Author Edition
The author's edition was a collective and non-hierarchical publishing project that was operated within the Bertelsmann Verlag in Munich from 1973 to 1978 and then by the Athenäum Verlag until 1982 .
history
Uwe Friesel came up with the idea of founding an Author Edition , who had been discussing the concept with Andreas Hopf , Publishing Director at Bertelsmann Verlag, since 1971 . In 1972, several authors - some came from the 1968 movement - joined forces to bring their books to market independently of editors and publishers. The group formed an autonomous publishing house within the Bertelsmann group : the authors edited each other's manuscripts , wrote the blurbs and put together their own program with around twelve titles a year. For this they received a monthly fee. The publishing director had one vote in all decisions on the program, but could be overruled by the editors; thus their independence was preserved. The four editors of the first program in 1973 were:
- Uwe Friesel (from 1972 to 1978)
- Richard Hey (from 1972 to 1978)
- Hannelies Taschau (from 1972 to 1974)
- Uwe Timm (from 1972 to 1981).
The programmatic goal of the editors was to reach as wide a readership as possible with realistic and socially critical works. This is also expressed in the preface contained at the beginning of every book:
“AutorEdition: This word stands for the attempt at a new realistic prose and at the same time for a new publishing model. Authors edit authors. No longer an individual decides, but an editorial committee made up of four freelance writers and a representative from the publisher. In addition, as the sixth, an elected representative of the colleagues they have edited. The AutorEdition is aimed at a large readership. Only novels, short stories and short stories by German-speaking authors are published. The social problems should be presented so clearly and entertainingly that they can also be recognized by those whose heads have been mostly written over. A realistic spelling is aimed for. It is not the author's difficulty in writing in the face of a contradicting reality, but reality itself that is the subject of the author's edition. "
The writer Roman Ritter worked as a lecturer from 1977 to 1982 . In 1978 there was a break between the contracting parties: Bertelsmann-Verlag had an external appraisal drawn up on Peter O. Chotjewitz's novel The Lords of Dawn , which was planned to appear in the Authors' Edition. It came to the conclusion that sympathy with the RAF is shown in the novel . Bertelsmann announced the collaboration with the AutorEdition. After various exploratory talks, a contract was finally signed with the Athenaeum publishing house . His bankruptcy in 1982 also meant the end of the author's edition. The last editors were Gerd Fuchs, Heinar Kipphardt and Uwe Timm.
Program (selection)
- 1973
- Christian Geissler : The bread with the file . novel
- Gerd Fuchs : Berlinger and the long anger . novel
- 1978
- Roman Ritter, Hermann Peter Piwitt (Ed.): The seventh journey . stories
- 1980
- Sergio Ramírez : The Trail of the Caballeros . novel
- 1981
- Uwe Timm (Ed.): German colonies. Photo tape
- 1982
- Johannes Schenk : Singing by the Bremen private citizen Johann Jakob Daniel Meyer.
- Karl-Heinz Jakobs : The woman in the stream , detective novel, Munich / Königstein 1982, ISBN 3-7610-0583-0 .
source
- Martin Hielscher: Uwe Timm . Biography, dtv, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-423-31081-9 .
- Literature by and about authors edition in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin Hielscher: Uwe Timm . dtv, Munich 2007, pp. 72-75.