# Sarah Sassoon

> Sarah Sassoon is an Australian-born, Iraqi Jewish writer, poet and educator living in Jerusalem. She is the author of the award-winning picture book Shoham’s Bangle, This Is Not a Cholent and An Oud in the Orchestra, and co-hosts the podcast Ayuni: Voices of our Jewish Grandmothers. Her writing explores Iraqi Jewish history, refugees and resilience, and the 2600-year-old culture of Babylonian Jews.

Contact: sarah@sarahsassoon.com. Newsletter: https://sarahsassoon.substack.com/

## Pages
- [Home](https://sarahsassoon.com/)
- [About Sarah](https://sarahsassoon.com/about-sarah/)
- [Blog](https://sarahsassoon.com/blog/)
- [Children’s Books](https://sarahsassoon.com/childrens-books/)
- [Prose](https://sarahsassoon.com/prose/)
- [Poetry](https://sarahsassoon.com/poetry/)
- [News](https://sarahsassoon.com/news/)
- [Events](https://sarahsassoon.com/events/)
- [Contact](https://sarahsassoon.com/contact/)

## Books
- [An Oud in the Orchestra](https://sarahsassoon.com/an-oud-in-the-orchestra/): By Sarah Sassoon; Illustrated by Yael Albert. Keter, 2026. Little Dudu dreams of playing the oud, just as his grandfather and great-uncle once did in Iraq. When his grandfather believes there is no place for their music in Israel, Dudu refuses to give up. Inspired by the family story of the Al-Kuwaiti brothers and Dudu Tassa, this picture book celebrates musical inheritance and a child’s determination to bring it to life.
- [This Is Not a Cholent](https://sarahsassoon.com/this-is-not-a-cholent/): By Sarah Sassoon; Illustrated by Viviana Garofoli. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2024. Amira and her Nana enter their family’s Iraqi Shabbat stew in Australia’s big cholent competition. But their ingredients surprise the other contestants. A warm story about food, family, and the courage to share the traditions that make us who we are.
- [Shoham’s Bangle](https://sarahsassoon.com/shohams-bangle/): By Sarah Sassoon; Illustrated by Noa Kelner. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2022. When Shoham and her family leave Iraq for Israel, they must leave precious belongings behind. With the help of her grandmother, Shoham discovers a way to carry her family’s memories into their new life. A story of Iraqi Jewish heritage, displacement, and the love between generations.
- [Jewish Voices from Around the World: Tiles of a Mosaic](https://sarahsassoon.com/jewish-voices/): Edited by Dóra Korányi and Sebastián Mizrahi; Sarah Sassoon, contributing author. Vallentine Mitchell, 18 November 2026. Eighteen personal essays bring together Jewish voices from five continents, exploring memory, migration, identity, and cultural inheritance. Sarah Sassoon contributes alongside writers including Ruth Behar, Elizabeth Graver, and Nadia Ragozhina in this anthology created by the founders of Qesher.
- [This Is Why We Don’t Look Back](https://sarahsassoon.com/this-is-why-we-dont-look-back/): By Sarah Sassoon. Harbor Review, 2022. Through food, language, family memory, and the rivers of Iraq, these poems explore Iraqi Jewish inheritance and the lives carried forward after displacement. A collection about what survives in memory—and what it means to look back.
- [The In-Between / Das Dazwischen](https://sarahsassoon.com/the-in-between/): By Lily Shehady, Sarah Sassoon, and Sandra Gugić. Verlagshaus Berlin, 2024. Three women enter a literary conversation across national, religious, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. Through poetry and lyrical essays, Lily Shehady, Sarah Sassoon, and Sandra Gugić explore identity, belonging, everyday life, and the possibilities of human connection.

