פריד אבו שקרה

1976

יליד אום אל פחם, 1963. אמן רב תחומי, אוצר ומורה, בוגר בית הספר לאמנות קלישר. עבודותיו הוצגו בתערוכות רבות בארץ וברחבי העולם, והוא ממקימי הגלריה לאומנות באום אל פחם (1996) והגלריה לאמנות מודרנית בנצרת (2009). פריד מתגורר באום אל פחם ויוצר בסטודיו שלו בסדנאות האמנים באזור התעשייה חולון.

דותן ברום

1974

משורר, מסאי ומתרגם יליד 1986 המתגורר בחיפה. חתן פרס שרת התרבות למשוררים בראשית דרכם לשנת תשע"ט. ספר הביכורים שלו, עור שני, יצא בהוצאת פרדס בשנת 2021. דותן הוא גם דוקטורנט בבית הספר להיסטוריה באוניברסיטת תל אביב, שותף ב"פרויקט ההיסטוריה הגאה החיפאית", מורה דרך ומרצה.

הדס גלעד

משוררת, סופרת, מתרגמת ועורכת שירה. ערכה והגישה תכניות רדיו ספרותיות ברדיו מהות החיים וברשת א' במשך עשור, שותפה בעריכת סדרת השירה 'אדרה' בהוצאת לוקוס, ומנחה סדנאות כתיבה ותהליכי יצירה. בעלת תואר ראשון בספרות במסלול כתיבה יוצרת מאוניברסיטת תל אביב ובוגרת לימודי תרבות עברית ויהדות במכללת עלמא. הדס חיה בת"א עם בן זוגה ושני ילדיהם. עד כה ראו אור שלושה ספרי שירה ופרוזה פרי עטה: כל אור בעצם (פרדס 2013), ימי מעשה (לוקוס 2019) ומעל אופק השכמות (לוקוס 2021). הדס היא זוכת פרס שרת התרבות לסופרים בראשית דרכם לשנת 2019.

הזאר יוסף

1978

נולדה בכפר דבוריה ומתגוררת ביפו. הזאר היא משוררת ומעצבת גרפית. בעלת תואר ראשון במשפטים ותעודת עיצוב גרפי ואינטראקטיב (אפיון חווית משתמש ועיצוב ממשק). הזאר מנהלת בלוג דיגיטאלי, עובדת כרכזת תמיכות בתיאטרון אלסראיא יפו, מופיעה בפסטיבלים ובערבי שירה שונים.

מאי ערו

מתגוררת בכפר ג'ת שבמשולש. במשך עשור שימשה מורה ומדריכה במשרד החינוך. כיום מרצה, מאמנת אישית ומנחת קבוצות, מתמחה בהוראת ערבית דבורה וכשירות תרבותית, עוסקת בכתיבה ובתרגום בתחומי שפות, ספרות ילדים וקולנוע. ב-2018 בא לעולם ספר ילדים ראשון פרי עטה למה הפרחים בוכים? וב-2022 ראה אור ספר שירה ראשון شوق.

שי שניידר-אילת

ספר שיריה כל מה שהיא שרה מעלה עשן (מוסד ביאליק) ראה אור בשנת 2021. ספרה הראשון הוא היה כאן, אני בטוחה בזה (אפיק-הליקון), ראה אור בשנת 2019. שי השתתפה בכיתת השירה של הליקון, שיריה מתפרסמים בכתבי עת ועיתונים. זכתה בפרס ע"ש רמי דיצני לשירה. עורכת ספרי שירה, עוסקת בהוראה, בימוי וכתיבה לתיאטרון.

Iris Eliya Cohen

1976

A writer and poet, Iris has published eleven books for both adults and children, for which she has won the Navon Prize, the Creativity Prize, the Ramat Gan Prize and the Ministry of Culture Prize, and she was nominated twice for the Sapir Prize. Iris was born in 1969 and lives with her four children in Kiryat Tivon.

Mirale Moshe-Alvo

1974

Mirale is a graduate of the Helicon course for poetry and editorial studies. Her debut book, Iron and Feathers (Iton 77, 2016), won the Ministry of Culture Prize. Her second book, Termite Palace (Iton 77, 2021), won a Mifal HaPais grant.
Mirale has edited collections of poems by poets Noa Shacham and Liel Admon, and is currently editing a volume of selected works by the poet Tziporah Heller. She has participated in numerous poetry festivals, and her poems have been published in literary magazines and newspapers. Mirale is the mother of three children.

Omri Shareth

Omri,31  years old, lives in Jerusalem and is a PhD student in the Bible Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and head of the content team at the Hebrew Beit Midrash. Omri was the recipient of the Ministry of Culture Prize for Young Poets in 2016 and the Rachel Negev Prize for Poetry in 2017. His first book, Don't Make a Thing out of It, was published in 2019 by the Bialik Institute, as part of the Kvar series, edited by Liat Kaplan.

