DoRzeczy.pl: How do you assess the last years of the Book Institute? What are your biggest challenges?
Dariusz Jaworski and Krzysztof Koller: Eight years is a long time. The Institute's initiatives and plans were strongly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences on the book market in Poland and around the world. However, we believe that these were important and good years: we know where we started and where we are today. In 2016, when we started working at the Book Institute, we discovered an institution that – despite all its successes – was incomplete. There was no comprehensive vision of reading promotion in Poland. But maybe the numbers speak better: in 2015 CI's budget for current expenses was 20,205,000 PLN, in 2022 – 46,228,000 PLN, which means it has increased by 120%! At the beginning, we were given several tasks: first of all, a reasonable and large-scale promotion of reading in Poland, expansion of the range of authors that we wanted to promote, and finally, we tried to revise the literary hierarchy of the society. We believe that we have been able to fulfill these tasks.
Which activities of the Book Institute would you like to dedicate to the promotion of Polish literature abroad?
We will start from the beginning with the numbers and specifically with the budget of the most important program for the promotion of Polish literature in the world, i.e. the Copyright Poland Translation Program, within the framework of which IK supports foreign publishers who apply to publish books by Polish authors. In 2015, 148 applications were received, 106 of which were supported in the amount of approximately PLN 685,000. In 2023, 329 applications were submitted and 229 of them were supported in the amount of approximately 5,000,000 PLN, which is five times more.
These data clearly show what has changed and in which direction our work is going. The second issue is complementarity. We wanted Polish literature to attract readers from all over the world and reach as wide an audience as possible. Therefore, the projects addressed to the Arabic-speaking world (the organization of the presentation of Polish literature as a guest of honor at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair), the Spanish-speaking world (the formula of the guest of honor at the Madrid fair and then with the European Union in Guadalajara), hence Italy (advanced work on the presentation of Poland as the guest of honor at the Bologna fair), but is also looking for an alternative to reach Chinese-speaking recipients – the guest of honor in Taiwan or at the fair. Book Fair in Singapore. If it were not for the pandemic that stopped the project, it would probably have been possible to further deepen the cooperation in the countries of the Visegrad Group.
And after the pandemic came the war.
Yes, against the backdrop of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the Institute immediately took measures, probably spontaneous, but very important. We undertook, among others: close cooperation with the Book Institute from Ukraine in such projects as printing 80,000 Ukrainian books for children who ended up in Poland, we jointly organized “The Power of the Word – Polish-Ukrainian Literary Dialogues” during the International Book Fair in Warsaw and, above all, we worked on the implementation of the “Polish shelf”. Ukraine” project, made extremely difficult by the hostilities, whose aim is to support Ukrainian libraries, publishers and printing houses, and as a result – a greater presence of Polish books in Ukrainian libraries. Thanks to this, 30,000 copies of books by Polish authors have already reached 1,420 Ukrainian libraries. We know that the Goethe-Institut, which is implementing a similar project in Germany, is taking Polish know-how for this task.
In addition – routine activities, i.e. programs for foreign publishers (of course already mentioned PTCP or seminars held in Poland), for Polish publishers and agents (Publishing Proposals), for translators (Congress of Translators, Transatlantyk Awards or Found in Translation). , the new school of translators, translation sample) and the annual organization of the Polish national stand at the world's most important book fairs: London, Frankfurt, Bologna…
It is also worth noting the wide range of Polish authors who are annually presented to foreign publishing houses in the New Books from Poland catalog. When the pandemic closed trade fairs around the world, we started introducing new, non-traditional methods of promoting Polish authors abroad, for example, video clips promoting specific books published in different countries.
How does Polish readership compare to readers in Europe and the rest of the world?
Our idea – to create an effective national department at the Book Institute – was aimed at decisively solving the reading problem in Poland. We are well aware that the reading public is a wise, attentive and perhaps above all morally sensitive public.
What did you do to change that?
This is a very delicate and difficult issue. We believe that first of all, we should create the habit of reading, the habit of reaching for books and also somehow lead to the social and societal acceptance of reading as a valuable and desirable activity. In this regard, we work in many directions, the main of which is the support of Polish libraries – from the program of book discussion clubs, which has been in existence for almost 20 years, to a large government program to the national program for the development of reading, in which IK. Responsible for the library infrastructure program. This amounts to tens of millions of zlotys annually spent on modernization and modernization of libraries. Then there was the issue of bookstores: when the pandemic threatened small, independent bookstores, the Book Institute immediately responded by creating its own program, “Certification for Small Bookstores” (more than 300 bookstores received funding under this program, which is still ongoing today). And finally – special programs that we have created to support the aforementioned book reading habit…
Reading should be taught from an early age. What is the “Little Book – Big Man” project?
It is the largest book launch project in Europe and one of the largest in the world. The program has evolved, it can be said that it has grown with the child. In 2017, we achieved what seemed impossible – 320 maternity homes in Poland provided us with the first children's book (reading kit), which should be their (their: children's and parents') first book. A good book to start with. Now about 290,000 annually. Children receive a reading kit.
Starting in 2019, reading kits are also available for preschool children (ages 4-6) who visit public libraries participating in the program with their parents. About 200,000 people receive layettes each year. Preschool children in more than 6,770 public libraries in Poland. In 2020, we took another step: from now on, our program is also aimed at all students starting in primary school. To date, more than 300,000 people receive school supplies every year. More than 13 thousand children in primary schools throughout Poland.
For years, we have collaborated with KBF and Woblinek on a campaign aimed at high school students, now – seeing how big a challenge it is to increase the group of people aged 60+ who are increasingly struggling with the problem of reading exclusion, we are starting to work on a national project, which is aimed at the elderly, the vast majority of whom do not read. Today this project is still in its initial stages, we have just completed the first consultations with institutions and specialists for seniors. But, taking into account the experience of conducting the Little Book Great Man project, we believe that even in this case it will be possible to create a program that will promote reading in this social group, provided that there is an appropriate atmosphere in the ministry.
And what are your future plans?
In addition to the above-mentioned project on reading among the elderly (which seems to be a key task given the birth situation in Poland), we are currently organizing the project “Books in Stadiums” aimed at young people. People who practice football. The next stage of the Little Book of a Big Man project awaits us – this year a new, original book for newborns by Dorota Gellner will be created, and work will begin on the text and illustrations of the preschool book.
We work a lot on the Spanish-language market (a workshop for publishers from Spain and South America will be held in Krakow in the spring, Polish writers will also participate in the Madrid Book Festival in Retiro Park – an innovative formula for cooperation between us and their publishers), we are completing the “Italian presence” – fairs in Turin, and above all Above all, we are working on the Bologna guest of honor in the coming years, modernizing the publishing proposal program so that foreign agents can also. Take part… There are many challenges, but we are ready for it.
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