Publishing and Political Intervention in the Argentine Public Debate. The “Political Book” in “Independent” Publishing Houses

Abstract

What happens when a prestigious publishing house that calls itself “independent”, with a defined public, publishes a “political bestseller” and expands its readers market? Is there opposition between the modes of production of the large groups and that of independent publishers? What tensions arise, taking into account the history of the publishing house, the structure of the company, its catalogue and its agents? This paper asks about the role of the book publisher in the public debate and focuses on one case: the Siglo Veintiuno publishing house in Argentina and one of its most recent collections, Singular, which since 2012 publishes books about the political situation written by authors from the academic, journalistic and political fields. Using interviews with agents of the publishing house, as well as an analysis of its catalogue, we explore the process that a prestigious publishing house goes through in its quest to expand its readership, intervene and compete in the publishing and intellectual fields, under particular economic and political conditions.