Authors

Ksenia Papazova¹;  ¹ The University of Manchester, UK

Discussion

As a very successful author and strategist, Boris Akunin created his own literary universe that goes beyond print. His books are usually published in both soft and hard covers, as audiobooks, and as e-books. There is also a designated e-reader with a full collection of Akunin’s writings called the Akunin Book, as well as an app for iOS and Android. The author’s website and blog offer a variety of ways to engage with his works online. Some of the books he writes are a labour of love, others are commercial projects. Akunin’s every step seems to be well calculated, and to think that he would leave the design of his books to mere chance would be an oversight. He seems to be one of the first authors who recognised the challenges of the digital age the paper book has to face. The answer to this was to give an opportunity for his readers to own his books in whatever format they prefer, as well as “enrich” his texts with illustrations and other paratextual elements.

In this paper, I will take a look at not only the book design of several Akunin’s book series, but also the author’s website and the Akunin book app, since all of them are either “withered by time”, or retro-styled, or both. In doing so, I will discuss how the book design of retro detective stories is being shaped by the digital in Russia, outline the difference between retro and vintage designs, and trace the echo of Soviet book culture in Russia today.