Nava Macmel-Atir

Nava Macmel-Atir (; born 27 August 1964) is an Israeli author, playwright and poet. She is best known for her books Adi's Jewel (Hebrew: העדי של עדי) and Ot me-Avshalom (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום).

Biography Nava Macmel-Atir was born in Ramat Gan, Israel.

Literary career In her twenties Macmel-Atir wrote poetry for a children's column in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. On Yom Hazikaron (Israel's National Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism) 1990, "7 Days" (Hebrew: שבעה ימים), the weekend supplement of the paper, published an interview with her about her poem "Micha Shuv" (Hebrew: מיכה שוב), which she wrote in memory of Micha Granit, who fell in the Yom Kippur War,

In 2000, Macmel-Atir 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 story of a Holocaust survivor, which she later adapted into a play. The book was awarded a special commendation at the awards and won third place on the Israeli Ministry of Education National Children's Books Chart and the Israeli Book Publishers Association.

Her book King of the Mountain (Hebrew: מלך ההר), published in 2004 in commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl, is also based on a true story of Macmel-Atir's former classmate who died in a helicopter accident. It was also later made into a play.

In 2005, Macmel-Atir again received the Ze'ev Prize, for her book Right of Passage (Hebrew: מבחן קבלה). Adi's Jewel, The Final Delay (Hebrew: האיחור האחרון), King of the Mountain, and Right of Passage all achieved high rankings on the Israeli Ministry of Education national children's book chart and were adapted into theatre productions.

Until 2005, for more than a decade, Macmel-Atir taught literature at Ramat Gan's Blich High School. She now hosts youth writing workshops at Tel Aviv's Beit Ariela Library.

Her book The Girl From the Opposite Balcony (Hebrew: הנערה במרפסת ממול) was published in 2006 and adapted into a play in which Macmel-Atir played one of the parts.

Her second adult novel, Ot me-Avshalom (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום) was published in 2009 by Yediot Books and became a bestseller, for which Macmel-Atir received the Golden Book Prize for selling 20,000 copies in just three months after its release. Half a year after its publication, Ot me-Avshalom won the Platinum Book Prize from the Book Publishers Association of Israel for selling 40,000 copies. Macmel-Atir was voted one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in 2010 by Lady Globes magazine. In June 2015, Ot me-Avshalom won the Diamond Book Prize for selling 100,000 copies.

Published works

Adult Ot me-Avshalom (Hebrew: אות מאבשלום) – The Girl in the Opposite Balcony (Hebrew: הנערה במרפסת ממול) –

Children Surprises Knocking at the Door (Hebrew: הפתעות דופקות בדלת) – Chocolate Cubes (Hebrew: קוביות של שוקולד) – Transparent (Hebrew: שקופה) – Adi's Jewel (Hebrew: העדי של עדי) – King of the Mountain (Hebrew: מלך ההר) – The Final Delay (Hebrew: האיחור האחרון) – Caesar of the Neighbourhood (Hebrew: קיסר השכונה) – A Point for Thought (Hebrew: נקודה למחשבה) – Thousand Thousand Reader's Series (Hebrew: סדרת קוראים אלף אלף) The Life of a Pea (Hebrew: גילגולו של אפון) – Ayelet Diving (Hebrew: איילת צוללת) – The Friends from the Left Drawer (Hebrew: החברים מהמגרה השמאלית) – It All Started With a Button (Hebrew: הכל התחיל מכפתור) – The House on the Edge of Town (Hebrew: הבית שקצה העיר) – Creature in the Middle of the Night (Hebrew: יצור באמצע הלילה) – No Princes During the Feast (Hebrew: אין נסיכים בשעת הסעודה) – Brothers Not Allowed (Hebrew: אסור להביא אחים) – The Boy Who Stood at the Window (Hebrew: הילד שעמד בחלון) – Right of Passage (Hebrew: מבחן קבלה) –