Shulamit Lapid facts for kids

Shulamit Lapid (born November 9, 1934) is a famous Israeli writer. She writes exciting novels and interesting plays. Her works include historical stories, books about social issues, and popular detective novels.

About Shulamit Lapid

Shulamit Lapid was born in Tel Aviv, a big city in Israel. She studied Oriental studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This means she learned about the cultures and languages of countries in the Middle East and Asia.

Her Family and Background

Shulamit's father, David Giladi, was also a writer and journalist. He helped start a well-known Israeli newspaper called Maariv. Shulamit wrote a book called Veulai Lo Hayu (Maybe They Were Not). In this book, she shares the story of her father moving to Israel. She also writes about her own childhood in Tel Aviv during the 1930s and 1940s.

Shulamit Lapid was married to Yosef Lapid, who was a journalist and a politician. They had three children together. One of their children is Yair, who is also a famous Israeli politician, writer, and TV personality. He even served as Prime Minister of Israel.

Her Writing Career

Shulamit Lapid started her writing journey with a collection of short stories called Dagim (Fish) in 1969. She writes many different kinds of books.

Historical Novels

Lapid is known for her historical novels. These books bring the past to life.

• Gai Oni (1982) tells the story of a village in the Galilee region that later became Rosh Pina.
• Ka-Ḥeres ha-Nishbar (As a Broken Vessel, 1984) is about an old objects dealer named Moses Wilhelm Shapira.
• Havat Haalamot (The Maidens' Farm) follows characters from Gai Oni. It's about a project to train women in farming at the Kinneret Farm near the Sea of Galilee.

Shulamit Lapid was one of the first Hebrew writers to explore the important roles women played in the early history of Israel.

Detective Stories

One of Shulamit Lapid's most popular types of books are her spy and detective stories. She created a character named Lizzy Badihi. Lizzy is a journalist for a local newspaper in Beersheba. In each book, Lizzy gets involved in a mystery that no one asked her to solve! She is very determined.

The first book in this series, Mekomon (published in 1989), helped make detective stories very popular in Israel. Lizzy Badihi is known for solving cases while being a bit clumsy, "tottering in her oversized shoes and wearing oversized earrings."

Other Works

Shulamit Lapid has also written several books for children. She even wrote the words for a song called "Rosa Marzipan."

She has written several plays for the theater. Some of her plays include HaYerusha (The Inheritance), Abandoned Property, Mifal Hayav (His Life Work), and A Surrogate's Womb.

Lapid was once the chairperson of the Hebrew Writers' Association. This means she led a group that supports writers who write in Hebrew.

Awards and Special Recognition

Shulamit Lapid has won many awards for her writing.

• In 1987, she won the Prime Minister's Prize for Literature.
• In 1996, she received the Newman Prize.
• In 2013, she won a Steimatzky Prize for her book Abandoned Furniture.
• She also won Gold and Platinum Prizes from the Book Publishers Association for her book Nunia.

Her Books

Here are some of the books Shulamit Lapid has written:

Children's Books

Novels for Adults

Short Story Collections

Lizzy Badihi Detective Series

Plays She Wrote

• Abandoned Property (first shown in 1987)
• A Surrogate's Womb (first shown in 1990)
• Mifal Hayav (first shown in 1992)
• Haflagot (first shown in 1997)

See also

• Women of Israel
• Literature of Israel