Five authors named finalist for Sami Rohr Prize

Five authors from three countries were named the finalists for the 2013 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.

The Jewish Book Council on Wednesday announced the nominees for their works of Jewish fiction.

The nominees are Shani Boianjiu, for “The People Of Forever Are Not Afraid”; Ben Lerner for “Leaving Atocha Station”; Stuart Nadler for ” The Book of Life”; Asaf Schurr for “Motti,”  translated by Todd Hasak Lowy; and Francesca Segal for “The Innocents.”

The winner of the $100,000 award created by the late businessman and philanthropist Sami Rohr will be announced in April.

“With this award we are carrying forward Sami Rohr’s legacy and his vision of supporting emerging authors so that Jewish literature will thrive for generations,” said Carolyn Starman Hessel, director of the Jewish Book Council, in a statement.

The Rohr Prize has been given annually since 2007 and considers works of fiction and nonfiction in alternating years.

Gal Beckerman, the opinion page editor for the Jewish Daily Forward, won last year's award for his nonfiction book “When They Come For Us, We'll Be Gone,” a chronicle of the Jewish struggle to emigrate from the Soviet Union.