Meet The Editors: Kidlit

Introducing Erica Lyons

Erica Lyons

As many readers of this magazine may already know, I was in China over the summer with my daughter, who was competing at the Youth World Climbing Championship in Guiyang. To save money, the U.S. National Youth Team coaches advised us to fly into Hong Kong first and then take a bullet train into mainland China.

This route did indeed represent a saving of almost two thousand dollars, so we took their advice. Whenever I travel to any foreign place, I try to have a Jewish experience unique that place. It was immediately apparent that there were no Jewish experiences to be had in Guiyang — no shul, no Jewish community center, no ancient Jewish quarter, no Jewish enclaves and more than likely not a single Jew within the entire town.

So I decided to focus on Hong Kong, where I learned very quickly that all roads led to Erica Lyons.

Erica’s husband is President of the Ohel Leah synagogue, a visually stunning shul that has been beautifully preserved since its inception more than 100 years ago. Erica was a consummate hostess to my daughter and me, giving us a detailed tour of the premises and spending the afternoon with us. By the time we’d finished lunch, I felt I’d known her all my life.

We connected again in NYC last week, and I was overjoyed when she accepted the position of kidlit editor here at JUDITH.

And as with all our other editors, I wanted to introduce her with an excerpt of her own work. The content below was taken from one of her recent children’s books: the lush, riveting and educational account of India’s Bene Israel, On A Chariot Of Fire.

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Erica Lyons is Hong Kong-based children’s book author focusing on picture books and middle grade novels with a preference for historical fiction. She is an active member of the Hong Kong’s Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She is the chair of the Hong Kong Jewish Historical Society, the Hong Kong Delegate to World Jewish Congress, and the founder and director of PJ Library Hong Kong. Additionally Erica is a member of the Executive Committee of Global Jewry and sits on several other philanthropic boards.

She has always been a natural storyteller. She founded Asian Jewish Life – a journal of spirit, society and culture celebrating the diversity of the Jewish experience in Asia in 2009. She also freelanced for a number of international publications often focusing on Judaism and Asia. Most recently to Paper Brigade Daily (Jewish Book Council) and the Jewish Literary Journal. She has also contributed work to a number of books including: Not a Muse: The Inner Lives of Women, a World Poetry Anthology and, most recently, Growing up Jewish in India: Synagogues, Customs, and Communities from the Bene Israel to the Art of Siona Benjamin.

In addition to writing, she has been a speaker for a number of forums that included: TEDx Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong), the SEFER International Conference for Judaic Studies (Moscow), Limmud China (Shanghai), and the 16th World Jewish Congress Plenary.

She was a scholar with Genesis Philanthropy’s Our Common Destiny forum. Additionally, she was a participant in the Shusterman Foundation’s ROI Summit for Jewish Innovators, a fellow with the Anti-Defamation League’s Steinberg Leadership Institute, and a participant in the Tikvah Advanced Summer Institute.

She is the mother of five children.

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Five tiny delights:

• Snuggling with my cat especially when it’s cold;

• My quiet morning walks up Victoria Peak;

• Used book shops (especially Halper’s in Tel Aviv);

• A new book with a good glass of wine;

• A sunny day on a friend’s boat on the South China Sea.

Five tiny Jewish delights:

• The sound of the shofar in synagogue. It brings me to tears every time. 

• Singing the line L'Shana Haba'ah B’Yerushalayim on Pesach and Yom Kippur. It also brings me to tears every time. 

• The feeling of walking into a new Jewish space when traveling and feeling like you’re home;

• The light of all of our family hanukkiahs (homemade, store-bought, heirlooms, new, gifted…) flickering together in the window;

• When my Shabbat table is full and all of my children are safe and home.

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To learn more about Erica, you may visit her website at https://www.erica-lyons.com/.