Arnon Shorr
A thrilling swashbuckler about faith and fortune, written for middle-grade readers by Arnon Z. Shorr, illustrated by Joshua M. Edelglass.
Set in the Shadows of the Spanish Inquisition, this is the coming-of-age story of José Alfaro, a young refugee who forms a powerful bond with the mysterious Pirate Captain Toledano. It’s a dynamic pirate adventure on the high seas, with hand-to-hand combat and ship-to-ship action, and the powerful story of a dark time in history when people took different paths to survive.
José Alfaro is a cocky, rambunctious teen in the 16th-century colony of Santo Domingo, pulling pranks and dodging authorities. One day, José’s mischief lands him in serious trouble.
Hoping for a fresh start, he stows away on the Laqish, not knowing that it’s a pirate ship.
From his hiding place, he watches the pirates divide their loot and plan their attacks on long days at sea. He also takes note of the respect they have for their captain, the intimidating Toledano.
But the captain has a secret–like José, he is a Jew. For him, piracy is not about the gold; it has a different purpose.
Under the tutelage of the ship’s quartermaster, José learns the intricacies of pirate life. But when he can, the captain finds ways to pull José away from the crew, to teach him about his ancestors.
José finds his community. His place. His voice. His purpose.
This is a pirate story, but also a story of survival-a story of a young man’s deep need to know who he is, where he comes from, and where he’s going.
THE CHARACTERS
José Alfaro
A kid from the Spanish colony in Santo Domingo. But there’s something different about him… And it’s not until his father shows him the secret box under the floorboards that he learns who he is…
Captain Toledano
The fierce pirate captain of the Laqish whith a secret identity of his own. He is a cryto-Jew, a refugee from the Spanish Inquisition.
Captain De Guzman
Spanish Captain of the Santa Ana, who has had run-ins with Toledano and his pirates…
THE ORIGIN STORY
“José and the pirate Captain Toledano” began as a short film. In late-2016, Arnon Z. Shorr wrote a screenplay for a short film called “The Pirate Captain Toledano” about a Jewish refugee from the Spanish Inquisition who sneaks aboard a pirate ship. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, “Toledano” was filmed on tall ships in Dana Point, CA. The ten-minute short premiered at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival in May, 2017, and continued from there to roughly 50 festivals around the world. It screened in major Jewish cities, and was also embraced in places like Macedonia and Morocco, where few Jews remain. At least on the festival circuit, this film was a “crossover hit”.
At many of these, after the film was screened, audience members got to ask questions of the filmmaker. One of the most frequent questions was “when can we get the rest of the story?” Ten minutes of Toledano left the audience begging for more!
THE ORIGIN STORY
In light of the short film’s success, Arnon sketched out a longer version of the story – a tale that follows a boy’s adventures from Santo Domingo to the deck of Toledano’s ship. This expanded version was intended as a feature film… but pirate movies aren’t cheap. Despite the short film’s success, a Hollywood movie was unlikely.
So, how to tell this tale? A stage play? A novel? A comic? Arnon Explored different ideas. At around this time, and old acquaintance posted images he had illustrated for a Jewish comics anthology. Here was someone who might know how to turn the story into a graphic novel!
Eventually, the pitch reached book agent Anna Olswanger, who agreed to represent the project and sent it out to publishers. Joni Sussman of Kar-Ben Publishing saw the book’s potential, and the journey to create “José and the Pirate Captain Toledano” began.
This was January, 2020. Once the contract was signed, Arnon had to write the book. Graphic novels are written in a format very similar to a screenplay, so it wasn’t hard for Arnon to adapt to the new medium. But as he dove into the pages, the COVID pandemic began its rampage. During the initial lockdown, Arnon’s wife – a physician – continued to work. Their three children (one was just a few months old) were stuck at home. To get the book written, Arnon would wake up before dawn and frantically string words together before the kids woke up. On days when his wife was home and could manage the children, Arnon wrote inside his walk-in closet.
THE ORIGIN STORY
By some miracle, the manuscript was delivered to the publisher on time. Once the folks at Kar-Ben had delivered their notes, it was time for Josh to step in and work his magic.
It took almost a year of drawing, inking, painting and lettering, but at last, in 2021, the art was completed. From there, Kar-Ben took over and did all the final work to make the book press-ready. When the book is released on 5/1/22, it will have been three and a half years since Arnon and Josh began their collaboration, and almost exactly five years to the day since the word premiere of “The Pirate Captain Toledano” at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival.
FUN FACTS
- Arnon’s Family (on his mother’s side) is North African, most likely descended from Jews who fled southern Portugal in the early years of the Inquisition. For this reason, the hero of the story is originally from Portugal.
- The book’s release on 5/1/22 comes one day shy of the fifth anniversary of the short film’s premier at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival on 5/2/17
- The illustrations are all hand-painted in watercolor, with final touches applied digitally.
- Josh’s illustrations of Captain Toledano are based on actor Stephen DeCordova, who portrayed the Captain in the film. Stephen Says: “Seeing a performance of mine rendered onto a printed page, and the illustrated character bearing an unmistakable resemblance to ME, is an entirely new experience for me… one that I get a great kick out of! But the fun of it resonates in a much more deeply-seated satisfaction for me. Like the Captain, I am Jewish, with a family history that started in Spain and, after the Inquisition, led to the Caribbean. (My mother was born in Kingston, Jamaica; our family has been there for centuries. Some of the surnames in my family tree belong to some of the most famous Caribbean Pirates.) So, playing the Pirate Captain Toledano on the screen meant a lot to me…seeing this history immortalized vividly on the page is deeply satisfying to me, indeed!”
- Similarly, the kiddush cup that is prominently featured in the book is the same cup that was used in the film. It belongs to Stephen DeCordova, and came to him from his grandfather, who received it from his ancestors in Jamaica. It is an authentic piece of Caribbean Judaica.
Eran A. Shorr
Avital Mazar Tsairi
Racheli Morris
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