Congratulations to author Lisa Alcalay Klug, recipient of an honor in the "Jewish Pulitzers." Her book, Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe, published by Andrews McMeel in September 2008, has been named a 2008 National Jewish Book Awards finalist.

Cool Jew is a loving and irreverent celebration of Jewish culture. In addition to its fervent call for positive Jewish identity and affiliation, and embrace of Jewish multiculturalism, language, and more, the 250-page humor book also chronicles contemporary Jewish arts and culture with approximately 400 images. These include original line drawings, vintage Israeli and Jewish posters, t-shirt designs, kabbalistic paintings from Israel, album covers, kitsch and more. Cool Jew also features extensive back-of-the-book resource guides on ways to enjoy Jewish community called "Da Tribe Online" and contemporary Jewish music called "Da Heebster Jewkebox."

Cool Jew placed in the category of "Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice." It is the only humor book among the 2008 National Jewish Book Award honorees.

Each year, the National Jewish Book Awards honor some of the best and most exciting authors in the field of Jewish literature. After more than fifty years of presenting these awards, hundreds of books have received the prestigious National Jewish Book Award, including titles by the top authors on the American Jewish literary scene. For the full list of winners and finalists, click here.

The 58th Annual National Jewish Book Awards Ceremony will be held at 7:30 pm, March 5th at the Center for Jewish History in New York City. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

This is the second honor for author Lisa Alcalay Klug since the September release of her first book. She was previously named Erma Bombeck Humor Writer of the Month by the University of Dayton.

Two Andrews McMeel Publishing 2008 cookbooks have been named finalists in the 2009 International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Awards:

The Art and Soul of Baking
By Sur La Table with Cindy Mushet
Baking Category

Things Cooks Love: Ingredients. Implements. Recipes.
By Sur La Table with Marie Simmons
General Category

The winners in each of the thirteen categories, as well as the Cookbook of the Year,
will be announced April 4 at IACP’s annual international conference in Denver.

The Art & Soul of Baking has been named a nominee in the James Beard Foundation Awards 2009 in the Books: Baking Category

The James Beard Foundation Awards shine a spotlight on the best and brightest talent in the food and beverage industry.

The winners will be announced May 4th at a Black Tie Ceremony in New York

The Art and Soul of Baking guides readers through the world of baking, where alluring aromas of chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon fill the air and tempt the palate. Culinary authority Sur La Table teams with professional pastry chef and baking instructor Cindy Mushet to create the ultimate book for bakers. The Art and Soul of Baking demystifies the friendly science of baking through delicious recipes and photography sequences that illustrate proper techniques for carmelizing sugar, or working with croissant dough.

The Art and Soul of Baking is a 2009 IACP Cookbook Awards Winner

Winners were announced at the 2009 International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference (IACP) International in Denver on April 4.

Art and Soul of Baking won in the cookbook/baking category!

Sur La Table teamed with pastry chef and baking teacher Cindy Mushet to bring you the ultimate guide to baking. Beautiful photographs and more than 250 easy-to-follow recipes lead you into a world of alluring aromas and light, flaky pastries. Illustrated asides take you step by step through important techniques, from carmelizing sugar to working with croissant dough. Plus, you'll find invaluable information on over 100 ingredients and 50 baker's tools. A true pleasure for anyone who loves to bake.

The cookbook is also nominated for a 2009 James Beard Foundation Award.

Sudhamma, a forest guide at Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, is an authority on birds in the region and provides valuable information to visitors

Faecal sludge treatment plants proposed in a radius of 15 km on cluster basis in urban and rural local bodies

Petitioners challenge a civil court’s dismissal of a petition filed by them seeking to execute the decree that was passed before the commencement of the Waqf Act. HC asks munsiff court to proceed with the execution petition and pass an order in three months

Mohammed Ameen and Mohammed Jaseel, Plus Two students from KKM Higher Secondary School, Cheekkode in Malappuram, contested the same event in the previous edition and finished exactly in the same positions

The Indian Embassy in Kuwait has set up a helpline for family members, and Prime Minister Modi has announced an ex-gratia relief of ₹2 lakh for the families of deceased Indian nationals

