# Assaf Gavron
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{{short description|Israeli writer and novelist (born 1968)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Assaf Gavron
| image = Assaf Gavron portrait 2014.jpg
| caption = Gavron in 2014
| native_name = אסף גברון
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|12|21}}
| birth_place = [Arad, Israel](/source/Arad%2C_Israel)
| occupation = Writer, novelist, translator, musician
| alma_mater = [Goldsmiths' College](/source/Goldsmiths%2C_University_of_London), London, UK
| awards = [Bernstein Prize](/source/Bernstein_Prize) (2013), Israeli Prime Minister Award for authors (2011)
| website = {{Official website|http://www.assafgavron.com}}
}}
'''Assaf Gavron''' ({{langx|he|אסף גברון}}; born 21 December 1968) is an Israeli writer, novelist, translator, and musician. Formerly a journalist and [hi-tech](/source/hi-tech) worker, his books have been translated to several languages and won awards such as the [Bernstein Prize](/source/Bernstein_Prize) for ''The Hilltop'' (2013), Prix ''[Courrier International](/source/Courrier_International)'' (France) for ''Croc Attack'' (2012), "Ein Buch für die Stadt" ([Cologne](/source/Cologne), Germany) for the same novel (2012), and the Israeli Prime Minister Award for authors (2011).
== Early life and career ==
Gavron was born in the town of [Arad](/source/Arad%2C_Israel) in 1968 and grew up in [Motza Illit](/source/Motza_Illit) near [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem). He earned a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) (BA) in [Media and Communication](/source/Media_studies) in [Goldsmiths' College](/source/Goldsmiths%2C_University_of_London) in London (1991–1994) and [New Media](/source/New_media_studies) in Vancouver (1997). In the 1990s, he worked as a journalist for several Israeli newspapers. Between 2000 and 2004, he was a creative director for Israeli high-tech company Valis. He has been teaching creative writing in Israel ([Bar-Ilan University](/source/Bar-Ilan_University) in [Ramat Gan](/source/Ramat_Gan), the [Sam Spiegel Film and Television School](/source/Sam_Spiegel_Film_and_Television_School) in Jerusalem, and [Sapir Academic College](/source/Sapir_Academic_College) in [Sderot](/source/Sderot)) and the United States ([University of Nebraska Omaha](/source/University_of_Nebraska_Omaha) and [San Diego State University](/source/San_Diego_State_University)). Gavron has worked creating video games and as a rock musician; he has also translated American novels into Hebrew.[{{cite news|last1=Kirsch|first1=Adam|title=The Great Israeli Novel Smiles at the Settlers–With his newly translated novel 'The Hilltop,' Assaf Gavron stakes his claim to be Israel's Jonathan Franzen|url=http://tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/186531/assaf-gavron|accessdate=29 October 2014|publisher=Tablet|date=29 October 2014}}]
== Other activities ==
Apart from his original works, Gavron is a literary translator from English to Hebrew. Among the more than twenty books he translated are [J. D. Salinger](/source/J._D._Salinger)'s ''[Nine Stories](/source/Nine_Stories_(Salinger))'', [Philip Roth](/source/Philip_Roth)'s ''[Portnoy's Complaint](/source/Portnoy's_Complaint)'', [Jonathan Safran Foer](/source/Jonathan_Safran_Foer)'s ''[Everything is Illuminated](/source/Everything_is_Illuminated)'', [J. K. Rowling](/source/J._K._Rowling)'s ''[The Casual Vacancy](/source/The_Casual_Vacancy)'', and [Audrey Niffenegger](/source/Audrey_Niffenegger)'s ''[The Time Traveler's Wife](/source/The_Time_Traveler's_Wife)''. Gavron is the singer and songwriter with Israeli cult pop band The Mouth and Foot (הפה והטלפיים), which has released five albums between 1989 and 2013. He is the founder and captain of the Israeli Writers Football national team. He was the chief writer of video game ''[Peacemaker](/source/PeaceMaker_(video_game))''.
== Personal life ==
Gavron lives in [Tel Aviv](/source/Tel_Aviv). He is divorced and has two daughters.[{{cite web |url= https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/2017-04-12/ty-article-magazine/.premium/assaf-gavron-on-the-importance-of-airing-israels-laundry-abroad/0000017f-db96-db22-a17f-ffb7cdcb0000 |title= Israeli Author Assaf Gavron on the Importance of Airing Israel's Dirty Laundry Abroad |last= Izikovich |first= Gili |date= April 12, 2017| website= Haaretz |access-date=August 28, 2022}}.]
== Awards and accolades==
* ''The Hilltop'' won the Israeli [Bernstein Prize](/source/Bernstein_Prize) (2013) and was long listed for the [Sapir Prize](/source/Sapir_Prize) (2014).
* ''CrocAttack'' won the ''[Courrier International](/source/Courrier_International)'' Prix in France (2013) and the "Buch für die Stadt" prize in [Cologne](/source/Cologne), Germany (2012). It was short listed for the Adei-Wizo Prize in Italy (2010) and long listed for the [Dayton Literary Peace Prize](/source/Dayton_Literary_Peace_Prize) in the US (2011).[The Books was also listed among the ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'' book critic's 10 favorite books of 2010 ({{cite news |first=David L. |last=Ulin |title=David Ulin's favorite books of 2010 |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-yearend-ulin-list-20101219,0,722150.story |work=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |date=December 19, 2010 |accessdate=February 4, 2014 }}).]
* ''Hydromania'' won the Wizo Prize in the Netherlands (2012) and the [Geffen Award](/source/Geffen_Award) in Israel (2009).
