Author Visits, Talks & Presentations
Engage Arnon Z. Shorr, a seasoned Filmmaker and Visual Storyteller, for captivating presentations and workshops. Tap into the power of storytelling and visual media for your classroom or community.
Experience
Arnon Z. Shorr has graced prestigious stages from JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience to the legendary San Diego Comic Con. In addition, he has conducted dozens of engaging author visits at schools, synagogues and community organizations.
Presentations
Explore Arnon Z. Shorr's renowned book talks and presentations that have captivated audiences worldwide. From thought-provoking discussions to interactive multimedia presentations, there's something for everyone.
Booking
Interested in booking Arnon Z. Shorr for a speaking engagement, presentation, author visit, film screening or book talk? Fill out the form below to start the conversation.
Notable Appearances
Over the years, Arnon has spoken or presented at many types of venues and events, from small classrooms and synagogues to international film festivals and comics conventions. Here are several examples:
Presentations and Programming
Arnon Z. Shorr has given all of these presentations, in some cases, many times, and always to rave reviews.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of offerings. If your organization would like a customized presentation on a topic not listed here, please don't hesitate to reach out about it.
Multimedia Presentations
These dynamic presentations include engaging slideshows, "show-and-tell" items, and an engaging Q&A. In some cases, the presentations also include the screening of an award-winning short film.
All presentations include a Q&A and an opportunity for book-signing.
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Arnon's Journey to Jewish Stories
60 Minutes
Middle School and Older
Arnon Z. Shorr did not always want to tell Jewish stories. In fact, when he was asked, many years ago, if he would consider making Jewish movies, he said "absolutely not!" What changed?
In this presentation, Arnon shares his journey from budding filmmaker to the creator of Jewish films, comics, graphic novels and books. He explores the reasons for his initial reluctance, as well as the series of realizations that led him to embrace overtly Jewish narrative. The presentation includes a screening of his award-winning short film, The Pirate Captain Toledano.
Dive into Jewish Comics!
60 Minutes
All Ages
A fun multimedia presentation that explores how Arnon Z. Shorr and Joshua M. Edelglass found themselves collaborating on Jewish comic books and graphic novels. It begins with a screening of The Pirate Captain Toledano, Arnon’s award-winning short film, and includes a behind-the-scenes look at the multi-step creative process of creating a comic book with examples from their first book, José and the Pirate Captain Toledano. This is followed by a discussion about what it means for them to tell Jewish stories, and why they like including diverse Jewish characters in their works.​
Arnon and Josh often deliver this presentation together, though each can deliver it solo as well.
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Iconography and Storytelling in a Story from a War
60 Minutes
Middle School and Older
A fascinating deep dive into the art and craft of comics, with a behind-the-scenes look at the creative choices that went into telling the real-life 1948 war story in Brother’s Keeper, and a hands-on creative exercise to learn about the use of iconography and visual storytelling in comics.​
Arnon and Josh often deliver this presentation together, though each can deliver it solo as well.
Where are the Werewolves? Discovering Monsters in Jewish Folklore
60 Minutes
All Ages
Jewish folklore is full of monsters! In this presentation, Josh and Arnon share some of their favorite Jewish monsters, and talk about inventing new ones for their series of comic book short stories, Festival of Forgotten Tales. They talk about the monsters they created for The Beast and the Booth, The Tomb of the Broken Amulet, and the upcoming Batya's Unicorn. The presentation includes a hands-on creative activity to invent new Jewish mythological creatures.​​
Arnon and Josh often deliver this presentation together, though each can deliver it solo as well.
The Mad World of Hebrew in Comics
60 Minutes
High School and Older
All of Arnon’s comic books have included at least a little bit of Hebrew. As simple as this may seem, there are complicated pitfalls that come with bringing this ancient language into a modern comic. In this funny and engaging presentation that was first presented to students in the Hebrew program at Brandeis University, Arnon shares his Hebrew comics misadventures, and explores some of the choices he had to make when bringing Hebrew into his books.
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Jews and Hollywood
60-180 Minutes
High School and Older
A multimedia presentation that tracks the role Jews played in the invention of the motion picture industry, as well as the ways that Jews chose to portray themselves (or the ways that they were portrayed by non-Jews) throughout Hollywood history.
This course was first developed and delivered for the continuing education program at American Jewish University in Los Angeles. It is ideally delivered in three one-hour section, but can be compressed to a shorter presentation if needed.
Other Types of Appearances
Arnon Z. Shorr is available for all sorts of public appearances, not just for presentations like those listed above. The following list is not comprehensive.
Film Screening & Q&A
Time Varies
Audience Varies
Panel Discussion
Time Varies
Audience Varies
Most of Arnon's films can be booked for film screenings, and Arnon is always happy to participate in a Q&A. If the screening is not local and travel+expenses cannot be covered, Arnon can often participate via Zoom.
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Arnon is happy to join panel discussions on various topics in film, comics and Jewish media. Arnon also has experience hosting and producing panel discussions, both in-person and online.
Vendor Table
Time Varies
Audience Varies
For Jewish Arts Festivals, Craft Fairs, Book Fairs and similar events: Arnon enjoys bringing his books to sell. Unlike online sales, in-person book sale events give people an opportunity to chat with the author and get their book autographed.
Creative Writing, Film History and Production Courses
Time Varies
Audience Varies
Did you know that Arnon Z. Shorr taught high school film classes for six years? Arnon has also taught production and media courses in middle schools, summer camps, colleges and continuing education programs.
To book my frequent collaborator, Joshua M. Edelglass for events, go to his webpage.