Meir Shalev is the recipient of the Prime Minister's Prize (Israel), the Chiavari (Italy), the Entholomogical Prize (Israel), the Wizo Prize in France, Israel and Italy, and the Brenner Prize of 2006—the highest Israeli literary recognition awarded for his last novel, The Pigeon and The Boy. Meir Shalev is also a columnist with the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. He lives with his wife and children in Jerusalem and in the north of Israel, where he is a motorcycle and jeep enthusiast.