Since June 2005, given the dearth of Jewish literature available in the Russian language and with a recognition that literature serves as a powerful mechanism of reaching a wide and diverse audience of unaffiliated Russian-speaking Jews in the FSU and around the world, AVI CHAI launched three different series (with a fourth on the way) all of which focus on the translation, publication, and wide distribution of books on Jewish themes meant for wide audiences who love to read but may know little, if anything, about Jewish life and culture.
Each of the book series – fiction, non-fiction, and an illustrated series of books on Jewish themes for children – proposed by local and international committees composed of Russian-speaking literary personalities, publishers, Jewish educators and activists, focus on identifying works which would resonate with unaffiliated Russian readers. In addition, as AVI CHAI’s other initiates for this audience – Booknik, Eshkol, and Eshkolot – gain growing audiences, many of the books are highlighted, reviewed, and discussed as part of the programmatic contours of these initiatives.
Published by two Moscow-based publishing houses with well-oiled systems of distribution and with an international promotion campaign in place for the series, the books are sold in large bookstores in the FSU, Israel, Germany, and the United States as well as made available to Jewish community centers and organizations.
Published with an initial circulation of 5,000 to 10,000 copies per book (and with online rights sought wherever possible), there are currently 237,000 books in circulation in the fiction series, with 181,974 books sold thus far (composed of 55 books published to date, with authors including Primo Levi, Saul Bellow, Meir Shalev, David Grossman, Moshe Kulbyak, A.B. Yehoshua, Etgar Keret, I.B. and I.J. Singer, Dalia Sofer, and many others); 44,000 books in circulation in the non-fiction series, with 29,580 books sold thus far (composed of 18 books published to date, with authors including Ruth Wisse, James Kugel, Hannah Arendt, Robert Pinsky, Benjamin Harshav, Jonathan Rosen, and many others); and 80,000 books in circulation in the children’s series, with 45,800 books sold thus far (composed of 18 books thus far, with authors including famous Jewish and Yiddish children’s authors and poets).
In the coming year, a new series focusing on Jewish and Israeli History will be launched and each series will continue to expand both in terms of titles as well as in republishing books that have been completely sold-out. Online rights are sought wherever possible, with books posted in a special section on Booknik.ru.
A full catalogue of books is available upon request and we are heartened by the fact that a number of local and international donors have joined AVI CHAI in supporting books published in each of the series.