An excerpt from the last lecture filmed by the author Meir Shalev, just three weeks before his death, for the video content platform Screenz live, in which he deals with the great love stories in the Book of Genesis/Screenz
Ofra Ofer Oren is the grand winner of the Lottery's Sapir Prize for Literature for the year 2023 for her book
"What Happened to Immigrate in Eilat"
published by Kinneret ZBM. She beat the other four candidates -
"Biotope"
by Orli Castel-Bloom (Seriman Kraya Books / Kibbutz HaMahued ),
"Ho-Mama"
by Tami Bezaleli (Israeli Literature Channel),
"Haim"
by Gil Haravan (Hazut Beit) and
"Teeth Marks"
by Hanoch Marmari (Ketar).
The five candidates who qualified for the short list will win 60,000 shekels each one, while the grand winner will win a grant of NIS 180,000, and her book will be translated into Arabic and another language of her choice. In addition, the lottery will purchase an edition of 500 books from the books of the five writers selected as part of the "short list" and as part of the "book of firstborns", and will give them as a gift to public libraries throughout the country
In the reasons for the winning of the book "What Happened to Immigrate in Eilat" the judges wrote that it is a book "of rare power that stems from both its content and its control over the means of literary expression
.
This is a cycle of 336 sonnets converging into a novel woven by an artist's hand a story that begins with domestic sexual abuse, and continued a cruel and wonderful life journey.
It unfolds the life and trauma of one woman who is many women.
It is a painful, breathtaking and clever book, which draws readers in and challenges conventional narrative patterns in Hebrew literature."
Ilana Rudashevski won the First Book Award for her book "Taske" (Shetim - Publishing House).
Ofra Ofer Oren/Aryeh Oren
In 2022, she won the Sapir Orit Ilan prize, for her book "Sister to the Pleiades" published by Yediot Books.
The ceremony was hosted this year in Ofakim out of sympathy with the residents of the south.
The ceremony was moderated by Chen Amsalem and performed by Idan Raichel, Zahava Ben, Jimbo J and the children's choir of Ofakim.
More on the same topic:
Sapphire Award
Orly Castel-Bloom
Enoch Marmari
The age of the Raven