Antje Kunstmann

Antje Kunstmann (born May 15, 1949 in Bad Kissingen ) is a German editor and publisher . She has managed the Antje Kunstmann publishing house in Munich since 1990.

training and career start

After graduating from high school in 1968, Kunstmann studied education, philosophy and sociology in Munich and Frankfurt with the aim of becoming a teacher. Shaped by the political spirit of optimism in the women's and student movement , she began to work for Raith-Verlag , which published pedagogical and socially critical writings, while still a student. At the age of 22, Kunstmann was already entrusted with the publication of the book series Materials for Women's Emancipation

After the insolvency of the Raith publishing house, Kunstmann joined forces with the publisher Peter Weismann. He had previously sold his Weismann publishing house for young people to Raith-Verlag. Now Peter Weismann bought back his publishing part and Kunstmann bought some titles from the bankruptcy estate that she had previously looked after in her series on women's emancipation. Together they founded Weismann Verlag-Frauenbuchverlag in 1976 .

publisher

Under the motto "Books for majorities that are treated like minorities", a program was developed that included non-fiction, fiction and feminist literature as well as young adult literature and picture books.

After Peter Weismann left the company, Kunstmann continued to run the publishing house under his own name from 1990. In addition to a wide range of non-fiction books on current topics, the publishing program also includes fiction, poetry and essays. In addition, since 2000 there has been a small audio book program ( HörKunst bei Kunstmann ) and the series of gift books.

Around 30 titles by German-speaking and international authors are published every year. Some of the publisher's most successful authors include Axel Hacke , Donata Elschenbroich , Rafael Chirbes , Tim Parks , Barbara Gowdy , Noam Chomsky , and Yanis Varoufakis .

awards

• 2006 Publisher of the Year , awarded by BuchMarkt magazine "because of her passion, her loyalty, but above all because of her inflexibility"
• In 2009, the city of Munich awarded Antje Kunstmann the silver medal “ Munich shines – The Friends of Munich” for her special services to the city of Munich and her cultural commitment.
• In 2013 she was named BookWoman of the Year ; this honor is awarded by the industry network of books women .
• In 2018, Kunstmann was awarded the Cultural Prize of the City of Munich for her life's work .
• In 2022, Kunstmann was awarded the Kurt Wolff Prize .

involvement in the industry

Antje Kunstmann is very involved in the book and publishing industry . From 1991 to 1997 she was a member of the publishers' specialist committee of the German book trade association, after which she was a board member of the state association until 2000 and a board member of the public publishers' working group from 2001 to 2004. From 1999 to 2005 she worked for the stock exchange association in the German literature fund. Since 2009, Kunstmann has been a member of the Publishers' Committee of the German Book Trade Association. She is also a speaker at the Academy of German Media . During her candidacy for the publishers' committee of the stock exchange association, she formulated her association-political priorities as follows: "As a member of the negotiation committee for new remuneration rules, I'm still concerned with reaching an agreement with the translators, but in the publishers' committee I see the priority in securing the copyright in the face of the challenge of new technologies in general. This is the only way to ensure content in the long term.”

Antje Kunstmann is a member of the jury for the presentation of the German Reporter Prize and the Göttinger Elch .

factories

• Women's liberation, class privilege? Raith, Starnberg 1971, ISBN 3-921121-27-2
• Girl. Sex education, emancipatory. Raith, Starnberg 1972, ISBN 3-921121-32-9
• Women's Emancipation and Education. Raith, Starnberg 1972, ISBN 3-921121-40-X

literature

• Purposeful coincidence – Antje Kunstmann . In: Rita Galli et al. (Ed.): Books of all things! Thirty-One Publishing Self-Portraits . Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-86153-167-4 , pp. 130–135.

web links

• Website of the publisher Antje Kunstmann
• Short Portrait (2010), DW-TV , Video on YouTube (4:58 min.)
• Antje Kunstmann in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)

itemizations

1. ↑ ^{a b} Antje Kunstmann in the Munzinger Archive , retrieved on March 30, 2012 ( start of article freely available)
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Antje Kunstmann Publisher of the Year 2006 , accessed 30 March 2012
3. ↑ Targeted coincidence – Antje Kunstmann . In: Rita Galli et al. (Ed.): Books of all things! Thirty-One Publishing Self-Portraits . Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 1998, pp. 130-135, here p. 132.
4. ↑ The Gazette: The Interview. 17 November 2000, retrieved 20 October 2021 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Eine Kleine Verlagsgeschichte , retrieved 7 January 2018.
6. ↑ Antje Kunstmann awarded the "Munich shines" silver medal , retrieved on March 30, 2012
7. ↑ Cultural honorary prize of the Bavarian state capital: Munich honors Antje Kunstmann , Börsenblatt , November 27, 2018
8. ↑ Antje Kunstmann receives prize 2022 , boersenblatt.net, published and retrieved on January 28, 2022
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} Publishers Committee: Introducing the Candidates , accessed 30 March 2012