## Recent posts
- [Ayuni: Voices of our Jewish Grandmothers – the Podcast](https://sarahsassoon.com/2026/11/09/ayuni-voices-of-our-jewish-grandmothers-podcast/) (2026-11-09): Ayuni: Voices of our Jewish Grandmothers is a podcast celebrating the lived stories of Middle Eastern and North African Jewish women, co-hosted by Sarah Sassoon, Dalya Arussy Di Veroli and Dr. Drora Arussy.
- [[X] for Poets: Children’s Book Writing for Poets with Lesléa Newman, Sarah Sassoon and Rich Michelson](https://sarahsassoon.com/2026/11/09/x-for-poets-childrens-book-writing-for-poets/) (2026-11-09): 15th November 2026, Sunday – Join Sarah Sassoon for The Power of Image in Picture Books: Writing Through Objects and Memory, part of Yetzirah’s three-week workshop series Children’s Book Writing for Poets.
- [Virtual Book Launch: Jewish Voices from Around the World: Tiles of a Mosaic](https://sarahsassoon.com/2026/11/09/virtual-book-launch-jewish-voices-from-around-the-world/) (2026-11-09): 18th November 2026, Wednesday – Join Qesher on Zoom for the virtual book launch of Jewish Voices from Around the World: Tiles of a Mosaic, edited by Dóra Korányi and Sebastián Mizrahi.
- [Telling Our Stories: A New Generation of Mizrahi and Sephardic Literature](https://sarahsassoon.com/2026/09/07/telling-our-stories-a-new-generation-of-mizrahi-and-sephardic-literature/) (2026-09-07): 16th September, Wednesday – Join JIMENA for a conversation with Sarah Sassoon, author of Telling Our Stories: A New Generation of Mizrahi and Sephardi Literature. Drawing on the art exhibit
- [Daughters of Babylonia: Mizrahi Women Authors on Story, Identity, and Visibility](https://sarahsassoon.com/2026/07/21/daughters-of-babylonia-mizrahi-women-authors-on-story-identity-and-visibility/) (2026-07-21): Wednesday 22 July, 2026 – 1 PM PDT So grateful to the American Association of Libraries for organizing this Zoom event. Come join me with some wonderful Mizrahi women authors
- [The Book of Life’s 20th Anniversary Retrospective Spectacular!](https://sarahsassoon.com/2026/02/22/the-book-of-lifes-20th-anniversary-retrospective-spectacular/) (2026-02-22): I am honored and deeply excited to be part of The Book of Life’s 20th Anniversary Retrospective Spectacular with the wonderful Heidi Rabinowitz. This special deluxe episode weaves together clips
- [Zoom Talk – Mizrahi Heritage Month with Elson Fellow Sarah Sassoon](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/10/26/zoom-talk-mizrahi-heritage-month-with-elson-fellow-sarah-sassoon/) (2025-10-26): Come join me on Zoom in honor of Mizrahi Heritage Month! I’ll be sharing the forgotten story of the million Middle Eastern Jews who fled Arab lands — their rich
- [Interview – Jewish Joy with Sarah Sassoon](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/10/26/interview-jewish-joy-with-sarah-sassoon/) (2025-10-26): I really loved this interview with the legendary Heidi Rabinowitz from The Book of Life Podcast and Multicultural Kid Blogs. Heidi writes that the inspiration for her Jewish Joy series
- [Why My Iraqi Family Never Talks About What Happened to Them](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/07/17/why-my-iraqi-family-does-not-talk-about-what-happened-to-them/) (2025-07-17): Read my latest article in Yad Mizrah Magazine. All about why my family didn’t tell me about their Iraqi Jewish past, and their expulsion from Baghdad in 1951.
- [Day Eight Poetry Reading – The Jewish Experience](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/05/18/day-eight-poetry-reading-the-jewish-experience/) (2025-05-18): May 18, 2025 – Very pleased to be a featured reader for Day Eight for this special reading featuring The Jewish Experience. These poems were published in the Mid-Atlantic Review.
- [Yetzirah Poetry Comes to Jerusalem](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/05/18/yetzirah-poetry-comes-to-jerusalem/) (2025-05-18)
- [Telling the Middle Eastern Jewish Story at North Hollywood Library, Los Angeles](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/04/06/telling-the-middle-eastern-jewish-story-at-north-hollywood-library-los-angeles/) (2025-04-06): March 23, 2025, Sunday 3 p.m. – In Person, North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Regional Branch Library Kids, Adults Join us for this special storytelling event with writer, poet, and educator
