Home 5 News 5 Tunglio Publishers The Publishers Who Burn Unsold Copies

Tunglio Publishers The Publishers Who Burn Unsold Copies

by | Jun 1, 2017 | News

While many publishers find it increasingly difficult to run a successful business and enjoy a sustainable profit, there is a small imprint in Iceland which has no such worry – it does not intend to make a profit at all.

Bizarrely, the tiny publishing house Tunglið (named after the Icelandic word for the moon), prints its books in batches of 69 and sells them exclusively at publishing events held on the night of a full moon, burning any unsold copies.

Tunglið’s two employees/owners/founders, Dagur Hjartarson, who was shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Literature for his novel ‘The Last Confession of Love’ and award-winning poet and graphic designer Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson, believe that instead of spending years or even centuries creating and distributing books, for one glorious evening, the book and its author are fully alive and the following morning life is back to normal.

They say the burnings have nothing to do with history, censorship or politics, but admit they are making a point to the publishing industry in general, who, they claim are turning books into a luxury items, prized for their commercial value rather than their contents.

Once again, the miniscule publisher has another major message. They say that many writers, understandably, strive for permanence in their work, but there are some ‘deluded’ authors who confuse this with an attempt at immortality.

The two distinctly alternative artists and (note the inverted commas) ‘businessmen’ understand that publishing is at heart a risky business and Icelandic publishers are prone to take chances.

“We haven’t seen too many new authors in the past few years and I’m not sure that the publishers are entirely to blame for that. Young authors need to be more daring, write more books and take more chances,” says Hjartarson – although Tunglið may be a risk too far.

Recent News

17Jul
Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin said release date of On Winter Hill would be changed in order to ‘support the author’ after allegations that Raynor Winn lied in her bestselling memoir. Author Raynor Winn’s new book has been delayed because questions about her bestselling work The Salt Path have caused her and her husband “considerable distress”, her publisher has […]

17Jul
Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, will publish in March […]

16Jul
Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was Bonnier publisher. Among the authors who are making the jump with them […]

Related Posts

Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the...

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was...

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

In a timeless moment etched into the memory of human heritage, the sun of Sharjah rose once again on the map of the world, this time through the gateway of deep history. At its recently concluded 47th session in Paris, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this