Yaldah Publishing

Yaldah Publishing is now Yotzeret Publishing

2011-06-21T22:17:00.002-04:00

As of June 10, 2011, Yaldah Publishing is now Yotzeret Publishing, Inc.

Please come visit our new blog and website at http://yotzeretpublishing.com!

Twin Cities Jewish Publisher Announces Name Change

2011-05-03T12:27:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. PAUL, Minnesota -- May 3, 2011 -- After nine years, seven books, six authors, and three awards, St. Paul-based Yaldah Publishing will become Yotzeret Publishing, Inc. Yotzeret is a Hebrew word that means "creator" in the feminine form. "I wanted to keep with the idea that the process of writing and publishing a book is a kind of labor and birth," says company founder and Yotzeret president Sheyna Galyan. "Yaldah as a verb means 'gave birth' in Hebrew, but it also means 'girl,' and we've grown beyond that. We've grown up."

The name change comes right after the release of two tween books by local authors: Sliding Into the New Year (YaYa & YoYo, Book 1) by Minneapolis author Dori Weinstein, and Friends Forever, a St. Paul historical novel by author Amy Ariel. Also among the books that will be acquired by Yotzeret Publishing are Like a Maccabee by Barbara Bietz and Mitzvah the Mutt by Sylvia Rouss, author of the popular Sammy Spider series. Both of those books are award-winners.

"We have several titles coming up soon," Galyan said, "including adult books by Israeli authors Janice Weizman and Yael Unterman, and the company name Yotzeret will play very well in Israel. This is an exciting time for us."

Yotzeret Publishing will continue Yaldah Publishing's mission to publish "books written from a Jewish perspective," according to Galyan, and to encourage books that reflect the diversity of Jews and Jewish practice. Yotzeret will publish both adult and children's fiction and non-fiction.

Yaldah Publishing is not affiliated with or connected in any way to the more recent YALDAH Magazine or YM Books, and Galyan anticipates that the new company Yotzeret Publishing will eliminate any future confusion between these two unrelated companies.

The expected date for the formal name change is June 10, 2011, the day after the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

-- END --

PayPal and the Local Pickup Glitch

2011-03-08T18:55:00.002-05:00

If you live in or near the Twin Cities (St. Paul / Minneapolis for those of you in other twin cities), and you want to purchase either Sliding Into the New Year (YaYa & YoYo, Book 1) or Friends Forever, and you want to pick it up rather than paying for shipping, you'll need to send an email to our orders department. From there, we can send you a PayPal invoice for book(s) without shipping costs. You'll also need to arrange to pick up your book in St. Paul.

It seems PayPal is having a difficult time managing multiple shipping options (such as having an item shipped versus a local pickup) and it defaults to whichever one is less expensive, not giving the customer the option to choose. And we love choice!

Hopefully this will become a moot point when our new website is up and running and we have a different shopping cart system. Until then, thanks for your patience.

New Awards, New Books, New Distribution, and an Important Note on the Yaldah Name

2011-01-12T13:57:00.003-05:00

Mitzvah the Mutt named 2011 Sydney Taylor Notable Book

Mitzvah the Mutt, the first chapter book by popular Sammy Spider author Sylvia Rouss and illustrated by Martha Rast, has just been named a 2011 Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Older Readers. Presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries, the Sydney Taylor Book Award "honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience." Mitzvah the Mutt also recently received a Bronze Medal in the 2010 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, an award that honors exemplary children's books and promotes childhood literacy.

Complete title and ordering information, including a PDF of the first chapter, are available on the Mitzvah page at the Yaldah Publishing website.

Two new releases for tween readers

March 1, 2011 is the release date for Sliding Into the New Year, Book One of the YaYa & YoYo Series by educator Dori Weinstein. It has already received outstanding reviews from some of the most well-known leaders in American Judaism, including several rabbis from Newsweek's 2010 list of "The 50 Most Influential Rabbis in Ameria." What's it about? Thrill-loving fifth grader Ellie “YaYa” Silver has been waiting all summer to visit the brand new indoor water park in town. She is ecstatic when her best friend, Megan, invites her to go—that is until her twin brother, Joel (YoYo), points out that Megan is going on Rosh Hashanah. Sure, Rosh Hashanah is a big deal, but so is Splash World! What will Ellie do?