* 2010: [DAAD](/source/German_Academic_Exchange_Service) artists-in-Berlin fellowship.
* 2011: [Israeli Prime Minister Award for Authors](/source/Israeli_Prime_Minister_Award_for_Authors)
== Works ==
* ''Ice'' (אייס): novel, Tel Aviv: Gvanim, 1997.
* ''Sex in the Cemetery'' (מין בבית העלמין): story collection, Tel Aviv: [Zmora-Bitan](/source/Kinneret_Zmora-Bitan_Dvir), 2000.
* ''Moving'' (מובינג): novel, Or Yehuda: Zmora-Bitan Publishing, 2003. (German: ''Alles Paletti'', [Luchterhand Literaturverlag](/source/Luchterhand_Literaturverlag), 2010)
* ''CrocAttack'' (תנין פיגוע): novel, Or Yehuda: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan, 2006. (German: ''Ein schönes Attentat'', Luchterhand Verlag, 2008; Dutch: ''Krokodil van de aanslagen'', Ailantus, 2009; Italian: ''La mia storia, la tua storia'', Mondadori, 2009; French: ''Croc Attack'', Rivages, 2010; English (UK): ''CrocAttack'', 4th Estate, 2010; English (US): ''Almost Dead'', HarperCollins, 2010; English (Canada): ''Almost Dead'', Harper Canada, 2010; Greek: ''Croc Attack'', Bartzolulianos, 2013; Bulgarian: ''Almost Dead'', Enthusiast, 2014)
* ''Hydromania'' (הידרומניה): novel, Or Yehuda: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan, 2008. (German: ''Hydromania'', Luchterhand Verlag, 2009; Dutch: ''Hydromania'', Ailantus, 2010; Italian: ''Idromania'', La Giuntina, 2013)
* ''Eating Standing Up'' (אוכל בעמידה): collection of journalism, Jerusalem: Uganda, 2009.
* ''[The Hilltop](/source/The_Hilltop_(novel))'' (הגבעה): novel, Tel Aviv: Books in the Attic (Sifrey Aliyat Hagag), 2013. (German: ''Auf fremdem Land'', Luchterhand Verlag, 2013; Dutch: ''De Nederzetting'', Nieuw Amsterdam, 2014; French: ''Les Innocents'', Rivages, 2014; Italian: ''La Colina'', La Giuntina, 2014; English (US): ''The Hilltop'', Scribner, 2014; English (UK): ''The Hilltop'', One World, 2014; Swedish: ''Uppe på höjden'', [Natur & Kultur](/source/Natur_%26_Kultur), 2015; Czech: ''Osada na pahorku'', Pistorius & Olšanská, 2017).
* ''Eighteen Lashes'' (שמונה-עשרה מלקות), Books in the Attic (Sifrey Aliyat Hagag), 2017. (German: ''Achtzehn Hiebe'', Luchterhand Verlag, 2018; Italian: ''Le diciotto frustate'', La Giuntina, 2019).
* ''The Cement'' (הַמֶּלֶט), Pardes Publishing, 2023.
* ''Don't You Want Me'' (האם אינך רוצה בי), Books in the Attic (Sifrey Aliyat Hagag), 2025.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.assafgavron.com}}
* [http://mouthandfoot.bandcamp.com Mouth and Foot's website]
''CrocAttack'' / ''Almost Dead'':
* David L. Ulin, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-16-la-ca-assaf-gavron-20100516-story.html Book review: 'Almost Dead' by Assaf Gavron], ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'', May 16, 2010
* [Jon Papernick](/source/Jon_Papernick), [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-almost-dead-by-assaf-gavron/article1388771 A balanced achievement], ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', June 29, 2010
* James Smart, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/05/crock-attack-assaf-gavron-review Croc Attack!, by Assaf Gavron – review], ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'', February 5, 2011
''The Hilltop'':
* Anshel Pfeffer, [https://www.haaretz.com/life/books/2013-08-12/ty-article/.premium/meanwhile-in-israels-wacky-wild-west/0000017f-dedf-d3a5-af7f-feffa7530000 Documenting a warped and psychotic society in Israel's Wild West], ''[Haaretz](/source/Haaretz)'', August 12, 2013
* Jessica Steinberg, [http://www.timesofisrael.com/a-writers-life-in-translation A writer’s life in translation], ''[The Times of Israel](/source/The_Times_of_Israel)'', January 30, 2014
* Dan Friedman, [http://forward.com/culture/209864/of-frum-hippies-west-bank-settlements-and-leo-tols Of Frum Hippies, West Bank Settlements and Leo Tolstoy], ''[The Forward](/source/The_Forward)'', December 3, 2014
* Ian Sansom, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/19/the-hilltop-assaf-gavron-review-novel The Hilltop by Assaf Gavron review – ‘an extraordinary view of contemporary Israeli society’], ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'', 19 December 2014
* Mark Katkov, [http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2014/#/book/the-hilltop-a-novel The Hilltop: A Novel], NPR's Book Concierge 2014
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavron, Assaf}}
Category:1968 births
Category:21st-century Israeli journalists
Category:21st-century Israeli male musicians
Category:21st-century Israeli male writers
Category:21st-century Israeli novelists
Category:21st-century Israeli translators
Category:Academic staff of Sapir Academic College
Category:Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
Category:Bernstein Prize recipients
Category:Israeli male journalists
Category:Israeli male novelists
Category:Israeli people of British-Jewish descent
Category:Living people
Category:People from Arad, Israel
Category:People from Motza Illit
Category:Geffen Award recipients
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Assaf Gavron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assaf_Gavron) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assaf_Gavron?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.