- [26 March 2025, Reclaiming Your Jewish Identity Through Personal Story](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/03/09/25910/) (2025-03-09): Write and explore personal stories through Jewish heritage and family narratives. Sarah Sassoon, an Iraqi Jewish writer and poet all the way from Jerusalem, will strengthen identity and bull power
- [11 March 2025, Children of the Tigris: An Iraqi Night of Memory and Dialogue](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/03/09/children-of-the-tigris-an-iraqi-night-of-memory-and-dialogue/) (2025-03-09): For centuries, the Tigris have carried the voices of Iraq’s many peoples, echoing stories of coexistence, loss, and resilience. This night is an invitation to listen to those echoes once
- [Recovering the Lost World of Babylonian Jewry – Qesher Lecture](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/01/25/recovering-the-lost-world-of-babylonian-jewry-qesher-lecture/) (2025-01-25): Come walk with me through the history of Iraqi Jews, from the River of Babylon to the streets of Baghdad. Together, we will discover the rich culture, Judeo-Arabic language, traditional
- [Free Online Event – Qesher Book Club “Shoham’s Bangle”](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/01/25/free-online-event-qesher-book-club-shohams-bangle/) (2025-01-25): 18th February, Tuesday – I’m so looking forward to this Book Club Event with Qesher. I hope you can join. Book for the link here. SHOHAM’S BANGLE is an award
- [Ayouni](https://sarahsassoon.com/2025/01/09/ayouni/) (2025-01-09): Ayouni is a poem in the latest issue of Yad Mizrah Magazine RESIST – reflecting on my Iraqi Jewish two grandmothers – the tension and conflict of light and darkness,
- [The Wolf of Baghdad – Film Screening and Panel Discussion](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/12/27/the-wolf-of-baghdad-film-screening-and-panel-discussion/) (2024-12-27): The Jerusalem Cinematheque – Israel Film Archive cordially invites you to the Jewish Film Festival 2024 and the screening of The Wolf of Baghdad Following the film, conversation with Carol
- [Of Prayers and Grape Leaves](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/12/09/of-prayers-and-grape-leaves/) (2024-12-09): This article Of Prayers and Grape Leaves appeared as a guest post with the Sephardic Spice Girls in the Jewish Journal – about what it is to live in war.
- [Teaching Our Children Stories of the Jews of the Middle East and North Africa](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/12/04/teaching-our-children-stories-of-the-jews-of-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/) (2024-12-04): ‘This Is Not a Cholent’: Stories of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa – review Very grateful for this wonderful review by Leah Medin in The Jerusalem Post.
- [More than Apple & Honey: The Rosh Hashana Seder](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/09/08/more-than-apple-honey-the-rosh-hashana-seder/) (2024-09-08): I’m excited to be presenting Iraqi Jewish food customs – simanim for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah with Harif on Tuesday, 17th of September. I will be sharing my
- [My Grandmother’s Cheese Sambusek](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/07/14/my-grandmothers-cheese-sambusek/) (2024-07-14): Recently I taught a Food & Memory Writing Workshop. I based it on my grandmother’s cheese sambusek. The memories it evoked are of an Iraqi Jewish world that once existed;
- [Lyric Essay – A Forest of Jews](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/06/18/lyric-essay-a-forest-of-jews/) (2024-06-18): I’m pleased to share my latest lyric essay A Forest of Jews in the new literary, arts and culture magazine – Yad Mizrah. Yad Mizrah is the first literary Mizrahi
- [The In-Between Book Launch JLM & TLV](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/05/16/the-in-between-book-launch-event-jlm-tlv/) (2024-05-16): May 19th and May 30th, 2024 – Happy to announce the book launch of The In-Between in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem together with Lily Shehady and Sandra Gugić. Three writers
- [This is Not a Cholent Book Birthday](https://sarahsassoon.com/2024/05/07/this-is-not-a-cholent-book-birthday/) (2024-05-07): Today is the release day of my new picture book This is Not a Cholent, beautifully illustrated by Viviana Garofoli. To be honest I have chopped onions in my stomach

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