In terms of its financial reality, the mere existence of academic publishing in Hungary is less than self-evident. For nearly a hundred years, many books in this category could only be published because of special circumstances such as the arbitrary, prestige-driven decisions of authoritarian regimes, the donations offered by the causal generous private sponsor, or, few and far between, a number of short-lived government subsidy programmes. Academic publications do not have a solid market base in Hungary; still, it is up to us, readers, to make sure that the world we live in remains civilised.

Many understand the significance of reading the basic texts of world literature and of the western genius, but also the best of contemporary thought, in our own language, Hungarian – and what it would mean to lose this opportunity.

Hungary as a spiritual homeland is to be found wherever its libraries are, and it is as rich as are the shelves of its libraries. Everything else is merely circumstantial.

The driving force behind founding Atlantisz was our commitment to fight the odds and make sure that all of us Hungarian readers have access to those books of major importance that truly merit reading, as well as our desire to show that these books belong together – and that they belong to us.

When publishing Atlantisz books, we aim at the highest standards. Our authors, translators, and editors are the best in their respective fields. Publishing scholarly books of this class involves high costs. However, when it comes to a small language and a readership of low dispensable income, these costs become either become prohibitive or generate major losses. Consequently, such books could simply not be published in Hungary without support. Thus, every single time we publish a book to help keep alive our common culture, we must inevitable rely on the help of all friends of culture.

Few of our readers realise that in the case of most Atlantisz books, the retail price covers little more than the cost of the printing paper. Practically, our readers only pay for the paper and get all the letters in the book free of charge. Our objective is to ensure that our books, created to meet the highest standards of quality, remain affordable even for students with limited means so they – so we – do not have to settle for less than readers a hundred or two hundred years ago.

Our books are priced at or under cost, and after taxes and distribution costs are deducted, the publisher’s net revenue amounts to no more than half of the retail price. To finance the gap, we rely on a variety of sources: the profits generated by our bookshop Atlantisz Book Island, grants, and donations offered by friends of the written word. We are proud to have readers who contribute to the publication of specific titles, while others donate for the benefit of Atlantisz Foundation itself. It is through the joint effort of all these partners that we can make the Atlantisz Book Programme reality, one book at a time.

The key to the success of the Atlantisz Book Programme is ultimately in the hands of dedicated friends of culture. United by the same cause – that of providing access to culture in Hungarian, ensuring high standards in Hungarian tertiary education, and creating fora for public discourse on meaningful ideas; in short, creating the infrastructure of intellectual freedom – they also share a conviction with Wittgenstein, whose works Atlantisz also published in Hungarian: words are deeds.

How can you support your own books?

1) Buy your books instead of reading them in pirated photocopies or as illegal downloads – otherwise, you will soon not have any new books to read.

2) If you buy your Hungarian and foreign language books at Atlantisz Book Island, every purchase you make goes toward the publication of another academic work made available in Hungarian. (In exchange, we will do our best to get your order delivered to you within the shortest possible lead time and at affordable prices.)

3) Hungarian tax payers can earmark one percent of their personal income tax for the benefit of Atlantisz Foundation to support its activities.

4) Hungarian tax payers can offer tax deductable donations to directly support the publication of a specific Atlantisz title, series, or book programme. The bank account number of our public benefit foundation is: ...

5) How about encouraging your friends, co-workers, or employer to consider doing any of the above?

6) Many of our supporters volunteer their work or services.

 

Our Friends and Supporters


Atlantisz Fondation & Atlantisz Publishig House
H-1054 Budapest, Akadémia u. 1. Hungary
www.atlantiszkiado.hu
e-mail: atlantis@budapest.hu
Tel./Fax: (1) 266 3870

The bank account number of Atlantisz Foundation:

IBAN HU32 1020 0823 221 4737 0000 0000

SWIFT CODE: OKHBHUHB

K&H Bank Zrt. (1095 Budapest, Lechner Ödön fasor 9.)