The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature has revealed its 2025 shortlist, with four authors in contention for the award given annually to “an emerging writer who demonstrates the potential for continued contribution to the world of Jewish literature.”
Sasha Vasilyuk was named a finalist for Your Presence Is Mandatory, her debut novel about a Ukrainian artilleryman in World War II whose family discovers that his stories about his wartime experiences might not have been true.
Benjamin Resnick was shortlisted for Next Stop, which takes place after a black hole has consumed the country of Israel and antisemitism has gripped the world.
Toby Lloyd made the shortlist for Fervor, about a London family that suspects that a daughter is possessed, while Janice Weizman was named a finalist for Our Little Histories, which follows several generations in a Belarusian family.
Debra Goldberg, the prize’s director, said in a statement, “This year’s fiction finalists offer a remarkable range of Jewish stories—shaping memory, transmitting values and sustaining community across generations. We are honored to welcome these new voices into the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute.”
The Sami Rohr Prize, which comes with a cash award of $100,000, was established in 2007 and alternates yearly between fiction and nonfiction. The prize was named after the businessman and philanthropist who died in 2012.
Past winners include Gal Beckerman for When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone; Idra Novey for Ways To Disappear; and Benjamin Balint for Kafka’s Last Trial: The Case of a Literary Legacy. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced later this month.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
