Yael Hedaya

Israeli novelist and screenwriter who writes in Hebrew. She is known for her novels about contemporary Israeli domestic life — relationships, loneliness, and the small dramas of middle-class existence in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Her work has been translated into English and several European languages, and she is one of the notable voices in contemporary Israeli literary fiction.

Past sales0

PeriodContemporary

NationalityIsraeli

1. Biography

A short life of the author

Yael Hedaya (also rendered as Yael Hoffman in some catalogues) is an Israeli novelist and screenwriter based in Jerusalem. She writes in Hebrew about the emotional lives of contemporary Israelis — the search for connection, the failures of intimacy, and the textures of daily life in Israel’s urban middle class.

Her novels, translated into English and several European languages, have been praised for their psychological precision and dry humour. She has also worked as a screenwriter for Israeli television.

Collecting Hedaya

Israeli Hebrew-language first editions are collected by readers of contemporary Israeli literature. English translations, published by various houses, are modestly priced. The Israeli literary fiction market is growing internationally but remains a specialist collecting area.

Contemporary Israeli literature — including work by Amos Oz, David Grossman, Etgar Keret, and others — has found substantial international readerships, raising the profile of Hebrew-language fiction globally.