National Jewish Book Awards

なしょなる・ゆだや・ぶっく・しょう

The longest-running North American literary awards program in the field of Jewish literature, presented by the Jewish Book Council across more than eighteen categories.

American Jewish StudiesAutobiography and MemoirBiographyBook Club AwardChildren's Picture BookContemporary Jewish Life and PracticeDebut FictionEducation and Jewish IdentityFictionFood Writing & CookbooksHebrew Fiction in TranslationHistoryHolocaustHolocaust Memoir AwardMiddle Grade LiteratureModern Jewish Thought and ExperiencePoetryScholarshipSephardic CultureWomen's StudiesWriting Based on Archival MaterialYoung Adult LiteratureEverett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year AwardMentorship Award

Established: 1950
Organizer: Jewish Book Council
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call / Recommendation
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Application Deadline: around September
Announcement Period: around February–March
Status: Active

Description

The National Jewish Book Awards (established 1950) is the longest-running award program in North America for Jewish literature, organized by the Jewish Book Council. In addition to category-specific awards, since 2002, the Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year Award targeting non-fiction has been selected. Judging is handled by committees per category, and winners are typically announced every January. Related prominent awards include the Sami Rohr Prize (operated by JBC 2006–2020).

Prize

Main Prize: Awards and honors by category (usually not primarily monetary prizes). Related awards may include prize money.

Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year Award (annual special award since 2002)
Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature (collaborated with JBC 2006–2020, up to $100,000 in the past)
Increased recognition from winning and PR support from JBC

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Submission/Nomination	Accepts submissions and nominations from publishers and authors (details per JBC guidelines)	—	Application reception managed by JBC. Eligibility determined based on submission rules.
Category-specific judging (preliminary and final)	Judging committees composed of experts, scholars, writers, etc., per category conduct evaluations	—	Category winners are announced on JBC website, press releases, and annual ceremony
Book of the Year (special selection)	Special committees in collaboration with Everett Family Foundation etc. may conduct selection	—	Book of the Year is selected separately and announced by JBC

Submission/Nomination

Judges Accepts submissions and nominations from publishers and authors (details per JBC guidelines)

Announcement Application reception managed by JBC. Eligibility determined based on submission rules.

Category-specific judging (preliminary and final)

Judges Judging committees composed of experts, scholars, writers, etc., per category conduct evaluations

Announcement Category winners are announced on JBC website, press releases, and annual ceremony

Book of the Year (special selection)

Judges Special committees in collaboration with Everett Family Foundation etc. may conduct selection

Announcement Book of the Year is selected separately and announced by JBC

Criteria

Literary value and quality of expression
Contribution to Jewish culture and history
Originality (uniqueness)
Rigor of research and sources (for non-fiction)
Suitability to category and appeal to readers

Application Tips

Dos

Carefully review the submission guidelines and category descriptions first
Clearly demonstrate that the submission fits the category
Obtain recommendations or cooperation from publishers or editors (if possible)
Organize summary, abstract, and samples in a readable manner
Meet deadlines and comply with submission formats (file types, page limits, etc.)

Don''ts

Submit incomplete manuscripts or formats not matching requirements
Make duplicate submissions to multiple categories violating rules
Submit works with unclear rights (translation rights, etc.)
Leave descriptions or summaries unclear so judges don't understand

From Judges

Emphasize not only depth of Jewish themes but also quality of expression and storytelling
Show originality and proper positioning relative to existing research and literature
Clear themes aligned with category and appeal to readers are important
Make submissions concise and professional for easy judging