Benjamin Balint

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Benjamin Balint
Born1976 (age 49–50)
OccupationAuthor, journalist, educator, and translator
NationalityAmerican-Israeli
Notable awards Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature (2020)

Benjamin Balint (born 1976) is an American-Israeli author, journalist, educator, and translator. His 2018 book Kafka's Last Trial, which explores the fate of Franz Kafka's manuscripts, which Max Brod declined to follow Kafka's instructions to burn, [1] won the 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. [2]

Contents

Writing career

Balint was assistant editor for Commentary magazine. [3] He contributes regularly to The Wall Street Journal , Die Zeit , Haaretz , [4] The Weekly Standard , and the Claremont Review of Books . A documentary film directed by Eliran Peled, titled Kafka's Last Trial and based on the book, was released in 2025, with Balint one of the speakers who appears in it. [5]

Balint's 2018 book Kafka's Last Trial narrates the journey of Kafka's manuscripts from Czechoslovakia to the National Library of Israel. [1] [6] For this work, Balint was awarded the 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. [2] The book was also a finalist for the 2020 Wingate Literary Prize. [7]

Balint's 2023 book, Bruno Schulz: An Artist, a Murder, and the Hijacking of History, won the National Jewish Book Award in the Biography category. [8]

Balint was a fellow at the Hudson Institute [3] [2] and Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. [2]

Personal life

Balint lives in Jerusalem. [9]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 Goodman, Susan (September 1, 2019). "Kafka Esq. – In conversation with Benjamin Balint". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Oster, Marcy (May 11, 2020). "Benjamin Balint wins 2020 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for Kafka book". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  3. 1 2 Linker, Damon (July 30, 2010). "Turning Right". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ "Benjamin Balint". haaretz.com. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  5. ↑ Kafka's Last Trial
  6. ↑ Adams, Tim (January 8, 2019). "Kafka's Last Trial by Benjamin Balint – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  7. ↑ "2020 Wingate Literary Prize". Archived from the original on 2014-09-27.
  8. ↑ "Past Winners of the National Jewish Book Award in the Biography category". Jewish Book Council . Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  9. ↑ "Benjamin Balint". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
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