There are currently 643 independent publishing houses in Russia. Most of them are concentrated in Moscow. However, there are only ten key players, two of which control about 35% of the entire publishing book market in Russia.

Top 10 book publishing houses in Russia*:

2. “OLMA Media Group/ID Prosveshchenie” is a Russian publishing house occupying 14% of the Russian book market. In 2011, the founders of OLMA Media Group, Vladimir Uzun and Oleg Tkach, bought from the Government of the Russian Federation. Publishing house “Enlightenment”. Since 2014, Arkady Rotenberg has been one of the minority shareholders of Prosveshcheniye and is a member of the board of directors.

3. “ABC – Atticus”– one of the largest book publishing groups in Russia, founded in 2008. It includes: “ABC”, “Foreigner”, “CoLibri” and “Swallowtail”. The co-owner is Alexander Mamut, who has 75% minus one share.

4. “Egmont Russia” is a subsidiary of the oldest Danish publishing concern in Europe, Egmont International Holding, specializing in the production of books and magazines for children. The publishing house occupies about 70% of the children's periodicals market.

5. “Rosman”– children's publishing house No. 1 in Russia, occupying 2% of the Russian book market. The publisher's most famous project is the Harry Potter series of books by JK Rowling. Owner – Mikhail Markotkin.

6. “Exam”– a book publishing house whose priority is materials for preparing students for the Unified State Exam and the Unified State Exam.

7. “RIPOL classic”- a multidisciplinary publishing house whose general director is Sergei Makarenkov. Collaborates with illustrator Eric Bulatov. The most popular book series is “30 Seconds”.

8. “Phoenix” is the largest regional publishing house in Russia, located in Rostov-on-Don and publishing textbooks for universities and schools.

9. “Flamingo”– a publishing house specializing in publishing books for preschoolers and primary school students (alphabet books, primers, fairy tales, educational books).

10. “Juventa”– a publishing house specializing in educational and methodological literature for preschoolers, as well as for primary and secondary schools.

Every year the competition weakens: either there is a merger - “Eksmo” and “AST” and “Azbuka” and “Attikus-Publishing”, or a takeover - “Eksmo - AST”, “Bustards” and “Ventany-Graf”, or the publishing houses themselves leave the market as a result of bankruptcy. Thus, there is a tendency towards monopolization in the Russian publishing business.

*Information taken from the industry report of Rospechat from 2016.

Just twenty years ago, the Russian publishing market was very modest. Today, as in other areas of commercial activity, there is high competition here. Publishing enterprises differ from each other in size, subject matter of the literature they produce, and a number of other characteristics. This article lists the main publishing houses in Russia. The list of such organizations will primarily be of interest to authors who dream of seeing their creations on paper, as well as entrepreneurs whose main activity is the sale of book products.

Electronic or paper media?

There is an opinion that electronic devices will soon replace paper media. The book in its classic version will turn into a rare item. However, this opinion is refuted by the extensive list, which includes large and small publishing houses in Russia. The list of such companies is not shrinking with the development of computer technology. The publishing industry is thriving, despite the crazy popularity of various electronic media.

Who might be interested in publishing?

Selling books and creating fiction or journalistic works is absolutely different types activities. In the first case, we are talking about the sale of products. The second is about the creative process. However, in any case, we are talking about making a profit from the sale of printed products. The first step for both the bookseller and the Russian-speaking writer should be to study the ratings of organizations known under the phrase “publishing houses of Russia.” A list of them is given below. However, before we begin to describe publishing houses, a few words should be said about the main types and specifics of their work.

Publisher and store

Any business has its own rules, knowledge of which does not guarantee success. Anyone who decides to open their own bookstore faces a difficult task. The range of printed products is quite wide. And when purchasing books, you should take into account not your own literary preferences, but the characteristics of modern life. Therefore, bookstore owners have to establish cooperation with a number of suppliers. Some publishing houses specialize in reprinting, others - in the works of contemporary authors. Mostly educational materials are published under the logos of the third type of publishing house.

