Publishers would not have boycotted the Competition for the purchase of books if the students had not had a fourth request, as well as if the previous ministries of culture were more concerned with the Cyrillic alphabet - believes the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković
About fifty publishers have decided to boycott the competition of the Ministry of Culture for the purchase of books, not to participate in international fairs organized by the Ministry, and to temporarily suspend the delivery of mandatory copies of books to the National Library of Serbia and Matica srpska
The publishers of the two largest associations, UIKS and UPIS, and independent publishers are demanding that the Ministry of Culture cancel the competition for the purchase of books by libraries, among other things, because it only supports one, the Cyrillic alphabet.
The latest tender of the Ministry of Culture for the purchase of books includes editions published last year and this year, although the budget for that purpose has not been doubled. Also, only books in Cyrillic are allowed to compete
Merkel's memoirs at Kontrast Publishing House, "War" and "Autocracy" at Clio, "Belgrade Noir" at Official Gazette, Kadare's "General of the Dead Army" - these are examples from the publisher's plans for this year, which they know will be more difficult than the last.
Although the Ministry of Culture has decided that from January 1, it will not buy books in Latin for libraries, publishers will continue to publish them. This means that this new measure will not help the Cyrillic alphabet, and that it has deprived libraries of many good and important books. Only the state will save again
On Saturday, the Book Fair will begin in Belgrade, where 418 publishers will participate. Cuba, the guest of honor, will present the works of several famous authors on Sunday
The Minister of Culture, Nikola Selaković, was clear and consistent: the state has nothing against publishers publishing in another script, but only books published in the "beautiful Vukova Cyrillic" will be purchased. And immediately. Because there is no cile-mile anymore
The money spent by Belgrade on free textbooks is many times greater than the provincial government's aid to the publishers of Vojvodina, says the editor-in-chief of "Prometeja" for the "Vremena" portal.
In an open letter, the Association of Professional Publishers reminds the Ministry of Culture of its demands regarding the lack of cultural policy measures, and announces the monitoring group
The exchange of links to pirated editions of books is a daily occurrence, even academic and public figures participate in it. However, the biggest pirates are still photocopiers
For publishers, the price of fair space and tickets is more important than the location of the Book Fair, but they still consider it a good tool for their promotion. Two percent fewer books were published last year than in 2021.
In the tender for free textbooks, the Ministry of Education rejected 12 publishers because of the exorbitant prices. "It cannot be lower than 2,2 dinars per page," believes Aleksandar Kavčić
This year's purchase of books for libraries has not yet been carried out and in all likelihood there will not be. The Ministry of Culture does not respond to publishers' calls
