Natalie White  English name
Shoshana Lavan  Israeli name

I have a BA and MA in English literature and have been an English Language and Literature teacher for over twenty years! I am lucky enough to have been a member of Tindal Street Fiction Group in Birmingham, England for years. This highly esteemed group has always supported me, critiqued my work brilliantly and totally encouraged my writing. 

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When I was a teenager, I had two poems published in anthologies, and this inspired me to believe in myself as a writer. 

 

In 2011 I won second prize for my short story 'Polar Opposites' in the 'Writers' Forum' magazine and in 2013 my story 'Beneath the Surface' was chosen out of a large number of entries to be published in 'The Sea in Birmingham' to celebrate thirty years of Tindal Street Fiction Group. My first novel 'The Forgotten People' was longlisted for the Bridport prize and reached the final 20 novels out of 1,196 entries in the 2018 competition.  ‘Clear as glass’ was one of the winners of the Mantle Arts writing competition and is in the anthology ‘Songs for the elephant man’ by Mantle Lane Press.  ‘The Wall around you’ is in the Dostoyevsy Wannabe Cities collection, in the anthology ‘Birmingham’. 'Left hanging' is in 'The Outsiders Review' by Momaya Press, and 'A cat may look at a king' is on the Vegan Online Journal.

Plenty more has happened since then, but the most exciting news this year is being shortlisted for the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize! Such an honour is really wonderful for me. 

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I have just signed a contract with a large publishing house who will be publishing my first novel, The Forgotten People'. Watch this space!

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I write regular blogs for Times Of Israel, and edit websites, on request. I also help with short story and non fiction translations into English. I am currently translating  testimonies from the survivors of the atrocity on 7th October 2023.

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In brief, I love everything to do with writing, and write as much as possible about human beings, in all their fascinating and often tragic complexity.