One of the most popular trends in literature today is fantasy. But if the bookstore shelves are filled exclusively with such publications, the businessman risks going bankrupt in a matter of months. Chekhov and Tolstoy are still read in Russia. Many Russian publishing houses also publish works by Zweig and Remarque. A novice entrepreneur should know the list of these organizations first. After all, book products can be classified not only by subject, but by format, and, accordingly, by cost.

The novel “Crime and Punishment” can be purchased for one hundred to two hundred rubles. But the cost of a publication with the same name is sometimes three to four times higher. Why such a difference? It's all about various indicators of the quality of products produced by book publishing houses in Russia. The list, which can be seen in the “book catalog” section on the website of one of these organizations, may include products with identical names, but different prices. The price is based on the type of binding and quality of design. In addition, there are highly specialized book publishing houses in Russia. The list of products in such companies is limited to books in inexpensive softcover. There are also enterprises that produce exclusively expensive gift editions.

Publisher and author

Many novice and inexperienced authors are under the illusion that their creations are interesting to a wide range of readers. They come to this conviction based on positive reviews from family and friends. A close relative of the author read the talented work and came to the conclusion that this masterpiece should definitely see the light of day. And the newly minted writer believes that publishing specialists will eagerly begin promoting his book. In reality the situation is somewhat different.

All book publishing houses in Russia can be divided into two categories. The list consists of commercial and budget organizations. In this article we consider, first of all, publishing houses of the first category. Even if an aspiring author has written a really good book, this does not guarantee that it will end up on the shelf of a major bookstore. A publisher is a businessman who strives to make profitable investments. Spending money on promoting a little-known author is an undertaking that cannot be called profitable.

Books that were not published

History knows many cases when works that are incredibly popular today were published only after repeated painful attempts by their creators. Rowling submitted Harry Potter stories to publishers more than ten times before she became famous. The famous novel was rejected by publishers more than thirty times. American representatives of the book business did not want to accept Nabokov's Lolita for many years. And the author of Lord of the Flies received twenty-one refusals. And only Golding’s twenty-second attempt to publish his work was successful.

Is publishing a book really an impossible task? Yes and no. The one who walks will master the road. But first, he must arm himself. Book publishing houses in Russia, the list of which is presented in this article, are quite specific organizations. An aspiring writer should have the most complete information about the activities of the largest and most significant of them. You need to understand that each of these companies is constantly looking for authors whose work can bring profit.

In Russia talented people a lot. But even more graphomaniacs. That’s why they look through many manuscripts every day. Publishing a work by a new author is a huge risk. Therefore, even a talented writer must make a lot of effort to get attention for his creation. It must bypass more than one publisher. In this case, contact exactly those organizations whose specialization corresponds to the topic of the manuscript.

Publishing houses of Russia: list

Fiction in bookstores is represented by products under various brands. The largest publishing houses include the following companies:

• "White City".
• "Exmo".
• "Fiction".

Each of the above organizations has its own principles for working with new authors. And, of course, these publishing houses are not limited to cooperation with representatives of the fiction genre.

AST

This company occupies a leading position in the publishing market. AST began its activities in 1990. The publishing house produces about forty million copies annually. Main directions of AST:

1. Fiction
2. Children's literature
3. Applied literature.

The publishing house has a department specializing in finding new authors. First of all, the employees of this company are interested in sentimental and action-packed prose. Computer-based and may also be of interest to editorial department specialists. Manuscripts are reviewed for up to three months and, as in other similar organizations, are not reviewed. If the work of a new author is not of interest to the publishing house employees, they will not call, write, or even justify their refusal.

"White City"

This organization does not promote beginning authors. But “White City” occupies a special place in the market of printed products. Russian publishing houses, the ratings of which for several years have consistently included such names as “AST” and “EXMO”, were compiled on the basis of the activities of the twenty largest representatives of the book business. “White City” is also included in this top twenty. This publishing house specializes in publishing gift copies. The assortment of White City products is dominated by various albums and collections. The cost of a gift edition bound in leather can reach two hundred thousand rubles.

