Young Jewish authors honoured in inaugural shortlist

The shortlist for the inaugural Young Jewish Writers Award has been revealed, with four notable authors representing a diverse range of literary topics and styles.

The award, sponsored by The Jewish Independent, is part of the new Australian Jewish Book Awards created by not-for-profit Shalom to recognise excellence in contemporary Jewish Australian writing.

“We were delighted to receive such an array of entries into the inaugural Shalom Australian Jewish Book Awards across many genres and are incredibly proud to announce the young writer’s award shortlist today. We created this award with TJI to support and invigorate our young Australian Jewish authors,” said Anna Stern, Shalom's deputy director of programs who initiated the project.

“We hope this award promotes their writing to new audiences and inspires a new generation of writers.”

The award was open to fiction, non-fiction and book chapters on a Jewish theme published in 2023 by a Jewish author aged 18-40. The shortlist was selected by a panel of three judges including critic and interviewer, Tali Lavi; writer and critic, Jonathan Seidler; and TJI’s events manager, Sharon Berger.

TJI’s publisher Uri Windt said sponsoring a book award was well-matched to the organisation’s mission, and is “thrilled to help promote young authors and advance their careers through this opportunity”.

“As a media organisation we are acutely aware of the power of words. Books and culture are as important as bricks and mortar. The breadth of works submitted is a tribute to the resilience of young authors, and the depth of talent in our community,” Windt said.