Howard Jacobson and Rose Tremain on JQ Wingate Prize long-list
Fourteen authors selected from over 70 entries will compete for the prize which recognises the best books to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader
Bosnian-American, British, Israeli, Palestinian and German authors are among those on the long-list for the 2017 Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize, announced today.
Fourteen authors selected from over 70 entries will compete for the £4,000 prize - celebrating its 40th anniversary - which recognises the best books - fiction or nonfiction – to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader.
Eight non-fiction works feature on the list - two memoirs, one biography and the five histories.
Among the writers nominated is the late David Cesarani for his short history of the Holocaust, Final Solution.
Howard Jacobson is listed for his novel Shylock is My Name, a modern re-imagining of one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters.
Also in contention are Ian Buruma's novel Their Promised Land: My Grandparents in Love and War, tells the story of his grandparents love through two world wars, are Rose Tremain's The Gustav Sonata, a novel exploring the friendship between two boys, one Jewish, one not.
This year’s judging panel is made up by award-winning playwright Amy Rosenthal, Granta Best of British Young Novelist Joanna Kavenna, Jewish Quarterly literary editor Natasha Lehrer and panel chair Professor Bryan Cheyette.
“The entries this year were of a very high calibre and we debated long and hard over who to include on the list," said Prof Cheyette.
“However, we believe we have a long-list which is diverse and of an enormously high quality, reaching across a variety of genres and countries.
“There is also a rich selection of innovative non-fiction - World War Two histories told from a German viewpoint, or told from the perspective of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust; powerful accounts of post-war Polish attitudes to Jews; as well as definitive biographies and compelling historical memoirs.
“Many of the themes and histories covered are live issues which will connect directly with the concerns of the present-day reader.”
The winner will be announced on February 23 at JW3.
The Long List:
The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa
The Crime and the Silence by Anna Bikont
Their Promised Land: My Grandparents in Love and War by Ian Buruma
Raoul Wallenberg: The Biography by Ingrid Carlberg
Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews 1933-1949 by David Cesarani
In Gratitude by Jenny Diski
Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
After One Hundred and Twenty: Reflecting on Death, Mourning and the Afterlife in the Jewish Tradition by Hillel Halkin
The Making of Zombie Wars by Aleksandar Hemon
Shylock is My Name by Howard Jacobson
All for Nothing by Walter Kempowski
East West Street by Philippe Sands
The German War: A Nation Under Arms by Nicholas Stargardt
