PJ Library, the nonprofit that aims to promote Jewish identity by sending free books monthly to families with Jewish children worldwide, launched its $1.2 million Next Level Books Fund to expand the quantity and quality of titles on March 13.
Up to 30% of the money will go to the Next Level Books Initiative, earmarked to invest in independent publishers who have projects on their wish list that are beyond their budget. Publishers will be able to apply twice a year for a subsidy from $5,000 to $20,000 per project.
Alisa Koyrakh, director of books for PJ Library, said the balance of the $1.2 million is intended to "expand our global author and illustrator pipeline, to strengthen our internal capacity to deliver excellence and ensure that we can secure standout in-demand titles for our readers."
Behind the funding is Jewish philanthropist Harold Grinspoon, whose charitable foundation created PJ Library in 2005 and who, at age 96, is still active in supporting its growth. "Harold is very passionate personally about supporting publishers so this very much aligns with his vision," said Koyrakh.
Today, PJ Library sends more than 670,000 books monthly around the world, spanning 40 countries in seven languages. It sends 250,000 books per month in the U.S. and Canada.
Publishers eligible for project funds must be "independent," said Koyrakh, which is loosely defined as "not owned by a huge conglomerate. We want to support the smaller operations in the ecosystem."
Koyrakh stressed that publishers don't need to be Jewish presses to qualify; they need only propose a story told through a Jewish lens.
"We're seeing a real hesitancy right now to acquire Jewish books by non-Jewish publishers," Koyrakh said. "In particular, we've heard this from authors directly. So, with this fund, we're showing publishers they have the backing of a strong and robust Jewish community that wants to see these stories in the world."
The announcement gave examples of ways the fund could help publisher, such as giving them the ability to hire "a higher caliber illustrator than a small publisher could typically afford," or to add interactive design elements to a title, or to produce a cost-prohibitive graphic novel for middle grade readers.
The rules and procedures for applying for a subsidy are intended to ensure that the finished book meets PJ Library's parameters, Koyrakh said. Giving an example, she added, "We can't send books to families that feature the death of a character or the decline of a family member, because we're putting books in families homes without their permission, right? We take that responsibility very seriously."
Once finished books are accepted, PJ Library creates a custom edition, adding information, activities, pop-up flaps, and other enhancements, then mails titles to children aged 0–8. Children ages 9–12 may choose their book from four titles in the PJ Our Way program.
Executives for two independent publishers for Jewish children's books told PW they were delighted by the initiative and intend to apply.
"This is a great, generous opportunity that is coming at time when publishing in general is under the gun in the retail market and librarians are getting it from all sides," said Lili Rosenstreich, publisher of Kalaniot Books. When she launched Kalaniot in 2020, her goal was to publish five to eight titles a year, but this year it will be four or five.
"A subsidy like this would allow us to take some risks," Rosenstreich added. "We've always looked for up-and-coming illustrators. We could afford them and I enjoyed mentoring them. With a subsidy, I could try to work with some high-end established artists, too."
For Leila Sales, editorial director for Kar-Ben, the longstanding Jewish children's book publishing house now owned by Lerner, a subsidy could enable the house to do more books in the graphic format.
"Graphic books are so popular today, but definitely cost a lot more money to create," Sales said. "We've done a few, including one coming out this fall, The Cloak from Baghdad by Carol Isaacs, but we could afford it because it is an author/illustrator book. We put out 12 to 14 books a year, mostly picture books and one or two board books, but we only do one or two middle-grade books a year now. Funding for a graphics book illustrator would be wonderful."
