Judah Leblang is a Boston-area writer, teacher and storyteller. His essays and commentaries have been broadcast on 200 NPR and ABC-radio network stations around the US, and his memoir vignettes and essays have been published in McSweeney’s online, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Medium, and in regional publications in Boston and his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. He writes the ‘Life in the Slow Lane’ column in Bay Windows, Boston’s LGBT newspaper. His latest one-man show, “It’s Now or Never: My Life in the Late Middle Ages,” (Best of Festival, Calgary Fringe 2019) was called “intriguing” by Winnipeg’s Jewish Post, while the (Winnipeg) Free Press described him as a “great communicator.” He was also a featured teller on The World Channel’s (PBS) Stories from the Stage in February 2023:
In addition to performing at Fringe Festivals, community centers and other venues in the US and Canada, Leblang teaches at GrubStreet Writing Center in Boston, at Literary Cleveland, and at the Skirball Writing Center at South Euclid/Lyndhurst Public Library, and at the Alexandra Writers Centre in Calgary, Canada. He is the author of two memoirs: Finding My Place (Lake Effect Press, 2012) and Echoes of Jerry (Red Giant Books, 2019).
Check out the reviews of the memoir Echoes of Jerry below:
Midwest Book Review, January 2020: A deftly written, inherently interesting, deeply personal memoir, “Echoes of Jerry: One Man’s Search For His Deaf Uncle And His Own Voice” is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists, as well as both community and academic library Contemporary American Biography collections.
Amos Lassen, (LGBT and Jewish Community book critic) @ reviewsbyamoslassen.com: “Leblang beautifully uses his own life and his uncle’s as jumping off points to ask universal questions about how one deals with the desire to belong to a community. This is a quick read that has a lot to say.” (November 2019)
Echoes of Jerry was chosen as one of 100 books for adults for Pride 2020 by librarians at the Boston Public Library, and was featured in the “On the Bookshelf” column in the Cleveland Jewish News, January 2020:
You can order a signed copy, directly from Judah for $20 postpaid, here:
You can also order from Amazon, or in the Boston area, stop into Porter Square Books in Cambridge or Boston, or pick up a copy at Loganberry Books or Mac’s Backs in Cleveland.
2024 book events:
- Memoir overview-“Finding Your Memoir” at GrubStreet’s Muse and the Marketplace conference, April 10
- “Finding Your Memoir” at When Words Collide conference, Calgary, AB, August 17
- Echoes of Jerry book signing at Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) conference, Clearwater, FL, September 12-15
- “Finding Your Memoir” at James River Writers‘ conference online, October 4
- “Love in All its Forms” with NEIAC at Plymouth (MA) Public Library, October 26
- Reading from Echoes of Jerry at Hexagon Books, Cleveland Heights (OH), November 2
- Panel discussion on Publishing Your Work at Morrill Memorial Library, Norwood (MA), November 21
2023 book events:
- Reading with New England Indie Authors, “Love in All Its Forms” at Medfield Public Library, February 16 @ 7 PM
- Reading from Echoes of Jerry: Beachwood, (Ohio) Public Library, April 27 @ 7 PM
- Panel discussion on Publishing Your Work, Medford Public Library, May 3 @ 7 PM
- “Love in All Its Forms,” with New England Indie Authors sponsored by Culture House, East Somerville, MA, May 19 @ 7 PM
- West Medford Open Studios, reading June 24 @ 3 PM
2022 book events:
- Reading/workshop at Plymouth Public Library, January 12 @ 7 PM
- West Medford Open Studios reading June 25 @ 1 PM
- Reading in the Garden/Literary Salon, August 6 @ 5 PM
- New England Indie Authors Collective Reading at Beverly Public Library, October 24 @ 9:30 AM
- Reading/performance–Pop-up Fringe Festival, Assemblage at the Seaport, Boston, December 26 @ 7 PM
2021 book events
- Reading at the New England Home for the Deaf, June 23 @ 2 PM.
- West Medford Open Studios, reading June 26 @ 2:30 pm.
- Coventry branch/Cleveland Heights/Univ Hts. Public Library, June 7, 7 PM via Zoom.
- Various readings with the New England Authors Collective including events at Somerville, MA Public Library and Franklin, MA Public Library, and many more! — more info on our Facebook page at: neiac
2020 book events:
- Feb 22: Book talk and performance of “It’s Now or Never” at the Piano Craft Gallery, Boston, MA
- June 18: Modern Literary Salon via Zoom, Franklin (MA) Public Library–NEIAC presentation
- Sept 10: Publication panel for Medford (MA) Public Library via Zoom–NEIAC
- Oct 8: Modern Literary Salon via Zoom, Medford Public Library
- Oct 24: Publications panel for Plymouth (MA) Public Library via Zoom–NEIAC
- Nov 19: Modern Literary Salon II via Zoom, Medford Public Library–NEIAC
- Dec 9: Author Talk/Performance for Malden Reads via Zoom
Fall 2019 book events
- Boston–Friday Oct 18 7:30 PM at Arlington Street Church, 351 Boylston Street in Boston
- Sunday November 24 2:30 PM at Beacon Hill Friends House, 6 Chestnut Street on Beacon Hill with poet Ben Berman.
- Cleveland–Local authors’ day panel at the Beachwood JCC on Sunday November 17 4 PM.
- Cleveland–December 5 at 7 PM, with local author Lee Chilcote at Loganberry Books
Watch this space for more readings and special events!
It’s Now or Never on the Road: The show was featured at the Elgin (Digital) Fringe Festival, September 2020. In 2021, I streamed a video of a performance in front of a live audience as part of the Kansas City, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Borderlight (Cleveland) Fringe Festivals.
Please visit the Show page to see video clips from “It’s Now or Never” and “One Man’s Journey through the Middle Ages,” the Writing page to read some of my stories, and the Echoes of Jerry page to read about my new memoir and my first book, Finding My Place.
You can order Judah’s humorous and poignant memoir collection, Finding My Place: One Man’s Journey from Cleveland to Boston and Beyond, at the link below, or check it out on Amazon.
There is also information on Judah’s CDs Finding My Place and Snapshots, as well as a schedule of workshops and readings you may wish to attend. Enjoy!
Finding My Place is also available in Kindle and paperback format from Amazon.
To contact Judah, email lakeeffectpress@gmail.com