Two of the highlights of Israel’s cultural calendar, the 13th Jerusalem International Writers Festival and the Jerusalem International Book Forum (previously known as the Jerusalem Book Fair), will be held side by side this year, from May 18-22.
The events will take place at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, with the support of the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jerusalem Municipality.
Both the festival and the forum will host a diverse group of internationally acclaimed writers and publishing-industry professionals from abroad, who will participate in events and happenings alongside Israel’s literary lights.
The 2025 Jerusalem Prize will be awarded at the International Book Forum to the great French writer, Michel Houellebecq. An author, poet, essayist, and filmmaker, he has written over a dozen books, including Atomised, Submission, and Annihilation. Houellebecq has received many awards, among them the Goncourt Prize and the Prix Interallié. He has been accused of being politically incorrect and has also been called France’s greatest living writer.
The French writer said in a statement released by the festival that he was eager to visit Israel to receive the award: “All my visits to Israel have always been enjoyable and educational. It has been a long time since I last visited it, and I felt that certain changes had occurred there that I want to understand and explore – and above all, listen to.”
The jury, which chose him unanimously to receive this year’s prize, wrote, “Michel Houellebecq is undoubtedly one of the most significant and influential writers in the world today. Houellebecq is a radical author who thinks fundamentally about the human condition. He possesses an ability that could be described as a ‘moral gift’ – his work, besides the aesthetic values with which it is endowed, is driven by a burning sense of morality.
“At a time when the literary world retreats into identity politics, Houellebecq is not afraid to address the most foundational and essential aspects of human existence (aging, death, love, and sex) and dares to write about them in the most clear, incisive way…,” the jury said. “For being a distinguished, brave, and moral voice in current literature, we award Michel Houellebecq the Jerusalem Prize for literature of 2025.”
Former recipients of the Jerusalem Prize who also won the Nobel Prize for Literature include Bertrand Russell, Octavio Paz, V.S. Naipaul, Mario Vargas Llosa, and J.M. Coetzee.
Jerusalem International Book Forum to open honoring Houellebecq
THE JERUSALEM International Book Forum will open with a ceremony awarding the prize to Houellebecq, which will be presented by Mayor Moshe Lion. The forum, produced by the Ariel Municipal Company, is a project of the Jerusalem Municipality, which brings together professionals from the publishing industry in Israel and around the world. A conversation between Houellebecq and literary critic Arik Glasner will be the closing event of the International Writers’ Festival on May 22.
The opening event of the festival will take place with the participation of French philosopher and writer Bernard Henri Lévy. “It is a great honor for me to participate in the International Writers’ Festival in Jerusalem, thanks to its stature and excellence, but even more so because this festival is one shining example of the resilience and strength of Israeli culture in times of such significant grief and pain,” he said.
“Even during the war that is currently taking place, and in the incessant war since 1948, Israel continues to create and enrich the world with its culture. This is just one aspect of Zionism, and it makes me happy.”
Among the international guests of the festival will be Gabor T. Szanto (Hungary), Shalom Auslander (US), Abigail Assor (France), Radka Denemarkova (Czech Republic), Payam Feili (Iran/Israel), Michal Hvorecky (Slovakia), Maxim Biller (Germany), Ariana Harwicz (Argentina), Volker Weidermann (Germany) and Mikołaj Lozinski (Poland).
Some of this year’s International Book Forum guests are Stefan von Holtzbrinck, CEO of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group; Oliver Vogel, publisher of its S. Fischer Verlag division; Carmen Pinilla, an international literary scout; and Swiss agent Marc Koralnik of the Liepman Literary Agency, which represents Israeli writers.
Among the Israeli guests will be Lihil Lapid, Yael Neeman, Dorit Rabinyan, Asaf Lieberman, Chen Artzi Sror, Ron Dahan, and many others.
THE PROGRAM this year includes activities and workshops for children, music and theater performances, an exhibition, nightly cultural gatherings, and more. At the forum, senior publishing executives from around the world will hold discussions on the key issues and changing global trends in today’s publishing industry.
“The festival offers a moment of grace amidst the clamor – a space where words take center stage, and writers and readers from around the world come together to listen, engage in conversation, and share ideas, dreams, fears, and hopes,” festival director Julia Fermento-Tzaisler said.
“This year, we have chosen to highlight the relationship between literature and the rapidly changing world. We seek to illuminate the places where literature is not merely a response to reality, but an active force within it – a force that sheds light, challenges, connects, and expands.”
She also said that the festival is proud to host 12 international writers this year, most of them European, as part of a collaboration with the European Union. “We turn to Europe not only as a source of literary inspiration but also as a space in which we can explore the role of the writer in society.”
The Jerusalem Cinematheque will present some movies selected by the festival guests, who will speak before the screenings. Among them is the Mel Brooks comedy classic Blazing Saddles, chosen by Shalom Auslander.
For more information about the festival, go https://fest.mishkenot.org.il/en/home/a/main/ and to attend events at the forum, go to https://www.jbookforum.com/