Nura Saleh

1978

A graduate student in the program for Research of Children's and Youth Culture at Tel Aviv University, Nura holds a BA in Arabic and a teaching certificate from Sakhnin College. She is a writer and works as a children's creative writing instructor.

Enak Mawasee

Enak, from Baqa al-Gharbiyye, holds a BA in English and Education, and a master's degree in Communication. Enak started writing and publishing many years ago, her work focusing on women's voices and humanist literature. Enak has numerous publications and has won prestigious local and international literary prizes. Her work has been translated into several languages and featured in literary anthologies, among them the collection, Amputated Tongue, which was published in 2019 by the Van Leer Institute as part of the Maktoob series. In recent years, Enak has focused her attention on advancingcommunity health.

Mahmoud Abo Arisheh

Mahmoud, 32 years old, lives in Jaffa. He is Director of the Saraya Arab Theater in Jaffa and founder and director of the Office of Information and Public Relations, Markaz. Mahmoud graduated from the Faculty of Law and the Department of Arabic Language at Bar Ilan University. He holds a master's degree in Public Law from the joint program of Tel Aviv University and Northwestern University , and has worked in several human rights organizations and NGOs. He also holds a master's degree from the Department of Arabic Language at Bar Ilan University. Mahmoud is a poet, and has so far published three collections of poetry in Arabic: his first collection, Smelly Words, was published in Beirut in 2012, and in 2020, he released two collections, Let’s Eat Our Apple Together and Background Voices. Mahmoud often participates in poetry events and festivals, and his poems have been translated into Hebrew and English.

Ali Qadri

1976

Born in 1987, Ali graduated from the Italian Carmelite School, Haifa. He holds a bachelor's degree in Arabic Literature and Philosophy from the University of Haifa.
Ali teaches Arabic language and literature at the Ibn Sina Secondary School of Nahaf and Masar - Nazareth. He is a cultural editor for the Al-Ghad Al-Jadeed cultural magazine, a political and social activist, and member of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality.
His first poetry collection, Thirty Ruins and Corpses, was published by the Everything Library Haifa publishing house in 2018

Manal Badarna

1974

Writer, language researcher, poet, and artist Manal Badarna was born in the village of Arraba in the Galilee, and lives in Sakhnin.
She holds a master's degree with distinction in Arabic language and literature from the University of Haifa. Manal worked as a university lecturer and Arabic language instructor in secondary schools and now teaches literature. Manal is active in charitable and cultural forums, and participates in organizing literary cultural events in her community.
Manal is the author of three books in various fields of language:
Qatar Al-Nada (2011) – Poetry collection.
Anecdotes of the One and the Plural (2012) – Examination of a manuscript through language.
The Dialect (2013) – Short story critique.
She is also a skilled artist and is a member of the "Neighborhood in the North" cultural association.

Chava Nissimov

Born in 1939 in Warsaw, Poland, Chava is a "Holocaust child." With academic background in the fields of education, literature, and bibliotherapy, her career focused on leading community projects. Chava is now retired and devotes her time to writing. An author and a poet, she has published seven books of poetry as well as prose for young adults and children, and is the recipient of several prizes, including the Devorah Omer Prize for Children's Literature.

Nasreen Mostaffa

1978

Nasreen grew up in the village of Hurfeish in the Galilee, and works as a special education junior high school teacher in her hometown. She holds master's degrees in integrating arts in teaching and Arabic language instruction. Nasreen is married and the mother of a daughter and two sons. Her first collection of poems, Words on the Mouth of Ghazal, was published in 2020.

Shachar-Mario Mordechai

Shachar was born in 1975 in Haifa, grew up in Kiryat Bialik, and resides today in Tel Aviv. His poetry collection, Make Room for the Rain, was published in 2019 by the Pardes publishing house. Previous poetry books include: History of the Future, published in 2010 by Even Hoshen, and Who's on our Side, published in 2013 by Am Oved. Shachar-Mario Mordechai was the 2018-19 Poet-in-Residence at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, the 2017 recipient of the Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works (the Levi Eshkol Literary Award), and the 2010 winner of the Tel Aviv Municipality's national poetry competition. Shachar's poems have been translated to Arabic, English, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Norwegian, Kurdish, Turkish, Greek, and Croatian.

Orit Potashnik

Born in Tel Aviv in 1973, Orit holds a master's degree in physics and works as a high school teacher. Orit began publishing her poems in the literary journal, Oh!, in 2016 and since then, has published abundantly: poetry translations, essays, and reviews in various journals. She cares deeply about the work of translation and feels that her literary translations of poems by Anne Sexton, Elizabeth Bishop, Amy Lowell, and others nourish her and have helped establish her as a poet. Her debut book, The Oracle's Eye, was edited by Anna Herman and published in 2019. The book's manuscript won her the Minister of Culture's Prize for Emerging Poets in 2019. Orit lives in Tel Aviv with her partner and their three children.

