 | |
| Status | active |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 1998. |
| Founder | Dejan Papić [1] |
| Country of origin | Serbia |
| Headquarters location | Beograd |
| Key people |
|
| Nonfiction topics | Fiction, essays, history, non-fiction, popular science... |
| No. of employees | 90 |
| Official website | laguna |
Laguna Publishing was founded in 1998 in Belgrade and is one of the biggest publishing houses in Serbia with almost 400 publications a year. Since it was established, Laguna has published over 4.500 titles.
In early 1998, Dejan Papić, who was a computer programmer at the time, translated Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic , so that his wife could read it in their native language. However, when he tried to acquire the rights for the title, he learned he couldn't do so as an individual and that he needed the help of a publishing house instead. Soon after that, in April 1998, Mr. Papić founded his own publishing house, Laguna. During its initial years, the publishing company faced a bombing, a social crisis and lack of funds, so it progressed at a slow pace. Only one title was published in the first year, two the following and four the year after that. [2] In the year 2000, Laguna began publishing titles by other authors popular worldwide. The list of publications grew year after year, only to reach 350 published titles a year, thus becoming one of the most productive publishing companies in Europe.
Laguna's first editions were titles by one of the most popular British authors, Terry Pratchett. Today, some of this publisher's foreign language titles include the names of classic authors (Shakespeare, Goethe, Gogol, Chekhov, Kafka, Proust, Musil) and numerous contemporary writers with works mostly from English, Spanish, German, French and Russian speaking territories such as: Nobel winners Mario Vargas Llosa, Herta Muller, José Saramago, Gunter Grass, Toni Morrison, Czeslaw Milosz, Mo Yan, Svetlana Alexievich, George Eliot, Max Frisch, Mark Aldanov, Sylvia Plath, Agatha Christie, Henry Miller, Hans Fallada, John Cheever, Bret Easton Ellis, Amin Maalouf, Ana María Matute, Tony Parsons, Roberto Bolaño, Margaret Atwood, Martin Walser, Bill Bryson, Khaled Hosseini, Victor Pelevin, Lucinda Riley and many others.
Laguna has also published a great number of Serbian classics and works by contemporary authors and the list includes names such as Vuk Karadžić, Stevan Sremac, Borisav Stanković, Branislav Nušić, Ivo Andrić, Miloš Crnjanski, Slobodan Selenić, Borislav Pekić, Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Dobrica Ćosić, Miroslav Antić, Đorđe Lebović, Živojin Pavlović, Dušan Radović, Dragoslav Mihailović, Dušan Kovacević, Ljubivoje Ršumović, Filip David, Dragan Velikić, Radoslav Petković, Svetislav Basara, Goran Petrović, Vladan Matijević, Jovica Aćin, Goran Gocić, Ljubica Arsić, Vule Žurić, Ivana Dimić, Vladimir Kecmanović, Vladimir Arsenijević, Radmila Lazić, Nikola Malović, Ivan Ivanji, Igor Marojević, Mirjana Novaković, Uroš Petrović, Dejan Stojiljković, Slobodan Vladušić, Marko Vidojković, Vladimir Tabašević, Viktor Lazić and others.
Apart from titles from all fiction genres by foreign and Serbian authors, Laguna publishes short story collections, essays, autobiographies, travel books, children's books, picture books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, memoirs of distinguished historical and musical figures, cookbooks, titles about popular science, philosophy, psychology, mythology, and art.
The first bookstore was opened in Belgrade in 2009 in Makedonska street and another was opened the same year in number 48, Kralja Milana street, in the building of the Student Cultural Centre (SKC). Shortly after this, a sister company Delfi and a bookstore chain were founded, using Laguna's ten-year experience in publishing and modeled after the best and most popular international bookstore chains. Today, Delfi bookstores has a total of 43 stores. [3]
Laguna does not cover only the Serbian market, but has an active presence in Montenegro, where there are four readers' clubs, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Laguna has eight readers' clubs. In its gradual expansion over the years, Laguna began opening readers' clubs in cities all over Serbia and today there are over 600 000 members in 60 clubs in 29 cities in Serbia (Belgrade, Lazarevac, Smederevo, Novi Sad, Niš, Kragujevac, Zrenjanin, Gornji Milanovac, Jagodina, Kraljevo, Leskovac, Pančevo, Požarevac, Lebane, Sremska Mitrovica, Subotica, Valjevo, Vršac, Zaječar, Čačak, Šabac, Kruševac and Užice) and the region (Bijeljina, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Tuzla, Nikšić, Podgorica).
