Israeli literature has played a central role in the construction of a secular and contemporary identity, influenced by traditional Jewish tradition, history, and culture. Writers have revived ancient Hebrew and brought it to life as a modern language, and in the early 20th century, pioneers Agnon and Brenner laid the foundation for and developed modern Hebrew. Brenner engaged in new pioneering work using medieval rabbinic expressions, while Agnon freely used modern and medieval Hebrew to depict Jewish traditions and spirituality. The works of the contemporary Israeli writers have been translated into many languages and have made a broad intellectual contribution to the world.

Amos Oz has been frequently named as a Nobel Prize nominee. David Grossman has been influential politically and socially. AB Yehoshua continues to question Jewish identity. Appelfeld and Orlev are known in the Holocaust literature. Keret is popular for his unique worldview using spoken language and slang. Sayed Kashua, also a journalist and known for his humorous columns, has written about the complexities of Arab Israeli youth in “Dancing Arabs”. "Sapiens" of Yuval Noah Harari, a historian of the Hebrew University, is a worldwide bestseller and has been translated into 45 languages.