The immense field of institutions involved in the production and promotion, reception and mediation, as well as distribution and storage of literature has not yet been comprehensively examined in its complexity. This volume offers, for the first time, such an examination and systematization of literary institutions from early high cultures to the present day. It explores their diverse interactions with one another and investigates their impacts on literature through case studies. It reflects on guiding concepts in a systematic form as well as various research perspectives. Building on this volume, in a wide range of literature-related disciplines, in-depth research on institutional areas and individual institutions will be possible, which will further develop or also differentiate the foundational lines established here.