My Jewish Publishing Wish List

The literary community has shut down Jewish voices. Here’s how we build something new.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

I made a decision shortly after October 7, 2023, as Jewish voices were increasingly marginalized in the literary community: in my work as a developmental editor, I would specialize in Jewish and Israeli manuscripts.

That decision changed my business. Roughly 70 percent of my work now involves helping Jewish authors tell their stories. I edit Holocaust stories based on grandparents’ diaries, firsthand accounts from Gaza war veterans, fictionalized accounts of mystical rabbis of the seventeenth century (that was a fun one), and other manuscripts that feature Jewish characters, Jewish history, or Jewish themes. Add that to my work at Judith Magazine, where I curate nonfiction essays and book excerpts from Jewish authors, and I am proud of my small part in helping Jewish writers navigate these times.

But it is not enough.

After we finish the work of editing a manuscript, many of my clients ask the obvious next question: “What now? How do I get an agent or publisher to pay attention?” In many cases, I help them write query letters and think through their next steps. But there is still a missing link between a strong edited manuscript and a fair shot at reaching the world.

I have been thinking about this for a long time, and I know many other Jewish literary professionals are wrestling with it, too. Over the past couple of years, and with greater urgency in recent months, I have been part of conversations with editors, writers, community leaders, potential partners, and people with the resources to build institutions. I have also heard of many more conversations happening elsewhere.

The striking thing is that everyone seems to be arriving at the same conclusion at once.

Authors are eager. Literary professionals want to help. Potential funders are paying attention. Readers have already shown that the audience exists. What has been missing is structure.

We need to build something of our own. It should include a publishing platform, yes, but also editors, agents, marketers, reviewers, booksellers, events, newsletters, donors, and readers working in concert. It should help Jewish authors develop excellent books, place them before the right audiences, and prove what should never have needed proving: Jewish stories matter, and Jewish books can sell.

This would not be the first time Jews built institutions because existing ones would not make room for us.

There is a reason the word “Jewish” appears in the names of so many American hospitals. In the early twentieth century, antisemitic barriers often limited Jewish access to medical training, employment, and care, especially for Jewish immigrants. So Jewish communities built hospitals of their own.

Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, founded in 1902 with funds raised by the Jewish community, was created to provide medical care to people of any religion or nationality. Eventually, many of these institutions became respected and mainstream. What began as a response to exclusion became a contribution to American life.

What would that look like?

I think there are two related but distinct needs.

The first is an ecosystem: a broad network of Jewish writers, editors, agents, publishers, publicists, booksellers, reviewers, funders, and readers who understand the moment we are in and are willing to help one another. Some of this already exists informally.

The second is a publishing company: a serious, professionally run home for excellent Jewish books that might otherwise struggle to find support in the current climate.

These two efforts would reinforce each other. The ecosystem would create the conditions for Jewish books to succeed. The publishing company would give that ecosystem a visible expression.

I have been in discussions with many people about the best way to implement this, and I do not pretend there is only one possible model. But here is my own wish list for what this ecosystem and publishing house should do.

Jewish Publishing Ecosystem

The ecosystem is the place to begin.

I see the need for it every time I speak publicly about Jewish writers and publishing. Afterward, someone almost always approaches me with a version of the same question: Do you know a Jewish-friendly agent? Do you know a publisher who might be open to this? Do you know where I should start?

That is the problem an ecosystem can begin to solve.

Some of this already exists. The Never Alone Book Club, launched by Elissa Wald, is one example of Jewish readers and writers finding one another and refusing to wait for approval from the usual literary authorities. Judith Magazine is part of this, too. So are the Jewish writers who have built communities on Substack, the podcasters and reviewers who still take Jewish books seriously, and the informal networks of editors, agents, authors, booksellers, and publicists who pass along names and warnings in private.

But informal support is not enough.

By ecosystem, I do not mean one organization controlling everything. I mean a trusted network of Jewish and Jewish-friendly literary professionals and readers who know how to find one another: editors, agents, publishers, publicists, marketers, reviewers, booksellers, event organizers, newsletter writers, librarians, donors, book clubs, and authors at every stage of the process.

Some parts of this network could be public. Some might need to be private. Jewish writers need places where they can ask honest questions without being punished for asking them. They need to know which doors are open, which doors are closed, and which doors only look open until the manuscript includes Israel, Zionism, antisemitism, Hebrew, Jewish peoplehood, or a Jewish character who is not there to apologize for existing.

The purpose of the ecosystem would be to help Jewish books move. A manuscript should be able to find the right editor. An author should be able to find a serious reader, a fair agent, a responsible publisher, a knowledgeable publicist, a welcoming event space, a reviewer who understands the context, and readers who will carry the book forward.

The ecosystem would serve many authors and many paths. Some writers will still want traditional agents and major publishers. Some will work with small presses. Some will publish independently. Some may need help with events, publicity, reviews, or reader outreach more than they need a publisher. All of that belongs in the ecosystem.

But one important expression of that ecosystem should be a serious publishing company.

Jewish Publishing Company

The publishing company would be the most visible expression of this larger ecosystem.

Here, I would look to the independent publishing world for inspiration. In my work with the Alliance of Independent Authors, I have seen writers build serious careers without waiting years for permission from the old gatekeepers. They move quickly. They stay close to their readers.

I am not interested in building a press that publishes one or two carefully chosen books a year. I am thinking about volume, because I know for a fact that there are stories waiting to get out into the world. I see them in my editing work. I hear about them after panels. I read them in pitches and essays and emails from writers who do not know where to turn next.

Taking a page from the indie world, print-on-demand makes this possible in a way it would not have been possible years ago. A new press does not have to gamble everything on large print runs, warehouse space, and the hope that bookstores will take a chance on Jewish books. It can publish professionally, keep books available, respond to demand, and build momentum title by title.

The old publishing model is slow by design. A Jewish publishing company built for this moment should not be.

The point of this wish list is to put, on the record, my particular vision for what comes next in Jewish publishing. These are perilous times for Jews around the world, and dark days for Jewish authors. But for the literary community, the initial shock is over. Now it’s time to do what we do best: build something new out of the ashes.