Were you a book award judge?

The Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize, sponsored by the Harold Hyam Wingate Charitable Foundation, recognises a major work by a Jewish or non-Jewish author, that stimulates interest in themes of Jewish concern among a wider reading public.

This year the prize was judged by Francine Stock, Janet Suzman, Norman Lebrecht and Bernard Kops. On the short list was Missing Kissinger by Etgar Keret (Paperback) Chatto, Secret by Philippe Grimbert (Paperback) Portobello, Bernard Malamud: A Writer’s Life by Philip Davis (Hardback) OUP and 1967 by Tom Segev – Abacus.

The winner was announced on 7th May as Etgar Keret for Missing Kissinger

This year the JCC ran a “Readers’ Prize” which ran in parallel with the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize and invited readers to take part in the judging process. The deadline for voting forms was 5th May and we can now announce that the JCC Jewish Quarterly Wingate Reader’s Prize winner for 2008 is Philippe Grimbert for Secret.

Philippe Grimbert comments:
It is a great honour and a great joy for me to receive the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Readers’ Prize! The prizes that I have received before have all been readers’ prizes, prizes from the heart, you could say; they show me the extent to which the emotion that I felt while writing Secret has been discovered and shared by readers as they have turned the pages. I am so grateful to you and to those who have given me their vote: thanks to you, and thanks to them, the lovely adventure of my novel goes on!

To learn more about Etgar Keret see Lit Café on 22nd May.