Some 7,029 new printed books and 1,544 digital books were published in Israel in 2025, a slight increase from the previous year, according to the National Library, which released its annual books report Monday ahead of Hebrew Book Week.
While overall publishing grew, the number of fiction books declined, alongside a continued drop in guidebooks and leisure titles.
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National Library: Number of new books published rises slightly
(Photo: Aviad Bar Ness)
As in the past two years, the October 7 war continued to leave a significant mark on Israel’s book industry in 2025. About 500 books published in Israel this year dealt with the war and its aftermath, while the National Library also received more than 500 additional publications on the subject published worldwide.
In total, more than 2,100 books have been published since October 2023 dealing with the October 7 massacre, the Swords of Iron War, antisemitism and related issues. Most were nonfiction and research books, but fiction, poetry, religious and Jewish texts, biographies and children’s and young adult books were also published.
The report shows that publishing in Israel continued to rise moderately in 2025 after the sharp decline that followed October 2023. The total number of books rose from 6,928 to 7,029, while fiction titles fell from 2,272 to 1,937. About 5% of titles were published in both print and digital editions.
Hebrew remained the dominant language in Israel’s book market in 2025, accounting for about 90% of all titles published. Arabic followed, doubling its share to 4% of books published this year, while English fell from 5% to just 3%.
Despite the decline in fiction and poetry titles in 2025, the genre still accounts for about one-third of all publishing in Israel. Local writing remained prominent: 82% of fiction books were original Hebrew works, while in poetry, 385 of 415 titles were written in Hebrew.
Another major category was Torah literature, halacha (Jewish law) and Jewish studies, with 1,886 books published — down from 2,198 in 2024, reflecting stabilization after years of especially high publication levels.
Children’s and young adult literature remained one of the strongest categories in the Israeli book market, with 1,397 titles published over the past year — almost identical to last year’s figure and significantly higher than in 2023. The report notes that the genre’s impressive stability stands out in the age of social media and screens, possibly supported by a tradition of encouraging reading, the education system and widespread use of public libraries. Among them, 19 children’s books published this year dealt directly with the war, including coping with sirens, hostages and daily life under emergency conditions.
At the same time, biographies, autobiographies and life stories remained stable and even rose slightly, with 384 titles published in 2025 compared with 365 the previous year. Of those, 41% were autobiographies and 59% were biographies written by others. The National Library also received 40 memorial, remembrance and personal testimony books related to the Swords of Iron war, including books written by hostages who returned from Gaza.