A struggle has developed around the new novel by Viktor Pelevin

The Eksmo publishing house sent a letter to book networks stating that pre-orders of Viktor Pelevin’s new novel will be available only on the Read-Gorod-Bukvoed, Buk24 and Eksmo.ru networks. But after industry outrage, the publishing house revised the terms: now the store must agree with Eksmo on the retail price and potential order volume. The publisher clarified that the measures are needed to ensure the timely fulfillment of obligations to customers who previously experienced delays in paid orders. Experts believe that the holding is trying to attract traffic to its stores in this way.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the letter from the director of the editorial office of fiction at Eksmo, Alexandra Shipetina, sent in September to representatives of the bookselling industry. It says that the publishing house provides the exclusive right to place a pre-order for Victor Pelevin’s novelty “Journey to Eleusis” only for the united retail network “Chitai-Gorod-Bukvoed”, “Buk24” and Eksmo.ru. “In this regard, placing a pre-order for a new product using any content (name and surname of the author, title of the book, images and annotation) is prohibited until September 29,” the letter clarifies. The Telegram channel “Words and Money” was the first to draw attention to this.

Eksmo told Kommersant that there is “always a stir” around Pelevin’s new novels, so pre-order placement is coordinated by the publishing house: “We have already encountered situations when, against the backdrop of increased demand, readers did not receive the book on time, although they bought it on pre-order, this causes a wave of negativity.”

Subsequently, Ms. Shipetina sent another letter (Kommersant has it), clarifying that due to the “increased demand” for the new product, Eksmo asks the networks to agree on the retail price and potential volume before placing an order. Now, in addition to the “Read-Gorod-Bukvoed” network, the conditions have been agreed upon with the Moscow book house, “Young Guard” and others, the publishing house clarified. Pre-orders can also be made in the Amital network and the Belarusian online store Oz.

Victor Pelevin’s new novel “Journey to Eleusis” will go on sale on September 29, reported the press service of Eksmo, with which the writer has been collaborating in recent years. Pre-order for Mr. Pelevin’s 20th novel began on September 8. Viktor Pelevin is called one of the most popular modern Russian writers – his previous book “KGBT+” was among the top ten best-selling books in 2022 on the liters service.

The Kaliningrad Book Shop network confirmed receipt of the letter to Kommersant. The director of the company, Tatiana Mekleris, noted that for her “the situation is not critical.” “The book will reach us last; we haven’t placed an order yet,” admits Ms. Mekleris. Manager of the purchasing department of Magister (Rostov-on-Don) Sergei Belousov says that the network will also receive a new product only after September 29. Kommersant’s interlocutor at the market added that after the first letter, many book chains were indignant – “a scandal could have broken out, so the publishing house made concessions.”

Previously, other bookselling chains could place pre-orders for Eksmo’s new releases, says the former head of the Association of Internet Publishers, Vladimir Kharitonov. “This brought additional income to both the publishing house and the stores. Now the company wants to redirect all income to itself and attract customer traffic to its stores,” he says. However, of those readers who would like to pre-order, not all will go to Read-City, says Mr. Kharitonov. “Pre-ordering is an impulse decision, and impulse is finite. The measure could lead to a reduction in pre-orders not only among third-party stores, but also at Eksmo,” he adds.

“Eksmo” as a publishing house has the right to choose partners through whom to sell new products, emphasizes Georgy Davidyan, executive director of the law firm Media-NN. However, he notes, attention should be paid to the publisher’s establishment of restrictions on the use of intellectual property in advertising and offers for sale; “the content listed in the letter is subject to legal protection and other persons have the right to use it only with the consent of the copyright holder.”

Yulia Yurasova