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The paper explores the serialised novels and stories in the two leading Estonian daily newspapers, Päewaleht and Postimees, the majority of which were translations. The approach, combining book and translation history, is driven by the two issues debated in the media in 1900–1940: the desire to distance from the dominant German and Russian cultural influences and search for a new orientation; the categories of literature serialised in newspapers including the proportion of popular literature (genres like mystery, thrillers, romance, etc.) and the concern of intellectuals about its growth. The study uses the years 1906–1911 and 1928–1933 as a sample for content analysis of the feuilleton sections of the two newspapers in order to examine the changes in source literatures and the category of literature. The results demonstrate that German literature still dominated the serialised fiction translations at the beginning of the century, although many other literatures were used as sources. In the independent Republic of Estonia, in the 1920s and 1930s, Anglo-American literature occupied the leading position in accordance with the general cultural orientation. Still, German had not become marginal, and the range of other source literatures was quite diverse. The proportion of popular literature, mystery novels, and romance above all, started to increase in Päewaleht since 1906, becoming dominant in the 1920s and 1930s. Postimees also started to include some mystery and thriller novels in the selection, but in general, remained true to its preference for literary fiction. Thus, the agency of the Editors-in-Chief and editorial boards can be seen in the choice of works. The overall abundance of translated popular fiction in the book market and periodicals caused the protests of writers and educational circles that culminated with the suggestion to introduce a translation tax, which was, however, abandoned.

This article analyzes Lithuanian youth subcultural group publications – fanzines (zines) – which have not yet received broader attention from researchers. Paper fanzines started to be created at the end of the 20th century and became popular in the 1990s, spreading Western culture ideas and changing the political, and socio-cultural environment in Lithuania along with technological copying and reproduction possibilities. Using resources from Lithuania’s Youth Culture Digital Archive “Lithuanian Zine Collection” and additionally collected sources, the article analyzes the trends in the creation and publishing of fanzines. By comparing the publishing similarities and differences of fanzines attributed to different subcultural groups, the aim is to understand the cultural context of these publications, their relationship with readers, and the publishing possibilities of fanzine creators. The study applies descriptive metadata analysis and systematization of fanzines, as well as ethnographic research methods (targeted interview, questionnaire, and qualitative interviews with fanzine authors, publishers, and collectors). The research results showed that in Lithuania, mainly in the 1990s, metal music fanzine authors, unlike punks and science fiction fans, created more publications written in English. Metal music fanzines were characterized by greater volume. Science fiction fans’ publications differed from those of metalheads and punks by a greater number of continuous issues and fewer one-time publications. Authors of fanzines associated with punk ideology mostly chose to independently reproduce publications using a copying machine, while creators of metal music and science fiction fanzines more often used professional printing services. The language used in fanzines and its style helped to form a close relationship with readers, revealed the identity traits of subcultural groups, and helped metal music fanzine authors to integrate into the international fanzine culture context. Seeking independence and individuality, fanzine creators disregarded professional publishing standards. Fanzine publishing depended on individual choice, motivation, creativity, reader interest, and technological possibilities (publication reproduction, layout). Fanzines created in Lithuania became one of the main forms of idea dissemination, creative freedom, and self-expression for alternative youth communication.