The purpose of my Bachelor’s thesis is to investigate how the declaration of the commemorative year of the writer by the state can affect activities in Slovenian book publishing. The research is based on a demonstrative example of the year of Josip Jurčič, whose 140th death anniversary was celebrated by the Slovenian nation dedicating the year 2021 to him. Using the theory of empirical science of literature, the thesis first defines the position of the writer in the literary system and then summarizes the development of the role of the Slovenian literary producer. The theoretical section is concluded with a definition of publishing, grounded in the studies of Bhaskar and Thompson, and an outline of the Slovenian publishing and book market. The research part provides an overview of the varied activities that marked the year of Josip Jurčič, while in the following parts of the thesis, the research focus is narrowed only to the new book production. The structure of the publishing activity in the year of Jurčič was analysed and there were nine new original books and five new translations of Jurčič's satirical humorous tale published on this occasion. The publication of several book novelties was non-trade oriented, as the celebration of the year of the writer was more widely attended by informal publishers. By verifying the achievement of publishing standards, four books were selected, that have been released by formal publishers, and the idea of writer’s year having the potential to enlarge the publisher's economic capital was further researched. It has been found that the nonfinancial considerations have always been more or less present even in the publications of formal publishers, as the celebration of commemorative years is clearly associated with cultural and symbolic dimensions. Nevertheless, to participate in the literary year seems to be a fruitful decision for publishing houses, since the book novelties receive stronger and extra amplification with the context of the year of the writer and, consequently, can be more recognizable, while the celebration of the writer’s year is still not a guarantee for the sales success of books related to the commemorative year.
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