Wingate 2020 long-list includes Howard Jacobson and Linda Grant books
Judges establish the final 12 books from 70 entries for the annual Jewish literary prize to be announced in March
The long-list for the 2020 Wingate Prize for Jewish literature has been announced, with books by Howard Jacobson and Linda Grant among the dozen in the running.
Both fiction and non-fiction are considered for the £4,000 prize which is awarded to the best book to “translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader,” and this week’s 12 were whittled down from 70 entries.
Jacobson’s ‘Live a Little’ has been described as a “bitterly funny observation of the terror and humiliations of falling in love in old age” while Grant’s ‘A Stranger City’ is a portrait of Brexit-wracked London.
Both books have a tangible Jewish connection – Grant’s character ‘Francesca’ has Persian Jewish grandparents, while Jacobson’s book follows a character called Shimi Carmelli in Finchley.
Other authors to make the long list include Alba Arikha, Benjamin Balint, Nathan Englander, Ayalet Gundar-Goshen, Jacques Semelin, Dan Shapiro, Gary Shteyngart, Magda Szabo, Georges Szirtes and Eric Vuillard.
Themes for the 2020 prize were summed up as “identity, loss, love and last chances” with the judging panel comprising novelists Roopa Farooki and Kim Sherwood, educator and panel chair Clive Lawton, and human rights lawyer Philippe Sands QC.
Lawton said: “It remains very heartening that there are so many books published each year that contain aspects of Jewish insights. We put aside many books that we judges are still promising ourselves we will want to read again at more leisure.”
The long-list includes topics ranging from the plight of French Jewry during the war to “the quotidian-reality of ever-increasing elderly age for so many of us,” as Lawton explained that the panel asked itself: would we recommend this to friends?
The short list will be announced in early February and the winner will be announced at an event at the JW3 culture centre on 16 March 2020.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
