Israeli writer Yaniv Iczkovits’ sweeping historical novel – The Slaughterman’s Daughter – has won the 2021 Wingate Literary Prize.
Described by critics as ‘highly relevant and resonant today’ despite its 19th Century setting, Iczkovits’ third novel, translated by Orr Scharf, was chosen from a short list which also includes: House of Glass by Hadley Freeman; On Division by Goldie Goldbloom; Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb; Apeirogon by Colum McCann; When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann, and We are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Now in its 44th year, the Wingate Literary prize, worth £4,000 and run in association with JW3, is awarded to the best book, fiction or non-fiction, to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader.
This year’s judging panel was comprised of former Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner; broadcaster, writer and film-maker Bidisha; Booker-shortlisted author and Economist magazine culture editor A.D. Miller; and award-winning biographer and historian Anne Sebba.
The 2021 winner was announced during an online event with JW3, featuring the BBC’s Emily Kasriel in conversation with the judges and the short-listed authors.