"Eksmo"

The shelves of bookstores all over the country are filled with books on the covers of which this is present. "Eksmo" is included in the list of "Best Publishing Houses in Russia". The list “Textbooks and other educational literature” consists of books produced by various companies. But far from the last place in it is occupied by Eksmo. And this despite the fact that the publishing house publishes books of various genres. The range of his activities is extremely wide. Below is a list of genres. In terms of the diversity of its book assortment, Eksmo leaves other Russian publishing houses far behind.

• Educational literature.
• Fiction.
• Literature in foreign languages.
• Educational literature.
• Home and leisure.
• Children's literature.
• Business literature.

Russian children's publishing houses deserve special attention. Their list is small and consists of companies that produce not only literature for young readers. You can also include Eksmo in this list. One of the largest publishing houses regularly replenishes its assortment with new books for children. As a rule, these are works of Russian, Soviet and foreign classics. The employees of the Eksmo publishing house are of little interest to new authors writing in this genre. However, according to book professionals, children's literature, along with poetry, is the least promising genre for beginning authors.

In addition to the above enterprises, other Russian publishing houses are also worthy of attention. The list of “Educational literature for secondary vocational education” is most fully presented in the assortment of the organization, which will be discussed below.

"Secondary vocational education"

This publishing house is classified as non-profit. Specialization "SPO" - production of educational and methodological literature. Scientific publishing houses in Russia, the list of which is not so extensive compared to the list of companies publishing fiction, is headed by non-profit organization"Average professional education" The activities of this publishing house include publishing literature for researchers, teachers, university students and graduate students.

What other Russian publishing houses are worth mentioning? The list, addresses and main focus of the most popular of them is presented below.

Publishers of literature for children

"Children's Literature" is the oldest organization that specializes in publishing books for children. The range of products includes educational, fiction and books for the little ones. Organization address: Moscow, 2nd Donskoy proezd, 4.

"Veche" is a publishing association created in the nineties of the last century. The organization specializes in educational literature. A special achievement of the publishing house is the release of a series of books in the genre of historical and documentary literature, dedicated to the sixtieth anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. Organization address: Moscow, st. d. 24.

"Azbuka" is a publishing house whose main activity is the production of illustrated dictionaries and works of domestic and foreign authors. Under the well-known logo, you can see not only children's books on sale, but also works by world classics of fiction. The ABC-Classics series is especially popular, aimed at republishing well-known stories and novels in paperback. Organization address: St. Petersburg, st. Reshetnikova, 15.

Other publishers

More than thirty percent of educational literature on Russian market are books published by the Prosveshcheniye publishing house. The organization was founded in the early thirties of the last century. It has a long history and was once the main Soviet enterprise in the field of book publishing. Little has changed in almost a century of existence. And today “Prosveshcheniye” is a leading educational and pedagogical publishing house.

Literature on economic topics is published by the Peter publishing house. In addition, books on many professional topics, as well as textbooks and reference materials, can be found in bookstores under this brand.

One of the oldest publishing houses is Progress. This organization was founded in 1931. The publishing house publishes literature in foreign languages.

The company “Inostranka” is engaged in the publication of literary translations of foreign authors. This publishing house was founded in 2000. It was thanks to his activities that Russian-speaking readers learned about the works of J. K. Rowling, J. Moyes, Frederick Beigbeder and other representatives of foreign modern prose.

The publishing house "Kolibri" has not been around for very long. It was founded in 2006. The specialization of this organization is the publication of literature in the non-fiction genre.

For managers, owners of medium-sized businesses, students and ordinary readers seeking self-development, the Mann, Ivanov and Ferber publishing house publishes literature on marketing and management. In addition, the organization publishes books on psychology, cooking and sports.