diff --git a/lib/logic/cubit/edit_book_cubit.dart b/lib/logic/cubit/edit_book_cubit.dart
index 4f294e58..03a7836e 100644
--- a/lib/logic/cubit/edit_book_cubit.dart
+++ b/lib/logic/cubit/edit_book_cubit.dart
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ class EditBookCubit extends Cubit<Book> {
   void setPublicationYear(String publicationYear) {
     final book = state.copyWith();
     book.publicationYear =
-        publicationYear.isEmpty ? null : int.parse(publicationYear);
+        publicationYear.isEmpty ? null : int.tryParse(publicationYear);
 
     emit(book);
   }
diff --git a/lib/ui/add_book_screen/add_book_screen.dart b/lib/ui/add_book_screen/add_book_screen.dart
index ce72fa2d..e4acddcc 100644
--- a/lib/ui/add_book_screen/add_book_screen.dart
+++ b/lib/ui/add_book_screen/add_book_screen.dart
@@ -556,9 +556,12 @@ class _AddBookScreenState extends State<AddBookScreen> {
                         icon: FontAwesomeIcons.solidCalendar,
                         keyboardType: TextInputType.number,
                         inputFormatters: <TextInputFormatter>[
-                          FilteringTextInputFormatter.digitsOnly
+                          // allow optional leading '-' for BCE years
+                          FilteringTextInputFormatter.allow(
+                              RegExp(r'^-?\d{0,4}')),
                         ],
-                        maxLength: 4,
+                        // allow space for a leading '-' (e.g. -500)
+                        maxLength: 5,
                         padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(5, 0, 10, 0),
                       ),
                     ),