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Naomi Alderman, Benjamin Markovits on 2013 Granta List

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Jewish novelists Naomi Alderman and Benjamin Markovits have been named among the 20 most promising young British writers by Granta on its prestigious once-a-decade list.

The Granta List, which first appeared in 1983, identifies 20 promising wordsmiths under the age of 40.

Published every ten years, past lists have included well-known literary figures, from Martin Amis to Ian McEwan and Jeanette Winterson.

Although not all those who have been identified by Granta have enjoyed subsequent career success, inclusion on the list typically boosts both sales and public recognition.

Ms Alderman, daughter of JC columnist Geoffrey Alderman, is the author of three novels, including Disobedience, about a rabbi's daughter, and Liar's Gospel, which was published in 2012.

"Alderman brilliantly places the beginnings of the world’s most successful religion against the chaotic background of an occupied country," said the JC's review of the book.

Mr Markovitis is the author of a trilogy about Lord Byron, the first installation of which was published in 2008.
The Yale-educated writer, whose father is Jewish but whose mother is a German Christian, was converted to Judaism shortly after he was born.

Having lived in Texas and in Germany, he now lives in London and teaches creative writing at Royal Holloway.

Also on the 2013 list is 27-year-old Ned Beauman, whose debut novel Boxer, Beetle followed a gay Jewish boxer and a Nazi sympathiser. The novel, which was published last year, won the 2012 Goldberg Prize, given out by the Jewish Book Council.

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