Sophie Brody Award

I. Background to the Award.

The Sophie Brody award was created in 2006 to honor a U.S. author that has made an exemplary contribution to Jewish literature for adults.  This award is given by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) and funded by the Arthur Brody and Brodart Foundation (RUSA, Sophie Brody Award). Authors of fiction and non-fiction works centered on the Jewish experience are eligible to receive this award.  The award was named after Sophie Brody for her major contributions to the Jewish community.  With her husband Arthur, Sophie founded the Sophie Brody Leadership Development Fund to train the future leaders of the Jewish community. The seal depicts the bust of Sophie Brody.  The gold seal is for the award winner and the silver seal is for the honorable mentions.

II. Award Winners.

2007:

• Award:

• The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn (Harper Perennial, 2007).

   

• Honorable Mention:

   

  • The World To Come by Dara Horn (W. W. Norton, 2006).

  • The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan (Bloomsbury USA, 2007).

  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006).

2006:

• Award:

   

  • Talking to the Enemy by Avner Mandelman (Seven Stories Press, 2006).

     

• Honorable Mention:

   

  • Born to Kvetch by Michael Wex, (St. Martin's, 2006).

  • Not Me by Michael Lavigne (Random House, 2006).

  • The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss (Random House, 2006).

   

(List adapted from RUSA, Sophie Brody Award).

III. Resources.

Amazon.com. (2008).  Sophie Brody Award for Outstanding Achievement in Jewish literature. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from: http://www.amazon.com/Sophie-Outstanding-Achievement-Jewish-Literature/lm/R2C4GOFKPKWQC4/ref=cm_lmt_srch_f_1_rsrsrs0

LibraryJournal.com. (2007). Sophie Brody Awards: Celebrating Distinguished Contributions to Jewish Literature.. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6413480.html

Reference and User Services. (2008). Sophie Brody Award. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from: http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/protools/sophiebrodyaward/sbrodymedal.cfm