Twice a year, in June and December, Laguna hosts Book Night, a popular event during which there is a big discount not only for Laguna's titles but for books from other publishers as well. The first Book Night was organized in 2009 and this event promoting the love of books and reading has been organized every year across Serbia. [4] By popularity and the number of visitors, it is second only to the Belgrade Book Fair. Apart from this one, Laguna organizes many other events to engage their existing members and attract new ones. Some of them include Let's exchange gifts, when every person to donate blood gets a book as a present, Autograph for Safety, during which all collected funds are used to equip the sensory room in Dušan Dugalić, a school for children with special needs; Bring Libraries to Life Again has enabled the collection of over 15,000 books to help libraries destroyed in the floods of 2014. Laguna has also hosted numerous book donations for schools and other institutions and their libraries, as well as for women in safe houses; together with Coca-Cola Laguna has organized book donations for orphaned children and joined forces with the bank Eurobank and the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation to open libraries in 27 daycare centers across Serbia. [2]
With the desire to bring the literary world to their readers, Laguna regularly organizes literary evenings in all major Serbian cities, in collaboration with many Serbian authors and has been host to numerous foreign authors as well. The list of popular writers that have visited Serbia at Laguna's invitation are Mario Vargas Llosa, Tony Parsons, Tracy Chevalier, Tariq Ali, Amitav Ghosh, William Paul Young, Lucinda Riley, Javier Sierra, Mo Hayder, Pierre Lemaitre, Heleen Van Royen, Giulio Leoni, Luca di Fulvio, Luc Besson, Juan Gómez Jurado, Guy Gavriel Kay, Nataša Dragnić and many others. Norwegian thriller writer Jo Nesbo has also been Laguna's guest, [5] and American fantasy author Peter V. Brett was Laguna's special guest at the 2018 Belgrade book fair. [6]
During the 20 years of its existence, Laguna and their authors, translators and associates have won numerous prestigious awards and recognitions. Many authors have been awarded several literary and translation awards for the titles they published with Laguna.
The novel "Kuca secanja i zaborava" (The House of Memory and Oblivion) by Filip David was awarded the NIN prize in 2014 [7] and the following year in 2015 this prize was given to another title published by Laguna – Islednik (The Investigator) by Dragan Velikić. [8] In 2016 the prize went to Laguna's author Ivana Dimić for her novel Arzamas [9] and in 2018 the author Vladimir Tabašević received this literary recognition for his novel Zabluda Svetog Sebastijana (St. Sebastian's Misaprehension) also published by Laguna. [10]
The "Ivo Andrić Literary Prize" was awarded to Vule Žurić in 2015 for the short story collection Tajna crvenog zamka (The Secret of the Red Castle), [11] Goran Petrović received this prize in early 2019 for his life's work and the prize "Veljkova golubica" the same year. [12] The novel Ravnoteza (Balance) by Svetlana Slapšak won the "Golden Sunflower" prize [13] and the prize was given to Dragan Velikić for Islednik (The Investigator), a novel that received the prize "Kočićevo pero" as well. [14] Dejan Stojiljkovic was awarded the "Miloš Crnjanski" literary prize in 2009 for the novel Konstantinovo raskršće (Constantine's Crossroads), [15] and Laguna's titles Lutajući bokelj (The Wanderer from Boka) by Nikola Malović and Kuca od soli (The House of Salt) by Milomir Petrović both received the "Laza Kostić" prize. [16] [17]
