Database

Achuzat Bayit Books was founded by Saray Gutman, who is personally involved in every stage of book production. The catalog features both original literature and translations. In 2010, Achuzat Bayit joined the Yedioth Books Group while maintaining full editorial independence. In the field of original literature, Achuzat Bayit publishes works by Yael Neeman, Dror Mishani, Gail Hareven, and Tehila Hakimi, among others, and in translated literature, works by Mario Vargas Llosa, Olga Tokarczuk, Richard Yates, Claire Keegan, and others.

Afik was founded by Yiftach Aloni. This publisher focuses primarily on fine literature – prose and poetry – with a special emphasis on travel narratives and short stories. Recently, it launched a debut series edited by Einat Yakir, titled Kharṭum. Afik has joined HaTachana Publishing, where Orna Landau serves as chief editor. It will now operate as a series within HaTachana, edited by Yiftach Aloni and Einat Yakir.

Am Oved was founded in 1942 by the General Federation of Labor in the Land of Israel and has since been committed to disseminating quality literature, both original and translated. Its flagship series, Sifria La’am, remains one of the most prestigious in Israel, having published works by Yehoshua Kenaz, Meir Shalev, David Shahar, Yishai Sarid, and Ronit Matlon. The longstanding non-fiction series, Sifriyat Ofakim, offers a wide range of original and translated works.

Aryeh Nir Publishers is a family-owned publishing house established in 1994 by Aryeh Nir. The publisher primarily focuses on translated literature (publishing non-fiction, popular science, thrillers, literary fiction, historical novels, and romance books). It has developed a range of children’s and young adult titles, including updated translations of classic works. The publisher collaborates with the Modan Group in production and distribution while maintaining full editorial independence.

Asia is a small, independent publisher that produces a select number of titles in both original and translated literature with exceptional aesthetic treatment. In addition, the publisher also releases non-fiction, art books, and guides.

Babel Publishers was founded by Amit and Sharon Rotbard, and today Roni Meirstein is also a partner in the firm. Babel issues fine literature and non-fiction with a special emphasis on French literature. Its catalogue integrates works of social consciousness alongside more commercial titles. Babel is also noted for its pioneering architecture series, edited by Sharon Rotbard. In 2004, Babel joined the Yedioth Books Group while maintaining full editorial independence. Among the authors featured in its catalog in translation are Pierre Bourdieu, Simone de Beauvoir, Georges Perec, Emmanuel Carrère, Denis Johnson, Fernando Pessoa and Michel Houellebecq.

Bialik Institute was founded in 1935 by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency. It focuses on three main areas: preserving the Jewish literary heritage across generations; translating foundational works by Jewish and non-Jewish thinkers in literature, philosophy, and history; and publishing high-quality academic research from Israel and around the world. Bialik Institute also publishes the Kvar poetry series, edited by Liat Kaplan.

Blima Books is an independent publishing house dedicated to publishing literary, poetic, and philosophical essays, aiming to preserve and enrich the dialogue between different aspects of Judaism.

This publisher primarily focuses on translated non-fiction books (philosophy, history, and popular science), alongside updated translations of classic works and children’s literature. All the Harry Potter books were published by this house.

Carmel is a Jerusalem-based publisher founded by Yisrael Carmel. It has issued a large selection of exemplary translations of world classics, alongside poetry books and academic research titles. Among the notable translations published by this company are Josephus Flavius’ The Jewish War, Rousseau’s The Confessions, as well as works by Voltaire, Stendhal, Henri Bergson, Albert Camus, and many others. Also noteworthy is its impressive poetry series featuring translations from various languages, produced in ongoing collaboration with poet and translator Rami Saari. In June 2022, Yisrael Carmel sold his company to Yedioth Books Group, while remaining editor-in-chief.

Catharsis is a young, independent publishing house focused on Hebrew fiction and non-fiction. It also publishes selected translations of world literature. The publisher’s series include Atlantis (speculative literature) and Ergo (modern literature). The house has also released poetry collections on social issues.

Graff Publishing is an independent publishing house specializing in science fiction and fantasy for adults and young adults. Additionally, the publisher also releases updated translations of classic works as well as original works and non-fiction books.

Hakibbutz Hameuchad and Sifriyat Poalim are among Israel’s oldest publishing houses. Both were founded by the Kibbutz Movement and merged in 2001. The publisher offers both original literature and translations. It also publishes poetry and children’s books, including many Israeli children’s classics. The non-fiction series Red Line focuses on original works and translations that address key issues at the heart of cultural and political discourse.

Hakursa is an independent publishing house that collaborates with the Modan Group in production, distribution, and marketing. The publisher primarily focuses on commercially viable translated literature. Notable authors published by Hakursa include Muriel Spark, Neil Gaiman, Zora Neale Hurston, John Green, Kristin Harmel, and Andy Weir.

Hava Laor is a small independent publishing house founded by author Oded Carmeli. Operating in conjunction with the literary magazine Hava Lehaba, this publisher focuses on highly contemporary and experimental literature. Notable publications include The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen (winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize), the complete poetry of Yona Wallach, and works by Fernando Pessoa.

Keter is owned by Modan Publishing, and is one of Israel’s leading publishing houses. In addition to its extensive work in translated works, non-fiction, children’s, young adult, and comics, its original Hebrew literature series showcases some of the country’s most prominent authors, including Amos Oz, Yoel Hoffman, Uri Orlev, Ronit Matalon, Yaniv Iczkovits, Zeruya Shalev, and Yaara Shehori.

Kinneret-Zmora-Dvir is one of the three largest publishing groups dominating the Israeli book market. It is comprised of Dvir Publishing (founded in Odessa in 1919 by poet Hayim Nahman Bialik), Zmora-Bitan Publishing (founded by Ohad Zmora in 1973), and Kinneret Publishing (founded in 1978 by Yoram and Talma Roz). The group also co-owns the Tzomet Sfarim bookstore chain.

