Participants: Andrej Blatnik, Tanja Tuma, Herbert Ohrlinger, Nikica Micevski
Moderator: Rüdiger Wischenbart
Summary:
The panel will discuss specifics of book cultural policies in book markets with smaller returns.
Description:
How important has book cultural policy become? Is its impact more significant in smaller than in large markets? Is publishing in markets with low returns losing its economic dimension in a way that less income is being generated by sales than ever before? How does this impact publishing production and reading habits? What changes are necessary due to digitisation in book cultural policies? How can such policies be effectively executed without proper statistical data on book markets with smaller returns? What can book markets with smaller returns learn from each other regarding cultural policies?
Andrej Blatnik is working as an editor and as an Associate Professor of Publishing Studies at the University of Ljubljana. He has published five novels, six collections of short stories, five books of cultural studies and a how-to book on writing short stories. He won some major awards. He has around 40 books in translation in 15 languages.
Tanja Tuma operated her independent publishing house for two decades before embarking on her journey as a novelist, crafting 4 works in English and 2 in Slovenian. Serving as a President of PEN Slovenia and a Board Member of PEN International, she ardently champions the cause of freedom of expression and women's rights.
Herbert Ohrlinger was born in 1961 in Ohlsdorf, Austria, and studied German and history at the University of Salzburg. He worked, among other things, as a freelance journalist and editor for the magazine Literatur und Kritik and the Viennese daily newspaper Die Presse. Since 1996 he has been managing the Paul Zsolnay Verlag in Vienna.
Nikica Micevski (1979) is the co-owner of Fokus, one of Croatia's major publishing houses, with a publishing program that includes upmarket fiction and non-fiction, adult, and children’s books. Prior to that he served as a Board member of „Profil Mozaik“, the biggest bookstore chain in Croatia at the time with 35 bookstores in 17 cities and also as a Deputy Director of Profil publishing house.
He has a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Currently also serving as a Foreign Book Fair Coordinator at the Croatian association of publishers and booksellers.
Rüdiger Wischenbart is the founder of “Content and Consulting”, and a writer specializing in culture and innovation in the global book markets. His reports include the "Global 50 Publishing Ranking" and the "Digital Consumer Book Barometer". More at www.wischenbart.com