Ron Leshem

Biography

Ron Leshem is a writer-producer, TV executive, and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter. He serves as executive producer on HBO's "Euphoria". He won Israel's top literary award, the Sapir Prize for Literature, and has been published in 22 languages.

 In 2005 he became chief of content and programming for Keshet TV, Israel's lead broadcasting network. Later, he co-created and wrote the drama series "Euphoria", "The Gordin Cell", and script-edited "Baker and the Beauty"

As head of programming and content for Keshet, he commissioned and oversaw the development and production of some of the most popular and successful Israeli TV series, including Prisoners Of War (the Israeli original version of Homeland), the A-word, Traffic Light, and Arab Labor.

His novel Beaufort (2005, original Hebrew If There is a Heaven) was on top of Israel's bestseller list for 2 years. The film version of Beaufort, which Leshem co-authored, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear for Best Director. Beaufort sold over 150,000 copies in Israel.

As a journalist, Leshem served as deputy chief editor and director of the news division for "Maariv" daily newspaper and chief reporter at Yediot Ahronot newspaper, for which he also wrote as an analyst for military affairs, and spent 3 years as a reporter in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza.

Leshem is often invited to talk at Harvard, Yale, Brown, BU, University of Illinois, Brandeis, Wesleyan University, Rutgers University, Berkeley, San Jose State University, and the University of Leeds.