Native name נאוה מקמל-עתיר Citizenship Israeli Nationality Israeli | Language Hebrew Occupation Author Name Nava Macmel-Atir | |
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Born August 27, 1964 (age 59)
Ramat Gan, Israel ( 1964-08-27 ) Genre Children's literature
Novels | ||
Nava Macmel-Atir (Hebrew: נאוה מקמל-עתיר; born 27 August 1964) is a prominent Israeli author, playwright and poet. She is best known for having written the books Adi's Jewel (Hebrew: העדי של עדי) and Ot me-Avshalom (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום), which became a bestseller and has earned Macmel-Atir numerous commemorations and awards.
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Biography
Nava Macmel-Atir was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1964. During her twenties she worked as a poet writing for a children's column in Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's most popular newspaper. In 1990, following the publication of her poem "Return Micha" (Hebrew: מיכה שוב) which she wrote in memory of Micha Granit, who perished during the Yom Kippur War, she was interviewed by Yehuda Atlas for a piece he wrote about her for the newspaper's "7 Days" (Hebrew: שבעה ימים) weekly edition on Yom Hazikaron (Israel's National Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism).
In 2000, she 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 real-life story of a Holocaust survivor, which was later on adapted into a theatre play by Macmel-Atir. The book was awarded a special commendation at the "Ze'ev Prize" awards and won third place on the "National Children's Books Chart" in Israel by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Israeli Book Publishers Association.
Her book King of the Mountain (Hebrew: מלך ההר), which was published in 2004 in commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl, is also based on a true real-life story of her former classmate who perished in a helicopter accident. This book was also later made into a play.
In 2005, she was once again awarded the "Ze'ev Prize" for her book Right of Passage (Hebrew: מבחן קבלה). Her books Adi's Jewel, The Final Delay (Hebrew: האיחור האחרון), King of the Mountain and Right of Passage all won high rankings on the national children's books chart by the Israeli Ministry of Education and were adapted into theatre productions.
Up till 2005, for more than a decade, Macmel-Atir served as a literature teacher at Blich Highschool in Ramat Gan. Today, she hosts youth writing workshops at the "Beit Ariela" library in Tel-Aviv.
Her book The Girl From the Opposite Balcony (Hebrew: הנערה במרפסת ממול) was published in 2006 and was adapted into a play in which Macmel-Atir herself played one of the parts.
Her first adult novel, Ot me-Avshalom (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום) was published in 2009 by Yediot Books and became a bestseller. Macmel-Atir received the "Golden Book" commemoration, for selling 20,000 copies, in just three months after its release. Half a year after its publication, Ot me-Avshalom received the "Platinum Book" commemoration, from the Book Publishers Association of Israel, for selling 40,000 copies. Nava Macmel-Atir was voted as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in 2010 by Lady Globes magazine. In June 2015, Ot me-Avshalom received the "Diamond Book" commemoration for selling 100,000 copies.