On December 2, 2024, the Wingate Foundation revealed the longlist for the 2025 Wingate Literary Prize. This selection features seven novels and seven works of nonfiction, showcasing a wide array of perspectives on the Jewish experience. From contemporary fiction to historical biographies, these works present a rich tapestry of narratives.
The Wingate Literary Prize, established in 1977, is awarded annually to the best book, whether fiction or nonfiction, that best conveys the idea of Jewishness to a general readership. Run in association with JW3, the Jewish Community Centre in London, the prize celebrates works of literary excellence that explore Jewish themes or topics of Jewish interest. The winner receives a £4,000 prize.
This year’s longlist includes:
- My Family by David Baddiel (HarperCollins)
- The Postcard by Anne Berest, translated by Tina Kover (Europa Editions)
- Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Wildfire)
- Final Verdict by Tobias Buck (Orion)
- Spinoza by Ian Buruma (Yale University Press)
- Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni, translated by Paul Olchvary (Jonathan Cape)
- Time’s Echo by Jeremy Eichler (Faber)
- Eight Bright Lights by Sara Gibbs (Headline)
- Elena: A Hand Made Life by Miriam Gold (Jonathan Cape)
- Fervour by Toby Lloyd (Hodder)
- Sufferance by Charles Palliser (Guernica Editions)
- Alfred Dreyfus by Maurice Samuels (Yale University Press)
- The Safekeep by Yael van Der Wouden (Viking)
- Lublin by Manya Wilkinson (And Other Stories)
Erica Wagner, chair of the judging panel, remarked:
“Choosing fourteen books from the submissions we received was no easy task: the quality of the works we read was extraordinary. But we believe this diverse and engaging selection fully meets the Wingate Prize’s aim of conveying the breadth and depth of the Jewish experience in fiction and nonfiction. From vividly illustrated memoirs to sharp contemporary novels and deeply researched histories, the 2025 Wingate Prize longlist offers joy, intelligence, and illumination.”
The judging panel this year includes:
- Erica Wagner (Chair): Author of Mary and Mr Eliot: A Sort Of Love Story, she served as literary editor of The Times of London for seventeen years and is a contributor to the New Statesman.
- Keiron Pim: Author of two biographies, Endless Flight: the Life of Joseph Roth and Jumpin’ Jack Flash: David Litvinoff and the Rock’n’Roll Underworld.
- Rabbi Zahavit Shalev: Rabbi at the New North London Synagogue, ordained at Leo Baeck College in 2019.
- Alice Sherwood: Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, and author of Authenticity: Reclaiming Reality in a Counterfeit Culture.
This year, the Wingate Prize is partnering with the Jewish Literary Foundation, an organization founded in 1947 as the Jewish Book Council. It is now the UK’s foremost platform for Jewish literature and ideas, including the long-standing Jewish Book Week festival.
The shortlist will be announced at the end of January, and the winner will be revealed in late February, with an award ceremony scheduled during Jewish Book Week on March 8.
