Droemer Knaur is a
publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
group based in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. The group consists of the book publishers Droemer, Knaur, the Pattloch Publisher and O.W. Barth. Droemer Knaur belongs to the Georg von
Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
Holtzbrinck Publishing Group () is a privately held German company based in Stuttgart which owns publishing companies worldwide. Through Macmillan Publishers, it is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies.
In 2015, it merge ...
.
Program
Droemer Knaur Publishing publishes novels and nonfiction from German and international authors. Through the broad ranged publishing program and the publication of bestselling authors like
Johannes Mario Simmel
Johannes Mario Simmel (7 April 1924 – 1 January 2009), also known as J. M. Simmel, was an Austrian writer.
He was born in Vienna and grew up in Austria and England. He was trained as a chemical engineer and worked in research from 1943 to ...
, Droemer Knaur became one of the most prestigious publishing houses for fiction in Germany. In the category of popular fiction, historical novels, detective stories, thrillers, fantasy and romantic literature are published. In the category non-fiction are among others, biographies, guides, esotericism and conspiracy theories are published. They also publish international bestselling authors for the German market and sell licenses to German authors all over the world.
History
The origins of the publishing house lie in the
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
steam bookbinding Theodor Knaur, which dates back to 1846. After many individual publications, the Theodor Knaur publishing house had its first regular program in 1884. The publishing house was sold to the Berlin bookseller Gabriel Hendelsohn in 1901, and renamed the Theodor Knaur Nachf. Verlag.
In 1902 Adalbert Droemer came to the publisher as publishing representative. In 1934 the Jewish Hendelsohn brothers fled
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
persecution and emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Droemer took over the publishing house. Two years later, Droemer's son Willy Droemer, became part of the publisher's management and succeeded his father after Adalbert Droemer's death in 1939. In October 1939 Theodor Knaur Nachf. published its ''Knaurs Welt-Atlas'' with maps that represented the greater German Reich and the lands recently annexed and conquered by the Nazis. In 1943, the company offices and printing presses were destroyed by Allied bombing.
After the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Willy Droemer founded the publisher as the new Droemersche Verlagsanstalt, in Schloss Wiesentheid (Unterfranken), which soon after moved to Munich.
Starting in 1970, Willy Droemer and
Georg von Holtzbrinck
George von Holtzbrinck (born 11 May 1909, Schöplenberg, Hagen died 27 April 1983, Stuttgart) was a German publisher and founder of Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group.
Biography
In 1931, Holtzbrinck joined the Nazi Young Workers. In 1933, ...
worked together and exchanged company shares. In 1980, the publishing group Georg von Holtzbrinck took over the publishing completely and Droemer withdrew from the management. In 1982, the publishing house took over the Kindler Verlag.
Since 1999, the Droemer Knaur Publishing group was owned as
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
half by the Georg von Holtzbrinck publishing group and half by
Weltbild
Weltbild Publishing Group (german: Verlagsgruppe Weltbild) is a major German publisher and media retailer based in Augsburg. It is partner of the holding company DBH Deutsche Buch Handels GmbH & Co. KG and itself it is owned by the dioceses o ...
. 2013 Holtzbrinck group took ownership completely. In the same year, the Pattloch Publisher was integrated into the Droemer Knaur publishing group. The Pattloch-Verlag was founded in 1946 in
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
and was part of Weltbild publishing group since 1987. In the Pattloch publishing, nonfiction books appear from renowned scientists and journalists on social issues. With the authors Manfred Lütz and Raphael M. Bonelli began a tradition of psychotherapeutic bestsellers.
The Droemer Knaur publishing group was no. 1 among the
best-selling
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
publishers in 2005 and 2006, according to the bestseller list of
Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
/ book report.
Since 2008 Droemer Knaur also publishes e-books. In 2009, the PAN-Verlag was founded, which existed until 2012.
In 2010, O. W. Barth Verlag (previously
S. Fischer Verlag) was taken over. O.W. Barth was founded in 1924 in Munich and was sold to the Scherz Verlag in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
in 1973. With this, it was acquired by S. Fischer in 2002. The O.W. Barth Verlag describes itself as a publisher of spiritual literature focusing on Eastern wisdom teachings, holistic healing systems and nonfiction, at the intersection between science and spirituality.
Also in 2010, the online platform neobooks.com was founded and in 2011 the Droemer
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
.
Among the best-known fiction authors of the publishing group include Iny Lorentz,
Sebastian Fitzek, Anne Hertz, Sabine Ebert and Andreas Franz. Also known international writers like
Karen Rose
Karen Rose (born Karen Rose Hafer in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an internationally bestselling, RITA-award winning romantic suspense author. Rose was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. She met her husband, ...
,
Val McDermid
Valarie "Val" McDermid, (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir.
Biography
...
,
John Katzenbach
John Katzenbach (born June 23, 1950) is an American author of popular fiction. Son of Nicholas Katzenbach, former United States Attorney General, Katzenbach worked as a criminal court reporter for the ''Miami Herald ''and ''Miami News'', and a ...
or
Michael Connelly
Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller.
Connelly is the bes ...
are part of the program.
References
External links
*
History of the publishing house PDF
{{Authority control
Book publishing companies of Germany
Companies based in Munich
Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
Mass media in Munich
1846 establishments in Germany