A 2023 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist in the Anthologies Category

This anthology, the first of this kind in twenty-five years, collects eighteen astounding works of Jewish fiction.

This is the first anthology of translated multilingual Jewish fiction in 25 years: a collection of 18 splendid stories, each translated into English from a different language: Albanian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Ladino, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Yiddish. These compelling, humorous, and moving stories, written by eminent authors that include Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Isaac Babel, and Lili Berger, reflect both the diversities and the commonalities within Jewish culture, and will make you laugh, cry, and think. This beautiful book is easily accessible and enjoyable not only for Jewish readers, but for story-lovers of all backgrounds.

Authors (in the order they appear in the book) include: Elie Wiesel, Varda Fiszbein, S. Y. Agnon, Gábor T. Szántó, Jasminka Domaš, Augusto Segre, Lili Berger, Peter Sichrovsky, Maciej Płaza, Entela Kasi, Norman Manea, Luize Valente, Eliya Karmona, Birte Kont, Michel Fais, Irena Dousková, Mario Levi, and Isaac Babel.

Dr. Nora Gold is a prize-winning author and the founder and editor-in-chief of the prestigious literary journal Jewish Fiction .net, which has readers in 140 countries. Gold’s first book, Marrow and Other Stories, won a Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award and was praised by Alice Munro. Her second book, Fields of Exile, won the inaugural Canadian Jewish Literary Award for best novel. The Dead Man received a Canada Council for the Arts translation grant and was published in Hebrew. 18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages, an anthology of translated works, was praised by Publishers Weekly, Cynthia Ozick, and Dara Horn. In Sickness and In Health/Yom Kippur in a Gym (two novellas) will be published on March 1, 2024 with Guernica.

Nora Gold's profile page

• Short-listed, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist

“Gold... collects a remarkably diverse array of translated Jewish stories and novel excerpts... This broad and wide-ranging anthology is a fitting ode to the ‘nearly inexhaustible richness and strength’ of the Jewish multilingual tradition."

— Publishers Weekly

“The stories Gold has chosen are almost uniformly gripping. Not only do their plots compel and the skill of their respective translators astonish; they also move the reader to reflect on the multifarious moral dilemmas that have faced the Jewish people, both as Jews and simply as human beings, in all the lands of their dispersion and at all phases of their history. … There is variety and delight in these stories, whose provenance circles the globe. Deeper still is their reflection on the soul of an ancient people spinning dizzily in a modern world.”

— Rabbi David Wolpe, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Edit­ed by Nora Gold, the book deliv­ers on its promise to share beau­ti­ful­ly craft­ed fic­tion that trans­ports read­ers across the globe in fif­teen min­utes or few­er. … This book serves as a tes­ta­ment to the pow­er of trans­la­tion.”

— Deb­o­rah Miller, Jewish Book Council

“What a treasure!”

— Alberto Manguel, Director of the National Library of the Argentine Republic

“[F]iction, particularly when it reflects the diverse experience of Jewish life throughout the world, gives readers the power to know more and expand the perspectives of the Jewish world we thought we knew. … Buy this anthology particularly if you consider yourself a lover of Jewish literature. It’s an outstanding introduction to the rich diversity that exists in Jewish writing around the world these days.”

— Aaron Howard, Jewish Herald-Voice

“What the translations of these pieces show is that there is spiritual unity among the themes expressed in these stories that identify them with the bitter-sweet and tragic history of the Jewish people. … Five stars.”

— Chicago Book Review

"Through its transcendent, rangy, and unforgettable stories, Gold’s inclusion of a chorus of different voices and perspectives challenges the monolithic way people think about not just Jewish literature but Jewish people."

— Niv Magazine

“This is a landmark anthology. Nora Gold is a remarkable pioneer who has my heartfelt admiration.”

— Cynthia Ozick

“This book by Nora Gold is like a treasure chest of marvels, each story a gem from a different time and place. There are living marvels here from so many times and places and voices and experiences that every reader’s idea of Jewish literature will have to be fargresert un farbesert—enlarged and improved.”

— Dara Horn, award-winning author of People Love Dead Jews and Eternal Life

“Rich and varied, 18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages reminds us how diverse the Jewish experience is. For anyone interested in Jewish literature, it's a must-read book and an important addition to the Jewish literary canon.”

— Joshua Henkin, Winner of the Edward Lewis Wallant Award for American Jewish Fiction

“With this remarkable book, Dr. Gold makes a signal contribution to the current state and study of contemporary Jewish literature. Her anthology offers readers a world tour of Jewish literatures in one volume: 18 works that are of consistently high quality and represent numerous linguistic traditions. I know of no other anthology like this. It deserves significant critical attention and certainly will be of interest to teachers, students, and readers of Jewish literature, comparative literature, and world literature.”

— Adam Rovner, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English & Jewish Literature, and Director, Center for Judaic Studies, University of Denver

“One thing is for certain: whether winners of the Nobel Prize or secret scribblers in remote Eastern European shtetls (or both), these writers have clung to their Judaism as if to their very being. Yet, ironically, it is this clinging to identity which makes this collection so universal. They are saying that, in all of the best and worst circumstances, this is who we are and who we shall remain. Nothing can change that. What a treat it is to ‘hear’ the voices from far and wide affirming our humanity.”

— Joseph Kertes, Winner of a Canadian National Jewish Book Award and the U.S. National Jewish Book Award for Fiction

“18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages explores the modern Jewish identity through the lenses of brutally honest writers. This luminous collection brims with unsettling glimpses of relatable moments, with evocative characters struggling to make sense of a mutable world. A crucial addition to Jewish fiction and an ideal book club choice, with countless themes for discussion.”

— Shelly Sanders, Bestselling author of Daughters Of The Occupation (Harper Collins, 2022)

“With editorial aplomb and resourcefulness, Gold has selected a wide variety of stories culled from the Jewish Diaspora. To shift the Biblical paradigm, one could also imagine the multicoloured mosaic on the cover as a Joseph’s coat of many colours whose fabric is on display in each of these stories. That garment may be torn or mended – stitched together and stretched across the linguistic spectrum of the Diaspora. … From the Tower of Babel to Isaac Babel, Nora Gold’s 18 is a treasure-trove of translated stories.”

— Michael Greenstein, The Miramichi Reader

“Nora Gold’s 18: Jewish Stories Translated from 18 Languages is a multilingual journey through Jewish culture. … Gold’s curation allows readers to explore the vastness of Jewish culture through the eyes of renowned authors, offering a collection that is not only culturally enriching but also universally resonant. And it is not just for Jewish readers; it is a must-read for all lovers of stories illuminating the human experience in all its complexity. … Nora Gold’s meticulous curation and the anthology’s unique features make it a standout contribution to the world of literary collections, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of Jewish literature.”

— Norm Goldman, BookPleasures

“Readers interested in Jewish literature will find much to enjoy in 18. The anthology definitely shows the richness of Jewish fiction across the world.”

— Rabbi Rachel Esserman, Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton’s The Reporter