Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature explained
| Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature |
| Awarded For: | recognising the unique role of contemporary writers in the transmission and examination of the Jewish experience, and to encourage and promote outstanding writing of Jewish interest. |
| Country: | United States |
| Year: | 2007 |
The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature is an annual prize awarded to an outstanding literary work of Jewish interest by an emerging writer. Previously administered by the Jewish Book Council, it is now given in association with the National Library of Israel.
History
In 2006, the family of Jewish philanthropist Sami Rohr honored his lifelong love of Jewish learning and great books by establishing the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature on his 80th birthday.[1]
The annual award, alternating between fiction and non-fiction, seeks to promote writings of Jewish interest, and to encourage the examination of Jewish values among "emerging" writers.[2]
The $100,000 Prize honors an author whose work demonstrates potential for future contribution to the world of Jewish literature. All winners, Choice Award recipients, finalists, judges and advisors are Fellows in the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute. The winner and finalists are honored at an awards ceremony for fiction in New York; the event for non-fiction takes place in Jerusalem.[3]
The $100,000 prize is among the richest literary prizes in the world.
Eligibility and selection
Works are sought and nominated, with specific guidelines, by an advisory panel. The winner and finalists are selected by an independent group of judges, and all deliberations are strictly confidential. The Rohr family has no input or participation in the nomination or selection process.
From 2007 through 2019, the runner-up award was called the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature Choice Award. The Choice Award was discontinued in 2020. Three finalists each receive a monetary prize of $5,000.
Translated works are eligible. Eligible non-fiction works are restricted to the domains of biography, history, Jewish current affairs, Jewish scholarship, or contemporary Jewish life.
Honorees
Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature honorees!Year!Author!Title!Result!Ref.| 2007 | | | Winner | [4] [5] |
|---|
| Not Me | Runner-up | |
| Our Holocaust | Runner-up | |
| Accidents | Shortlist | |
| Disobedience | Shortlist | |
| 2008 | | | Winner | [6] [7] |
|---|
| | Runner-up | |
| Houses of Study | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | |
| Churchill's Promised Land | Shortlist | |
| 2009 | | One More Year | Winner | [8] [9] |
|---|
| | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | |
| | Shortlist | |
| Petropolis | Shortlist | |
| 2010 | | Jewish Renaissance in the Russian Revolution | Winner (tie) | [10] |
|---|
| Plumes: Ostrich Feathers, Jews, and a Lost World of Global Commerce | |
| Speaking of Jews: Rabbis, Intellectuals, and the Creation of an American Public Identity | Shortlist | |
| Station Identification: A Cultural History of Yiddish Radio in the United States | Shortlist | |
| Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion | Shortlist | |
| 2011 | | | Winner | [11] |
|---|
| | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | |
| | Shortlist | |
| Stations West | Shortlist | |
| 2012 | | When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry | Winner | [12] |
|---|
| Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | |
| | Shortlist | |
| | Shortlist | |
| 2013 | | | Winner | [13] |
|---|
| Leaving the Atocha Station | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | |
| Motti | Shortlist | |
| | Shortlist | |
| 2014 | | | Winner | [14] |
|---|
| Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | [15] |
| Embodying Hebrew Culture: Aesthetics, Athletics, and Dance in the Jewish Community of Mandate Palestine | Shortlist | |
| Jews and Booze: Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition | Shortlist | |
| 2015 | | | Winner | [16] |
|---|
| | Runner-up | |
| Panic in a Suitcase | Shortlist | [17] |
| | Shortlist | |
| | Shortlist | |
| 2016 | | | Winner | [18] |
|---|
| Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | |
| Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel | Shortlist | |
| | Shortlist | |
| 2017 | | Ways to Disappear | Winner | [19] |
|---|
| | Runner-up | |
| | Shortlist | [20] |
| | Shortlist | |
| Inherited Disorders: Stories, Parables & Problems | Shortlist | |
| 2018 | | If All the Seas Were Ink: A Memoir | Winner | [21] |
|---|
| City on a Hilltop: American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement | Runner-up | |
| |
Notes and References
- Web site: Sami Rohr, Jewish Philanthropist Remembered by a Writing Prize, Dies at 86 . New York Times . Dennis Hevesi . August 10, 2012 . January 23, 2013 . January 30, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180130225128/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/books/sami-rohr-jewish-philanthropist-remembered-by-a-writing-prize-dies-at-86.html . live .
- Tablet. A Dispatch from the National Jewish Book Awards Ceremony. March 15, 2013. 2013-11-11. Jessica Weinberg. 2013-11-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20131111112821/http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/127051/jewish-book-club. live.
