Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature

Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature
Awarded forrecognising 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.
CountryUnited States
First award2007
Websitesamirohrprize.org

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. At its inception, the $100,000 prize was the largest literary prize in North America.[1] The second place winner receives the Jewish Literature Choice Award of $25,000.[2]

The annual award, inauguated in 2007, seeks to promote writings of Jewish interest and encourage the examination of Jewish values among emerging writers.[3][4] Awardees are honored at an August ceremony at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.[4] The award was initially administered by the Jewish Book Council.[4]

In 2023, Israeli author Iddo Geffen won the prize, the first time it was awarded to the author of a Hebrew-language work and its translator, Daniella Zamir. The award to a translated work represented an effort to expand the reach of the prize to non-English works.[4]

Honorees

Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature honorees
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2007 Tamar Yellin The Genizah at the House of Shepher Winner [5][6]
Michael Lavigne Not Me Runner-up [5][6]
Amir Gutfreund Our Holocaust Runner-up [5][6]
Yael Hedaya Accidents Shortlist [7]
Naomi Alderman Disobedience Shortlist [7]
2008 Lucette Lagnado The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit Winner [8][9]
Eric Goldstein The Price of Whiteness Runner-up [8][9]
Ilana Blumberg Houses of Study Runner-up [8][9]
Haim Watzman A Crack in the Earth Shortlist [10]
Michael Makovsky Churchill's Promised Land Shortlist [10]
2009 Sana Krasikov One More Year Winner [11][12]
Dalia Sofer The Septembers of Shiraz Runner-up [11][12]
Elisa Albert The Book of Dahlia Shortlist [13]
Anne Landsman The Rowing Lesson Shortlist [13]
Anya Ulinich Petropolis Shortlist [13]
2010 Kenneth B. Moss Jewish Renaissance in the Russian Revolution Winner (tie) [14]
Sarah Abrevaya Stein Plumes: Ostrich Feathers, Jews, and a Lost World of Global Commerce [14]
Lila Corwin Berman Speaking of Jews: Rabbis, Intellectuals, and the Creation of an American Public Identity Shortlist [10]
Ari Y. Kelman Station Identification: A Cultural History of Yiddish Radio in the United States Shortlist [10]
Danya Ruttenberg Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion Shortlist [10]
2011 Austin Ratner The Jump Artist Winner [15]
Joseph Skibell A Curable Romantic Runner-up [15]
Nadia Kalman The Cosmopolitans Shortlist [16]
Julie Orringer The Invisible Bridge Shortlist [16]
Allison Amend Stations West Shortlist [16]
2012 Gal Beckerman When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry Winner [17]
Abigail Green Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero Runner-up [17]
Ruth Franklin A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction Shortlist [18]
Jonathan B. Krasner The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education Shortlist [18]
James Loeffler The Most Musical Nation: Jews and Culture in the Late Russian Empire Shortlist [18]
2013 Francesca Segal The Innocents Winner [19][20]
Ben Lerner Leaving the Atocha Station Runner-up [19][20]
Stuart Nadler The Book of Life Shortlist [20]
Asaf Schurr Motti Shortlist [20]
Shani Boianjiu The People of Forever Are Not Afraid Shortlist [20]
2014 Matti Friedman The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible Winner [21]
Sarah Bunin Benor Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism Runner-up [21]
Eliyahu Stern The Genius: Elijah of Vilna and the Making of Modern Judaism Shortlist [22]
Nina S. Spiegel Embodying Hebrew Culture: Aesthetics, Athletics, and Dance in the Jewish Community of Mandate Palestine Shortlist [22]