Saad Abu Ghanam

1976

Saad was born in Kuseife, a Bedouin town in the south of Israel, in 1977. He holds a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies, teaches History and Arabic at Abu Wadi school in Kuseife, and leads creative writing workshops for children and educators. Saad’s collection of poems, Yellow Evening, was published in Egypt in 2015. Some of his poems, written in Hebrew, were also published in Haaretz. Saad is married and the father of seven.

Moshe Ohaion

1974

Poet, teacher and musician, Moshe lives and creates in the southern city Dimona. Moshe leads creative writing workshops for children and adults. He is the author of three poetry collections: Sand and Lemons (2006), Forty Above Ground (2010), and Sole Playing (2015), and has released five music albums featuring songs he wrote, composed, and performed. Moshe studied for his master's degree at Ben Gurion University, Department of Hebrew Literature. In 2016 Moshe received Ben Gurion’s Alumni Recognition Award, in acknowledgment of his unique contribution to society and culture. He is also the recipient of the 2013 Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Writers.

Avigail Antman

Poet, literature teacher, and educator. Avigail grew up in Jerusalem, where she still resides with her spouse and three children. She holds a master's degree, cum laude, in Creative Writing from Ben Gurion University.  Avigail is a member of Kolech, Religious Women’s Forum, and a board member of Women of the Wall. Ancient Jewish scriptures reverberate throughout her first poetry book, In my Future Life (2014).

Wisam Gibran

1978

Born in Nazareth.  Poet and musician, a violinist and Oud player, a prolific composer, and the founder of the Gibran Academy of Music and Arts in Nazareth, Wisam is the author of numerous musical pieces, including an opera, a symphony, chamber works, music for theater and film, a large body of electro-acoustic compositions, and more. He has published three poetry books: Affili-ANTI-ation (1998), Tarantula (2003), with a preface by the poet and Nobel Prize Laureate Adonis, and No Time (2018). He is the recipient of the 2004Prime Minister's Prize for Composers.

Amir Menasheof

Poet, editor, and teacher, Amir lives and creates in Jerusalem. He has published two poetry collections: Ra'ash, Ra'ash, Ra'ash, Ra'ash (2011) and Stand! (2016). Amir leads creative writing workshops and is a spoken word artist, an entrepreneur, and producer of poetry events and festivals. He is among the editors of the literary periodical, Eyruvin, and formerly, the publisher of the independent poetry magazine, Nefetz.

Wafaa Fadel

Poet and writer, born and raised in Haifa, Wafaa now lives and creates in Jaffa. Wafaa pens modern poetry and very short stories. She received her BA in Special Education from Oranim Academic College of Education. Wafaa is a certified moderator for Movement and Music Activities to Promote Development and holds a master's degree in Art Therapy from the Kibbutzim College. Wafaa often partakes in poetry festivals, and her poems have been published in various poetry platforms and translated into Hebrew, English, and Italian, among other languages. Her first collection of poems, The Entrance of Heaven in the Month of Eid, was published in 2010.

Saleh Taha Aboud

1976

Holds a Ph. D. in Arabic Language and Literature from Haifa University. His teaching and research focus on Shi'i literature, Islamic literature, Arab and Islamic contemporary thought and education, Arabic language, and history of the Middle East. Aboud has lectured at Tel Aviv University, Emek Yezreel College, and the Arab Academic College of Education in Haifa. His second collection of poems, My Rebab (musical instrument) Plays Me a Piece of Paper, was published in 2017. He lives with his wife and 6 children in Eilout, near Nazareth.

Yaakov Biton

1974

Grew up with his grandmother. He is the author of three volumes of poetry, the last of which, My Sister in Glow, was published in 2018. Biton is Johnathan Soen's student.

Firdaws Habib Allah

From Ein Mahel, graduated from Haifa University with a degree in Comparative and Hebrew Literature. She teaches Hebrew in Ein Mahel high school, but gave up her position as high school principal in order to devote her time to writing poetry. In recent years Habib Allah has published three volumes of poetry and participated in numerous literary events and festivals. She is also a human rights activist.

Sivan Har-Shefi

1978

Grew up in Efrat and studied in Jerusalem. She holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew Literature from Bar-Ilan University, and teaches literature and creative writing. Har-Shefi is one of the founders of the "Zohar Chai" Beit Midrash. She is the author of four books of poetry – Levithan's Exile (2005), Psalm for a Day of Thunder (2010), Sun Which Ecclesiastes Knew Not (2014) and Zarqua (2018) – and the editor of the Atar Journal of literature and art. In 2012 Har-Shefi won the Prime Minister Levi Eshkol Prize for Literature. She lives with her husband and five children in Tekoa.

