Author and illustrator Art Spiegelman and Israeli novelist Aharon Appelfeld are among the winners of the 2011 National Jewish Book Awards, an American presentation handed out annually  by the Jewish Book Council.

Spiegelman’s new book, MetaMaus:  A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus, took the prize in the biography, autobiography and memoir category.  The judges describe it “as brilliant and paradigm-shattering as…Maus… a work of genius.”

Appelfeld won his third National Jewish Book Award in fiction for Until the Dawn’s Light.  Ned Beauman, the 26-year-old author of Boxer, Beetle, won in the outstanding debut fiction category.

Simon Sebag Montefiore was honoured with the Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year Award for his epic history,  Jerusalem:  The Biography.

This year, the Jewish Book Council will recognize the contributions of board member Myra H. Kraft, who died in July. The Myra H. Kraft Memorial Award in contemporary Jewish life and practice, endowed by her husband, Robert Kraft, and her family, has been established for her dedication to the world of Jewish literature. It will be presented to Rabbi David A. Teutsch for his book A Guide to Jewish Practice: Everyday Living.

Other winners include Hirsch Goodman in the history category for The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival; Julie Chibbaro in the children’s and young adult literature category for Deadly, and Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky in the women’s studies category for The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth.

 The awards will be presented March 14 in New York. A complete list of the winners can be seen at www.jewishbookcouncil.org . The Jewish Book Council has been giving out the National Jewish Book Awards since 1948.