The Wingate Award for Unpublished Manuscripts (Jewish Subject) is generously supported by Investment Manager Wingate. “Wingate is a long-standing supporter of Jewish education, arts and culture. This award is an investment in nurturing emerging writers within the community, with the belief that literature has the power to inspire and transform lives. It strongly aligns to our purpose to ‘enlarge and enrich the lives of all with whom we interact’ and celebrates achievement. We are delighted to be supporting this important award,” said Wingate Founder and CEO, Farrel Meltzer.

Wingate, established in 2004, is a leading alternative investment manager focused on property debt, mid-market corporate debt and direct property investment.
www.wingate.com.au

The Wingate Award for Unpublished Manuscripts (Jewish Subject)

Prize: The winner will receive a monetary prize of $4,000, a mentorship with judge Lee Kofman, and will have their manuscript reviewed by Morry Schwartz, owner of Schwartz Publishing.

Submission guidelines

1. The award is open to writers of all levels – established, emerging and beginners.
2. Writers must submit all the following:
   • An excerpt from an unpublished manuscript of fiction or non-fiction (for adults, children or young adults) completed at least to a full first draft stage. The submitted excerpt must be between 8,000 and 10,000 words and be from the beginning of the manuscript.
   • A synopsis of the entire work (300 words maximum).
   • Writer’s professional CV (300 words maximum).
3. All submissions must include a completed registration form. This includes submitting a digital copy of the manuscript.
4. The topic of the manuscript must engage in some capacity with Jewish experience.
5. The manuscript must not be considered by the judges to be antisemitic in accordance with the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, including all illustrative examples.
6. The submitted manuscript should be unpublished in its entirety. For example, if the manuscript is an anthology or an academic work, previously published short stories or chapters may be included, however, the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
7. The author must be an Australian citizen, or ordinarily reside in Australia.
8. A book written by two or more authors and/or illustrators in collaboration will be eligible for consideration for the prize, with the prize being divided between the authors.
9. The judges reserve the right to refuse a submission which they consider does not meet the eligibility criteria.
10. The judges reserve the right not to award the prize in any year in the event of insufficient meritorious candidates.
11. The prize organisers reserve the right to call for submissions which they consider are eligible, but have not previously been submitted.
12. Posthumous submissions will not be accepted – all authors must be living at the time of submissions.
13. Authors must consent to their manuscript being submitted to the award.
14. Each author may submit one entry only.
15. All submissions must include a completed registration form. This includes submitting a digital copy of the manuscript.
16. Authors who are longlisted, shortlisted or award recipients will be expected to take part in media requests organised by Shalom. The winner may be expected to appear at an event for a live interview.

Please fill out the FORM to enter.

For further information about the award, please contact us at awards@shalom.edu.au or on +61 2 9381 4000

Winner: Michael Gawenda, My Life as a Jew

Shortlisted Authors:

• Deborah Conway, Book of Life
• Michael Gawenda, My Life as a Jew
• Rachelle Unreich, A Brilliant Life
• Karen Kirsten, Irena’s Gift
• Debbie Haski- Leventhal, Make it Meaningful
• Jonathan C Kaplan-Wajselbaum, Jews in Suits

Judges’ Comments

Deborah Conway, Book of Life – Not only has Deborah Conway lived a remarkably rich, creative and adventurous life, she also wrote about it in the same spirit of richness, creativity and adventure. Like her song lyrics that pepper this compelling book’s pages, Conway’s prose is sophisticated, poetic as well as hilarious at times, but never at the expense of depth. With fearless honesty and critical insight, Conway examines both the highs and the lows of her life – familial wounds, the magic of music and its creation, her loves and lusts, and the exhilarating precarity of an artist’s life. Book of Life is not only a book for music lovers, but for everyone who is in love with life, and who is committed to or seeks to live passionately.

