Miriam Chaikin Award for Writing

Miriam Chaikin Award for Writing

Announcing an annual award for writers.

This award was establihed in memory of Miriam Chaikin, a longtime Westbeth resident and prolific writer.

Born in Palestine, Chaikin grew up in Brooklyn, and her childhood memories and life in a close-knit Jewish community are all themes represented in her writing. She worked earlier in her career as an editor of literature for young people, and most of her books are intended for children and youth. Her works include lushly illustrated retellings of Old Testament lessons, humorous stories of the misadventurers of “Molly and Yossi”(based on her childhood and that of her beloved younger brother, Joseph), and collections of poetry.

The last two books she completed were for adults – Jewish Wisdom for Daily Life, and Jerusalem: An Informal Autobiography fo the City. For Miriam/Molly/Chickie as she was known, the written word and the book were essential to her life and wellbeing.

Award Information
It is in her memory that we seek to honor a member of the writing community, especially those who live in Westbeth, who have created recent written works that are worth sharing across the community. Writers are encouraged to submit copies of plays, short stories, poetry collecitons, or other examples of creative writing. A selection panel will review submissions and select one winner each Spring, who will be invited to do a public reading of sections from the work in the Community Room. Aujthors will retain full copyrights to their works, and submissions can be either published or unpublished.

To apply:
Submit sample works as email attachments to Miriam’s niece, also named Miriam to mchaiken@nmsu.edu

Sample works for review (not to exceed 100 pages) are due December 15, 2016. The review panel, composed of friends and family of Miriam as well as the WARC Literary Chair will read submissions and announce the winner by March 1, 2017. A public reading will be arranged subsequently as a spring event at Westbeth.

The winner of the award will receive $500 from the Miriam Chaikin Endowment Fund.