The 2026 winner of the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://jewishlibraries.org/sydney-taylor-manuscript-award/__;!!KGKeukY!wfyVFQiHh7YArDdm5YQmVl-usJE4EgDqkednpu9QG5QTPKh50ebk2nvm8V1hKdYxLFA2lkW3-PTbrJA4T4F2pSTisFPxtoSd$ > is Jessica Russak-Hoffman for How to Catch a Mermaid (When You're Scared of the Sea). The novel’s protagonist, Yaffa Mandelov, is not what you’d call an ocean person. A future international investigative journalist? No doubt. A clever wordsmith? Absolutely. But a swimmer? Not a chance. Unfortunately, to write the story for the school paper that will set her down the path to journalistic credibility and fame, she’s going to have to get in the water. When her sleepy Israeli beach town of Kiryat Yam goes viral for mermaid sightings, the mayor offers a million-shekel reward for proof. Yaffa, armed with her notebook and sheer chutzpah, launches a full-blown investigation. Joined by her bold best friend Penina, Yaffa faces shofar-blowing beachgoers, a suspicious American activist in a mermaid dress, and a town-wide obsession with mermaids. In a story that blends friendship, Jewish folklore, and family, Yaffa will have to risk it all as she gets closer to the truth about the mermaid—and about herself.
Jessica Russak-Hoffman is a Seattle-based reporter for Jewish News Syndicate, with work featured in Kveller, the Times of Israel, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and more. She is married with three brilliant children who have varied opinions on mermaids, but definitely love the sea. The Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award recognizes unpublished manuscripts of Jewish fiction targeting ages 8–13. The award was established by Sydney’s husband, Ralph Taylor, to encourage aspiring authors of Jewish children’s books. It was first awarded in 1985. The winner receives a cash award of $1000. Members of the 2026 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award committee are Chair Talya Sokoll, Putnam Library Co-Director, Noble and Greenough School, Dedham, Massachusetts; Susan Kaplan Carlton, Sydney Taylor Notable Author, Lecturer, Boston University, Hanover, New Hampshire; Mimi Leyton, Volunteer, Greenberg Families Library, Soloway JCC, Ottawa (Canada); Stacy Nockowitz, retired middle school librarian, author, and National Jewish Book Award winner, Columbus, Ohio; Martha Seif Simpson, Librarian, Congregation Mishkan Israel Library, Hamden, Connecticut; and A.R. Vishny, National Jewish Book Award winner and Sydney Taylor Book Award winner, Queens, New York.
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