Michael Gawenda, My Life as a Jew – My Life as a Jew is a bold, fearless, unapologetic, deeply personal and deeply intelligent exploration of Jewishness, of what it is like to be a Jew in today’s world of rampant antisemitism. Gawenda uses his personal experiences as a lens to trace the roots of the current explosion of antisemitic sentiments and, while doing so, he manages also to go outside of the particularities of Jewish experiences, engaging with universal questions of identity, belonging, the ethics of journalism and politics, the nature of evil and complicity. In the age of disinformation and instant opinions, it is precious to have this book whose author does not believe in euphemisms nor platitudes nor any other pseudointellectual shortcuts. Gawenda’s considered tone, backed by a lifetime of research experience and natural curiosity, his humility and his writerly possession of what Hemingway so aptly called ‘a built-in, shockproof, shit detector’ all make Gawenda’s writing feel like a breath of fresh air in the contemporary literary landscape.

Rachelle Unreich, A Brilliant Life – Among the overwhelming number of Holocaust survivor stories, Mira Unreich’s uniquely radiates positivity. As intimately shared by her journalist daughter, Rachelle, Mira always chose to focus on “the goodness of people” – the myriad of individuals who helped her survive rather than those intent on destroying her.

A tender and compelling study of grief and of love, A Brilliant Life offers multiple lessons about hope and restoration, faith and positivity in the face of crippling trauma. But more than that, it is a life story of uplifting spirit and healing, plus a supremely powerful testament of a mother’s and daughter’s love.

Karen Kirsten, Irena’s Gift – Not just an extraordinary Shoah story of resilience and sacrifice, Irena’s Gift is a lyrically written, gripping combination of family memoir and mystery stretching from Warsaw to Melbourne and Boston. It represents 10 years of the author’s meticulous research and determination to heal the wounds of her family’s past and uncover the mystery of her real grandparents’ identity and the puzzle surrounding her mother’s early years. While exposing family secrets and lies, Karen Kirsten explores feelings and conflicts about Jewish identity through three generations of women, brilliantly recreating her family’s history.

Debbie Haski- Leventhal, Make it Meaningful – Debbie Haski- Leventhal’s Make it Meaningful uses the arc of her own life to chart the pathways to a meaningful life. Her own life took her from growing up in a dysfunctional grieving family living in an ultra-orthodox cult without education to professorship at a prestigious business school. This journey alone makes for an emotional and satisfying ride for the reader.

Additionally, Debbie asks and answers life’s critical questions about what meaning each of us can create in life.

Using her academic research and life experiences, the author has created an extremely positive and clear guide to purpose and meaning in life. This book brings joy to any reader.

Jonathan C Kaplan-Wajselbaum, Jews in Suits – Jonathan C Kaplan-Wajselbaum’s Jews in Suits uses the frame of men’s fashion to give detail, colour and context to the rise of Vienna’s Jews from a few thousand people in 1857 to more than 200,000 between the World Wars.

In that time this community gave the world Freud, Herzl, Stefan Zweig and Arthur Schnitzler and many other giants. The book brilliantly captures so much of the broad trends of Central and Eastern European Jewish life from 1890 to the eve of its destruction.

Lovers of detail and deep thought will luxuriate in the fibre, flair and fashion in this impressive work.

The Leslie and Sophie Caplan Award for Jewish Non-Fiction has been generously donated by the Caplan Family to honour the memory of their parents, pillars of the Sydney Jewish community who had a keen interest in modern Jewish history and literature. In thinking about their parents, Leslie and Sophie’s family shared “Leslie and Sophie were both living embodiments of the description of the Jews as the ‘People of the Book’. Inspiring the establishment of the Australian Jewish Book Award is a small and fitting tribute to them as both readers and published authors.”

Leslie Caplan AM and Sophie Caplan OAM were leaders in Sydney’s Jewish Community from their teens until the decade before their respective deaths. Together and individually, they led numerous organisations and helped establish institutions in Sydney’s Jewish community.

