Hebrew Book Week

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Hebrew Book Week 2005, Israel Museum, Jerusalem

The Hebrew Book Week is an annual event celebrating literature in the State of Israel. During the Hebrew Book Week, large day-long outdoor book fairs are organized in Israel's major cities in which publishing houses advertise and sell their products, often at a discount. Book stores in Israel typically offer sales during this time which can last up to a month.

In recent years the Hebrew Book Week has been extended to ten days. Hebrew Book Week took place between June 7 and June 16 in 2006.^[1].

In addition to book sales, a variety of literary events take place during the Book Week, such as get-togethers with authors, public reading evenings, and the award ceremony for the Sapir Prize. There is also a heightened level of attention paid to literature in the media.

[edit] Origin and history

According to a news item posted on the Israeli Government Portal:

The Hebrew Book Week originated in 1926 as a “one day event” taking place in Rothchild boulevard, Tel Aviv. The founder of Masada Press, Bracha Peli, launched the first Book Day in 1926, offering books at a discount. Since 1961, Hebrew Book Week has become a country wide, week-long event taking place every year during the summer.