Complete title information and reviews can be found on the book's page at the Yaldah Publishing website.

Also expected in March 2011 is Friends Forever by debut author Amy Ariel. Two Jewish girls become friends across time when a modern-day St. Paul girl suddenly finds herself in her own yard...in 1912. Racial equality, worker’s rights and women’s right to vote create the backdrop in this coming-of-age novel that brings history alive. Rebecca Davis, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Delaware has this to say: "In Friends Forever Amy Ariel demonstrates a keen sense of how a midwestern Jewish girl might have experienced the social, cultural, and political transformations of the early twentieth century. Ariel does a commendable job of animating her story with historical details."

Complete title information and reviews are forthcoming.

New distribution to the retail trade

As of December 2010, Yaldah Publishing books are now distributed to the retail trade by Partners Publishers Group (PPG). You can still order directly from Yaldah Publishing and get great service and quick turnaround, as well as industry-standard discounts for resellers. (If you're in the Twin Cities, MN, we'll even deliver books, saving you shipping costs.) Or you can order through your favorite wholesaler, including Baker & Taylor and Ingram.

An important note on the Yaldah name

Yaldah Publishing was launched in July 2002 with the goal of publishing adult and children's books written from a Jewish perspective for all audiences. We published our first book in 2003. As a verb, yaldah means "gave birth." Many authors will tell you that writing and publishing a book is much like giving birth to a child, and it is those labor pains for which Yaldah Publishing is named.

In Fall 2004, a teenage girl from Massachusetts began a Jewish girl's magazine called YALDAH aimed primarily at the Orthodox community. United States trademark law sees book publishing and magazine publishing as different types of businesses, and therefore no trademark violation. At the end of 2008, the YALDAH Magazine folks created Yaldah Media, Inc. to oversee their activities, which now included a girls' retreat. In 2009 they announced plans to start publishing books under the Yaldah Media name. After legal intervention, they changed their book publishing name to YM Books, but continue to add the line "an imprint of Yaldah Media, Inc."

Yaldah Publishing is not affiliated in any way with Yaldah Media, Inc. or YALDAH Magazine. Yaldah Publishing is committed to giving voice to work that reflects the diversity of Jews and Jewish practice. Our books are accessible to readers of all backgrounds and beliefs.

Thank you for your continued support of independent Jewish publishing!

YaYa & YoYo: Sliding Into the New Year by Dori Weinstein

2010-10-26T00:40:00.003-04:00

The files for the Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of Dori Weinstein's YaYa & YoYo: Sliding Into the New Year are done! Off to the printer tomorrow. Here's a peek at the cover:

Sorry for the temporary website outage

2010-10-25T12:19:00.003-04:00

We're in the process of building a bigger, better, faster Yaldah Publishing website for you, and in the process, one mis-named directory took the existing site down for a few hours. We apologize for the error and any inconvenience that may have caused. It's back up and fully functional now.

The new site will be built while this one is still running, until we're ready to roll it out and make the new one live. It should be a relatively seamless process.

Thanks in particular to Jeff from Massachusetts for pointing this out so we could fix it!

Mitzvah the Mutt wins Moonbeam Bronze Medal!

2010-10-13T23:41:00.005-04:00

Mitzvah the Mutt by Sylvia Rouss has just been named the Bronze Medalist in the 2010 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards in the Juvenile Fiction - Early Reader/1st Chapter books category!

From the Moonbeam Awards site: “The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. The Awards recognize and reward the best of these books and bring them to the attention of parents, booksellers, librarians – and to children themselves.”

Congratulations to author Sylvia Rouss and illustrator Martha Rast!

Mitzvah the Mutt order status--update

2010-08-09T16:23:00.002-04:00

The distribution issue with Mitzvah the Mutt has been resolved (yay!) and will propagate out through distribution channels, likely within the next couple of hours, so that books can be ordered right away.

