Nava Macmel-Atir (; born 27 August 1964) is an Israeli author, playwright and poet. She is best known for her books ''Adi's Jewel'' (Hebrew: העדי של עדי) and '' Ot me-Avshalom'' (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום).

Biography

Nava Macmel-Atir was born in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

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Literary career

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

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."

newspaper. On

Yom Hazikaron Yom HaZikaron (), in full, ''Yom HaZikaron LeHalelei Ma'arkhot Yisrael ul'Nifge'ei Pe'ulot HaEivah'' (), is Israel's official day of remembrance for fallen Israeli soldiers and terrorism victims, enacted into Israeli law in 1963. While Yom H ...

(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 fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, 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

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

Israeli Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education (, translit. ''Misrad HaHinukh''; ) is the branch of the Israeli government charged with overseeing public education institutions in Israel. The department is headed by the Minister of Education, who is a member of the ...

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 (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

, 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

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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, '' Ot me-Avshalom'' (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

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

Published works

Adult

* '' Ot me-Avshalom'' (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; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

(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 Jewish Israeli writers Jewish novelists Israeli schoolteachers Israeli children's writers 21st-century Israeli women writers Israeli women children's writers