight, Front Row and – for seventeen years – The Film Programme. Her published work includes novels, short stories, film criticism and a social history of cinema, In Glorious Technicolor.