Estonia has a vibrant and dynamic publishing industry, despite its relatively small population of 1.3 million people. The country’s publishing sector is known for its high-quality output across various genres, including literature, educational materials, academic works, and children’s books. The publishing industry plays a significant role in preserving Estonian culture, language, and national identity, while also reaching out to international markets.
Estonian literature covers a broad range of genres, including fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Estonian authors are well-respected within the country, and their works often explore themes related to history, identity, and the nation’s journey through occupation and independence.
Estonia is famed for its children’s literature, which has a long-standing tradition dating back to the early 20th century. Our children’s books are characterized by imaginative storytelling, artistic illustrations, and a deep connection to nature and folklore. The Estonian Children’s Literature Centre plays a pivotal role in promoting children’s books both domestically and internationally.
Due to Estonia’s small language base, there is a significant emphasis on the translation of foreign works into Estonian. Estonian readers have access to a wide variety of international literature, especially from English, Russian, Finnish, and other major languages. Conversely, Estonian literature is also increasingly being translated into other languages, especially with the support of the Traducta grant from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, which funds the translation of Estonian works abroad.
The Estonian Publishers’ Association
The Estonian Publishers’ Association (founded in 1991) represents publishers, supports industry development, and advocates for the rights of publishers and authors.
Association is a non-profit organisation with 30 members, including most of the large and influential publishers of Estonia. Books published by the members make up nearly two thirds of the local publishing market.
The Estonian Publishers’ Association actively promotes reading and book culture by organising and advertising literary events, book days etc. The Association organizes the participation of Estonian publishers in international book fairs (Frankfurt, London, Helsinki and Bologna) and communicates publishing-related information to its members. It also organizes the annual Tallinn Book Fair.
Each January the association puts together the list of previous year’s bestsellers. In a similar tradition, at the start of the year the organization and the Estonian National Library togehter with Estonian Graphic Designers’ Union, Estonian Children’s Literature Centre and Association of Estonian Printing Industry hold the competition “25 Best-Designed Estonian Books”, from which the 5 best designed children’s books are also selected.
The Association works closely with the Estonian Literature Centre, the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre, the Authors’ Remuneration Fund, and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
The Estonian Publishers’ Association is member of the Federation of European Publishers and the Estonian section of IBBY.
Publishing in numbers
- In 2023, altogether 3,169 titles (books) were published in the Estonian language, compared to 3,3349 titles in 2022 and 3,152 titles in 2021.
- In 2023, the average print run was 648 copies. In 2022, the average print run was 755, and in 2021 – 837 copies.
- In 2023, the genre dominating the publishing market was fiction (adult and children) clocking up 1,899 titles with the average print run of 567 copies, compared to 1,503 titles with the average print run of 660 copies in 2022.
- 2023 saw the publication of 788 children’s titles compared to 894 titles in 2022. Although the number of titles increased, the print run in total dropped almost 50%.
- In 2023, books were published by 722 companies. 45 publishers (6%) published more than 10 titles and 509 publishers (70%) published only one title.
- In 2023, 1,744 titles of e- and audiobooks were published in the Estonian language by 172 publishers. Half of them published only one title.
- The total turnover of the publishing sector was approximately 35 million euros. The turnover of e-books and audiobooks made up 3–4% of the overall publishing turnover.
- The VAT rate applied to printed books stands at 9%, and the same rate applies to e-books since May 2020.
- English and German are the leading languages for titles in translation.
- Estonia has about thirty bookstores. Most of them belong to two bookstore chains: Rahva Raamat and Apollo.
