Yitzchak Mayer, author, poet and former ambassador of Israel, at the age of 86, an exceptional renaissance man, highly appreciated by all. Born in 1934 in Belgium, Mayer was a child during the Holocaust, barely surviving it by escaping to Switzerland with his mother and brother after losing his father in Auschwitz. He immigrated to Israel in 1946, where he studied Literature and Education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He became a valued educator and managed the Yemin Orde youth village, and later headed multiple educational organizations. He also excelled in his diplomatic career, and was appointed as Israel’s ambassador to Belgium and Switzerland. Over the years he published works of fiction, drama and poetry, and in 2014 was awarded the French Wizo Prize for his autobiographical novel, Silent Letter, which was translated into English, French and Spanish. May he rest in peace.

We are proud to announce that the 2019 Jan Michalski Prize has been awarded to Zeruya Shalev for her novel Douleur (Gallimard, 2017; published in English as Pain: A Novel, Other Press, 2019). The Jan Michalski Prize is the third in importance in the literary world, after the Nobel Prize and the Man Booker. The jury hailed ‘a dizzying novel in which the author explores the physiological and emotional territories of suffering, where the characters’ past and present are inextricably linked. Zeruya Shalev is a singular writer whose prose, both fluid and tense, sharp and poetic, gives us a narrative that is delicate in its violence, a tale of obstinate love involving several generations. A story of personal heartbreak, moving through layer upon layer as it adheres closely to the development of Israeli society, Shalev’s book also represents the novel as the scar tissue of a country.’

"If a story frustrates you, it’s doing its job. Ayelet Gundar-Goshen's The Liar takes a delicate and timely topic—false accusation of attempted sexual assault—and spins a plot of coming-of-age confusion, complex motives, human suffering and familial love." —Alexandra Clement, Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief

Publishers are hereby advised to approach ITHL via email litscene@ithl.org.il with any queries and requests re forthcoming submission rounds. Please look for relevant updates, deadlines and further details of forthcoming rounds. Publishers who undertake to translate a work of modern Hebrew literature can apply for a subsidy to help with the translation cost. This option is also available to literary journals that dedicate a special issue (or a special feature within an issue) to modern Hebrew literature, as well as to publishers who wish to publish anthologies. Aid is subject to approval by the board and availability of funds. We look forward to receiving your applications. Please see here further information about the TSP.