Shulamit Lapid (, ; born 9 November 1934) is an Israeli

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Biography

Lapid was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. She majored in Oriental studies at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. Her father, David Giladi (born in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

), was a journalist, novelist, and translator, as well as one of the founders of the Israeli newspaper ''

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 ...

''. In Lapid's book ''Veulai Lo Hayu'' she documents the story of her father's immigration to Israel, his integration into Israeli society, and her own childhood in Tel Aviv during the 1930s and 1940s. Lapid is the widow of

Yosef Lapid Joseph "Tommy" Lapid (; born Tomislav Lampel sr-Cyrl, Томислав Лампел 27 December 1931 – 1 June 2008) was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav-born Israeli radio and television presenter, playwright, journalist, politician and Ca ...

, a journalist,

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and public figure. They had three children: Michal (who was killed in a car accident in 1984), Merav, and Yair – a well-known Israeli politician, novelist, journalist and television personality, formerly Prime Minister of Israel.

Literary career

Her first collection of stories, Dagim ("Fish"), was published in 1969. She writes historical novels, realistic prose addressing social issues and ethnic discrimination, and several detective novels.''Gai Oni'' (1982) is the story of the Galilean village that became Rosh Pina. Lapid was one of the first Hebrew writers to address the role of women in the Zionist narrative. Lapid's second novel, Ka-Ḥeres ha-Nishbar ("As a Broken Vessel," 1984,) is the story of an antiquities dealer, Moses Wilhelm Shapira. ''Havat Haalamot'' ( The Maidens' Farm) follows the protagonists of Gai Oni during the second

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 ...

, who were part of a project to train women in farming in the Kinneret Farm near the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

. Lapid wrote several children's books, and also the words for the song "Rosa Marzipan", which was composed by Shlomo Gronich. Lapid's spy-themed literature is especially popular in Israel. She is the creator of the character Lizzy Badihi, who is featured in six of Lapid's thriller novels. Badihi is a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

of a

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

local newspaper called "HaZman Darom" (literally "The Southern Times"), and in each book she stubbornly insists on dealing with a detective mystery no one asked her to solve. The first book in this series, "Mekomon" (published 1989), helped to popularize the genre in Israel. Badihi solves several cases while "tottering in her oversized shoes and wearing oversized earrings." Plays written by Lapid: ''HaYerusha'' (The Inheritance), ''Abandoned Property'', ''Mifal Hayav'' (His Life Work), and ''A Surrogate's Womb''. Lapid was chairperson of the Hebrew Writers' Association.

Awards and recognition

In 1987, Lapid won the Prime Minister's Prize for Literature. In 1996 she won the Newman Prize. In 2013 she won a Steimatzky Prize for her book ''Abandoned Furniture''. She also won the Book Publishers Association’s Gold and Platinum Prizes for ''Nunia.''Jewish Women's Archives, Shulamit Lapid
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Books

Children's books

Novels

Stories

Lizzy Badihi series

Plays

*''Abandoned Property'' directed by , costumes by Eli Sinai, music by Misha Balhrovic, staged at the

Cameri Theater The Cameri Theatre (, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theatres in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri Theatre was founded with the purpose of promoting ...

in March 1987, at Habima Theater in 2006, directed by Itzik Weingarten, and conducted currently at Nozar Theater. *''A Surrogate's Womb'' directed by Ilan Ronen, scenery and costume work by Rut Dar, music by Dan Hendelsmann, staged at the Cameri Theater in April 1990. *''Mifal Hayav'' directed by Ori Pester, scenery and costume work by Dudu Mazah, music by Ori Vidislavsky, staged at the Cameri Theater in March 1992. *''Haflagot'' directed by Amit Gazit, scenery and costume work by Tal Yitzhaki, music by Eldad Lidor, staged at the Cameri Theater in January 1997.

References

External links

Shulamit Lapid
bio and works on the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature website
The Mean Streets of Beersheba: The Place of the City in Shulamit Lapid’s Lizzie Badiḥi Series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapid, Shulamit 1934 births Living people Israeli children's writers Israeli novelists Israeli crime fiction writers Israeli female dramatists and playwrights Israeli women novelists Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Spouses of Israeli politicians Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Writers from Tel Aviv