Idra Novey Wins Sami Rohr Prize For Literature
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Idra Novey, author of the novel “Ways to Disappear,” won the 2017 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.
She takes home $100,000 for winning the prize, which was announced Wednesday by the Jewish Book Council at a ceremony at New York’s Jewish Museum.
Her book explores a translator’s search for a missing author in modern-day Brazil.
The runner-up, Daniel Torday, received the $18,000 Choice Award for “The Last Flight of Poxl West.”
The Rohr Prize, which has been given annually since 2007, considers works of fiction and nonfiction in alternating years.
It was created by the late businessman and philanthropist Sami Rohr to recognize emerging writers who articulate the Jewish experience as determined by a specific work, as well as the author’s potential to make significant ongoing contributions to Jewish literature.
Last year’s winner was Lisa Moses Leff, for her book “The Archive Thief: The Man Who Salvaged French Jewish History in the Wake of the Holocaust.”
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
