Kupar
Kupar ( Estonian 'seed capsule') was an Estonian book publisher based in Tallinn .
prehistory
With the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in June 1940, the free market economy and private ownership of means of production in Estonia ended. All existing publishers were dissolved. It was replaced by state publishers that were subject to censorship.
Foundation and activities of the publishing cooperative
In the course of the Singing Revolution , the authors also increasingly wanted to publish their books independently of the state monopoly publisher Eesti Raamat . In April 1987, seven well-known writers - Teet Kallas , Heino Kiik , Jaan Kross , Hans Luik , Mats Traat , Arvo Valton and Enn Vetemaa - joined forces and brought 1000 rubles per capita with them as share capital. The cooperative was registered under the name Kupar with the Tallinn City Soviet and the Writers' Union . It was the first independent publisher in Soviet Estonia .
In addition to the book production, the award of grants was also on the program of the new publisher. In September 1987, before the actual publishing activity began, the writer Hando Runnel received an annual scholarship of 6,000 rubles. After regaining independence, Kupar also had a bookstore in the building of the Writers' Union in downtown Tallinn. This shop was taken over by another operator in 2003 when Kupar went bankrupt.
Book publications
Kupar's first book was published in 1988, Heino Kiik's novel Maria Siberimaal ('Maria in Sibirien '). This was the first novel to deal with the white spots in Estonian historical awareness. The book had an edition of 60,000 and was sold out so quickly that a second edition with the same number of copies quickly followed. This enabled the publisher to live on the proceeds for a year. The transitional situation in Estonia is illustrated by the fact that the book had the normal publisher's name Eesti Raamat , only the information was given that Kupar had supported the edition financially. This could occasionally happen in later books as well.
Well-known authors who published their books at Kupar were Maimu Berg , Raimond Kaugver , Mihkel Mutt , Eeva Park , Rein Raud , Paul-Eerik Rummo , Mats Traat and Mati Unt in addition to the founders mentioned
Individual evidence
- ↑ At that time that corresponded to about three months' salary, s. Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, p. 707.
- ↑ https://epl.delfi.ee/eesti/kupra-raamatupoe-asemele-tuleb-raamatuvaramu-kauplus?id=50946993 (accessed June 21, 2020).