Grigori Kanovich

Kanovich was born into a traditional Jewish family in the Lithuanian town of Jonava in 1929. Together with his parents he fled war-stricken Lithuania and spent years in exile in Kazakhstan and the Ural Mountains. In 1945 the family returned to Vilnius. Here, in 1953, Kanovich graduated from Vilnius State University with a degree in Slavic studies. He has written more than ten novels – a virtual epic saga – dealing with the vicissitudes of the history of Eastern European Jewry from the 19th century to the present day. Kanovich was declaed a citizen of honor (2013) of his hometown Jonava. Between 1989 and 1993 Kanovich served as Chairman of the Jewish Community of Lithuania. Since 1993 the writer has lived in Israel. He was a member of the PEN club in both Israel and Russia. Kanovich passed away in 2023 leaving behind his wife and two sons.

Awards: 2020 EBDR Literature Prize
2014 Lithuanian National prize in Art and Culture

Foreign rights:
Albania/ Shkupi
Bosnia and Herzegovina/ Buybook
Germany/ Aufbau, Corso
Lithuania/ Tyto Alba, Lietuvos
Macedonia/ Prozart
Poland/ Fundacja Pogranicze
UK, US/ Noir Press

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