Yaakov Shabtai

Yaakov Shabtai (1934-1981) was born in Tel Aviv. After his military service, he moved to a kibbutz and started to write. Ten years later, he returned to Tel Aviv with his family and devoted himself to his literary career. He wrote two novels, a book of short stories, a children`s book, two collections of plays and a collection of poems and ballads.

Shabtai holds a unique place in Hebrew literature. His novel, Past Continuous, is considered one of the high points of modern Hebrew fiction. It received the Kenneth B. Smilen Award for Literature and is included in “The 100 Greatest Works of Modern Jewish Literature” (2001). In 2007, Past Continuous topped the list of the most important as well as “best loved” books since the creation of the State of Israel.

Yaakov Shabtai was awarded the prestigious Agnon Prize posthumously. His work has been published abroad in 10 languages.