The Hungarian Booksellers' Association was founded in 1878. Its purpose was to help create an integrated and operative market for books in Hungary. The code of conduct eventually laid down in the Association's charter was in line with that of every similar book trade body in Europe in the interwar period.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, all book firms in Hungary were nationalized. A series of mergers brought into being new publishing houses and distribution companies. Like all other autonomous interest groups, the Association was dissolved, in 1952. Fifteen years later it was re-formed, as the Publishers' and Booksellers' Association. Until 1988 this was tied to the state administration in a number of ways. Its members were state enterprises, subordinated to the Ministry of Culture and Public Education. Discussions were held each year in the Ministry, to plan what would be published in the following year: from oeuvres such as the Collected Works of Lenin, exclusively allocated to individual firms to various inexpensive series of books--in unsellable quantities.
Following the end of communism, privatization was pushed through in Hungary's book trade, too. Money owed to publishing houses remained tied up in the stocks of the three large firms responsible for distribution. This was never to be reimbursed by the State Property Agency. The "denationalized" publishing houses therefore began their new lives under the burden of enormous debts and found themselves competing with more than 3000 newly-established private firms. The majority of the new ventures brought out just one or two publications annually. Over the last six to eight years one third have collapsed, but there are still some 2000 registered firms engaged in book publishing.
In 1992 the Hungarian Publishers' and Booksellers' Association represented sixty-five firms operating in the book trade. Since then new and old ones alike have come and gone. In 1992 the Association drew up "Competition Rules for Publishers and Book Distributors in Hungary", some of which are based on practice and precedent. These rules are binding on Association members. In the same way, these practices can be regarded as an ethical code, as the regulations are drawn from a general interpretation of the law on sharp practice insofar as it is relevant to the book trade.
The Association's principal decision-making forum is its council of managers, made up of the heads of member firms. This body decides on the admission of new members, taking into consideration the recommendations of the seven-member presidium. The Association is self-supporting. Votes are apportioned in accordance with contributions made to the Association's operating costs. Firms with a net annual income of up to 50 million forints have one vote, while those whose net annual income is between 50 million and 100 million forints have two. Members whose net annual income exceeds 100 million forints enjoy four votes.
István Bart, the director of Corvina Books, was elected President of the Hungarian Publishers' and Booksellers' Association in 1991. He is currently serving his second term in this post.
Question : In 1994 you published an article entitled "The Great Retreat", in which you were lamenting the death of culture. Your reaction now appears to have been premature. Hasn't book publishing passed the critical phase?
István Bart : Yes, the Great Adaptation following the end of communism has come to pass. Every segment of culture had outgrown what the country could afford. Put another way, it was larger than what the government was willing to finance. A deerhound eats too much, so you get a lapdog instead. Two major changes have taken place in book publishing. The volume of books published annually has dwindled appreciably, despite the 8,000 titles. Many of these are in a run of only 500 copies, so the 8,000 figure is highly misleading. At the same time, publishing arrived at the Great Divide. On the one hand, there are the major publishers with important works to their credit, where they not only read and edit the manuscripts, but they reject what should be rejected, they have a marketing and technical department, and engage in long-term planning. On the other hand, there are publishers who are little more than paper shufflers with a single desk where the manuscript arrives from the right and goes to the printers on the left, somewhat worse for wear. Naturally, there are a number of small publishers in between.
Q. : I presume these publishers are not members of the Association?
I. B. : What do you think? Most started as booksellers. Then as they got bigger, they went into publishing. The Lapics company heads the list followed by Tótágas, Hajja and Son, and Dezsô Matyi. They produce so-called two-week books. Whatever doesn't sell in that time is pulped. As far as they're concerned, publishing and selling are synonymous. And they do both. Some even have their own printing plant.
Q. : Most of these books are translations. Do the publishers also negotiate the rights themselves?
I. B. : Anyone who pays royalties these days is considered something of a gentleman. It is in the Association's own interest to see that here is far less pirating these days. The boys with the gold earrings are still very much at the cheap end. After all, there is no real publishing apparatus doing things to speak of, so their expenses are minimal. For better or worse, someone translates the book, the floppy disc is sent to the printer, and payment is made under the counter. I don't mean to be too hard on them, though. The books look presentable and, given the bad paper and worse quality binding, they can't last more than two weeks. These businessmen are good at keeping costs low, and since--practically speaking--printing costs make up their only expenses, if they find a place where they can get their printing done for a penny less, that's where they go. Then, sooner or later, they end up with their own printing facilities.
Q. : Still, it's not easy for them to expand. There's too much competition, and not enough people who can afford books.
I. B. : The various publishers are at each other's throats. Things are settling down now, but just a couple of years ago they burnt down each other's stands and slashed the tyres of each other's cars. It was a question of survival to be the first on the scene. For example, whoever reached Debrecen first, the stronghold in the east, and put his books out for sale, would reap the rewards. By now they've pretty much divided the market among themselves. Of course, they're still on the alert. The heavies working for Tótágas walk around with gas pistols. Business is for cash. I have met Lapics and his men several times. They walk around with five-thousand forint bills stuffed in their pockets.
Q. : Is it true that they asked you to do a translation for them?
I. B. : Yes. It was a very good book. I discovered it and would have liked to publish it, but it didn't fit into Corvina's profile. Kati Kátay, the former head of the Hungarian Copyright Office ARTISJUS, now has a literary agency. Lapics bought the book from her, and she suggested that I do the translation. I did it, they paid for it, and published it, too. By the way, I learned a lot from Lapics's firm.
Q. : Such as?
I. B. : How to do business. They're first-rate businessmen.
Q. : So in short, in one corner of the book market there are the gentlemen, and in the other the distributors whom you have referred to as "the boys with gold earrings". How much of the book market does each camp control?
