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Book Council Announces Awards for Best Jewish Books of Year

May 23, 1963
See Original Daily Bulletin From This Date
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“The Slave,” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, was selected today for the $250 Harry and Ethel Daroff Memorial Fiction Award of the Jewish Book Council as the outstanding English-language work of fiction of Jewish interest published in the United States during 1962.

The award was one of six carrying cash prizes totaling $950 for the best Jewish books of 1962 in fiction, non-fiction, poetry and Juvenile fields presented at the annual meeting of the National Jewish Welfare Boards Book Council here.

“The Promised City,” by Dr. Moses Rischin, received the first Frank and Ethel S. Cohen non fiction award, a prize of $250. The $250 Isaac Siegel Memorial Award for the best Jewish juvenile in English was awarded to Josephine kamm for her “Return to Freedom.” The two $100 Harry and Florence Kovner Awards for Jewish poetry were awarded to “By the Waters of Manhattan,” by Charles Reznikoff for poetry in English; and to “Der Mentsh Fun Fier” by Chaim Grade for Yiddish poetry.

Nine libraries were cited by the Jewish Book Council for having met the Council’s stated criteria for a Jewish library. They were the libraries of the Oakland (N. Y. ) Jewish Center, the Hillcrest Jewish Center, Jamaica, N.Y., Fairmount Temple, Cleveland, Temple Sinai of Lawrence, N. Y., Temple Beth El of Phoenix, Temple Israel of Swampscott, Mass. , the Ada L. Goldberg Library of Temple Emanuel of Westwood, N.J., the Lewis E.Flax Library of Lincoln Park Jewish Center of Yonkers, N. Y. , and Temple Israel of West Palm Beach, Florida.

The book council also honored Solomon Kirstein, its vice-president and vice-president of Bloch Publishing Company, for his “dedicated service to the Council since its inception” and for his contributions to Jewish culture and traditional Jewish education. Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman of Lawrence, N. Y., Council president, presided.

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