At Hunter College Raphael won the MFA Thesis Prize for her novel, I Love Lord Buddha[1][2] published by now defunct Creation Books.
[5] African Books Collective said “Her writing is akin to a poetic trance that manages to convey an unexpected and taunting fragile beauty.”[6] Raphael is also known for a non-fiction book about the Japanese butoh dance movement, Outcast Samurai Dancer,[7] a collaboration with Japanese culture expert Donald Richie[8] and photographer Meital Hershkovitz.
Her novel Backpacker: New York, Seoul, Phnom Penh, Sapporo, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Mexico City, Maputo, Tokyo mon amour was published in 2007.
[11] Raphael wrote a photography essay in Torbjorn Rodland's White Planet, Black Heart.
Her debut title Family Ties[15] was named one of the Best Jewish Children's Books of 2015 by Tablet Magazine.