JUDY BLUME: A LIFE
With journalist, author, and podcaster Mark Oppenheimer, author of Judy Blume: A Life
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 7:00 PM
Few authors have influenced more readers, sparked more conversations, or challenged more assumptions than Judy Blume. Award-winning journalist and podcaster Mark Oppenheimer explores the life, impact, and enduring relevance of one of America's most beloved writers, revealing why her work continues to resonate across generations.
“This beautiful biography reminded me of the gratitude I always felt reading Judy Blume’s books to my daughters, with their good humored portraits of quirky kids and quirky parents doing their best in a stressful world. Oppenheimer brings an insightful, clear-eyed, generous spirit to his portrait, worthy of its subject.”
—Jonathan Rosen, author of The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
Free & Open to the Community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mark Oppenheimer has been covering American religion for 25 years. He holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale and has taught at Stanford, Wesleyan, Wellesley, NYU, Boston College, and Yale, where he was the founding director of the Yale Journalism Initiative. From 2010 to 2016, he wrote the “Beliefs” column for The New York Times and has written for publications including The New Yorker, GQ, and Slate. He created Unorthodox and, more recently, hosted an eight-part podcast called Gatecrashers. He is the author of five books, including The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia and Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
To know the name Judy Blume is to know and love literature. Her influential novels turned classics, including Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Deenie; and Summer Sisters, touched the lives of tens of millions of readers. For more than fifty-five years, her work has done something revolutionary: it rewired the world’s expectations of what literature for young people can be, frank, candid, earthy, and unafraid to show the messier sides of humanity. But little is known about the real woman behind the iconic persona, and the unlikely journey of her literary ascension, until now.
In Judy Blume, journalist, historian, and longtime Blume aficionado Mark Oppenheimer pens a beautiful, multidimensional portrait of the acclaimed author through extensive interviews with Blume herself, invaluable access to her papers and correspondence, and thoughtful analysis of Blume’s beloved novels, including early, unpublished works that shed light on the pathbreaking writer she would become. Oppenheimer goes deep, exploring Blume’s middle-class 1950s upbringing, complicated childhood, varied relationships and marriages, unabashed sexual experiences, bouts of heartache and loss, and enduring legacy as a champion of free speech and contemporary literature. Oppenheimer peels back the curtain to reveal the woman behind the literary empire in all her complex, multifaceted glory, a true gift for anyone who grew up reading and loving these extraordinary books.
PRAISE:
🏆One of Washington Post's Most Anticipated Books of 2026
🏆One of Zibby Owens's Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2026
“At last, a real Judy Blume biography is here!—and it’s just as warm and interesting and wonderful as you want it to be. Written in a clear and welcoming voice that will sound familiar to anyone who’s ever loved a Judy Blume book, Mark Oppenheimer’s comprehensive and extensively researched biography brings to vivid life the ups—and sometimes downs—of the groundbreaking author who made Sheila and Peter and Margaret and Fudge feel like real people, with real problems, to generations of readers. Deftly written and packed with stories you've never heard before--including tantalizing glimpses of stories that never saw the light of day—Mark Oppenheimer's Judy Blume is thoughtful, often funny, and never afraid to be reflective or critical—just like Judy Blume herself.”
—Brian Jay Jones, author of Becoming Dr. Seuss
“Judy Blume by Mark Oppenheimer is a masterpiece of biography, brilliantly illuminating the life of a masterful storyteller. Blume held an unflinching light upon the challenges of growing up and a clear-eyed gaze on the adult world around her as she turned life’s trials into literature for multiple generations. Oppenheimer deftly captures Blume’s fearlessness in exposing her own vulnerabilities in her books and opens a wider lens to bring the reader into Blume’s personal life as she transforms from Sheila the Great to Wifey to tireless censorship activist. Oppenheimer holds his own unwavering light at the singular life of this literary icon, and the reader simply can’t look away from this extraordinary and beloved writer.”
—Amy Gary, author of In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown
ACCOMODATIONS
The following accessibility accommodations are available for UJFT's programs (depending on the program location). Accommodations must be requested at least a week prior to the event. Requests can be submitted during registration.
- Interpreting services for Deaf or non-English speakers
- Assisted listening services to amplify sounds
- Preferential seating near a presenter to aid in comprehension
- Sensory fidget tools
- Noise-reducing headphones
- Stand-assist devices
- Audio recording of written materials for the visually impaired
The Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival is funded in part by the citizens of Virginia Beach through a grant from the City of Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission and is held in coordination with the Jewish Book Council, the longest-running organization devoted exclusively to the support and celebration of Jewish literature.