It’s no secret that anti-Jewish hate has infiltrated the publishing industry since October 7, 2023. Jewish authors have been blacklisted, dropped from their publishers, targeted in coordinated campaigns to review-bomb their books, and more.

If anyone’s attuned to the real-world implications of antisemitism in publishing, it’s Zibby Owens. Zibby is the founder and CEO of Zibby Media, a bestselling author and editor, an indie bookshop owner, and host of the podcast Totally Booked with Zibby.

Zibby says, “Antisemitism in the publishing industry has been well-documented since 10/7 and has been pervasive from festivals and bookstores to agents and publishers. Personally, I’ve been told directly that select authors wouldn’t come on my podcast and certain bookstores wouldn’t stock the books I publish due to my public support of Israel and the Jewish people. My own books have been targeted on GoodReads and I’ve been called a ‘Zionist racist’ among many other slights. But I’m just one of the many, many Jewish authors in this situation. This is the world for us right now.”

The injustice is clear, but the question remains: How do we choose to respond?

In Zibby’s case, her response was to conceive and edit the anthology On Being Jewish Now, a collection of essays describing what it feels like to be Jewish in this moment in time. But Zibby’s not alone—75 authors and advocates joined her in this effort, each contributing their voice to the cause. (The book became a USA Today Bestseller, and all profits are donated to Artists Against Antisemitism.)

This is just one example of Jewish authors standing together in solidarity against the hate. Zibby explains, “The intense targeting of us as a group has bonded us with each other and with the Jewish community. There’s a support infrastructure across community centers, synagogues, on social media and more.”

When hate tries to tear us down, themes of Jewish resilience prevail. Alyssa Rosenheck and Rachel Caplin are just two of the authors who stood their ground and refused to abandon their identity in the face of adversity. Here are their stories.

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Alyssa Rosenheck is a bestselling author, speaker, and one of Architectural Digest’s Top 50 Interior and Architectural Photographers in the United States. Her debut book, The New Southern Style (Abrams, 2020), reframed creativity as a vehicle for resilience, courage, and connection—showing how art can humanize our differences and remind us of our shared humanity. Her forthcoming book, White. Blonde. Jew. (BenBella, dist. Simon & Schuster, April 2026; also published in Israel by Gefen), is a call to end extremism, speak up, and reclaim the center—transforming the very words used to silence her into a powerful new title.........

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