Leslie was President or Chairman of the following different organisations : Executive Council of Australian Jewry ( roof body of the Australian Jewish community), the NSW Jewish Board of deputies ( roof body of NSW Jewish community), Jewish Communal Appeal, Masada College, North Shore Synagogue, the Jewish Cemetery Trust and the Australian Zionist Youth Council.

Sophie was President and founder of the Australian Jewish Genealogical Society and the Australian Jewish Historical Society. Sophie was also the the instigator of the Hans Kimmel Essay Competition and for the competition’s first 40 years was author of the questions, chose the prize winners and paid for the prizes.

In addition to their joint active roles in the foundation of Masada College, Leslie is recognised as the catalyst for the establishment of Mount Sinai College.

In addition to their leadership roles in Sydney’s Jewish Community, they embodied the concept of the Jews as the people of the book. They were both avid lifelong readers, amassing a large library which required a home extension to house the collection. Each had their own written work published. It is truely fitting that the prize for Australian Jewish non fiction is named after Leslie and Sophie Caplan.

Prize: $10,000, an on-stage interview at the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival (SJWF)

Submission Guidelines

1. A book in one of the following categories: Jewish studies, autobiography, biography, memoir, history, or journalism.
2. The topic of the book must be of significant relevance to the Jewish experience and must not be considered by the judges to be antisemitic in accordance with the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, including all illustrative examples.
3. The book must be published during the 2023 calendar year.
4. Final copies, galleys or bound manuscripts will be accepted. Books only published as e-books will also be accepted, as are books that have been self-published.
5. The book must be distributed in Australia.
6. The author must be an Australian citizen, or ordinarily reside in Australia.
7. A book written by two or more authors in collaboration will be eligible for consideration for the prize, with the prize being divided between the authors.
8. The judges reserve the right to refuse a submission which they consider does not meet the eligibility criteria.
9. The judges reserve the right not to award the prize in any year in the event of insufficient meritorious candidates.
10. The prize organisers reserve the right to call for submissions which they consider are eligible, but have not previously been submitted.
11. Posthumous submissions will not be accepted – all authors must be living at the time of submissions.
12. Translations will be accepted if the English translation is published during the award dates of submission. The prize will be shared between author and translator. The eligibility criteria apply to original author and not the translator.
13. Anthologies or collections with articles or essays by a single author previously published will be accepted.
14. Authors or publishers must consent to their book being submitted to the award.
15. There is no limit as to the number of submissions an author or publisher may make.
16. All submissions must include a completed registration form, a digital copy of the book and five printed copies of the book. Hard copies of books submitted will not be returned.
17. Authors who are longlisted, shortlisted or award recipients will be expected to take part in media requests organised by Shalom. The winner will be expected to appear at the SJWF for a live interview.

Entries for the 2023 Book Awards have now closed. Thank you for your submissions.
If you submitted an entry, we will be in touch via email in the coming months. Winners will be announced at this year’s Sydney Jewish Writers Festival (21-25 August 2024).
For further enquiries, please email awards@shalom.edu.au  or phone 02 9381 4000.

Winner: Dr Anna Jacobson, Anxious in a Sweet Store

Shortlisted authors:

• Dr Anna Jacobson, Anxious in a Sweet Store

• Melissa Levi, We Need to Talk About Ageing

• Dr Roz Bellamy, Mood

• Tami Sussman, So That Happened … But Maybe You Already Knew That 

Judges’ Comments

Roz Bellamy, Mood – Roz Bellamy’s candid and touching memoir is one of true vulnerability as the writer shares their challenging mental health journey. Roz is a first-generation Jewish Australian who identifies as non-binary. They share a harrowing journey towards better understanding of their self and the nature of mental illness. The loneliness of experience documented in Mood is uncomfortably honest but should inspire others impacted by mental health challenges for, as Roz reveals, even from such dark depths better possibilities might flow.

