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Jewish Book Council Announces 2019 National Jewish Book Awards Winners

Bari Weiss, Deborah Lipstadt, and Etgar Keret receive honors; Tablet’s Newish Jewish Encyclopedia is a finalist.

by
The Editors
January 15, 2020
(Shutterstock)Newish Jewish Encyclopedia
(Shutterstock)(Shutterstock)Newish Jewish Encyclopedia
(Shutterstock)Newish Jewish Encyclopedia
(Shutterstock)(Shutterstock)Newish Jewish Encyclopedia

The Jewish Book Council has announced the winners of the 2019 National Jewish Book Awards, and Tablet’s The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar’s and Everything in Between, is a finalist.

Pamela S. Nadell wins the Everett Family Foundation Book of the Year for America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today. You can listen to her discussing the book with Unorthodox here.

Bari Weiss wins the Myra H. Kraft Memorial Award for Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice for How to Fight Anti-Semitism (hear her discussing the book on Unorthodox here), and Deborah Lipstadt’s Antisemitism: Here and Now has been recognized with the Jewish Education and Identity Award.

In Fiction, Etgar Keret’s Fly Already wins JJ Greenberg Memorial Award Michael for Fiction, and Sarah Blake wins the Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction for Naamah. A finalist in that category is Taffy Brodesser-Akner for Fleishman Is In Trouble; you can listen to her discussing the book here.

Alice Hoffman’s The World That We Knew is the recipient of The Miller Family Book Club Award. Finalist Sarah Blake discusses her novel The Guest House here.

Dani Shapiro wins The Krauss Family Autobiography & Memoir Award for Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love. She talks to Tablet’s Stephanie Butnick about the book here.

Robert Alter receives a Lifetime Achievement Award for The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. Adam Kirsch offered his appreciation of the decades-long project here.

In the poetry category, Ilya Kaminsky receives the Berru Award in Mem­o­ry of Ruth and Bernie Weinflash for his collection of poems, Deaf Republic. Read Jake Marmer’s review of the collection here.

The inaugural Jane and Stuart Weitzman Family Award for Food Writing and Cookbooks goes to Jewish Cuisine in Hungary: A Cultural History with 83 Authentic Recipes by András Koerner. Finalists in this category include Einat Admony’s Shuk: From Market to Table, the Heart of Israeli Home Cooking (try her Crispy Cauliflower with Bamba and Tahini Sauce here), Adeena Sussman’s Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen (which she discussed on Unorthodox), and Boris Fishman’s Savage Feast: Three Generations, Two Continents, and a Dinner Table (read an excerpt here).

The full list of 2019 National Jewish Book Award winners and finalists can be found here. The winners will be honored at an awards dinner March 17, 2020; you can purchase tickets here.

From the editors of Tablet Magazine.