After 15 years: The writer 'Te' reveals his real name
Eight books, three bestsellers, a unique writers' festival and tens of thousands of devoted readers - and all this without anyone knowing who the person behind the writer known as 'Te' was. Now, with the release of his new book, he has decided to reveal his identity.
Over the past 15 years, 'Te' has become one of the most unique phenomena in the Israeli literary landscape. Under a veil of complete anonymity, he published eight books, three of which were bestsellers, founded the largest Israeli writers' festival of its kind, and gathered a community of tens of thousands of devoted readers on social media who follow his writing daily. All this was done behind a pen name, with no detail that might reveal the true identity of the mysterious writer.
Now, with the release of his eighth book, 'My Name is Te', Tomer Neuman has decided to remove the mask for the first time and reveal his identity to his readers.
'My Name is Te' is an extraordinary novel, an autobiography of a fictional character based on the true story of an Israeli writer who chose to live for 15 years behind a pen name. It is a book that intentionally blurs the line between reality and imagination, between truth and fiction, and between memory and interpretation. The plot begins when an anonymous writer, on the verge of financial collapse, receives an unusual offer from an unknown woman who wants to buy him for one year.
From here begins a literary journey in which real events from the author's life are combined with conversations with dead writers and plots that move between reality and imagination. Throughout the journey, the reader is left with the question of what actually happened and what was written from the world of creation. At the center of the book is the complex relationship between the creator and the woman who purchases his year of creation, a bond that puts to the test the price of dreams, success, love, and creation, and examines how far a person is willing to go to continue writing.
"When I started writing as 'Te' 15 years ago, there was no gap between me and the character. It was a way to write without the need to deal with the people around me. But over the years we split, and he gained a life of his own in the thoughts of the readers and followers on the networks. 'My Name is Te' completes the split and gives the character 'Te' the ending he deserves. So that the person who created him can now live without him, without a hat or a mask," said Neuman.
