Announcing Our First Book: 'Israel Odyssey' by P. David Hornik
We've just submitted our first completed title to our distributor.
I am very pleased to announce that the focused production which we began in February has yielded its first fruit. Yesterday I submitted Israel Odyssey: Coming of Age and Finding Peace in the Middle East, a memoir by
, to our distributor. It will be the first title we release later this year. Soon we’ll announce when you can pre-order the book.Israel Odyssey tells David’s story of a dissatisfied youth in America followed by finding fulfillment in Israel when he decided to make Aliyah. It’s a moving and engaging narrative told through David’s elegant, literary prose.
Here is a description:
What makes a young American Jew who was never encouraged to move to Israel (whether by individuals or in an organizational framework) suddenly decide to do so at age twenty-eight? How does a young American Jewish family, with little background in Hebrew, make its way in a new, highly distinct culture with no more than a shallow resemblance to American culture?
This memoir traces the (many would say unlikely) emergence in its author of a fascination, a passionate concern, and finally an identification with Israel that left him, he felt, no choice but to relocate there. On the one hand, his parents were Austrian Jewish refugees from Nazism; on the other, the family moved to what was then a rural area of New York State where almost no other Jews lived—resulting in a rich, complex, but confusing and difficult identity to navigate.
This book opens a window on modern Israel as seen by an immigrant both deeply patriotic and (at the same time) carrying a cultural baggage from across the ocean. It is also a highly personal story of the author’s quest for inner peace and fulfillment amid the pressures, strife, and special vitality of the old-new Land.
And here is more about David:
P. David Hornik, a longtime American immigrant in Israel, was born to Austrian Jewish refugees in New York City and grew up in a much more rural area near Schenectady, New York. After receiving an MA in English from Binghamton University, he launched his career as a writer and copyeditor (eventually, also translator), and a few years later, he and his family made the big move to Israel.
There David became a frequent contributor of articles and book reviews to Israeli and American Jewish publications, while also publishing short stories in literary journals. As the Internet gained traction, David also began publishing on a wider range of American websites. Meanwhile, on the side, he sustained his piano-playing and poetry-writing habits.
Over the past decade David has published three novels, a short-story collection, and a selection of his articles. He lives inland in the city of Be’er Sheva, while his daughter and two sons live at various places along the Israeli coast. David is now a fixture at a Be’er Sheva café, where he still uses the archaic tools of pen and paper to write his first drafts.
Cover design and art direction for Israel Odyssey was done by
, editing was completed by me in partnership with . We so enjoyed collaborating with David on transforming his manuscript into a finished book and look forward to readers’ reactions to his inspiring story.And we have more titles in production now too! Eight of them in fact, going through the stages of the editorial process and production right now, with more coming in the writing and development phases. Read about them all here. As we finish and submit each one we’ll take our little victory lap and let everyone know.
Also, we’re planning that David’s book will be the first of many we publish about Israel. We’re especially interested in memoirs, essay collections, and novels with Zionist themes. Please do reach out if you’re working on something that you’re interested in us considering for publication.
We appreciate all our readers and subscribers so much for your motivation and encouragement in the launching of our publishing company.