We are delighted to team up the Woolf Institute to award the first ever Peter Gilbert Prize. This brand new literary honour will be given to the writer of the best article from the archive of Jewish Renaissance magazine, as judged by an expert panel.

“This award should engage the contribution of the Jewish creative spirit to the intellectual and artistic life of the 20th century,” said Adam Glinsman, who established the prize, which is named for his much-loved uncle. “Jewish Renaissance seemed a perfect partner, sharing as it does the same central aspiration.”

All candidates were drawn from essays published in the magazine, spanning the written word and performing arts from any part of the world. We were especially looking for authors who explored lesser known contributions or used novel ways of contextualising the more illustrious members of the Jewish artistic community.

The inaugural Peter Gilbert Prize also celebrates 20 years of JR, as well as raising awareness and vital funds to support the next 20. We are running a match funding campaign from Friday 8 – Monday 11 July, during which all donations made via our Charity Extra page will be doubled. So for every £1 donated, JR will receive £2. Please give whatever you can afford. Every penny will be put to good use in making sure that our work, spreading the word about Jewish culture and communities around the world, has a depth and resilience that will endure.

THE 2022 Peter Gilbert Prize-WINNER:

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2022 Peter Gilbert Prize is Shalom Auslander (pictured below) for his imaginative, humourous and perceptive insight into Franz Kafka and the great writer's relationship with his home city, Prague. “As an old school, self-styled ‘north London Jewish intellectual’, Gilbert adored Kafka,” said Glinsman. “His one semi-autobiographical novel was even described by Eva Hoffman as “Kafka meets Italo Svevo”. Auslander writes about the centrality of Kafka's Jewishness, and Gilbert held that close too, despite being at the same time devoutly secular.”

New York novelist Auslander will receive £1,000 and a dinner in his honour, plus an invitation to give a lecture at the Woolf Institute.

(click to read)

THE SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES:

  • Helga Abraham on Israeli writers Amos and Fania Oz, January 2013. In an exclusive interview between father and daughter, the Israeli-based writer hears about how and why they write and their new theory of the Jewish people.

  • Linda Grant on the centenary of American novelist Saul Bellow, July 2015. In a short essay that crackles with wit and passion for her subject, the novelist offers a warm but candid assessment of Bellow's legacy.

  • Timothy Snyder on Ukraine’s Jewish frontier, October 2015. In this thoughtful piece, which avoids becoming overly dry or academic, the American historian unpicks the social and political background to Ukraine's relationship with Russia.

  • Judi Herman on German artist Charlotte Salomon, April 2017. JR’s arts editor movingly discusses Salomon’s work and why it continues to resonate so strongly today.

  • George Szirtes on rising antisemitism in Hungary, October 2017. The writer and poet evocatively interweaves his personal story with that of contemporary Hungary.

  • Amelia Glaser on the Jewish identity of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, July 2019. This American academic demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the background of Zelensky and explores her subject from a distinctive and original angle at a time when the subject was receiving little attention.

  • Ayelet Gundar-Goshen on the fate of the Israeli elections, July 2019. Writing with force and passion, this Israeli novelist beautifully articulates the concerns of writers and artists in the lead up to another round of elections in Israel.

  • Shulamit Morris-Evans on the Jewish chapter of Extinction Rebellion, October 2019. This young writer fiercely articulates the reasons she is ready to break the law in order to highlight the climate emergency.

  • David Herman on Polish-British artist Josef Herman, October 2019. The British journalist writes movingly and perceptively about the art of his father, the painter Josef Herman, and attempts to uncover a mystery at the heart of his work.

  • Pam Peled on the women of Kuchinate, July 2020. We love this Israeli writer's distinctive and animated writing style. In this article she focuses on a cooperative of African women who are weaving baskets to create expressive and moving artwork.

  • Samantha Baskind on removing controversial monuments, October 2020. Here, the young American academic writes engagingly and persuasively about a complex cultural question, and proposes an original approach to the issue.

the judges:

  • Rebecca Taylor, editor of Jewish Renaissance

  • Adam Glinsman, founder of the Peter Gilbert Prize and long-time friend and supporter of the Woolf Institute

  • Dr Esther-Miriam Wagner, executive director of the Woolf Institute

  • Dr Ed Kessler, founder director of the Woolf Institute

We hope you enjoy reading the winning piece. Check back soon for details of the 2023 Peter Gilbert Prize.

Peter Gilbert

Presented in association with the Woolf Institute.