Israeli author David Grossman.
Israeli author David Grossman. Photo by Kobi Kalmanovitch

Over 270 writers, translators and editors signed a letter to Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, urging her to continue pressing for protection of Israeli authors' royalties.
The letter was written as Livnat prepares to submit a bill that would bar retailers from discounting new books for the first 18 months after publication. It provides authors with an eight percent royalty on the first 6,000 copies sold, and 10 percent thereafter. Retailers would be allowed to lower prices for Hebrew Book Week and before holidays.
Despite the limits on discounting new books, the authors say it would reduce book prices because publishers would price their offerings reasonably to start with, rather than relying on cut-rate sales to generate demand.
The writers said the intense competition between the two largest bookstore chains, Tzomet Books and Steimatzky, is endangering the viability of many publishers and severely reducing author royalties. Signatories included Yoram Kaniuk, A.B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz, David Grossman, and Sayed Kashua. 
Full story at Haaretz