Literary Agent for Joan Rowling Launches Publishing House for Jewish and Israeli Authors

Neil Blair, the long-time literary agent for author Joan Rowling, has co-founded a new publishing house, High Line Publishing Studio, aimed at supporting Jewish and Israeli writers who face publication difficulties due to their background or political views. The venture, which debuted in the UK a month prior, held its American launch event on October 20th at chef Eyal Shani's restaurant Port Sa'id in New York. Blair stated at the event that major New York and London publishing houses increasingly favor authors aligned with specific political stances, leading to rejections based on writers' beliefs or heritage rather than manuscript quality. He noted that the situation has worsened since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Blair cited HarperCollins's attempt to halt the publication of a book by former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and difficulties in finding a UK publisher for the memoir of Eli Sharabi, a former Hamas hostage, as examples. High Line Publishing Studio will operate two divisions: Odessa Editions, led by editor Jackie Klein, will focus on fiction and non-fiction related to Jewish history, antisemitism, philosophy, and culture, while remaining open to Israeli Arabs and non-Jewish authors writing on related themes. Antidote Books will concentrate on non-fiction about technology, democracy, ethics, and societal relations. Hachette will handle international distribution. An early publication will be "The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living" by American writer Dara Horn. High Line is among several new publishing initiatives emerging amid concerns of discrimination within the literary industry, according to Jewish Insider.