New Faces: Leila Sales at Kar-Ben Publishing

CLICK HERE FOR FULL SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT Kar-Ben Publishing has been producing Jewish children's books for over 50 years. After the recent retirement of 20-year veteran Joni Sussman, we've got new leadership at Kar-Ben with Editorial Director Leila Sales. Here's my conversation with Leila about the behind-the-scenes transition at the beloved institution that is Kar-Ben. This is Part 1 in my 2-part "New Faces" series. Part 2 will introduce you to the new owner of Behrman House and Apples & Honey Press, Derek Stordahl.  Episode drops July 16, 2026. Author Jane Yolen z"l passed away recently at age 87. She was the incredibly prolific author of 450 books, both secular and Jewish. She wrote the landmark 1988 Holocaust novel The Devil's Arithmetic, and she was the winner of the 2022 Sydney Taylor Body of Work Award. I interviewed Jane Yolen in 2018, along with her co-author Barbara Diamond Goldin, about their book Meet Me at the Well: The Girls and Women of the Bible. Stick around after Leila's interview for an excerpt from Jane Yolen, and click the "Remembering Jane Yolen" link below for the full episode. LEARN MORE:  Kar-Ben Publishing Leila Sales' website Book of Life interview with past Kar-Ben leadership: Joni Sussman and Fran Greenman-Schmitz The Book Engineer Champions of Change podcast from Capitol One Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land film from John Deere Highlighted Kar-Ben Book: The Right Blessing by Rabbi Kerry M. Olitsky and Rabbi Samantha Orshan Kahn Tikkun Olam suggestion: support National Public Radio Bonus content on Substack Leila's Share Your Shelf Segment Remembering Jane Yolen (1939-2026) CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.