Adam will be in conversation with Emmy Award-winning comedian and author, most recently, of Do the Work!, W. Kamau Bell.
The Golem of Brooklyn is an epic romp through Jewish history and the American present that wrestles with the deepest questions of our humanity–the conflicts between faith and skepticism, tribalism and interdependence, and vengeance and healing.
Adam Mansbach is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Go the Fuck to Sleep, as well as the novels Rage is Back, The End of the Jews (winner of the California Book Award), and Angry Black White Boy, and the memoir-in-verse I Had a Brother Once. With Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel, he co-authored For This We Left Egypt? and the bestselling A Field Guide to the Jewish People, and his books for young readers include the New York Times bestseller Just Try One Bite and the award-winning Jake the Fake series. The screenwriter of the acclaimed Netflix Original film Barry, Mansbach is the recipient of a Sundance Screenwriting Lab fellowship and a two-time winner of the Reed Award and the American Association of Political Consultants’ Gold Pollie Award, for his 2012 Obama/Biden campaign video “Wake the Fuck Up,” and his 2020 Biden/Harris campaign ad “Same Old,” both starring Samuel L. Jackson. Mansbach is also the founder of the 1990s hip hop journal Elementary, and worked for years as a drum tech for the legendary drummer Elvin Jones. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times Book Review, Esquire, The Believer, The Guardian, and on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, The Moth Storytelling Hour, and This American Life. His new novel is The Golem of Brooklyn.
W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian, television host, director, and producer. He won three Emmy awards for his CNN series United Shades of America. Kamau also won a Peabody award for his four-part docuseries We Need To Talk About Cosby. His newest project is the HBO documentary 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed. Kamau’s first book has the easy-to-remember title, The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6′ 4″, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. His second book was the New York Times Bestseller Do The Work: An Antiracism Activity Book. He is on the board of directors of DonorsChoose, and he is the ACLU’s celebrity ambassador for racial justice. Kamau and his wife Melissa Hudson Bell are the co-founders of Who Knows Best Productions, a media production company in Oakland, California.
This event is presented in partnership by Booksmith, Berkeley Arts & Letters, and JCC East Bay.
