Nava Macmel-Atir ( he, נאוה מקמל-עתיר; born 27 August 1964) is an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

author, playwright and poet. She is best known for her books ''Adi's Jewel'' (Hebrew: העדי של עדי) and ''

Ot me-Avshalom Ot me-Avshalom (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום Translation: A Letter from Avshalom or A Sign from Avshalom) is a novel by Israelis, Israeli author Nava Macmel-Atir published by Yediot Books in 2009. The book quickly became a best-seller, and Macme ...

'' (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום).

Biography

Nava Macmel-Atir was born in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Literary career

In her twenties Macmel-Atir wrote poetry for a children's column in

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

newspaper. On Yom Hazikaron (Israel's National Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism) 1990, "7 Days" (Hebrew: שבעה ימים), the weekend supplement of the paper, published an interview with her about her poem "Micha Shuv" (Hebrew: מיכה שוב), which she wrote in memory of Micha Granit, who fell in the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

, In 2000, Macmel-Atir published her first book, ''Ayelet Diving'' (Hebrew: איילת צוללת). One of her most highly acclaimed books was ''Adi's Jewel'' (Hebrew: העדי של עדי), based on the true story of a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

, which she later adapted into a play. The book was awarded a special commendation at the Ze'ev Prize awards and won third place on the

Israeli Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education ( he, מִשְׂרָד הַחִנּוּךְ, translit. ''Misrad HaHinukh''; ar, وزارة التربية والتعليم) is the branch of the Israeli government charged with overseeing public education institutions ...

National Children's Books Chart and the Israeli Book Publishers Association. Her book ''King of the Mountain'' (Hebrew: מלך ההר), published in 2004 in commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the death of

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...

, is also based on a true story of Macmel-Atir's former classmate who died in a helicopter accident. It was also later made into a play. In 2005, Macmel-Atir again received the Ze'ev Prize, for her book ''Right of Passage'' (Hebrew: מבחן קבלה). ''Adi's Jewel'', ''The Final Delay'' (Hebrew: האיחור האחרון), ''King of the Mountain'', and ''Right of Passage'' all achieved high rankings on the

national children's book chart and were adapted into theatre productions. Until 2005, for more than a decade, Macmel-Atir taught literature at Ramat Gan's Blich High School. She now hosts youth writing workshops at Tel Aviv's

Beit Ariela Beit Ariela Shaar Zion Library is the central public library in Tel Aviv. History Pre-State The library was founded in 1886 in Jaffa at the initiative of the " Ezrat Israel" society ("Assistance to Israel") – the organization that helped to est ...

Library. Her book ''The Girl From the Opposite Balcony'' (Hebrew: הנערה במרפסת ממול) was published in 2006 and adapted into a play in which Macmel-Atir played one of the parts. Her second adult novel, ''

'' (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום) was published in 2009 by Yediot Books and became a bestseller, for which Macmel-Atir received the Golden Book Prize for selling 20,000 copies in just three months after its release. Half a year after its publication, ''Ot me-Avshalom'' won the Platinum Book Prize from the Book Publishers Association of Israel for selling 40,000 copies. Macmel-Atir was voted one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in 2010 by ''Lady

Globes A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of ...

'' magazine. In June 2015, ''Ot me-Avshalom'' won the Diamond Book Prize for selling 100,000 copies.

Published works

Adult

* ''

'' (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום) – * ''The Girl in the Opposite Balcony'' (Hebrew: הנערה במרפסת ממול) –

Children

* ''Surprises Knocking at the Door'' (Hebrew: הפתעות דופקות בדלת) – * ''Chocolate Cubes'' (Hebrew: קוביות של שוקולד) – * ''Transparent'' (Hebrew: שקופה) – * ''Adi's Jewel'' (Hebrew: העדי של עדי) – * ''King of the Mountain'' (Hebrew: מלך ההר) – * ''The Final Delay'' (Hebrew: האיחור האחרון) – * ''Caesar of the Neighbourhood'' (Hebrew: קיסר השכונה) – * ''A Point for Thought'' (Hebrew: נקודה למחשבה) – * ''Thousand Thousand Reader's Series'' (Hebrew: סדרת קוראים אלף אלף) * ''The Life of a Pea'' (Hebrew: גילגולו של אפון) – * ''Ayelet Diving'' (Hebrew: איילת צוללת) – * ''The Friends from the Left Drawer'' (Hebrew: החברים מהמגרה השמאלית) – * ''It All Started With a Button'' (Hebrew: הכל התחיל מכפתור) – * ''The House on the Edge of Town'' (Hebrew: הבית שקצה העיר) – * ''Creature in the Middle of the Night'' (Hebrew: יצור באמצע הלילה) – * ''No Princes During the Feast'' (Hebrew: אין נסיכים בשעת הסעודה) – * ''Brothers Not Allowed'' (Hebrew: אסור להביא אחים) – * ''The Boy Who Stood at the Window'' (Hebrew: הילד שעמד בחלון) – * ''Right of Passage'' (Hebrew: מבחן קבלה) –

References

External links

Nava Macmel-Atir Official Website
(Hebrew)
Ot me-Avshalom
at the Israeli Hebrew Authors Union (Hebrew)
Nava Macmel-Atir
at the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...

(Hebrew) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macmel-Atir, Nava 1964 births Israeli women poets Israeli poets Israeli women novelists Israeli female dramatists and playwrights People from Ramat Gan Israeli non-fiction writers Living people Israeli novelists Israeli Jews Jewish novelists Israeli schoolteachers Israeli children's writers 21st-century Israeli women writers Israeli women children's writers