State and private publishing houses carry out book publishing in the republic. These publishing houses are acting under the Law on Publishing and other respective legislative acts. There are about 70 publishing and printing companies in Azerbaijan, mainly in the capital Baku, and include: “Azerbaijan State Publishing House”, “Sharg-Garb”, “Qanun”, “TEAS Press”, “Tahsil”, “Hadaf Naşhrlari”, “Elm”, “Altun Kitab”, “Qelem”, “Aspoliqraf”, “Alatoran Yayınları”, “Parlaq imzalar”, “Xan”, “Renessans”, “3 Alma”, “Aghıllı bala”, “Qedim Qala”, “Çashıoglu”, “Chinar-chap”, “Mujru”, “Elm ve tehsil”, “Letterpress”, “Libra Kitab”, “Shirvannaşr”, “Mutarjim”, “Uchbujaq” and others. In addition, Azerneshr, a self-supporting publishing house, operates under the Ministry for Culture.
In 2019, 3 697 titles and 3 435 800 copies of books were published across the country. Included are 1 355 titles of scientific literature, 833 titles of educational literature, 1 266 titles of fiction, 243 titles of children’s literature, and other publications. In the field of the book trade, there are large book trade enterprises and other enterprises such as “Ali and Nino”, “Libraff”, “Baku Book Center”, “Azerkitab”, and “Ovod Book House”. These companies also organise the e-book trade. According to the Law on Publishing, publishing houses are free in their activities and are personally responsible for their publications.
Regarding the current problems and shortcomings in the field of publishing, the following can also be mentioned. Legislative discounts on book publishing, including tax breaks, are not provided (although currently, the publication of textbooks and children’s books is exempt from VAT; the fact that VAT remains on paper does not affect the prices of these books).
A low level of reading leads to low book circulation, which, in turn, negatively influences the financial situation of publishing houses and reduces the range and quality of books. Many publishers do not have the opportunity to communicate directly with readers, identify readers’ needs and adapt publishing policies (their bookstore). In addition, bookstores in the regions are almost non-existent, making it difficult for readers to obtain books for their private libraries.
Publishers are reluctant to publish the works of young writers because introducing a new name (author) to the reader requires certain marketing costs and copyright infringement (piracy and plagiarism) in the book market. Thus, all of it seriously undermines the financial support of authors and weakens official publishers.
According to the Culture Concept of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the following strategy is necessary for the improvement of national publishing work:
- Provision of book publishing on scientific, social-political, artistic, publicist themes (encyclopaedias, dictionaries, multi-volumes, collections, anthology, musical publications, etc.) to a high standard;
- Promotion of the translation of Azerbaijan literature samples into foreign languages and world literature samples into the Azerbaijani language as well as the creation of new works;
- Improvement of the enrichment of library funds through the Republic Library Collection system; and
- Providing access for book publishers in Azerbaijan to the international arena, participation in international book exhibition fairs, holding international book exhibitions in the country.
- Introduction of modern publishing, including “print-on-demand” technology to Azerbaijan, application, and promotion of e-book and audiobook formats along with traditional book publishing, researching ways to promote national literature to the world audience, including e-book markets, are among the recent books debates.
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