The National Library of Israel Annual Book Publishing Data Report for 2022

Poetry and Prose

The growth trend in prose and poetry book publishing continued this year as well. A record number of 2,004 prose and poetry books were in 2022, higher than the previous record of 1,874 in 2021. Of these, 1,884 prose and poetry books were published in Hebrew, of which 1,490 were original books written in the Hebrew language. In addition, 49 Arabic prose and poetry books were published, 28 in Russian, 27 in English and 16 in other languages. Books translated from other languages included mainly English (83%), French, German and Russian.

Again in 2022, there was an increase in the prose genre at the expense of the poetry genre: 70% (1,400 books) of all books published in Israel in 2022 were prose; 23% were poetry; 6% were short stories and 16 books of plays were published in the reported period.

An examination of author by gender reveals that as in the year before, in 2022, more women wrote books of prose and poetry than did men. On average, women wrote 60% books in various prose forms, although a more in-depth analysis shows that in 2022, 56% of the original literature and poetry was written by female authors, and 70% of translated literature. Only in the short story genre were there more male authors, with 56% of short story books written by men.

Topics - Poetry and Prose

Due to a multiplicity of topics and many books dealing with more than one distinct topic, one can only make general assessments about the topics of the prose books received by the Library. For example, the Covid-19 epidemic was conspicuous by its absence, and in only 12 books was it is the main plot theme.

31 books deal with the Holocaust, and another 22 books refer to World War II without a direct connection to the Holocaust.

Relationships, romantic relationships, and relationships between men and women are still the main theme in most books. According to the Library's breakdown, at least 54 books of erotica were published in 2022; 148 romance novels; 115 books dealing with gender relations, and 152 books dealing with family matters.

In the adult prose literature category, there were 88 books in the suspense genre, and 31 fantasy fiction. The remainder of topics is divided into dozens of smaller fields such as travel books, books about animals, books about work and employment.

One fact that is neither surprising nor new: out of all original Israeli prose, the majority of the plots (about 90%) take place in Israel, while in translated prose books, only some 8% take place in Israel.

Children and Youth

1,137 new books for children and young people were published in 2022, a figure very similar to the year before. Most were published in Hebrew (93%), with a small percentage in Arabic and English (3% each), and the remainder in other languages.

A large majority (73%) of the children and youth books were original Israeli works. Of those translated (311 books), 84% were translated from English.

The number of comic book published returned to their usual amount (79) in 2022 after a record year in 2021. 37% of comic books published were targeted to children in the ultra-orthodox sector, a relatively low percentage compared to previous years.

10% of all books were targeted to toddlers and kindergarten children. About half (53) were board books (books made of hard materials), a third of which included special components such as puzzles and pop-up illustrations (38), or both features combined (21). Out of the total number of books, at least 17% of books for toddlers and children were in rhyme.

Over 16% of the children and youth books were published by publishers specializing in the ultra-orthodox sector.

In terms of author gender, 64% of children and youth books were written by women, both in the original books in Hebrew and in the translated books.

Topics - Children and Youth

As with books for adults, it is difficult to define how many books for children and youth have been written on a topic because a book may encompass several topics at the same time. Nonetheless, some trends can be noted: 21% of books had animals as the main characters; 14% were in the fantasy genre of which most (68) were translated series; friendships and family were the subjects of at least 11% of the books for children and youth published in 2022. An interesting figure arising from the data reveals that 9% of books for children and youth deal with mediating emotions such as anger, jealousy, insults, etc. It is interesting to note that 3% of the books focus on dealing with illnesses or disabilities (either the child's or in their surrounding environment). 8 children's books published in 2022 dealt directly with LGBT+ topics.

Reference Books

In 2022, 2,525 reference books were published, a slight decrease compared to 2021, when 2,778 reference books were published. The number of non-fiction books published is significantly lower than the number of books published prior to Covid-19 - in 2019, 3,725 reference books were published.

For example, the downward trend in the publication of books about the State of Israel and Israeli society continued, with an ~8% decrease in 2022. This was especially true for reports published by institutions and government agencies operating in these areas where many more materials are now published and catalogued as digital e-books (see below) or published on websites without being issued as a book. There was also a slight decrease in the number of books about Jewish sciences in 2022. The number in the humanities and social sciences remained almost unchanged, and there was even an increase in books about science and public health.

The gender gap among non-fiction books authors remained essentially unchanged in 2022 as compared with 2021. Nonetheless, there was an increase in the proportion of humanities and social science books written by women authors, which rose from 26% in 2021 to 34% in 2022.

Instructional Books

Despite Internet access, many readers still prefer to use textbooks when wishing to learn about new fields and topics. No fewer than 422 instructional books on various subjects were published in 2022, an increase of 11% compared 2021, and a new record in a category that is on a continuous upward climb. Instructional book topics include: personal empowerment - 31%; making money - 18%; relationships, parenting and family - 20%; travel (in Israel and abroad) - 3%; and cookbooks - 9%.

Only about 12% of instructional books were translated, with the remainder written originally in Hebrew. It is interesting to discover that in the fields of personal empowerment and financial planning there was a relatively high percentage of books in translation (19%), but a lower number for parenting (4%) and cooking (3%).

In terms of author gender, in 2022 slightly more men (54%) than women wrote instructional books. The gender distribution by subject, which was reported a year ago, is still appropriate: females authored 69% of the books in the fields of parenting, family and relationships, and 70% of cook books. Males wrote 67% of the training books on finance and 79% on leadership.

