Tamar Yellin (born 1963) is an English

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

who lives in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. Her first novel, ''The Genizah at the House of Shepher'', won the 2007

Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature is an annual prize awarded to an outstanding literary work of Jewish interest by an emerging writer. Previously administered by the Jewish Book Council, it is now given in association with the National Libr ...

Biography

Tamar Yellin was born and raised in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. Her father was a third-generation native of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

; his father was

Yitzhak Yaakov Yellin Yitzchak Yaakov Yellin ( he, יצחק יעקב ילין, Isaac Jacob Yellin; 1885–1964) was one of the pioneers of the Hebrew language and press in Mandatory Palestine and then Israel. He was one of the founders and editor of the daily newspape ...

(1885–1964), one of the pioneers of the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

press in Palestine. Her mother was the daughter of a Polish immigrant to England. Yellin attended the Leeds Girls' High School. She studied biblical and modern

and

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. She spent 13 years writing her first novel, ''The Genizah at the House of Shepher'' (2005), and took two years to find a publisher. This was followed by a collection of 13 short stories, ''Kafka in Brontëland'' (2006) and another novel, ''Tales of the Ten Lost Tribes'' (2008). She also writes fiction for magazines, including ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...

'' and the '' Jewish Quarterly'', and has published stories in two anthologies, ''The Slow Mirror and Other Stories: New Fiction by Jewish Writers'' (1996) and ''Mordecai's First Brush with Love: New Stories by Jewish Women in Britain'' (2004). Yellin is a teacher for the Interfaith Education Center, in which capacity she speaks to non-Jewish schoolchildren about Jewish religious practices.

Writing style

Yellin incorporates much of her own personal history in her work. The plot for her first novel, ''The Genizah at the House of Shepher'' was based on her family's discovery of historic notes on the

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized: , lit. 'Crown of Aleppo') is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the ...

in the attic of their home.

Prizes

*2007

, for ''The Genizah at the House of Shepher''. The prize money was $100,000. *2007 Reform Judaism Prize for Jewish Fiction, for her short-story collection, ''Kafka in Bronteland'' *2006 Harold U. Ribalow Prize, for ''The Genizah at the House of Shepher''

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

"A Jew in Brontëland"
'' Jewish Quarterly'', Winter 2007
"Jerusalem Comes to Yorkshire"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 2006 review of ''Kafka in Brontëland'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Yellin, Tamar 21st-century English novelists 1963 births Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford Jewish English writers Writers from Leeds English people of Israeli descent