The "Isidora Sekulić" prize was given to Đorđe Milosavljević for Đavo i Mala gospođa (The Devil and the Little Lady) and to Svetislav Basara for the novel Anđeo atentata (The Angel of Assassination), [18] [19] while authors Ljubivoje Ršumović and Nikola Malović were awarded the "Branko Ćopić" prize. [20] [21] Vule Žurić, the author of the first partizan crime novel Nedelja pacova (The Week of the Rats) was the winner of the "Stevan Sremac" prize, [22] also won by Laguna's authors Ljubica Arsić for her novel Rajska vrata (The Heaven's Door) [23] and Krsta Popovski for his novel Ina. [24] Basara's novel The Angel of Assassination won also the award of the Serbian literary society "Biljana Jovanović", [25] while Dragoslav Mihailović won the "Grigorije Božović" prize the same year for his short story Četrdeset i tri godine (Forty three years). [26]
In early 2019, the fortieth prize of the magazine Politikin Zabavnik for young authors was awarded to Stefan Tićmi, author of the novel Ja sam Akiko (I am Akiko), published by Laguna. [27]
Apart from these prizes, Laguna's titles have received, among others, the "Prize of the Andrić Institute" from Andrić City, [28] the Meša Selimović critics' award for the book of the year, [29] the "Desimir Tošić" prize, [30] the prize of Zmaj's Children's Games Festival "Neven", [31] the "Meša Selimović" regional prize and many others. [32] [33]
Laguna's authors are not the only ones to receive literary awards, many translators working for the publisher have received recognition for their works. Ana M. Jovanović received the translation award Ljubiša Rajić for her translation of the Mo Yan’s novel Žabe (Frogs), [34] Ana Kuzmanović Jovanović was awarded the "Radoje Tatić" prize for her translation of José Saramago's novel Sva imena (Todos os nomes), [35] and the prize "Dr Jovan Maksimović" was awarded to Dejan Mihailović for the translation of the novel Samoubistvo (Самоубийство) by Mark Aldanov. [36]
Laguna has also received multiple Golden Hit Liber awards for the most read title and has been awarded the FONKUR award for Publisher of the Year twice. Among other recognitions, the international award for freedom and journalism should be mentioned, as well as the Liplje prize of the Banja Luka book fair for contemporary literature, [37] the journalists' award for the most professional collaboration with the media in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2018, [38] the prize of the Belgrade City Library for the most read foreign title in 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018 and for publisher of the year, [39] and Laguna has also been voted publisher of the year by journalists' choice multiple times at the Belgrade Book Fair. [40] [41] At the London Book Fair in the spring of 2016 Laguna was shortlisted next to a French and American publishing house for international publisher of the year. [42]
Mala Laguna is a branch of Laguna Publishing dedicated to children's books and young adult titles. The first titles were published in 2002 and since then, around 70 titles are published annually under the Mala Laguna brand. The list of publications includes the works of renowned children's and young adult authors such as Miroslav Antić, Gradimir Stojković, Ljubivoje Ršumović, Vlada Stojiljković, Uroš Petrović, Igor Kolarov, Branko Stevanović, Vladislava Vojnović, Gordana Maletić, Robert Takarič, Vesna Ćorović Butrić, Vesna Vidojević Gajović, Zoran Penevski, and others. Mala Laguna titles include many illustrated books as well, which feature the works of some of the most esteemed Serbian illustrators such as Dušan Petričić, Dušan Pavlić, Aleksandar Zolotić, Nemanja Ristić, Tihomir Čelanović, Marica Kicušić, Milica Radenković, Kosta Milovanović, and many others.
Mala Laguna publications have received numerous awards and recognitions:
Laguna Publishing started its online magazine titled Laguna Bookmarker – Your Reading Universe in 2017. The magazine publishes interesting facts on published titles, synopsis, reviews, examples of the most beautiful bookstores and literary cafés in the world, as well as interviews with Serbian and foreign authors, articles on reading habits, parenting, and child-rearing. The Bookmarker includes both educational videos and texts and the content published exceeds a thousand publications per year.