Publishers

When a book is received and registered by the National Library of Israel, it is also cataloged according to the type of publishing house where was printed. Most books in Israel are published in one of these categories: commercial publishing; institutions whose main purpose is not publishing; self-publishing by private individuals; reports and books published by the state and academic institutions. According to this segmentation, 68% of the books were published by commercial publishers; 14% by institutions, and 16% self-published. In addition, 1% of the books were published as government publications and 1% as academic publications.

Another area the National Library looked at is the difference between publishers targeting the general public and publishers targeting the ultra-Orthodox sector (referring to all materials intended for the ultra-Orthodox sector, including children's books, prose, and textbooks). According to this division, 26% of the books in Israel were published by ultra-Orthodox publishers, as compared with 74% by general publishers.

An even more in-depth analysis shows a shift in the relative distribution of market forces within the ultra-Orthodox sector compared to other sectors. Within the general public, commercial publishing plays a major role, while within the ultra-Orthodox sector, a large market share is held by institutions and private individuals.

Books in Arabic

In 2022, the Library received 151 books in the Arabic language, a slightly lower number (8%) relative to the previous year and relative to the percentage of Arabic speakers in the population. The record for Arabic-language publications was in 2018 when 248 books were published.

In terms of author gender for books in Arabic: 67% of books were written by men, and only 33% by women. In terms of book topics: fiction (prose) represented 32% of books, and children's literature - 21%. There was a significant increase in biographies written in Arabic, from 3% to 11%, (similar to the trend for Hebrew). Books about Islam or Christianity were included in the humanities and social sciences, and therefore make up a significant percentage (19%) of publications.

Institutions published a high percentage of Arabic-language publications (65%), followed by commercial publishers (18%).

Biographies & Memoirs to Benefit the Grandchildren

The trend in biographies and memoirs continues to rise year after year. In 2022, 497 books in this genre were published, as compared with 447 in 2021, and 271 in 2020 Of these, there the increase in the number of autobiographies continues to stand out, a subgenre that comprised 34% of all biographies published in 2022. Some of these books were written with the help of professional writers and editors, while others were written by associations whose goal is to help seniors pass on their memories to future generations.

Because many biographies and memoirs are published in relatively small numbers, it is important to note that if 50 or more copies of a book are published, two copies must be deposited with the National Library. The Library is interested in receiving such books - even if they are fewer than 50 copies so that they may be properly preserved for future generations, and to enable their exposure to more audiences. For example, in recent months the Library conducted a project, entitled Operation Diary, to collect and preserve personal records from the 1948 era when the State of Israel was established.

In terms of author gender shows that women wrote 39% of biographies and memoirs. However, in this genre it is more important to analyze the subject: only 31% of biographies were written about women, compared to 64% about men, with 5% about couples and families. A correlation of this data results in a fascinating picture: women wrote more than 85% of all biographies about women, while, by contrast, men wrote only 59% of the biographies written about men.

Digital e-Books

In addition to books in print, in 2022, 1,258 new digital books were deposited with the National Library of Israel, compared to 982 the year before. The volume of digital books deposited with the Library corresponds to 18% of printed publications, meaning an increase of more than 13% in 2021. The large majority (90%) were in Hebrew, 8% in English and 2% in other languages. 188 books were translated into Hebrew from foreign languages, mainly English (64%).

Topics - Digital e-Books

25% of the digital books published in 2022 dealt in Jewish topics; 19% - prose and poetry; 18% - general humanities; 13% - Israeli history and society; and the remainder on a variety of other subjects. The data is to that of books in print with the exception of the non-fiction category which is more prevalent in digital books.

Different types of publishers publish the digital books: general commercial publishers (50%) are the major digital publishers. In addition, private individuals from the ultra-orthodox sector (10%), the general population (12%), and institutions (11%) also publish e-books. The government and academic sectors account for only a small percentage of digital publishing.

Audiobooks

178 audiobooks were recorded by iCast Recorded Books in 2022. Distribution among the target audiences was similar for 2021: 77% of books were geared towards the adult audience; 11% - youth, and 12 % - children.

Of these, 56% were new books that also appeared in print in 2022; 25% were books published in 2021, and the rest published prior to that.

The average length of an audiobook in Hebrew for adults was seven hours, 18 minutes and 15 seconds, with runtimes ranging from 20 hours to 61 minutes.

Audiobooks for children and youth were about half the length of those for adults, at about 4 hours, six minutes and 12 seconds. The runtime for an average children's book was less than nine minutes, only 8:29.

30 publishers in Israel enabled their audiobooks to be uploaded to the Library website.

About the NLI Annual Book Publishing Data Report

The data in the National Library's annual report is based on books deposited with the Library under the Books Law, 2000 (5761), requiring all those who publish a book in Israel of 50 or more copies to deliver two copies of it to the Library. The vast majority of Israeli publishers deliver their publications to the National Library and thus participate in creating the largest and most comprehensive collection of Israeli publications in the country. Based on the reception of these publications, the National Library releases yearly statistics on Israeli publishing.

Although there are many independent publishers who issue less than 50 copies but still deposit two copies with the Library, there are also independent publishers who do not. This means that, in practice, the number of books published in Israel is probably greater than the data in this report.

The National Library of Israel notes a growing awareness among book publishers regarding the book deposit obligation; this fruitful cooperation enables the Library to improve its ability to study, evaluate and make accessible the important information received from them. By analyzing the changes and trends of the published books it is also possible to trace patterns and transformations in Israeli culture and society.

The National Library also notes the gender differences that are reflected both in the writing of the prose books, both in the type of biographical books written about women and in the contents of reference and instructional books. The Library also notes the growing trend towards digital e-book publishing. This is a consistent, continuous and distinct increase that encompasses books and publishers of all types.

Infographics: Irina Rapaport