The 2021 Wingate Literary Prize long list has been announced, with a range of books selected exploring themes from climate change to the Holocaust.
Four novels and eight non-fiction works are in the running to receive the 44th annual prize worth £4,000, run in association with JW3.
The long-listed books are: Jewish Treasures from Oxford Libraries by Rebecca Abrams and César Merchán-Hamann; The Guest Book by Sarah Blake; Survivors by Rebecca Clifford; House of Glass by Hadley Freeman; On Division by Goldie Goldbloom; The Slaughterman’s Daughter by Yaniv Iczkovits; Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb; Apeirogon by Colum McCann; When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann; We are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer; Along the Amber Route: St Petersberg to Venice by CJ Schüler; and We Fight Fascists by Daniel Sonabend.
The judging panel is chaired by former Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism Laura Janner-Klausner alongside broadcaster, writer and film-maker Bidisha, author and Economist magazine culture editor AD Miller and award-winning biographer and historian Anne Sebba.
Authors nominated for the award
Rabbi Janner-Klausner, said: “Wingate is about exploring Judaism in a way that is interesting and accessible to the general reader and I believe the long list reflects this, with a healthy balance of different themes among the 12 books selected.
“We feel it really is an excellent reflection of the breadth of Jewish life; it is this diversity which I believe makes it such a strong list. Especially this year, such great literature provides inspiration and joy when we need it most.”
The short-list for the prize will be announced at the end of January and the winner will be announced in late-February.
Novelist Linda Grant won the 2020 Wingate Literary Prize for her “love letter to London life”, A Stranger City.
