As a novelist he has won some of the top literary Israeli awards, among them the prestigious annual literary award the Sapir Prizefor Literature for his debut novelBeaufortBeaufort was on the Israel bestseller list for 2 years selling over 150,000 copies in Israel and was translated into more than 20 languages. The film version of Beaufort, which Leshem co-wrote, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and won the Berlin International Film FestivalSilver Bear for Best Director. Leshem’s second book The Underground Bazaar reached also the bestseller list and was translated into numerous languages. Leshem created and co-wrote the drama series The Gordin Cell, 2011), which received 11 nominations for the Israeli Academy of Film and Television awards. The TV series was adapted by NBC as an American remake,Allegiance. Furthermore, Leshem co-created and co-wrote the series Euphoria, for Hot . Leshem serves as an executive producer on the HBO's series Euphoria. The Israeli filmIncitement by Yaron Zilberman, which Leshem co-wrote, premiered at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival. The film received 10 nominations for the Israeli Academy of Film and Television awards. Alongside his long-time writing partner, Amit Cohen, Leshem co-wrote and co-created the Syrian Civil War drama No Man's Land, an American-French co-production, which Hulu and Arte ordered straight to series on spring 2019. He served as a story editor for the series Beauty and the Baker. On summer 2019, production began on Israel’s Biggest-Budget TV Drama SeriesValley Of Tears, 8-Part Mini Set Against Yom Kippur War, which Leshem co-created with Cohen. From 2006 until 2009, Leshem served as head of content and programming for Keshet Broadcasting. He was responsible for the development and production of some of the most popular and successful Israeli TV series, receiving outstanding industry awards. Series include: Arab Labor, the A-word, Traffic Light, and Homeland. In 2019, Leshem published in Israel his novel When we were beautiful, and announced it will be translated to English by Jessica Cohen.
Media career
Leshem served as a soldier in the Intelligence Corps of the Israel Defense Forces. Subsequently, he spent three years as an Israeli reporter from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, later on he was promoted as head of the news division at the most widely circulated newspaper in Israel Yediot Ahronot, for which he also wrote as an analyst for military affairs. By the age of 26, he started serving as deputy chief editor for Ma'ariv newspaper. Additionally, he wrote short stories for Le Monde newspaper as well as various columns in several European newspapers. Leshem is often invited as a speaker to the most distinguished universities around the world, including: Harvard, Yale, BU, Berkeley, to name a few. Leshem has also taken part in more than 60 festivals and book fairs worldwide.
