Negotiating Literary Value – Sweden 2013

The aim of the project is to develop an up-to-date understanding of the nature of literary value, and how it is created.

This will be done by investigating today’s Swedish literary field and book-market, which have undergone substantial changes in recent decades.

The aim of the project is to develop an up-to-date understanding of the nature of literary value, and how it is created, by investigating today’s Swedish literary field and book-market, which have undergone substantial changes in recent decades. In modern society, literature is credited with great social, cultural, and existential value. However, the premise has been, and still is, an evaluation and selection done in accordance with the definition of fine art that was established at the end of the eighteenth century in which literary value was seen as inherent in the literary work. The premise of the proposed project is that literary value is generated by a perpetual negotiation between the conditions that regulate production and sale, and the institutions, groups of readers, and individuals who are party to the value-making process.

The project is designed as a case-study of the Swedish book market, and the Gothenburg Book Fair in particular, in the autumn of 2013. It will focus on the main participants in the value negotiation process – authors, trade/intermediaries and readers. By limiting both time and place it becomes feasible to study the full interplay of a variety of evaluative acts.

The purpose is to develop a theoretical and practical knowledge of how literary value is made in contemporary society based on consistent empirical research – a question of great importance not only for literary studies but also for cultural politics and educational practice.