2014 Sami Rohr Prize finalists announced

The five finalists for the 2014 Sami Rohr Prize have been announced, and I was thrilled to hear that The Aleppo Codex is one of them. The Rohr Prize is the biggest in the world of Jewish literature, and one of the biggest in general.

This year’s other finalists are Jews and Booze: Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition, by Marni Davis; Embodying Hebrew Culture: Aesthetics, Athletics, and Dance in the Jewish Community of Mandate Palestine, by Nina S. Spiegel; Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism, by Sarah Bunin Benor; and Eliyahu Stern’s The Genius: Elijah of Vilna and the Making of Modern Judaism.

The prize goes to emerging authors of fiction and non-fiction in alternating years. Last year was a fiction year, and the winner was Francesca Segal for The Innocents.

Tablet Magazine’s piece on the announcement is here. And there’s more on the prize here, at the Jewish Book Council’s website.