[2] The prize is awarded by Mifal HaPayis (Israel's state lottery), and is a part of the organization's cultural initiatives.
In 2006, in response to many petitions, the prize's management decided to open up the competition to works published in the previous five years which had been translated into Hebrew from other languages.
The change was intended to allow Israeli authors writing in Russian, Arabic, English, and additional languages to compete.
[5] The prize's awarding ceremony is broadcast every year on television during Israel's Hebrew Book Week.
Some of the country's most important writers refuse to submit their candidacy for it, including Meir Shalev, Aharon Appelfeld, A.B.
[7] However, others have argued that literary funding is in short supply in Israel, and would be best directed at local authors rather than those living more comfortably abroad.