The Sacks-Herenstein Center of Yeshiva University is proud to announce a call for manuscript submissions for the 2025 Rabbi Sacks Book Prize. The prize, inaugurated in 2022, perpetuates the legacy of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks by recognizing recently published non-fiction literary contributions to contemporary Jewish thought. Rabbi Sacks believed in the power of the written word and a literary prize in his honor celebrates his creative contributions and scholarship in responding to major trends and issues of the day through the lens of Jewish values and texts.

The Rabbi Sacks Book Prize is awarded to recently published or about-to-be-published works of Jewish ideas deeply sourced in Jewish texts, with broad modern appeal within and beyond the Jewish community.

Judged by an academic committee in cooperation with Rabbi Sacks Legacy, the author of the winning work receives a $10,000 prize, and two finalists receive $2,500 each. The winning author and finalists are interviewed for the Sacks Book Prize podcast and present public lectures organized by the Sacks-Herenstein Center.

Eligible manuscripts must hold a 2025 copyright, and all entries are to be nominated and submitted by a recognized publishing house by May 1, 2025.

Past winners include Dr. Daniel Matt for “Becoming Elijah” (Yale), Dr. Daniel Gordis for “Impossible Takes Longer” (Ecco) and Gila Fine for “The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud” (Koren).

For submission instructions, eligibility criteria, and a full list of past winners/finalists and their podcast interviews: https://www.yu.edu/sacks-center/sacksbookprize