Influence of book fairs on lithuanian publishing

With the expansion of the culture of published edition, the place of a book has a significant meaning both in the work of publishers and in consumers’ life, which is obvious in international book fairs held every year. The growing importance of book fairs is also evident in Lithuania; therefore it is a matter of great relevance to the country’s publishing industry. The participation of publishers in various book fairs contributes to the growth of the publishing market. Lithuania gained experience while preparing similar events and participating in international book fairs abroad which lead to the successful existence of Vilnius Book Fair. The topicality and novelty of this Master thesis is emphasized by the fact that there seems to be no research on book fairs and their impact on publishing. The theory of book fairs has not been broadly discussed in scientific Lithuanian and foreign literature and no research on the influence of book fair on publishing has been conducted. Therefore, the impact of book fair on publishing is of great interest. The object of this paper is the influence of book fairs on Lithuanian publishers and publishing. This Master thesis aims at analyzing the participation of Lithuanian publishers in book fairs and evaluating the impact of participation on publishing. In order to accomplish the established purpose the following tasks will be carries out: to analyse the definitions of main concepts with the purpose to describe the conception of book fair as precisely as possible; to separate and discuss the aims and classification of book fairs; to examine the origin and the development of book fairs in Lithuania as well as the participation of the country in foreign book fairs, which served as the starting point for the origin of book fairs in Lithuania; to examine the promotion of sales, the image and the use of licence in book fairs. Differently form the big countries in the Western Europe, book fairs in Lithuania exist a little more than a decade. There are no practical and scientific researches in this field, which results in limited amount of scientific literature concerning book fairs. The analysis of literature was applied to examine the concept of book fairs. The interview method was used to show the origin and development of book fairs. The survey of publishers was conducted in order to reveal the influence of book fairs on publishing in Lithuania. The results of research showed that book fairs influence the plans of publishers, however they are different. Vilnius Book Fair has a greater influence on publishing through advertising of books, meeting with authors and by the promotion of book sales. The book fairs abroad are of a representative nature and are intended to establish contacts or sign publishing contracts. The research revealed that though the participation in foreign book fairs is unreasonable on financial grounds, it influences the signing the licence contracts as well as establishing contacts with present and potential partners. This Master thesis may be useful for publishers, for the Association of Lithuanian Publishers, teachers and students of publishing and book science as well as future researchers and specialists in the field of book fairs