Closure of publishing houses, recognition of books as extremist, relocation – researchers asked independent Belarusian book publishers about their work

2023-05-24 20:45:47

Within its limits, the employees of the institute conducted in-depth interviews with representatives of eight independent publishing houses (six of them are now outside the country, two are in Belarus). While the investigation was being prepared, one of the publishing houses stopped working according to the decision of the authorities, writes BPN.

Speaking about the pressure from the state, Lastovsky emphasized: “If we compare with 2020, almost all publishing houses have closed. There are units left that are still in operation.”

As risks of working in Belarus, the participants singled out the possibility of recognizing literature as “extremist materials” and the impossibility of understanding “how long it will be possible to survive” in the country. The loss of the opportunity to seek funds through crowdfunding within Belarus and the almost complete absence of public events at which books can be promoted are cited as another tangible problem.

However, the actions of the authorities did not lead to a full relocation of the publishers, “relocations are isolated cases,” the researcher adds.

The representatives of the industry also noted the division of the audience, the majority of which remains in the country, but a significant part is in emigration, as well as difficulties with access to the state book distribution system, especially in the regions. “On the other hand, publishers note: the emigration situation gave an advantage — access to electronic markets,” he said.

The participants of the research stated that there is a growing interest in Belarusian books among the emigrant community. At the same time, abroad, “if you live mobile, it is very difficult to create home libraries”, so the demand is aimed at small editions, the representative of the organization clarified.

In addition, publishers noted the weak effectiveness of literary awards in promoting books and the importance of participation in international book fairs. “But this requires great organizational and financial efforts, and not every publishing house can bear the costs of such things,” added Lastovsky.

Repression against independent book publishers in Belarus

• A number of private publishers suffered repression in Belarus. “Yanushkevich” publishing house was legally deprived of its license in Belarus in January this year.
• On the day of the opening, May 16, 2022, a search took place in the Minsk publishing house – “Knigavka”. Yanushkevich and the shop employee – writer and blogger Nastya Karnatskaya – were detained and arrested several times in a row (for a total of 28 and 23 days, respectively). Yanushkevich left the country after that.
• Even last year, on March 22, the landlord demanded that the publishing house vacate the office. As a result, the Yanushkevich publishing house moved from Belarus to Poland due to political persecution, where it resumed work last October.
• In April and May 2022, the Ministry of Information of Belarus suspended the activities of the publishing houses “Medisont”, “Goliaths”, “Limarius” and “Knigazbor”, which published books only in the Belarusian language.
• On May 10, 2023, the Economic Court of Minsk, based on the lawsuit of the Ministry of Information, liquidated the Publishing House of Dmitry Kolas.