The 51.2% stake is being sold according to the "all or nothing" principle, meaning the shares can only be sold together.

The auction will start at EUR 13 per share, which makes a total of EUR 8.2m for the whole package. If necessary, the banks Abanka and NLB, which are selling the shares, will reduce the initial price.

The banks, which seized the shares as collateral after Zvon Dva, a holding in indirect ownership of the Maribor Archdiocese, went into receivership in 2012, have been trying to sell MKZ for over a year. Since the first auction, the starting price has dropped by more than a half.

In the meantime, Slovenian writers expressed concern over the fate of Slovenian literature and the survival of the book trading network in Slovenia. They are disappointed by the state's lack of concern for MKZ, which they deem a cornerstone and an essential element of national cultural identity.

According to the vice president of Slovenian Writers' Association Ivo Svetina, the writers turned to Culture Minister Uroš Grilc and Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek for help but in reply were told that the government cannot do much about it since it is a corporate entity.

Publisher Rok Zavrtanik, whose business strongly depends on MKZ bookshops, however thinks that the government is not so powerless after all. He thinks it could intervene in the sale through one of the state-owned companies.

The government is abided by the law to look after Slovenian literature. By selling off the MKZ none of the intentions written in the national programme for culture 2013-2017 will be realised, Svetina told the press on Wednesday.