Publishing Studies

Publishing Studies at Lund University is centred around all aspects of the book: Publishers, book trade, market and sales systems, digital publishing, reading, literature in society, including almost all social, economic and practical aspects of books and literature. Neighbouring disciplines such as sociology of literature and book history are naturally linked although Publishing Studies is primarily focused on contemporary issues and developments. The research within the centre for publishing studies has during the last years covered bestsellers, literary values, Swedish children’s literature in the 1970s, bookstores and book sales, literary celebrities, the golden age of the Swedish book market 1945–1970 and crime fiction. On-going and planned projects are on the development of book sales in Sweden, the use and theories of Gérard Genette’s paratext concept, crime fiction as a cultural economy, literary tourism, and the development of the global book market. The field is multidisciplinary in character and the department has an established cooperation with researchers within for example literary studies and ethnology. On the international level, it has developed networks with researchers within Publishing Studies, mainly in Europe but also in other places, through conferences, visiting speakers, and international guest lectures. Furthermore, as much work related to Publishing studies are being done in other fields our researchers are also involved in interdisciplinary contexts such as Book history through The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) and Scandinavian studies, through The Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (SASS).