Student wins new young writer award with story about the golem

Fellow panellists included novelist and journalist, Adam LeBor, literary critic and Jewish Quarterly contributing editor, David Herman, academic Nadia Valman; and Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger.

Ms Alderman, said: “We've been delighted to find such strong, thoughtful and well-developed voices.

“Our first prize winner Feet of Clay weaves the legend of the golem with the destruction of Prague during the Second World War.

“We were particularly impressed with Beatrice Baltuck Garrard's brilliantly evocative language and the strange otherworldly narrative voice of the golem to whom the world entire is new and unimagined.

“Garrard's 12-year-old female Kabbalah scholar is a brilliantly original character of whom we'd love to see more.”

Ms Garrard combines her writing with studying history and Yiddish literature at Stanford University in California.

She said she drew inspiration from Jewish folklore and Russian fairytales, along with a generous helping of Star Trek.

With a cut-off age of 30, the Amy Levy Prize is the first international Jewish writing award specifically aimed at encouraging writers at an early stage in their career.

As part of the prize Ms Garrard was awarded a week at Cover Park Writer’s Retreat in Scotland, a cash sum of £1,000, and will be mentored by Ms Alderman for one year.

She also will have a residency at JW3 and her winning story will be published in the Jewish Quarterly.

The second prize was awarded to Michelle Samuels for her story Tum Balalaika. The Garden Hose by Talya Zax was commended.

Ms Alderman said: “Our second prize winner is a wonderful tale that, like Amy Levy's work, takes on contemporary Jewish life through skilfully drawn characters.

“While a couple prepare for the Sabbath, a strange figure arrives at the door bearing a gift that bears more symbolic weight than is at first obvious. The story puts domestic life at the heart of the Jewish experience and is all the more convincing and thoughtful for that.”