The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature has revealed the four finalists for the award, given each year “to an emerging writer who demonstrates the potential for continued contribution to the world of Jewish literature.”
The award alternates between fiction and nonfiction; this year, the prize is being given to a work of fiction.
The story collection Jerusalem Beach, written by Iddo Gefen and translated from the Hebrew by Daniella Zamir, was named a finalist, along with I’d Like To Say Sorry, But There’s No One To Say Sorry To, another short story collection, written by Mikolaj Grynberg and translated from the Polish by Sean Gasper Bye.
Anna Solomon’s The Book of V., which was a Good Morning America book club pick, made the shortlist, as did Max Gross’ The Lost Shtetl; a critic for Kirkus gave the novel a starred review, calling it “imaginative and philosophical, funny and sad, old and new.”
The Sami Rohr Prize was named after the businessman and philanthropist who died in 2012. The award was established in 2006 by his children in recognition of his 80th birthday.
Previous winners of the prize have included Gal Beckerman’s When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone; Idra Novey’s Ways To Disappear; and Michael David Lukas’ The Last Watchman of Old Cairo.
The winner of the award, which comes with a cash prize of $100,000, will be announced at a ceremony at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem on Aug. 9, 2023.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
