Cover Reveal! - South of Sepharad by Eric Z. Weintraub
History Through Fiction, author Eric Z. Weintraub, and cover designer Christine Horner of The Book Cover Whisperer, are proud to share with you the cover design for our forthcoming title, South of Sepharad: The 1492 Jewish Expulsion from Spain (February 20, 2024). Featuring bold colors and sharp contrasts, the cover shows doves, a symbol of Jewish faith, flying out and above the Alhambra, the famous palace located in Granada, Spain. In the novel, we meet Vidal ha-Rofeh, a Jewish physician living peacefully with his family in Granada in the year 1492. But, when Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand conquer Granada they sign the Alhambra Decree, an edict ordering all Jews convert to Catholicism or depart Spain, Vidal must choose between his faith and his homeland. Journeying in a caravan of 200 Jews to start their lives anew across the sea in Fez, Vidal struggles to care for the sick all while trying to mend strained relationships with his family. At the same time, his daughter back home finds herself exposed to the Spanish Inquisition living as a converso in a Christian empire.
Based on the true history of the 1492 Jewish Expulsion from Spain, South of Sepharad presents readers with a painful but important part of Jewish history as seen through the eyes of one Jewish family.
Praise for South of Sepharad
South of Sepharad is an epic, historical novel which brings readers directly into the lives of 15th century Jews during their expulsion from Granada, Spain.
– John W. Jarrett, Author of The Dark Prairie
South of Sepharad is an insightful, compelling, and poignant fictional recreation of the trials of displacement and what it meant to be expelled from or forced to leave one’s home. A brilliant achievement!
– Teofilo F. Ruiz, Author of Spain's Centuries of Crisis: 1300 - 1474
Weintraub personalizes history, bringing heart and humanity to Renaissance geo-politics through people, through lives and loves.
– Jordan A. Rothacker, author of The Pit, and No Other Stories
With South of Sepharad, Eric Z. Weintraub takes Jewish historical fiction in a fresh, new direction, bringing readers up close and personal with Spain during the Inquisition, and the battles fought for both survival and staying true to one's faith.
– Alina Adams, author of My Mother's Secret: A Novel of The Jewish Autonomous Region and The Nesting Dolls
About the Author
Eric Z. Weintraub earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Mount St. Mary’s University where he wrote his debut novel South of Sepharad. Growing up in Los Angeles, CA, he came from a family of filmmakers, writers, and educators stirring in him a passion for storytelling from a young age. His short fiction has appeared in Tabula Rasa Review, Halfway Down the Stairs, The Rush, and elsewhere. His novella Dreams of an American Exile won the 2015 Plaza Literary Prize and was published by Black Hill Press. His short story collection The 28th Parallel was a finalist for the 2021 Flannery O’Connor Award in Short Fiction. When not writing fiction, Eric profiles true stories of complex medical cases where he works at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
