Quartet of UK Jerusalem fellows revealed

Four candidates from the British book trade have been selected to participate in the 2017 Jerusalem International Bookfair Zev Birger (JIBF) fellowship programme, which takes place in June.

Gordon Wise, literary agent at Curtis Brown and president of the Association of Authors’ Agents; Bea Hemming, deputy publishing director at Jonathan Cape; Laura Macaulay, deputy publisher at Pushkin Press; and Sarah Savitt, deputy publisher at Virago will join 33 other fellows from across the world— including book trade staffers from the US, France, Germany, Brazil, Serbia, Turkey, Taiwan and Israel.

Now in its 32nd year, the programme was the first international book fair fellowship in the world, and is supported by the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. The fellows will take part in panels and discussions around issues concerning the international publishing community, visit the Dead Sea and Masada, tour Jerusalem and meet Israeli publishers. JIBF 2017 takes place on 11th– 15th June, alongside the Israeli Publishers Association’s Hebrew Book Week.

Wise said: ‘‘We are all thrilled and honoured to have been invited to join this year’s fellowship. Each of us has long wanted to attend the Jerusalem Book Fair under its auspices, and are fascinated by the region’s many layers of meaning.

“We hope to come to understand these better through the fellowship’s very special opportunities for personal encounters, as well as to forge the long-lasting publishing relationships that we have seen previous generations of Jerusalem fellows enjoy.”