| dc.description.abstract | In this cultural analysis of the Norwegian publishing company, Pax Forlag, there has been accomplished a document analysis of the publishing lists from Nasjonalbiblioteket (Norwegian National Library) for all the published titles from Pax Forlag throughout the fifty years’ period 1964-2014. Moreover, there has been conducted qualitative interviews with former editors in Pax Forlag and also the same kind of interviews with former cultural editors in three chosen Norwegian national newspapers.
Crucial questions in the analysis concerns the publishing policy of Pax throughout the whole period. Has it been marked by continuity or discontinuity? What has been the relation between considerations of market shares and book sale potentialities versus considerations for publishing critical non-fiction litearature? To what extent have the two aspects been commensurable throughout the period?
The thesis concludes with pointing to a definitive commercialization tendency within Pax Forlag, notably from the 1980’s onwards – a process which has even been accelerated during the final stages of the fifty years period. It leaves open for further speculation and research whether this process was enforced by veritable changes in the very book market itself or whether the leadership of Pax Forlag actively propagated such a process. To what extent did the right wing Norwegian government’s cultural policy in the 1980’s influence on Pax Forlag’s publishing policy? The question remains: What could possibly have been the alternative to adapting to status quo and the commercialization of the book publishing industry?
As regards the future possibilities for critical non-fiction prose, the majority among the interviewees expressed optimism, while a minority regarded the future prospects of this type of literature as rather dismal. | nb_NO |