The publisher’s diverse catalog features prominent authors such as Jonathan Safran Foer, Nicole Krauss, and Margaret Atwood in translation, and Eshkol Nevo, Etgar Keret, Yonatan Gefen, and Yochi Brandes in the original Hebrew. The publishing house also operates an original Hebrew literature department, edited by Noa Manheim.

Locus is an independent publishing house founded by Shira Hefer. This house issues high-quality contemporary literature in carefully crafted translation, modern classics, original Hebrew literature, drama translations, and poetry. Authors published by Locus include Ludmila Petrushevskaya, Nell Zink, Jamaica Kincaid, and Sheikha Helawy.

Magnes Press is an independent publishing house owned by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition to academic research and classic philosophical works (Kant, Rousseau, Pascal, Levinas, and others), the publisher also releases non-academic publications by contemporary authors.

Matar specializes in a variety of genres, including prose (original and translated), non-fiction (particularly management and business), personal development, lifestyle, empowerment, psychology, health, and parenting. In addition, this publisher presents a diverse selection of children’s and young adult literature.

Modan is one of the three largest publishing houses in Israel. It is a family-owned business that owns one-third of the Tzomet Sfarim bookstore chain. The publisher specializes in translated works: popular and literary, children’s and young adult, cookbooks, non-fiction, and self-help books.

Nahar Books is a small independent publishing house founded by Reuven and Shoshi Miran. Its main focus is translating classic texts from European culture and thought into Hebrew.

Pardes is an independent publishing house offering a diverse selection of original and translated literature. In the field of non-fiction, Pardes is known for publishing books with a political-humanist orientation, covering political science, sociology, history, and gender studies. In recent years, Pardes has established itself as a home for many poets and has published original prose works by esteemed authors such as Shimon Adaf and Boris Zaidman.

This small publishing house, founded and managed by Amir Sharfman, focuses on stories from ancient cultures that originate in oral traditions. Each book is accompanied by illustrations and comprehensive documentation, helping to place the stories in their historical and geographical context.

Penn is a family-owned publishing house that collaborates with the Yedioth Books Group in production, distribution, and marketing. The catalog primarily features translated fiction, ranging from updated translations of classics (Hemingway, Woolf, and Faulkner) to more contemporary works.

Persimmon Publishing, managed and edited by Yoav Reiss and Yori Mayron, and focuses on works of prose, essays, memoirs, and poetry, both original and in translation, particularly on social, cultural, and political themes. Its author list includes Erika Mann, Haim Weiss, Yukio Mishima, Ruhama Albag, Colette, Motty Fogel, E. M. Forster, Henry James, Vladimir Nabokov, Chava Alberstein, Osip Mandelstam, Christopher Isherwood, and Karel Čapek, among others.

This independent publishing house includes a Hebrew prose series edited by Eli Hirsch, and another series of poetry and prose (with various editors).

Poetry Place is an independent publishing house dedicated to poetry in both original Hebrew and translation. The publisher also produces Nanopoetica journal for short works and Maala journal of literary criticism. It also operates a creative writing school in Jerusalem and runs writing workshops in Haifa.

Resling is an independent publishing house specializing in the translation of non-fiction books in the fields of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, feminism, and psychoanalysis, with a particular focus on post-structuralist literature and postmodern theory. Resling also offers a series dedicated to original academic and philosophical works, as well as the Vashti series, edited by Adi Sorek, which is devoted to experimental and challenging literary texts.

Ruth Books is an independent publishing house driven by a humanistic worldview and a desire to offer Israeli readers a contemporary encounter with literary representations of a multicultural world. The publisher focuses on contemporary translations as well as classic works.

Schocken is a family-run publishing house founded in Berlin, publishing books across the humanities – world and Israeli literature, nonfiction, poetry, and children’s books. Over its many years of operation, the publishing house has released all of S. Y. Agnon’s works, as well as writings by Franz Kafka, Peter Handke, Mario Vargas Llosa, Nadine Gordimer, Gabriel García Márquez, Czesław Miłosz, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Friedrich Nietzsche, Plato, Yehuda Amichai, Pinchas Sadeh, and many others.

Tal May is a mid-sized publishing house specializing in children’s and young adult literature. While independent, it collaborates with the Yedioth Books Group. The publisher deliberately focuses on complex themes such as gender and sexual identity, family conflicts, and mental disabilities. Many of its books are released in high-quality illustrated album editions.

Tchelet is a distinctly commercial publishing house founded by the Steimatzky bookstore chain. The publishing house releases children’s books, nonfiction, translated prose, and original literature. Among the authors published by the house are Giora Chamizer, Mishka Ben-David, and Neta Hoter.

This publishing house, established and managed by Uriel Kon, specializes in translating modern works from around the world, primarily novellas. The publisher’s rich catalog includes novellas by well-known authors as well as first-time translations of lesser-known writers. Among the titles published by Tesha Neshamot are works by Stefan Zweig, Vivian Gornick, Natalia Ginzburg, and Gabriel García Márquez.
Kon has also opened a bookstore featuring the publisher’s books alongside a selection of imported wines.

Utz is a small independent publishing house founded by translator Gili Bar-Hillel. The publisher specializes in children’s and young adult literature, most of which is translated from English. Utz Publishing places significant emphasis on fantasy literature and devotes special attention to illustrations. Its catalog includes works by L. Frank Baum, Diana Wynne Jones, and Frances Hardinge.

Xargol is a small publishing house dedicated primarily to translated literature, with a smaller selection of original Hebrew works. While independent in its editorial choices, Xargol collaborates with the Modan Group in production and distribution.