Only what sells can also be read. Just read something, also sell it – right? Even the supposedly aesthetic literature market is subject to capitalist laws. And this market is changing: social media is changing how stories are published, promoted, read, even written, how authors and audiences meet. But what does that mean for the writers? What about the publishers? And anyway: How does science deal with it?
Many possibilities, many questions. “We don’t have any answers yet,” says Kay Wolfinger from the Institute for German Philology at LMU. That’s about to change: On Tuesday, June 20, the Institute is inviting scientists, authors and editors to this year’s Literature Saloon with the telling title “Unsaleable? Literature and Market”.
The first interview with the authors addresses the big questions: bestseller or no bestseller? The young cultural scientist Alicia Sommerfeld will soon make her debut with a light novel; Thomas Meinecke, on the other hand, has been established for decades and tells stories more theoretically, less accessible – and thus consciously writes for a smaller, commercially less profitable target group? “We want authors with different approaches to exchange ideas,” says Wolfinger, explaining the composition.
When it comes to those that appear on the bestseller lists, one naturally wonders: is there a formula for success? Kim de l’Horizon received the German Book Prize for “Blutbuch”, Daniela Dröscher was shortlisted for “Lies about my mother”. The two not only read from their books, but also talk about their writing and the literature market in general. In the case of Kim de l’Horizon, how do you approach the second book after the first was unexpectedly successful? What role does the publisher play in choosing a topic, and what role does the audience play?
As a sociologist of literature, Carolin Amlinger also touches on these questions in her lecture. The editors’ point of view is also indispensable: Angela Tsakiris (DuMont) supervised “Blutbuch”, Jan Valk (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) “Lies about my mother”. They discuss how the publishing world is dealing with digital change. “There are authors who work completely outside of our umbrella, who are only on the Internet,” says Wolfinger. Is the idea that a book is written by just one author even outdated? Platforms like Wattpad allow readers to provide feedback before the story is complete. Is there a new, interactive way of writing and reading? And, again, how can science study these forms?
Of course, you won’t find clear answers through an event, but you want to “get the ball rolling”. The students not only helped organize the saloon, but also sent in questions in advance and can join the discussion on site. As, of course, does the rest of the audience, says Wolfinger: “We want to open the ivory tower to everyone.”
“Unsaleable? Literature and Market”, Tuesday, June 20th, 1 p.m., event room of the Philologicum, Ludwigstr. 25, free entry, germanistik.uni-muenchen.de