Batel Kolman

Born and raised in Jerusalem. She graduated from Bar-Ilan University with a dual degree in musicology and special education. Her first collection of poems, Grasping the Abyss (2015) won the Culture Minister's Prize for New Poets. She pens a weekly column for Makor Rishon and leads writing workshops in Beit Avi Chai in Jerusalem. Kolman was recently appointed member of the Israeli Council of Culture and Art. She lives with her husband and two children in Sde Boaz.

Husam Massalha

Born in the village of Kafr Qara in Wadi Ara, where he still resides with his wife and four sons. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Goethe in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1992. Massalha also holds a master's degree in Policy and Public Administration from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Massalha has served as Deputy to the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Jerusalem, but since his retirement in 2014 he focuses on writing poetry. In 2017 Massalha published his first poetry collection, The Sea and Me, and is currently preparing a second volume of his poems for publication. He is active in Jewish-Arab organizations for peace and democracy and associations serving the Palestinian people in Israel.

Maisa al-Sahh

1981

From Arraba wrote poetry since childhood. She holds a master's degree in Arabic Language and teaches Arabic at an elementary school in her hometown. Al-Sahh has published three volumes of poetry as well as children's stories, and has participated in numerous literary events and festivals in Jordan and Egypt. In 2017 she won a Creativity award from the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Eran Tzelgov

1974

A Hebrew poet, translator, editor and scholar. He is interested in cultural activism and sees literary works as social agents. His interests span translation and gender studies, postcolonial theory and contemporary Israeli poetry. He held teaching positions at Ben-Gurion University, the Open University in Israel, Minshar College of Art, NYU and Northwestern University. In 2012 Tzelgov founded the small independent publishing house "Ra'av". His 2013 collection of poems Bhirot was awarded the Israeli Ministry Of Culture and Sports Award for New and Upcoming Poets. In 2015 Tzelgov published a translation of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood (along with sketches), and his second volume of poems Also the Cat (2016) received the support of Mifal HaPais Council for the Culture and Arts.

Muhammad Bakria

1968

lives in Jerusalem. Bakria graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a dual degree in Arabic Language and Literature and Theatre Studies. An accomplished journalist for the past 20 years, he also writes poetry and short stories. Bakria submitted for consideration his second poetry collection, A Soul Carried by the Wind (Arabic, 2016).

Roi Bet Levi

1976

was born in Ramat Gan to parents of South American descent. Educated in Buenos Aires and Ramat Hasharon, Bet Levi now resides in Tel Aviv. He has worked as a journalist and screenwriter and is currently head of communication activities at the Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Studies. His novel Imagine a Mountain (Hebrew, 2014), which he submitted for consideration, won the New Literature Prize in Memory of Isaac and Tova Wiener.

Jawdat George Eid

1970

is a writer, poet and academic from Nazareth. Eid earned his Doctorate of Education degree (Ed.D.) from the University of Derby in England in 2016. He also holds a master's degree in social work and a teaching certificate in psychology. Today he lectures in the fields of education, psychology and social sciences. Eid has published numerous children's books as well as collections of short stories, poetry and prose. He has won numerous prizes, grants and letters of recognition in the areas of literature, social work, and education. Eid submitted for consideration a poetry collection entitled, Virtual Space and Place (Arabic, 2014).

Jonathan Fine

1984

is an author and translator based in Tel Aviv. Fine has published essays and literature reviews in Haaretz and Ynet. He is the recipient of the Harry Hershon Literature Prize from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The collection of short novels which he submitted for consideration, Honorably Discharged (Hebrew, 2013), is his first book. The book won the Culture Minister’s Literary Award for 2015.

Eytan Freier-Dror

was born in Jerusalem. Freier-Dror studied musicology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and composition at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. The Fingers on the Hill (Hebrew, 2015), his debut collection of three short novels, won the Sapir Prize for best new work in 2016. This is the book he submitted for consideration.

Yosef Ozer

1952

was born in Jerusalem and grew up in northern Israel. In the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War, Ozer embraced a more religiously-inclined Jewish identity. He studied education and literature at the University of Haifa and worked as an educational director in ultra-orthodox Jewish education until resigning with profound discontent. Ozer is the author of several volumes of poetry, and twice the recipient of the Prime Minister Levi Eshkol Prize for Literature. Ozer submitted for consideration his collection of poems Jezreel Valley – Jerusalem (Hebrew, 2013).

Atheer Safa

1968

of Baqa al-Gharbiyye holds a master's degree in Arabic Language and Literature from Tel Aviv University. She wrote her master's thesis on the philosophy of ugliness in modern Arab literature. Her work spans the fields of informal education, literary criticism, language editing and translation. In 2013, Safa received a writing grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC). She published her first novel Tweet (Arabic) in 2014, and submitted it for consideration. The novel was nominated for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.