Goran Petrović is a Serbian writer and academic.
Mira Banjac is a Serbian actress.
Borislav Pekić was a Serbian and Yugoslav writer and political activist.
Serbian literature, refers to literature written in Serbian and/or in Serbia and all other lands where Serbs reside.
The NIN Award, officially the Award for Best Novel of the Year, is a prestigious Serbian literary award established in 1954 by the NIN weekly and is given annually for the best newly published novel written in Serbian. The award is presented every year in January by a panel of writers and critics. In addition to being a highly acclaimed award capable of transforming writers' literary careers, the award is also sought after because it virtually assures bestseller status for the winning novel. The literary website complete review called it the "leading Serbian literary prize" in 2012.
The Žanka Stokić is the distinguished award for acting in Serbian theater. It is awarded only to actresses.
Miroslav Josić Višnjić was a Serbian writer and poet. He won numerous literary prizes, most notably NIN Prize 1990 for his novel Odbrana i propast Bodroga u sedam burnih godišnjih doba and Andrić Award in 1998. He died at the age of 69.
Igor Marojević is a Serbian writer.
The International Novi Sad Literature Festival was founded by the Association of Writers of Vojvodina in 2006. The Festival is held in Novi Sad еvery year in August and September.
Milan Orlić is a Serbian poet, writer and publisher.
Srđan Srdić is a Serbian novelist, short-story writer, essayist, editor, publisher and creative reading/writing teacher. He has published four novels, two short story collections and a book of essays, and has contributed as a writer and/or editor to several short story collections and literary magazines.
Milisav Savić is a Serbian writer and novelist.
The Isidora Sekulić Award is a Serbian, and former Yugoslav, literary prize established by the Belgrade municipality of Savski venac in 1967 and awarded annually since 1968 in honor of the writer and Belgrade native Isidora Sekulić. The award honors writers for the best work of modern Serbian literature of the previous year. In the first decade of its history, several authors were awarded annually. Since 1979, only one author has received the award each year. A total of 71 authors have received the award since its inception.
The Serbian Basketball Player of the Year award is established in 2015 to recognize the best basketball player of the year from Serbia. The winners are men's and women's basketball players who have Serbian citizenship, and whose performances with its basketball club and/or national team throughout the year has reached the highest level of excellence. All players with Serbian citizenship, regardless of where they play in the world, qualify for the award. The winners are selected by the Basketball Federation of Serbia.
Sonja Veselinović is a Serbian writer and assistant professor of comparative literature at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Novi Sad.
Slobodan Vladušić is a Serbian writer and associate professor of Serbian literature at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Novi Sad.
Aleksandar Gatalica is a Serbian writer, critic and translator, best known for his novel The Great War, for which he won the NIN Award for best Serbian novel of the year. His works has been translated in more than ten languages.
Dragan Velikić is a Serbian novelist, short story writer, essayist and former Ambassador to Austria. He's one of the best known writers of modern Serbia. His influences include Gaito Gazdanov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Constantine P. Cavafy, Ivo Andrić and Aleksandar Tišma among other authors. Velkić's best known works are the novels Ruski prozor and Islednik, for both of which he won the NIN award.
Nikola Vujčić is a Serbian author and poet.
The Slobodan Piva Ivković Award for Lifetime Achievement is an lifetime achievement award honoring the achievements of those basketball coaches who have made a significant contribution to the game of basketball in Serbia. It was first awarded in 1995. The awards are presented by the Serbian Association of Basketball Coaches and its named in honor of coach Slobodan Ivković who was the founder and the first president of the Association. All coaches with Serbian citizenship, regardless of where they coached in the world, qualify for the award. The inaugural Awards for Lifetime Achievement were presented to five recipients: Slobodan Ivković, Borislav Stanković, Ranko Žeravica, Aleksandar Nikolić, and Nebojša Popović. The most recent recipients of the award are Duško Vujošević and Zoran Kovačić.