We apologize for the delay, and are happy to have Mitzvah free to play again.

Mitzvah the Mutt order status

2010-08-05T19:17:00.002-04:00

Due to a problem at the distributor, Mitzvah the Mutt is temporarily on backorder. We are working to get this fixed as soon as possible so that it can be ordered through our regular channels at Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and Amazon.com.

We will let you know as soon as the problem is resolved.

Welcome to our newest author!

2010-08-02T18:47:00.000-04:00

A warm welcome to Janice Weizman, the newest member of the Yaldah family, and Yaldah's first Israeli author! Her historical novel, currently titled "The Wayward Moon," follows a young Jewish woman through the Middle East circa 900CE after being orphaned in Babylonia.

Tisha b'Av

2010-07-19T17:31:00.000-04:00

Yaldah Publishing will be closed tomorrow in observance of Tisha b'Av. We will be able to respond to email and such on Wednesday.

New Jewish Book Carnival

2010-07-15T17:53:00.000-04:00

Review Jewish books? Write Jewish books? Love Jewish books? There's a new carnival for you!

The Association of Jewish Libraries has just started a Jewish Book Carnival that will run monthly, building community among blog writers and readers and sharing information on Jewish books.

The inaugural edition can be found at http://jewishlibraries.org/blog/?p=366.

Mitzvah the Mutt on Amazon.com

2010-07-11T23:56:00.003-04:00

It took Amazon.com a little while to update their database, but Mitzvah the Mutt is now listed. And shortly it will feature the Search Inside the Book feature.

Want to read it on your Kindle? Let us know and we can make it happen.

How many 6-9 year-olds are reading on Kindles anyway? Anyone know? Does yours?

"Destined to Choose" Receives Glowing Review

2010-07-07T18:35:00.004-04:00

Ellen at The Preppy Yogini posted a beautiful review of Destined to Choose by Sheyna Galyan. In her review, Ellen compares this debut novel favorably to works by Naomi Ragen and Dara Horn, as well as the "Harmony" series by Phillip Gulley.

Calling the novel "very readable" and "approachable to non-Jews, educational for all readers and feels familiar to Jewish readers," Ellen goes on to say:

"What makes "Destined to Choose" so unique is the fresh voice of Galyan's writing. She has a remarkable talent for weaving together spirituality, character development, educational asides and entertaining prose."

You'll want to read the full review at The Preppy Yogini!

Destined to Choose: A Rabbi David Cohen Novel is available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, on order from your local bookstore, and from the Yaldah Publishing website.

Sheyna Galyan's second novel in the series, Strength to Stand, is expected to be out later this year.

First "Mitzvah the Mutt" Review is Awesome!

2010-06-29T20:54:00.004-04:00

Sylvia Rouss, award-winning author of the just-released Mitzvah the Mutt, has excerpted part of the review from the Association of Jewish Libraries on her blog. She writes:

In the Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter for May/June 2010, Andrea Davidson, Temple Tifereth Israel, Beachwood, Ohio wrote: “Readers will laugh at Mitzvah’s zany misadventures,…Rouss uses Mitzvah’s humorous interpretations of the celebrations and his reactions to the food, along with short chapters, large print, and lots of white space, to make this appropriate for the intended audience of children 6-9. However, by having Mitzvah use the terms “Mommy” and “Daddy,” she makes her reading audience younger, so that this could be read with children as young as five years of age.”

Progress

2010-06-28T00:23:00.004-04:00

Read two manuscripts over the weekend. One I made an offer on and I hope it ends in a signed contract. The other I'm uncertain about. Great writing, but the story is not what I expected and it feels a little disjointed. I'll have to sit with it a bit and then talk to the author.

Meanwhile, three other manuscripts to read, one of which is a rewritten version I'd turned down previously. Things are coming together for a custom photograph for the cover of Amy Ariel's book, "Friends Forever," ideas are floating about for the cover of "Strength to Stand" and I'm talking to artists about a themed cover series for Dori Weinstein's YaYa/YoYo Jewish tween twin series (try saying that ten times fast!).

