Nitsa Ben-Ari

Publishers and editors in Hebrew culture as a reflection of historical and socio-cultural demand

This paper examines the turns in the 100-year-old Israeli publishing industry from a semiotic perspective, focusing on the changing figure of the publisher/editor within a dynamic cultural entity. When the centre of Hebrew culture was transferred from Europe to pre-state Israel in the early 20^th century, a new cultural infrastructure was erected. Publishing was a priority and publishing firms needed credibility. At first, Diaspora editors prevailed. By the 30’s and 40’s, well established poets/authors decided on which works, translated or original, would be published. After 1948, publishing companies were no longer subsidized and needed to cater to a wider audience. Then a new type of editor emerged who combined academic and editorial work. The media was attracted to these professor-editors, who became “star makers.” With computerization, young editors, not necessarily interested in literature, entered the industry high-tech style.

Keywords: publishers, editors, Israel publishing industry

Biography

Nitsa Ben-Ari is Chair of Diploma Studies for Translation and Revision at Tel Aviv University. Her research, focusing on translation and ideology, has addressed the emergence of a “New Hebrew” and a new national literature through the critical work of translators and their publishers, as well as issues of censorship and self-censorship in original and translated literature. Co-editor of the academic series Haivrit Safa Haya and Chairwoman of the Israeli Institute for the Translation of World Masterpieces, she has also translated 27 books from English, French, Italian and German, including Goethe’s Faust. Prof Ben-Ari was Chair of the second Transfiction conference held in Tel Aviv in 2013.