Schalgi

Schalgi (Hebrew: שלגי), originally known as Ramdor until the 1980s, is an Israeli publishing house founded in Tel Aviv in 1964 by Uri Schalgi. It is one of the oldest private publishing houses in Israel still operating today. For decades it specialized in light literature, including detective, thriller, mystery, and romance paperbacks, often referred to as 'pulp literature' due to low production costs. In its early years, Uri Schalgi himself wrote detective, suspense, and crime stories supposedly translated from English, using various pen names, featuring the character Bill Carter. Many of these books contained erotic elements and were read underground by teenagers. Later, Schalgi employed young writers at low wages under pen names such as Pinchas Danziger, Amos Arikha, Aryeh Krishek, and Gilad Morag, creating the highly popular 'Patrick Kim' series, which was both popular and condemned by the establishment as immoral. Schalgi and Morag also created a series featuring a macho hero (a well-known cinematic figure of the time), which was original Israeli work rather than translated. As the publishing house established itself, it began acquiring translation rights and published translated works by authors such as Damon Runyon, Charles Dickens ('A Tale of Two Cities'), Robert Louis Stevenson, and Enid Blyton. It also published romance novels from Mills & Boon and Danielle Steel, likely hundreds of titles from the late 1960s onward. After the Six-Day War, Schalgi released a series of books on military and security affairs, including works by Uri Milstein, Eitan Haber, and Shlomo Nakdimon. One of the longest-running and most identified series published by Ramdor (and later Schalgi) is the 'Hasamba' series by Yigal Mossinson (starting from book number 18). Over the years, the publisher cooperated with M. Mizrahi Publishing, when Meir Mizrahi transferred translation rights for books he did not want to translate due to overly sexual content, hints of Christian preaching, and similar reasons. The publisher also released books under the imprints 'Yaad', 'Niram', and 'Panter'. From 1971 to 1981, it produced the biweekly magazine 'Pendel'. In December 2012, a comics department was added, operating as an independent entity called 'Schalgi Comics'. This department publishes monthly comic booklets and includes several series, such as 'Knights of the Tiger', 'Neighborhood Guards', 'Dinosaur Rulers', and 'Troublemakers with Receipts'. The booklets are distributed throughout the country in marketing chains and bookstores. Today, Schalgi is primarily identified with puzzle publications (crosswords, sudoku, word searches) and erotic romance novels, as well as digital and printed books sold through its website. The website offers a range of printed and digital books, including puzzle books, romance novels, and comics, with a focus on affordable prices and quick delivery. The company emphasizes over 60 years of experience, with second and third generations of book experts, and aims to provide the perfect reading experience from romance to comics and crosswords.

Schalgi was founded in Tel Aviv in 1964 by Uri Schalgi, originally under the name Ramdor. It focused on publishing detective, thriller, mystery, and romance paperbacks in the genre known as 'pulp literature', with low production costs. Initially, Uri Schalgi himself wrote detective, suspense, and crime stories supposedly translated from English, inspired by pulp booklets he knew, under various pen names, featuring the character Bill Carter. Many of these books contained erotic elements and were read underground by teenagers. Later, Schalgi employed young writers at low wages under pen names such as Pinchas Danziger, Amos Arikha, Aryeh Krishek, and Gilad Morag, creating the 'Patrick Kim' series, which was highly popular and simultaneously condemned by the establishment as immoral. Schalgi and Morag also created a series featuring a macho hero (a well-known cinematic figure of the time), which was original Israeli work rather than translated. As the publishing house established itself, it began acquiring translation rights and published translated works by authors such as Damon Runyon, Charles Dickens ('A Tale of Two Cities'), Robert Louis Stevenson, and Enid Blyton. It also published romance novels from Mills & Boon and Danielle Steel, likely hundreds of titles from the late 1960s onward. After the Six-Day War, Schalgi released a series of books on military and security affairs, including works by Uri Milstein, Eitan Haber, and Shlomo Nakdimon. One of the longest-running and most identified series published by Ramdor (and later Schalgi) is the 'Hasamba' series by Yigal Mossinson (starting from book number 18). Over the years, the publisher cooperated with M. Mizrahi Publishing, when Meir Mizrahi transferred translation rights for books he did not want to translate due to overly sexual content, hints of Christian preaching, and similar reasons. The publisher also released books under the imprints 'Yaad', 'Niram', and 'Panter'. From 1971 to 1981, it produced the biweekly magazine 'Pendel'. In December 2012, a comics department was added, operating as an independent entity called 'Schalgi Comics'. This department publishes monthly comic booklets and includes several series, such as 'Knights of the Tiger', 'Neighborhood Guards', 'Dinosaur Rulers', and 'Troublemakers with Receipts'. The booklets are distributed throughout the country in marketing chains and bookstores. Today, Schalgi is primarily identified with puzzle publications (crosswords, sudoku, word searches) and erotic romance novels, as well as digital and printed books sold through its website. The website offers a range of printed and digital books, including puzzle books, romance novels, and comics, with a focus on affordable prices and quick delivery. The company emphasizes over 60 years of experience, with second and third generations of book experts, and aims to provide the perfect reading experience from romance to comics and crosswords.

• 2012

  Launched 'Schalgi Comics' department in December.

• 1981

  Ceased publication of 'Pendel'.

• 1971

  Began producing the biweekly magazine 'Pendel', which ran until 1981.

• 1964

  Founded in Tel Aviv as Ramdor by Uri Schalgi.

Affordable light literature, puzzles, and comics for Israeli readers; a veteran family-run publisher.

• Patrick Kim series

  Popular pulp fiction series created by Gilad Morag and others under pen names.

• Bill Carter series

  Detective series written by Uri Schalgi under pen names.

• Hasamba series

  Long-running children's adventure series by Yigal Mossinson, published from book 18 onward.

• Crossword and puzzle books

  Various crossword, sudoku, and word search books.

• Schalgi Comics

  Monthly comic booklets including series like 'Knights of the Tiger'.

1. 1Official websiteschalgi.com
2. 2Hebrew Wikipedia article on Schalgihe.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wikidata entrywikidata.org