- Web site: Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature guidelines . April 22, 2020 . October 31, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201031092711/https://www.samirohrprize.org/guidelines . live .
- News: Lapidos . Juliet . 2007-03-30 . A Chat With Tamar Yellin, Winner of New Fiction Prize . The Jewish Daily Forward . 2013-11-11 . 2013-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111114055/http://forward.com/articles/10416/a-chat-with-tamar-yellin-winner-of-new-fiction-pr/ . live .
- Web site: Sami Rohr Prize 2007 . 2013-11-11 . . 2013-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111111906/http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/sami-rohr-prize-2007 . live .
- Web site: Sami Rohr Prize 2008 . 2013-11-11 . . 2013-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111111905/http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/sami-rohr-prize-2008 . live .
- News: Crown . Sarah . 2008-02-13 . Exile's tale takes $100,000 Jewish book prize . . 2013-11-11 . 2013-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111111719/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/feb/13/news.sarahcrown . live .
- Web site: Sami Rohr Prize 2009 . 2013-11-11 . . 2013-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111111945/http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/sami-rohr-prize-2009 . live .
- News: 2009-03-26 . Sana Krasikov wins Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature . . 2013-11-11 . 2013-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111111857/http://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Books/Sana-Krasikov-wins-Sami-Rohr-Prize-for-Jewish-Literature . live .
- Web site: 2010-01-26 . 2010 Sami Rohr Prize Winners Announced . 2013-11-11 . . 2013-11-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131111113207/http://jewishbooks.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/2010-sami-rohr-prize-winners-announced/ . live .
- News: Oster . Marcy . 2011-03-24 . Austin Ratner wins Rohr prize for first novel . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2013-11-11 . 2013-12-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131209001951/http://www.jta.org/2011/03/24/arts-entertainment/austin-ratner-wins-rohr-prize-for-first-novel . live .
- News: 2012-02-15 . Gal Beckerman Wins $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize . Publishers Weekly.
- News: Winkler . Joe . 2013-04-10 . Novelist Francesca Segal wins Sami Rohr Prize with 'The Innocents' . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2013-11-11 . 2013-12-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131209001948/http://www.jta.org/2013/04/10/news-opinion/united-states/novelist-francesca-segal-wins-sami-rohr-prize-with-the-innocents . live .
- Kissileff . Beth . 2014-01-23 . 2014 Sami Rohr Prize Awarded In Jerusalem . Tablet . 2015-02-27 . 2015-02-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150227171740/http://tabletmag.com/scroll/160390/2014-sami-rohr-prize-awarded-in-jerusalem . live .
- Chandler . Adam . 2013-11-07 . 'The Aleppo Codex' Nabs the Sami Rohr Prize . Tablet . 2013-11-11 . 2013-11-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110174948/http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/151994/the-aleppo-codex-nabs-the-sami-rohr-prize . live .
- News: 2015-02-23 . Ayelet Tsabari Wins Sami Rohr Prize . The Jewish Daily Forward . 2015-02-27 . 2015-02-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150227123248/http://forward.com/articles/215316/ayelet-tsabari-wins-sami-rohr-prize/ . live .
- Web site: Sami Rohr Prize 2015 . 2015-01-24 . . 2015-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150126031029/http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/sami-rohr-prize-2015 . live .
- News: Steinberg . Jessica . 2016-06-05 . Sami Rohr prize-winners tell of books that insisted on being written . . 2019-12-12 . 2019-12-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191212113149/https://www.timesofisrael.com/sami-rohr-prize-winners-tell-of-books-that-insisted-on-being-written/ . live .
- Web site: 2017-05-03 . Idra Novey wins Sami Rohr prize for Jewish literature . 2017-05-03 . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2017-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170504044453/http://www.jta.org/2017/05/03/default/idra-novey-wins-sami-rohr-prize-for-jewish-literature . live .
- Web site: . 2017-04-03 . 2017 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature Fellows Announced . May 3, 2017 . . 2023-05-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502005743/https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fnotes%2Fjewish-book-council%2F2017-sami-rohr-prize-for-jewish-literature-fellows-announced%2F10155189263483415%2F . live .
- News: 2018-06-06 . Author Ilana Kurshan wins $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature . en-US . . 2019-05-21 . 2019-06-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190621083147/https://www.timesofisrael.com/author-ilana-kurshan-wins-100000-sami-rohr-prize-for-jewish-literature/ . live .
