From the end of the 1930s to the 1950s, Yizhar published short novellas, among them "Ephraim Goes Back to Alfalfa", "On the Edge of the Negev", "The Wood on the Hill", "A Night Without Shootings", "Journey to the Evening's Shores", "Midnight Convoy", as well as several collections of short stories. His pen name was given to him by the poet and editor Yitzhak Lamdan, when in 1938 he published Yizhar's first story "Ephraim Goes Back to Alfalfa" in his literary journal "Galleons". From then on, Yizhar signed his works with his pen name.