Ron Leshem is the deputy director in charge of programming and special projects for Keshet of Channel Two, Israel’s most watched television station. He is the author of the novel Beaufort (Im Yesh Gan Eden), winner of the 2006 Sapir Prize – Israel’s top literary award. He is also the co-screenwriter for the film Beaufort, nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Two graduate students at the school, Ben Hubbard and Shimrit Berman, will host the conversation with Leshem at North Gate Library.

Leshem is also a lecturer at the School of Communications at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, where he teaches courses on journalism. From 2002-2006, he served as deputy chief editor of Maariv newspaper and head of the news division. From 1998-2002, Leshem served on the editorial board of Israel’s most widely circulated newspaper Yediot Ahronot as a senior news editor, chief of reporters’ staff, and a reporter and analyst for military affairs.

Beaufort is based on interviews Leshem conducted with Israeli soldiers who were stationed in Lebanon before Israel’s withdrawal in 2000. The novel was on Israel’s bestsellers list for 18 months, has been translated into 10 languages and was released in English by Random House in December, 2007.

Books will be sold at the event by Analog Books.