I. B. : Hungarians spend twelve billion forints a year on books. Regardless of book prices and inflation, this figure has stayed the same for years. Some time ago readers were spending two billion on textbooks. Now it's four billion. Of the remaining eight billion spent on books, two billion go on Hungarian Book Club publications, or so they say. We and the boys who publish on the cheap make do with the remaining six billion.
Q. : So the Hungarian Publishers' and Booksellers' Association is a kind of gentlemen's club. What is the ratio of publishers and booksellers in the Association?
I. B. : The ratio is more or less three to one in favor of the publishers. Of course, there are a great many small publishers, while small distributors don't really count. They don't even try to join us.
Q. : There are the old members, the descendants of the former state publishing houses, and many new publishers; there are syndicates backed by big money, and sharks with international connections. How do all of them get along?
I. B. : Just fine. The Association only deals with issues of common interest. We can't cater for special interests. We are always looking for what the members have in common.
Q. : That must be a very tough compromise. I'm thinking of the sort of scandal that could have well used a bit more publicity or campaigning on your behalf, namely, the privatization of the stores run by Bibliofil Ltd. The Alliance of Hungarian Writers, the Ministry of Culture and Education and others agreed it would be best if Pesti Szalon and a few other quality publishers would be awarded the tender. Yet the Könyvesház distribution syndicate and the business people behind it won the day because, despite all the promises, the financial considerations weighed more heavily than the book trade's interests. I heard rumours about a failed political pact, about fraudulent, or at least questionable, bank guarantees, and private "games" by people in the Ministry. Do you know anything about the background to this story?
I. B. : There is not much that can be established for sure. There are only unverifiable rumours. The Association let it be known that it has something to say on the matter, but nobody bothered to ask us. As far as my role in all this is concerned, out of friendship I signed the letter supporting the publishers. But I am not really in favor of publishers owning their own chain stores.
Q. : When did the Association let it be known that it would like to have a say?
I. B. : Before the tender was published.
Q. : Everything was in order then, wasn't it?
I. B. : Everything was never in order. Acquiring the last chain of book stores that was still intact was the trade's last big chance. A chain of stores is incredibly valuable, except--of course--if it has to sell books.
Q. : Yet wasn't that the condition for purchasing the chain?
I. B. : Yes. But who is going to apply the sanctions if the new owners break their contract? The second-hand book store in Váci utca is a good example. Back then they actually asked for our opinion about the conditions for selling the premises. It was due to pressure from us that the contract included a clause stipulating that the book store must remain a book store. The people in charge of privatization didn't like this. They'd received two hundred million forints for the fur shop next door, while they were "forced to give away" the second-hand book store for a mere thirty million to the staff who worked there. Then, to add insult to injury, in less than six months the shop was no longer selling books. The staff sold it, and the new owners are no longer bound by the original contract. We had neglected to add a clause in the original contract about the terms for re-sale.
Q. : Can the Bibliofil chain be sold, too?
I. B. : Yes. But for the time being, at least, it looks like the people who bought it want to keep it as an outlet for books.
Q. : The Minister of Culture, Bálint Magyar, has agreed to act as patron for the stores, provided the trade keeps an eye on them.
I. B. : That's just a game. We're keeping an eye on them, all right. But if they want to sell, they sell. The new "boys" automatically became Association members, because Bibliofil was also a member. Right away we put them on a committee to see what we could expect from them. This committee is trying to find a legal means of preventing the books being sold way below market prices.
Q. : Libri has already found a way. They won't buy from publishers who regularly supply books to the discount book stores. Can this work in the long run?
I. B. : Yes, provided that the three largest distributors, Libri, Líra és Lant, and Könyvesház stick together.
Q. : How can a reputable publisher be forced to sell his stock for peanuts?
I. B. : Simple. The boys with the gold earrings pay up front, and the majority of the publishers are short of capital. They can't publish new books until they sell the old. This means the publisher simply can't pay his bills. At the same time, the distributors work on a sale or return basis, and pay only when they've sold the publisher's books. Consequently, when a publisher is in a tight spot, he is forced to sell his books at a disadvantage.
Q. : And if two thousand copies of a book are sold on the market at half price, the remaining three thousand will never go for the full price. Aren't the publishers and booksellers ruining their own opportunities this way?
I. B. : Yes. But suicide and self-delusion go hand in hand. For instance, the director of a publishing house sees the cost calculations for a book: the price is set at eight hundred forints. That's too much, he thinks, let's print another two thousand copies and bring the price down to six hundred. The trouble is he won't be able to sell the extra two thousand copies. Then someone shows up with a briefcase full of cash and offers to buy the remaining two thousand for 20 percent of the retail price. Cash up front. That's how it is done.
Q. : Are there any Association members who have managed not to get immersed in this?
I. B. : I don't think there are.
Q. : Even you?
I. B. : Yes. We hit rock bottom about three years ago. Publishing was at an all-time low. It was sink or swim. Nobody bought our best books. I was also guilty of miscalculating things. But I never sold anybody else books that were already in the shops. There are still market crashes from time to time. The stocks of Akadémiai Kiadó, for example, are being sold at a discount now because Wolters Kluver didn't want them. It's now or never--buy a Swedish-Hungarian dictionary!
Q. : Publishers, some of them prestigious, are still going broke. How much longer will this "adaptation-centered" situation go on?
I. B. : In my opinion, it is basically over. Foundation support has been restructured, and they no longer act as financiers, which is a good thing. Up until now they have functioned as a sort of negative censorship, dictating who could publish what. For instance, if they supported the publication of books on philosophy by a certain publisher, they would not back the same subject when another publisher turned to them for support. If a foundation supports only the "manufacturer", it distorts the internal structure of book publishing. It is much better to support the buyer.