The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society.
It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Forum (previously known as the Jerusalem International Book Fair), and the recipient usually delivers an address when accepting the award. The award is valued at $10,000.
The prize's inaugural year was 1963, awarded to Bertrand Russell who had won the Nobel Prize in 1950. Octavio Paz, V. S. Naipaul, J. M. Coetzee, and Mario Vargas Llosa all won the Jerusalem Prize prior to winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.
No prize was awarded in 2023, the first such occasion in the award's history.
List of laureates Year Picture Name Nationality Languages Genres 1963 Bertrand Russell United Kingdom English Philosophy, essay 1965 Max Frisch Switzerland German Drama, novel, philosophy 1967 André Schwarz-Bart France French Novel 1969 Ignazio Silone Italy Italian Novel, short story, essay 1971 Jorge Luis Borges Argentina Spanish Short story, poetry, essay, philosophy, literary criticism, translation 1973 Eugène Ionesco Romania / France French Drama, novel 1975 Simone de Beauvoir France French Philosophy, novel, drama 1977 Octavio Paz Mexico Spanish Poetry, essay 1979 Isaiah Berlin Russia / United Kingdom English Philosophy, essay 1981 Graham Greene United Kingdom English Novel, short story, autobiography, drama, essay, screenplay 1983 Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul Trinidad and Tobago / United Kingdom English Novel, short story, essay 1985 Milan Kundera Czechoslovakia / France Czech / French Novel, short story, poetry, essay, drama 1987 John Maxwell Coetzee South Africa / Australia English Novel, essay, translation 1989 Ernesto Sabato Argentina Spanish Novel, essay 1991 Zbigniew Herbert Poland Polish Poetry, essay, drama 1993 Stefan Heym Germany German / English Novel, short story, autobiography, essay 1995 Mario Vargas Llosa Peru / Spain Spanish Novel, short story, essay, drama, memoirs 1997 Jorge Semprún Spain French / Spanish Novel, essay 1999 Don DeLillo United States English Novel, short story, drama, screenplay, essay 2001 Susan Sontag United States English Short story, novel, drama, essay 2003 Arthur Miller United States English Drama, screenplay, essay 2005 António Lobo Antunes Portugal Portuguese Novel 2007 Leszek Kołakowski Poland Polish Philosophy, history 2009 Haruki Murakami Japan Japanese Novel, short story 2011 Ian McEwan United Kingdom English Novel, short story, drama, screenplay 2013 Antonio Muñoz Molina Spain Spanish Novel 2015 Ismail Kadare Albania Albanian Novel, short story, poetry, essay, drama, screenplay 2017 Karl Ove Knausgaard Norway Norwegian Novel, autobiography 2019 Joyce Carol Oates United States English Novel, short story, drama, essay, memoirs, poetry 2021 Julian Barnes United Kingdom English Novel, essay, memoirs, short story 2025 Michel Houellebecq France French Novel, poetry, essay
References
External links Jerusalem Prize at the Jerusalem International Book Forum