Emphasising the increased responsibility following a significant electoral victory, Modi promised to work harder and achieve greater outcomes 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah made the announcement at the Flag-in ceremony of the NDRF’s Mountaineering Expedition Vijay, emphasising the crucial role NDRF plays in national and international disaster response

ICAI to debate NFRA’s plan to overhaul audit standard SA600, fearing concentration of market in few hands

Amid the ongoing Samsung workers’ strike in Tamil Nadu, economic think tank GTRI suggests seven-step strategy to foster a more stable industrial environment in the country

Aimed at enabling States to accelerate capital spending ahead of festive season

GoM suggests rate hike on high-end wrist watches, shoes; GST on packaged water to be cut

DA to central government employees was enhanced from 50 per cent to 53 per cent of the basic pay with effect from July 1, 2024

Revised pay to be effective from January 1 this year

An advisory issued on GST portal lowered the AATO (Aggregate Annual Turnover) for reporting e-Invoices on IRP portals within 30 days to Rs ₹10 crore and above from Rs ₹100 crore and above

The smarter-looking, (supposedly) performance-focussed Creta N Line commands a small premium. Is it worth the extra money?

Common SAD symptoms include hopelessness, loss of interest in daily activities, fatigue, trouble focusing, and changes in sleep and appetite.

If A.P. CM was really concerned about what happened, he should step down by owning moral responsibility, the BJP MP said

Party dismisses speculation about joining ruling NDA; says it is preparing to contest 12 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh

The State has been hit by violence since the notification for the three-tier panchayat polls was issued on June 8

The Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir, which serves a cultivation area of around 22.12 lakh acres across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, is less than half-full even in the third week of August

Located around 50 km from Kota, the facility is key for meeting fuel needs of upcoming nuclear reactors

The Crime in India 2022 report, released by the National Crime Record Bureau says 1,120 persons were trafficked from Odisha during the year 2022, the highest in the country; Lulkidhi village has many such girls, whose family laments their loss

Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal are most impacted by the suspensions

JIPMER in Puducherry will be closed until 2:30 p.m. due to the consecration of Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya

Passing the order, a Division Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said there are no merits in the case.

Srinagar district’s poll percentage was 27.9% in the 2014 Assembly election and recorded 29.24% this time; J&K Chief Electoral Officer says Srinagar saw an increase of 5% compared to voter turnout of the recent Lok Sabha polls

From Gukesh to Tania, the 10 brilliant Indian talents on display rose to the occasion, played their parts to perfection, and dominated the opposition to create history at Budapest

Each player from the winning teams will receive ₹25 lakh, while the captains of the men’s and women’s teams, Abhijeet Kunte and Srinath Narayanan, will be rewarded with ₹15 lakh each

Sanju Samson (29, 19b, 6x4), Suryakumar Yadav (29, 14b, 2x4, 3x6) and Hardik Pandya (39 n.o., 5x4, 2x6) wreaked havoc to power India to the target in just 11.5 overs

Parisha and Mukesh won the silver and bronze in the 50-metre free pistol event in the junior women’s and junior men’s sections respectively

In this chat, Russian GM Svidler talks about India’s historic Olympiad, his experience of coaching Praggnanandhaa, his love affair with Test cricket and his assessment of the Global Chess League, not just as a chess player but also as a cricket fan who follows the IPL

First-term Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has won reelection in Washington state’s closely watched 3rd Congressional District

Investigators from the 21 Division Criminal Investigations Bureau and Strategic Investigation Team (SIT) have arrested and charged Inderjeet Gosal of Brampton, the Peel Police statement said

Hundreds of protesters gathered in the city's Dam square nevertheless, holding up placards that said "We want our streets back" and chanting "Free Palestine"; Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans burned a Palestinian flag on the Dam central square earlier

Mr. Homan, who served in the Trump administration for a year and a half during his first term, is also a contender for secretary of homeland security

Japan ranks 118th of 146 in the 2024 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report

CM Chandrababu Naidu said moral and financial support for victims of natural calamities would instill confidence among them