Mitzvah is now on Amazon, and I'll be uploading info for their Look Inside the Book feature. Or you can read the first chapter on the Yaldah website at http://yaldahpublishing.com/titles_MTM.html . Copies of Mitzvah are also going out for reviews; if you are interested in reviewing Sylvia Rouss' first chapter book, send me an email and we'll work it out.

Also--we're on Facebook! If you haven't "liked" us on Facebook yet, please do so. It means a lot to us and you can stay in the loop on your favorite authors and independent Jewish publishing! Thanks!

Mitzvah the Mutt is here!

2010-06-15T20:50:00.003-04:00

Mitzvah the Mutt by Sylvia Rouss has been printed and is on its way. You can now purchase copies through the Yaldah Publishing website, and shortly it will be available at online retailers and through your local bookstore. We'll keep you updated on where it's available, and where we know Sylvia will be doing readings.

Stay in touch with Sylvia and all of her books through her blog at sylviarouss.blogspot.com.

Got Mitzvah?

Got Mitzvah?

2010-06-08T12:19:00.000-04:00

We do, and you can too!

The cover's been slightly redesigned, the illustrations are fabulous, and it's all at the printer now. In a week or less, I'll have a bound proof, and if all looks good, it goes into distribution and the first print run!

I'll update again in a day or two with information on how you can pre-order copies.

Got Mitzvah? It's coming!

Mitzvah the Mutt -- update

2010-05-27T19:11:00.004-04:00

Check out the front cover for Mitzvah the Mutt! Then, check out the details and read the first chapter online.

Sylvia Rouss' New Blog

2010-05-27T18:17:00.001-04:00

Mitzvah the Mutt author Sylvia Rouss has a new blog. Please stop by and say hi at sylviarouss.blogspot.com.

Mitzvah, the Mutt

2010-05-07T10:25:00.005-04:00

Many of you are eagerly awaiting the release of Mitzvah, the Mutt by Sylvia Rouss. We are too! Unfortunately, due to an issue with the illustrations, there has been a delay in production. We're working to get Mitzvah out as soon as possible and we'll post updates here and on the Yaldah website.

In addition, stay tuned for the following upcoming releases:

Friends Forever by Amy Gavel. Two Jewish girls become friends across time when a modern-day St. Paul girl suddenly finds herself in her own yard...in 1912. Racial equality, worker’s rights and women’s right to vote create the backdrop in Amy Gavel’s Friends Forever, a coming-of-age YA novel that brings history alive.

Strength to Stand by Sheyna Galyan. Jewish mystery/suspense lovers rejoice! The rabbi detective is back in the second book in Sheyna Galyan’s Rabbi David Cohen suspense series. A rabbi stalked, religious intolerance, and good intentions gone all wrong make for
a read you can’t put down.

YaYa & YoYo: Sliding Into the New Year by Dori Weinstein. Thrill-loving fifth grader Ellie “YaYa” Silver has been waiting all summer to visit the new indoor waterpark. But when her best friend invites her to go, her twin brother Joel “YoYo” is quick to note their outing is planned for Rosh Hashanah. What will Ellie do?

Publishing Secrets Revealed!

2009-11-29T21:11:00.003-05:00

I was recently interviewed by Meredith Resnick of The Writer's [Inner] Journey about publishing, working with authors, and picking manuscripts. It's hard sometimes to quantify decisions that percolate over days or weeks, or the thought process that goes on while reading a manuscript submission, but I hope my answers are helpful.

Check it out here: http://bit.ly/83hcfd

What are your thoughts?

Tweaking our image

2009-11-18T22:14:00.002-05:00

We have a new header! Actually we have a lot of new things, but they're stealthy. Our header is also on our customized Twitter page and making a debut in our new email marketing campaign. Before long, our website is going to get some redesign, too, with even easier navigation so you can find what you need right away.

Stay tuned!

Working Lunch

2009-11-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

It's a working lunch with Mitzvah, the Mutt although I'm having Japanese Pan Noodles with tofu and Mitzvah prefers burgers!

Sweet New Year

2009-09-18T18:12:00.003-04:00