Anna Jacobson, Anxious in a Sweet Store – A stunning collection of vital and inventive poetry that deftly moves between themes of mental health and recovery and the singular feeling of growing up Jewish in modern Australia. Sizzles with inventiveness, both in form and content.

Melissa Levi, We Need to Talk About Ageing – Clinical psychologist Melissa Levi wisely and compassionately guides the reader through the complex and often fear-inducing terrain of ageing and caring for the aged. Graceful in spirit and execution, this game changing book offers tools for agency. Levi’s research is comprehensive; she engages with recent medical and neurological research and deftly allows for a philosophical viewpoint. Reminding us to anchor ourselves in the present, whilst equipping us to plan for the future, it is history that guides her. For it is the profound relationship with her inimitable Zaida that she draws upon as a lodestar. This gift of a book emerges from knowledge accrued from the writer’s familial story and her own years of work in the field. We Need to Talk About Ageing carries the potential to transform moments of pain, hopelessness and isolation into understanding, recognition and a life well lived within the parameters of the real.

Tami Sussman, So That Happened … But Maybe You Already Knew That – Tami Sussman’s quirky junior fiction novel engages readers of all ages. Charting the ups and downs of Natalie’s bat mitzvah year it playfully grapples with the universal themes of religion, family and friendship steeped within a deeply Jewish lens. It engages with the expected adolescent angst around best friends and party dresses, but its beauty is in its ability to authentically discuss complexities including mental health, transgender issues and Holocaust trauma. This immersive and easy read is a must for all young adults and those young at heart.

The Jewish Independent Young Jewish Writers Award has been generously donated by The Jewish Independent publisher Uri Windt. “As a media organisation we are acutely aware of the power of words. Books and culture are as important as bricks and mortar. We are thrilled to help promote young authors advance their careers through this opportunity.” The Jewish Independent provides an independent voice on Australia, Israel and the Jewish world.

Prize: $5,000, an on-stage interview at the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival (SJWF)

Submission Guidelines

1. A book of fiction or non-fiction, or a chapter in a book of fiction or non-fiction.
2. The book must include a Jewish theme/s and must not be considered by the judges to be antisemitic in accordance with the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, including all illustrative examples.
3. The author must be aged between 18 – 40 at the time of publication.
4. The author must identify as Jewish.
5. The book must be published during the 2023 calendar year.
6. Final copies, galleys or bound manuscripts will be accepted. Books only published as e-books will also be accepted, as are books that have been self-published.
7. The book must be distributed in Australia.
8. The author must be an Australian citizen, or ordinarily reside in Australia.
9. A book or chapter written by two or more authors in collaboration will be eligible for consideration for the prize, with the prize being divided between the authors.
10. The judges reserve the right to refuse a submission which they consider does not meet the eligibility criteria.
11. The judges reserve the right not to award the prize in any year in the event of insufficient meritorious candidates.
12. The prize organisers reserve the right to call for submissions which they consider are eligible, but have not previously been submitted.
13. Posthumous submissions will not be accepted – all authors must be living at the time of submissions.
14. Translations will be accepted if the English translation is published during the award dates of submission. The prize will be shared between author and translator. The eligibility criteria apply to original author and not the translator.
15. Anthologies or collections with articles or essays by a single author previously published will be accepted.
16. Authors or publishers must consent to their book being submitted to the award.
17. There is no limit as to the number of submissions an author or publisher may make.
18. All submissions must include a completed registration form, a digital copy of the book and four printed copies of the book. Hard copies of books submitted will not be returned.
19. Authors who are longlisted, shortlisted or award recipients will be expected to take part in media requests organised by Shalom. The winner will be expected to appear at the SJWF for a live interview.

Entries for the 2023 Book Awards have now closed. Thank you for your submissions.
If you submitted an entry, we will be in touch via email in the coming months. Winners will be announced at this year’s Sydney Jewish Writers Festival (21-25 August 2024).
For further enquiries, please email awards@shalom.edu.au  or phone 02 9381 4000.