The new demand from the CEO of Tzomet Sfarim is shaking up the publishing industry
Tzomet Sfarim CEO Avi Shomer has announced a new screening policy for books, prioritizing those not funded by their authors. This move has sparked a debate regarding literary quality and transparency in the publishing industry.
A storm has been brewing in the book industry since last week. Tzomet Sfarim CEO Avi Shomer sent a letter to publishers announcing a new screening policy for books displayed in the chain's stores: preference will be given to books that are not funded by their authors. Starting next quarter, the display of books in stores will be conditional on the approval of purchasing managers, who will require transparency from the publisher regarding the nature of the book's funding.
The letter caused a stir, mainly because it touched a raw nerve: most original prose books in recent years are funded to one degree or another by their authors. This is also true for well-known writers who have already published a book or two. The days when a publisher paid an advance to an author are almost gone. The phenomenon of author-funded books is not new; it was prevalent mainly in the field of poetry and non-fiction, which are considered less commercial. But in prose — a genre that tends to sell — it has become common on a frightening scale. A large publisher can ask an author for several tens of thousands of shekels for publication, and those who have it pay.
7,000 new titles a year
It turns out that the book industry is flooded with mediocre original literature, without readers being able to know if a book was chosen for publication because of its quality and if it underwent professional reading and editing. This is a complex situation: on one hand, the democratization of literature, openness to many and diverse voices, and on the other hand, the overload creates a collapse, and above all, a bland taste for local literature. To this can be added the years of war and Israel's cultural isolation, which significantly reduced the number of books translated into Hebrew. According to the National Library report, about 7,000 new titles were published in 2025, the vast majority in Hebrew.
In his letter, Shomer wrote: "In recent years, we have witnessed a steep increase in the volume of 'funded literature' — a model in which titles are published without a professional and mandatory reading process... This trend creates significant challenges in managing shelf space and harms our ability to offer the public a quality mix." It is interesting that it is Avi Shomer — the man who invented the "four for a hundred" promotions that turned the book into a product, and then the sale of display areas in stores and incentives for sellers to sell certain books due to agreements with publishers — who is taking on the role of the gatekeeper. But Shomer is right: display areas in stores are an expensive real estate asset, and the abundance of books makes it difficult to serve readers and bring them good literature.
