The Bookseller Advertisement Feature


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INTRODUCTION


Latvia is making up for lost time


T


he history of Latvian literature dates back merely one-and-a-half centuries. Nevertheless, a lot has been achieved. Latvian cultural heritage is rooted in more than 300,000 folk songs, which explains the country’s great love for poetry. In the 1960s and ’70s, poets


in Latvia were treated as rock stars, and their public readings were attended by thousands of people. Their contribution not only strengthened Latvian literary language and identity, but also helped to build an idea of an independent nation. To this day, Latvia publishes comparatively large amounts of poetry, with a particu- larly high proportion of poetry books aimed at children. Latvia has an active publishing industry, with around


2,200 new titles being published every year, mostly by 10 to 15 leading publishing houses. The split is roughly even between original Latvian-language titles and translated literature. Unfortunately, the average print run is not high, with around 1,500 copies sold per title. Works


selling more than 5,000 copies are considered bestsellers in Latvia. Latvian literature is rich in historical novels and docu-


mentary prose, both describing events before the Second World War and during the occupation. In this context, the historical novel series We. Latvia. The 20th Century must be emphasised. Two of the works in the series (Nora Ikstena’s Soviet Milk and Pauls Bankovski’s 18) are available in English. Within the past decade, Latvia has experienced major growth in children’s literature, as well as illustrated books for teen- agers. We are equally proud of the wonderful illustrations and innova- tions, and the high-quality design of children’s books. The biggest recent industry


event, with regard to the labour and resources invested in promot- ing exports of Latvian literature, in particular, was Latvia’s participation at the London Book Fair in 2018 as one of the Market Focus countries. Due to this event, Latvian Literature had the opportunity to successfully put together foreign publisher and journalist visits to Latvia, multiple translation workshops, seminars, publicity events in the UK and, of course, its #IAmIntrovert campaign. This year, look out for an #IAmIntrovert surprise at the Latvian stand (No. 5D135C) and elsewhere at the London Book Fair.


Within the past decade, Latvia has experienced major growth in children’s literature, as well as illustrated books for teens


Photography: Toms Harjo


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