Jen Glantz & Jean Meltzer

The 34^th Edition of the Book Festival of the MJCCA Presents

Jen Glantz & Jean Meltzer

In conversation with Alison Greenberg, Bestselling Author and Screenwriter

Author Talk, Q & A & Book Signing

Jen GlanTz, Finally the Bride: Finding Love After Walking Down Everyone Else’s Aisle

Book Festival audiences last saw Jen Glantz in 2018 as she regaled us with stories from her hilarious first book, Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire). Fast forward seven years and Jen has finally gotten the storybook wedding she always dreamed of or does she? From the woman who made a career out of being a professional bridesmaid comes a refreshingly honest, touching, and humorous memoir about finding love and finally the bride becoming herself. After helping hundreds of strangers navigate their walk down the aisle, Jen Glantz thought she had seen it all - until it was her turn. When a psychic once told her she'd never find love, Glantz set out to prove her wrong, embarking on fourteen first dates in one month. But finding love was just the beginning.

In this candid and witty account, Glantz takes readers through her unconventional journey from professional bridesmaid to pandemic bride, learning that sometimes the perfect wedding isn't what you imagined at all. With stories that will make you laugh, cry, and question everything you thought you knew about modern love and marriage, "Finally the Bride" proves that there's no right way to tie the knot - as long as you're true to yourself.

A must-read for anyone who's ever felt pressure to have the perfect wedding, struggled with relationship expectations, or simply wondered what really happens behind the scenes of all those picture-perfect celebrations. From perpetual bridesmaid to finally the bride, Glantz's journey reminds us that timing is everything. Her transformation from wedding professional to finally the bride herself offers unique insights that both engaged couples and wedding enthusiasts will appreciate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jen Glantz is the world’s first professional bridesmaid and founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She’s the heartbeat behind the blog, The Things I Learned From, and the author of the Amazon-bestselling eBook, All My Friends are Engaged. She can be found in New York City wearing old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store, or on first dates; double-fisting slice of one-dollar pizza; and trying to persuade the New York Public Library to forgive her overdue book fines.

Jean Meltzer, The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah: A Novel

From the Queen of Jewish romance comes a Hanukkah love story every Jewish mamala will love! In her latest romantic comedy, Jean Meltzer asks the question: Can two exes rekindle their love this Hanukkah? Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. Who needs family when you’ve got long hours, impossible deadlines, and your dream job? That is, until an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines, and she’s shocked to find her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor. It’s been two years since David walked away from Evelyn and their life in Manhattan, and his ex-wife is still the same workaholic who puts her career before everything else—especially her health. But when Evelyn begins hallucinating “ghosts” tied to her past heartbreaks, and every single one leads to David, he finds himself spending much more time with her than he anticipated. And denying the still-smoldering chemistry between them becomes impossible. As Evelyn revisits her ghosts of Hanukkah past, she and David both begin to wonder if they can have a Hanukkah future. But with a high-stakes production ramping up the pressure on Evelyn, and troublesome spirits forcing them both to confront their most difficult shared memories, it might just take a Hanukkah miracle for these two exes to light the flame on their second-chance at love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dubbed “The Queen of Jewish Romance,” Jean Meltzer is the international bestselling author of The Matzah Ball, Mr. Perfect on Paper, Kissing Kosher, and Magical Meet Cute, and the recipient of several writing honors including Amazon Best Romance, Apple Best Book of October, Apple Best Audiobook of the Year, Booklist Top Ten Romances for 2023, and LibraryReads. Passionate about telling Jewish stories in new ways, she is the Founder & CEO of Jewish Joy LLC, the umbrella organization to Jewish Women Talk About Romance Books, The Jewish Joy Book Club, The Jewish Joy Box, and JewishJoyCon, coming 2026. Jean has served as a judge for the National Jewish Book Awards and is a sought-after speaker, sharing how her experiences with chronic illness and disability have fueled her commitment to authenticity and joy. She is the host of the podcast Chronically Fabulous with Jean Meltzer, as well as a founding member of the non-profit The Artists Against Antisemitism.

Books will be available for purchase on the day of the event from our partner bookseller, A Cappella Books!

All sales are final. Tickets and books are non-refundable.