Cool Jew Named National Jewish Book Award Finalist

Congratulations to author Lisa Alcalay Klug, recipient of an honor in the "Jewish Pulitzers." Her book, Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe, published by Andrews McMeel in September 2008, has been named a 2008 National Jewish Book Awards finalist.

Cool Jew is a loving and irreverent celebration of Jewish culture. In addition to its fervent call for positive Jewish identity and affiliation, and embrace of Jewish multiculturalism, language, and more, the 250-page humor book also chronicles contemporary Jewish arts and culture with approximately 400 images. These include original line drawings, vintage Israeli and Jewish posters, t-shirt designs, kabbalistic paintings from Israel, album covers, kitsch and more. Cool Jew also features extensive back-of-the-book resource guides on ways to enjoy Jewish community called "Da Tribe Online" and contemporary Jewish music called "Da Heebster Jewkebox."

Cool Jew placed in the category of "Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice." It is the only humor book among the 2008 National Jewish Book Award honorees.

Each year, the National Jewish Book Awards honor some of the best and most exciting authors in the field of Jewish literature. After more than fifty years of presenting these awards, hundreds of books have received the prestigious National Jewish Book Award, including titles by the top authors on the American Jewish literary scene. For the full list of winners and finalists, click here.

The 58th Annual National Jewish Book Awards Ceremony will be held at 7:30 pm, March 5th at the Center for Jewish History in New York City. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

This is the second honor for author Lisa Alcalay Klug since the September release of her first book. She was previously named Erma Bombeck Humor Writer of the Month by the University of Dayton.