Lily Perry (; born 1953) is an Israeli writer, novelist, editor, and critic. She is the founder and editor of “Totem Books” publishing house and “Salonet” literature site.

Biography

Lily Perry is the first child of Romanian-born parents.Bili Moscona-Lerman (September 23, 1987)
Fantasy and one hundred years of Zionism. 2000 People of the Year: Literature
''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

'' sofshavua section pp. 42-43. Her father was a prisoner in a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and her mother made

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

before the war. She was born in

Hadera Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...

to impoverished parents, wandering the country searching for a steady income. The family settled at

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

, where Lily grew up since she was nine. She was a youth guide at

Sde Boker Sde Boker () is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

in her mandatory army service at the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. She earned a BA in general and Judaist philosophy from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

.Lily Perry
(2003). Sorrel Kerbel (editor). ''Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century''.

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

. pp. 789-791. Perry started writing professionally in 1973 as a journalist and editor in HaOlam HaZeh,

Al HaMishmar ''Al HaMishmar'' (, ''On Guard'') was a daily newspaper published in Mandatory Palestine and Israel between 1943 and 1995. The paper was owned by, and affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair as well as the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine, ...

and

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

, which was Israel's largest newspaper by circulation. In Yedioth Ahronoth, she wrote the column “Figure”, about famous historical couples, especially women. She was the editor and writer of the “Persona” section in Al HaMishmar. During 1978–1996, she worked as a

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

Social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

editor at the

Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...

. Elisha Porat and prof. Yigal Schwartz (2014)
Lily Perry
''The Heksherim Lexicon of Israeli Authors''. Zissi Stavi and Yigal Schwartz (editors).

Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir is a book publishing company in Israel. History The company's oldest imprint, Dvir, was founded in Odessa in 1919 by Hayim Nahman Bialik.

and Heksherim Institute,

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...

. p. 742. She was a news editor for Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and Yedioth Books and a writing workshop instructor. Since 1978 till today (2024), Perry has worked as a book editor in the genres of

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

, and Poetry. In 2012, she established with Prof.

Dan Miron Dan Miron (; born 1934) is an Israeli-born American literary critic and author. An expert on modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Miron is a Professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently the Leonard Kaye Professor of ...

and the writer Iftach Alony “Afik Books” publishing house. In 2002, she received the Olschwang Award; in 2006, she won the

Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

. In 2013, she left Afik and established “Totem Books” publishing house, and serves as its

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

.Joseph Galron-Goldschläger
Lily Perry
''Modern Hebrew Literature – a Bio-Bibiliographical Lexicon''. The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. Since 2015, she has been editor-in-chief of “Salonet” literature site. Perry published seven books, six novels, and one "Petty Whims" with Yoram Barak, a non-fiction book. Her second book, "Golem in the Circle," was published in five editions in Keter Publishing House and sold 5,000 copies; it was published again in Yedioth Books in 2007. It was adapted into an award-winning movie under that name in 1993, including the

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards (), full name: the Israel Film Academy Award, sometimes also known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Tele ...

, Wolgin Award for Israeli Cinema, Festival du cinéma méditerranéen de Montpellier Award, and the

Uruguay International Film Festival The Uruguay International Film Festival () is an international film festival that takes place every year in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. Established 1982, it is organized by Cinemateca Uruguaya. In April 2022 it is celebrating its 40th edition ...

award. and dramatized and presented as a one-woman play performed in Theatronetto, Tzavta, and Omanut Laam. Moshe Granot (2009)
Perry, Lily
''Historical Lexicon of the Hebrew Writers since Tashah (1948)''.

Hebrew Writers Association in Israel The Hebrew Writers Association in Israel (, previously אגודת הסופרים העבריים בארץ ישראל or אגודת הסופרים העבריים or אגודת הסופרים העברים במדינת ישראל) is a professional ass ...

and Danny Books. p. 769. Her book, “Swans in Jerusalem beach”, was included among the twelve finalists in the long list of

Sapir Prize The Sapir Prize for Literature of Israel is a prestigious annual literary award presented for a work of literature in the Hebrew language. The prize is awarded by Mifal HaPayis (Israel's state lottery), and is a part of the organization's cultural ...

2020. Prof. Gabriel Moked delineated her artistic perspective and themes: "This author is one of the most promising forces in our literature… One of the main spirits in our feminine literature… More than any other narrator, she deals with the socio-economic spheres in Israel… Her novels depict a salient female character… Who is struggling in her social realms… The male characters are divided into two categories: the first category is "the bad guys" who misunderstand the women and strive to control them in relationships or public officials or mobs that get in the female's way and make their lives hard. The second category is supported men, whom the females alienate as their suitors... we can notice in her novels interactions between

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

... another feature in her novels is presenting the plots from the character's point of view. Sometimes, we can understand who his voice is, and more frequently, it seems like an anonymous point of view, at least at first sight; as the novel developed, the figure's nature unraveled."Prof. Gabriel Moked (2019)
About ‘Swans in Jerusalem Beach’
''Salonet''. Originally published in ''Emda'' Literature Magazine #43. pp. 260-269.

Family

Lily Perry is remarried, lives in Tel Aviv, and has two sons.

Her Books

* ''Bare Eyes'', Bustan Books, 1974. * ''Golem in the Circle'', Keter Publishing House, 1988; published in five editions. * ''Dancing on the Water'', Hakibbutz Hameuchad - Sifriat Poalim Publishing House, 1994. * ''The Executioner’s Visit'', Yedioth Books, 1999. * ''Petty Whims'' (with Yoram Barak), Yedioth Books, 2004. * ''Golem in the Circle'', a new edition, Yedioth Books, 2007; with a foreword by prof.

. * ''Sonnet'',

Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir is a book publishing company in Israel. History The company's oldest imprint, Dvir, was founded in Odessa in 1919 by Hayim Nahman Bialik.

, 2010. * ''Swans in Jerusalem beach'', Totem Books, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Lily 1953 births Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli women novelists Israeli novelists Israeli columnists Israeli women columnists Yedioth Ahronoth people Israeli women literary critics 20th-century Israeli journalists 20th-century Israeli women journalists 20th-century Israeli women writers 20th-century Israeli writers 21st-century Israeli women writers 21st-century Israeli writers Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works Living people