Miriam Ruth Black

Winner of the 72nd National Jewish Book Awards

Winner Hackney Literary Award

 

With so much fiction devoted to the Holocaust, it is refreshing to read an historical novel about the period of the great Jewish migration from Eastern Europe to the New World. From the founding of HIAS, the Jewish refugee agency, from 1880s - 1920s, millions of Jewish immigrants arrived in the U.S. There is hardly a Jewish family in the U.S. whose immigration is not rooted in that era. Few novels tell that story. It is all the more gratifying that this one, Shayna, tells it beautifully. From the moment I picked up Shayna’s saga, I was captivated and found myself caring deeply about her and her family. That is the test of a good novel – and this one passes with flying colors! Kudos to the author.

—Roberta Elliott, daughter of a refugee, and former VP of Communications, HIAS

 

I loved this book! It’s authentic, emotionally satisfying and a compelling read.

—Bonnie Dimun, Executive Director, Museum at Eldridge Street

 

Miriam Ruth Black won the Midwest Independent Publisher’s award 2013 for Literary Fiction for her novel Turtle Season. Recently she won the Hackney Literary Awards’ prize for Shayna. She divides her time between Tucson and Minneapolis. miriamruthblack.com