Marni Davis Jews and Booze: Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition Shortlist [22]
2015 Ayelet Tsabari The Best Place on Earth Winner [23]
Kenneth Bonert The Lion Seeker Runner-up [23]
Yelena Akhtiorskaya Panic in a Suitcase Shortlist [24]
Boris Fishman A Replacement Life Shortlist [24]
Molly Antopol The UnAmericans Shortlist [24]
2016 Lisa Leff The Archive Thief: The Man Who Salvaged French Jewish History in the Wake of the Holocaust Winner [25]
Yehudah Mirsky Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution Runner-up [25]
Aviyah Kushner The Grammar of God: A Journey into the Words and Worlds of the Bible Shortlist [10]
Dan Ephron Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel Shortlist [10]
Adam Mendelsohn The Rag Race: How Jews Sewed Their Way to Success in America and the British Empire Shortlist [10]
2017 Idra Novey Ways to Disappear Winner [26]
Daniel Torday The Last Flight of Poxl West: A Novel Runner-up [26]
Rebecca Schiff The Bed Moved: Stories Shortlist [27]
Paul Goldberg The Yid Shortlist [27]
Adam Ehrlich Sachs Inherited Disorders: Stories, Parables & Problems Shortlist [27]
2018 Ilana Kurshan If All the Seas Were Ink: A Memoir Winner [28]
Sara Yael Hirschhorn City on a Hilltop: American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement Runner-up [28]
Chanan Tigay The Lost Book of Moses: The Hunt For The World's Oldest Bible Shortlist [29]
Yair Mintzker The Many Deaths of Jew Süss: The Notorious Trial and Execution of an Eighteenth-Century Court Jew Shortlist [29]
Shari Rabin Jews on the Frontier: Religion and Mobility in Nineteenth-Century America Shortlist [29]
2019 Michael David Lukas The Last Watchman of Old Cairo Winner [30]
Dalia Rosenfeld The Words We Think We Know Runner-up [30]
Rachel Kadish The Weight of Ink Shortlist [31]
Mark Sarvas Memento Park Shortlist [31]
Margot Singer Underground Fugue Shortlist [31]
2020 Benjamin Balint Kafka's Last Trial: The Case of a Literary Legacy Winner [32]
Sarah Hurwitz Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There) Shortlist [33]
Yaakov Katz Shadow Strike: Inside Israel's Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power Shortlist [33]
Mikhal Dekel Tehran Children: A Holocaust Refugee Odyssey Shortlist [33]
2022 Menachem Kaiser Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure Winner [34]
Danny Adeno Abebe, trans. by Eylon Levy From Africa to Zion: The Shepherd Boy Who Became Israel's First Ethiopian-Born Journalist Shortlist [35]
Ayala Fader Hidden Heretics: Jewish Doubt in the Digital Age Shortlist [35]
2023 Iddo Gefen, trans. by Daniella Zamir Jerusalem Beach Winner [36]
Anna Solomon The Book of V Shortlist [37]
Mikolaj Grynberg, trans. by Sean Gasper Bye I'd Like To Say I'm Sorry, But There's No One To Say Sorry To Shortlist [37]
Max Gross The Lost Shtetl Shortlist [37]
2024 Oren Kessler Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict Winner [38]
Jeremy Eichler Time's Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance Shortlist [38]
Michael Frank One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World Shortlist [38]
Natalie Livingstone The Women of Rothschild: The Untold Story of the World's Most Famous Dynasty Shortlist [38]
2025 Sasha Vasilyuk Your Presence Is Mandatory Winner [39]
Toby Lloyd Fervor Shortlist [40]
Benjamin Resnick Next Stop Shortlist [40]
Janice Weizman Our Little Histories Shortlist [40]
2026 Amir Tibon The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel's Borderlands Winner [41][42]
Laura Hobson Faure Who Will Rescue Us?: The Story of the Jewish Children who Fled to France and America During the Holocaust Shortlist [43][44]
Shaul Kelner A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews Shortlist [43][44]
Jordan Salama Stranger in the Desert: A Family Story Shortlist [43][44]

