Book Competitions in Siberia and the Far East in the 1990–2020s

The purpose of the article is to present the results of the book competition movement in Siberia and the Far East in the last three decades, to identify the trends of its evolution, to determine problems and prospects. The research methodology bases on a combination of formal-logical and comparative-historical methods with the analysis of data from various sources. The forms of competitions are identified: universal and special. It has been determined that either only local publications, or also books published in other regions, can participate in competitions. Long-term (“Book of the Year of the Republic of Buryatia” (Ulan-Ude, since 1997), “Best Book of the Year” (Vladivostok, since 1997), “Best Book of Altai” (Barnaul, since 2006)) and recently emerged regional projects are characterized. The authors have analyzed the contribution to the organization of competitive projects made by regional authorities, libraries, educational institutions, public organizations, etc. The most common nominations of universal competitions and specialized topics have been determined. Attention is focused on the importance of an integrated and systematic approach to transforming festivals into a full-cycle creative system. It has been stated that, in general, expert-competitive activities have a multifaceted, multifactorial impact on the sociocultural landscape of the region, contributing to strengthening and development of the beneficial influence of the book on the aesthetic, moral and legal consciousness of the society.