J.K. Rowling’s Agent Launches New Publishing House for Jewish and Israeli Authors Amid Rising Industry Exclusion
Literary agent Neil Blair launched High Line Publishing Studio in London and New York to publish Jewish and Israeli writers who face growing exclusion from mainstream Western publishing houses amid the Middle East conflict.
High Line Publishing Studio Launches in London and New York
Neil Blair, known for representing J.K. Rowling, established High Line Publishing Studio with private financial backing.
The venture houses two specific imprints. Odessa Editions, directed by Jacky Klein, focuses on fiction and nonfiction by Israeli and Jewish authors. Antidote Books, managed by former HarperCollins executive Joel Simons, handles non-fiction works addressing major cultural and intellectual topics.
Klein spent two years living in Jaffa with her family after moving from London before October 7, 2023. She decided to join the project after reading a British Telegraph article detailing a silent boycott of Jewish writers within the United Kingdom publishing industry.
Commercial Success Meets Institutional Resistance
Blair pursued the new venture after experiencing difficulties placing prominent manuscripts with major Western publishing houses. One primary example involved Eli Sharabi, a former Hamas hostage who wrote a successful memoir titled Hostage.
While an American edition sold over 350,000 hardcover copies and entered the New York Times bestseller list, major British publishing groups declined the manuscript. A mid-sized independent publisher, Swift Press, ultimately acquired the rights.
A similar obstacle affected Yossi Cohen, the former director of the Mossad. HarperCollins initially acquired his book in the United States, but Blair reported that the publisher later obstructed the publication by contesting contractual clauses and refusing promotional initiatives.
Klein noted that rejections often stem from internal resistance within publishing houses rather than explicit manuscript dismissals. Staff members in editorial, communication, and marketing departments may raise objections to avoid internal conflicts.
Odessa Editions Plans Eight-Title Debut Catalog
Odessa Editions plans to release eight titles during its first operational year. The spring schedule includes the British edition of Matti Friedman’s Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe, which examines Hannah Szenes and Jewish parachutists from Mandatory Palestine during the Second World War.
The initial catalog also features Amos Harel’s Anatomy of a Failure: The Road to October 7th, originally published in Hebrew as 06:29, and Dara Horn’s The Final Solution to the Jewish Question.
To prevent the new publishing house from turning into an isolated cultural enclave, Klein stated that the catalog will also consider work by Israeli Arab writers and Iranian dissidents. Friedman pointed to historical precedents such as the founding of the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and the 1945 launch of the magazine Commentary by the American Jewish Committee, arguing that institutional autonomy can eventually foster centers of excellence.