References

  1. ↑ Dennis Hevesi (August 10, 2012). "Sami Rohr, Jewish Philanthropist Remembered by a Writing Prize, Dies at 86". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ Harris, Rachel (2011-05-29). "Jewish Prize for Brooklyn Author". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-15. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  3. ↑ Jessica Weinberg (March 15, 2013). "A Dispatch from the National Jewish Book Awards Ceremony". Tablet. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Friedman, Gabe (2023-05-02). "In a first, Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature goes to Hebrew-language author and translator". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on 2025-07-24. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Lapidos, Juliet (2007-03-30). "A Chat With Tamar Yellin, Winner of New Fiction Prize". The Jewish Daily Forward. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  6. 1 2 3 "Sami Rohr Prize 2007". Jewish Book Council. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  7. 1 2 "Awards: Sami Rohr Prize Finalists". Shelf Awareness . 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  8. 1 2 3 "Sami Rohr Prize 2008". Jewish Book Council. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  9. 1 2 3 Crown, Sarah (2008-02-13). "Exile's tale takes $100,000 Jewish book prize". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Finalists". Sami Rohr Prize. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  11. 1 2 "Sami Rohr Prize 2009". Jewish Book Council. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  12. 1 2 "Sana Krasikov wins Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature". The Jerusalem Post. 2009-03-26. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  13. 1 2 3 "Award Shortlists: Best Translated Book; Sami Rohr Prize". Shelf Awareness . 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  14. 1 2 "2010 Sami Rohr Prize Winners Announced". Jewish Book Council. 2010-01-26. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  15. 1 2 Oster, Marcy (2011-03-24). "Austin Ratner wins Rohr prize for first novel". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  16. 1 2 3 "Awards: Colby Winner; Waterstone's Children's Book; Sami Rohr". Shelf Awareness. 2011-02-11. Archived from the original on 2025-11-18. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  17. 1 2 "Gal Beckerman Wins $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize". Publishers Weekly. 2012-02-15.
  18. 1 2 3 "Awards: Sami Rohr Prize". Shelf Awareness. 2012-01-26. Archived from the original on 2025-11-18. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  19. 1 2 Winkler, Joe (2013-04-10). "Novelist Francesca Segal wins Sami Rohr Prize with 'The Innocents'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 "Awards: Sami Rohr Prizes; Kafka Prize". Shelf Awareness. 2013-05-29. Archived from the original on 2026-01-17. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  21. 1 2 Kissileff, Beth (2014-01-23). "2014 Sami Rohr Prize Awarded In Jerusalem". Tablet. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  22. 1 2 3 Chandler, Adam (2013-11-07). "'The Aleppo Codex' Nabs the Sami Rohr Prize". Tablet. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  23. 1 2 "Ayelet Tsabari Wins Sami Rohr Prize". The Jewish Daily Forward. 2015-02-23. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  24. 1 2 3 "Sami Rohr Prize 2015". Jewish Book Council. Archived from the original on 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
  25. 1 2 Steinberg, Jessica (2016-06-05). "Sami Rohr prize-winners tell of books that insisted on being written". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  26. 1 2 "Idra Novey wins Sami Rohr prize for Jewish literature". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2017-05-03. Archived from the original on 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  27. 1 2 3 Jewish Book Council (2017-04-03). "2017 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature Fellows Announced". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  28. 1 2 "Author Ilana Kurshan wins $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature". The Times of Israel. 2018-06-06. Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  29. 1 2 3 Zax, Talya (2018-04-30). "Sami Rohr Prize Finalists include Ilana Kurshan, Yair Mintzker". Forward. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  30. 1 2 Grisar, PJ (2019-05-01). "Michael David Lukas Wins 2019 Sami Rohr Prize". Forward. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  31. 1 2 3 Grisar, PJ (2019-04-01). "The Sami Rohr Prize For Jewish Literature Announces Its Nominees". Forward. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  32. ↑ Brawarsky, Sandee (2020-05-11). "'Kafka's Last Trial' Garners Prestigious Rohr Prize". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  33. 1 2 3 JTA (2020-05-12). "Benjamin Balint wins 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for Kafka book". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Archived from the original on 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  34. ↑ "Menachem Kaiser wins Sami Rohr Prize for nonfiction". Jewish News Syndicate. 2022-05-19. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  35. 1 2 "Finalists announced for best Jewish literature authors of 2022". The Jerusalem Post . 2022-04-26. Archived from the original on 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  36. ↑ "2023 Sami Rohr Prize winner, finalists recognized". Sun Sentinel. 2023-08-10. Archived from the original on 2025-09-05. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  37. 1 2 3 Muchnick, Laurie (2023-04-30). "A Prize Recognizes the Riches of Jewish Literature". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  38. 1 2 3 4 Jerusalem Post Staff (2024-04-17). "Oren Kessler awarded Sami Rohr Prize for 'Palestine 1936,' receives $100,000". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  39. ↑ "Awards: Sami Rohr Winner". Shelf Awareness. 2025-05-22. Archived from the original on 2025-11-14. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  40. 1 2 3 "Awards: Sami Rohr Finalists". Shelf Awareness . 2025-05-07. Archived from the original on 2025-05-07. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  41. ↑ "Amir Tibon wins Sami Rohr Prize for dramatic chronicle of Oct. 7". Jewish Insider. 2026-06-16. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  42. ↑ "Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature – 2026 Announcement". National Library of Israel. National Library of Israel. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  43. 1 2 3 "Awards: Sami Rohr, Danuta Gleed Literary Finalists". Shelf Awareness . 2026-05-13. Archived from the original on 2026-05-16. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  44. 1 2 3 Schaub, Michael (2026-05-13). "Finalists for 2026 Sami Rohr Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
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