In the past 60 years, the Jewish Book Council has awarded over 550 authors the National Jewish Book Award or Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. These prestigious awards recognize outstanding literature in the field and aim to encourage authors to continue to write on themes of Jewish interest.
The National Jewish Book Awards is the longest running awards program of its kind in the field of Jewish literature and is recognized as the most prestigious. The awards, presented by category, are designed to give recognition to outstanding books, to stimulate writers to further literary creativity and to encourage the reading of worthwhile titles.
The Sami Rohr Prize recognizes the unique role of contemporary writers in the transmission and examination of Jewish life today and throughout the ages. The Prize is designed to encourage and promote outstanding emerging writers who will make a significant contribution to Jewish literature. The $100,000 Prize, the largest monetary prize in the field, is presented to fiction and non-fiction writers in alternating years.