Goldmann publishing house

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Goldmann publishing house
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founding   June 21, 1922
Seat   Munich , Germany
publisher   Grush Juncker
Publisher number   442
Publishing group   Random House
genus   Fiction , non-fiction
Website   www.randomhouse.de

The Goldmann publishing house ( own spelling Goldmann Verlag ; formerly Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag ) in Munich is a publisher of the Random House publishing group belonging to the Bertelsmann group . He heard especially in paperback to the top-selling commercial publishers in Germany.

history

The zincer (1930)

Foundation in Leipzig

The publishing house was founded in Leipzig in 1922 by Wilhelm Goldmann , who had previously gained experience as a travel agent for other publishers. The new publisher first published art books and adventure novels and celebrated the mid-1920s, the first successes with the detective novels of Edgar Wallace . In addition to the expressive and modern cover design was Heinrich Hussmann the circumstance at that Goldmann even then in addition to the conventional linen cover cost Broschurausgaben for the station bookstores, a forerunner of the later paperback developed.

During the National Socialist era , Goldmann also increasingly published popular science non-fiction books on global and economic issues; The high-circulation authors of the time included, for example, Anton Zischka , Walter Pahl , Paul August Schmitz and Ferdinand Fried . During World War II, Goldmann produced special editions for troop support and benefited from preferred paper allocations. Although the publishing house on Leipzig's Rossmarkt was completely destroyed in an air raid in December 1943 , production was able to continue until the end of the war.

After the end of the war, Wilhelm Goldmann was arrested by the Soviet secret police in February 1946 on charges of having published “fascist books” and imprisoned for four years in the special camps in Mühlberg and Buchenwald without judgment . The publisher meanwhile continued to exist until the end of 1949.

New start in Munich

Wallenstein (1972)

After his release in January 1950, Wilhelm Goldmann moved to the Federal Republic and from then on continued his publishing house in Munich . In doing so, he increasingly shifted to the production of inexpensive paperbacks : From 1952 the first Goldmann pocket thrillers appeared (also known as the red series because of their predominant cover color ); the following year, the yellow Goldmann paperback books ( yellow series ) started with classics of world literature and contemporary fiction , which shaped the profile of the publisher for almost three decades. Later came other rows z. B. with science fiction literature ( Goldmanns Zukunftsromane 1960–1967, Goldmanns Weltraum Taschenbücher 1962–1973), but also non-fiction books and guides. In the field of hardcover, Goldmann continued to publish art books, editions of works and, from 1955, atlases (Goldmanns Großer Weltatlas, Goldmanns Handatlas) ( Luigi Visintin , Herbert Bayer , Wilhelm Goldmann).

In 1970 Goldmann published over 2,900 titles with a total print run of over 110 million copies. In the mid-1970s, measured by sales, it was one of the medium-sized paperback publishers and one of the largest paperback publishers in terms of produced titles in the Federal Republic of Germany. After the death of its founder in 1974, the publishing house slipped into a phase of stagnation. Critics accused him of lacking profile and described the program as a “general store with a wide range of quality products.” Above all, Goldmann “paid too little attention to current literature” and “so far has hardly played a role” in the international licensing business.

Sale to Bertelsmann

In 1977, Goldmann Verlag was taken over by Bertelsmann , who entered the growing paperback business with this step and closed a gap in its previous offering. Up to this point in time, Goldmann had produced around 4,400 titles, and the publishing house had sales of 15 million German marks . As a result of the takeover, the program was geared towards sales-oriented titles and the backlist radically reduced, less profitable areas such as the hardcover portfolio were discontinued and staff were cut. Goldmann has only been publishing bound books again since 1986, and the range has also been expanded to include non-fiction books .

program

Goldmann initially published works by Edgar Wallace . Against this background, Wilhelm Goldmann tried to protect the term crime fiction. Heinrich Hußmann and later Kurt Gundermann designed the characteristic covers of the books, which were later also used for stage sets .

The main focus of the Red Series was on Anglo-Saxon crime fiction , in which the covers were designed in the appropriate color. The first title in this series was The Frog with the Mask by Edgar Wallace, who initially dominated the series together with Agatha Christie . Later came Victor Gunn , Arthur W. Upfield and Thomas Muir, and still later Francis Durbridge and Rex Stout . Other well-known recurring authors include Louis Weinert-Wilton , Earl Derr Biggers , John Creasey , Ellery Queen , Dick Francis and Bill Knox . In addition, more sophisticated literature appeared in the Yellow Series , for example by Stefan Heym , Walter Kempowski , Manfred Bieler or Ingeborg Drewitz .

Today, Goldmann Verlag offers a wide range of fiction as well as non-fiction . Well-known authors include Bill Bryson , Joy Fielding , Elizabeth George , Wladimir Kaminer , Richard David Precht , Lucinda Riley , Michael Robotham and Donna Tartt . Most recently, Goldmann Verlag achieved greater awareness with the trilogy Fifty Shades of Gray by British author EL James ; in Germany alone, over seven million copies had been sold by spring 2013.

In addition to the Goldmann brand, the publisher has been publishing books on esotericism , spirituality and alternative healing methods since 1980 , initially as Goldmann Esoteric and later under the Goldmann Arkana brand . Goldmann has been selling guides under the Mosaik brand since 1998 . In 1998 Goldmann Esoterik became Arkana Verlag, which is now run as an independent publisher of the Random House publishing group . The same applies to the Mosaik Verlag.

Others

Goldmann Verlag announced the Edgar Wallace Prize for detective novels in German four times . The background was the increased efforts of the entire industry to attract German writers. The award was given in 1963, 1965 and 1967 and most recently in 1980/81. The publisher honored several authors, including Liselotte Appel, Helmut Grömmer, Irene Rodrian , Max Ulrich, Herma Costa and Louis Weinert-Wilton .

In 1998 Goldmann brought out a 24-volume conversation lexicon under the title "Goldmann Lexicon".

literature

  • Thomas Lehning: The media company . Past and present of the Bertelsmann group. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 978-3-7705-4035-8 .
  • Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, DNB .

Web links

Commons : Goldmann Verlag  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Grusche Juncker takes over for Georg Reuchlein. In: Börsenblatt. February 27, 2018, accessed June 16, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Address book for the German-speaking book trade. Marketing and publishing service for the book trade , accessed on January 18, 2016 .
  3. ↑ A new garment . Goldmann is now the market leader and wants to further expand its lead. In: Focus magazine . January 21, 1997, accessed March 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ a b Marion Janzin, Joachim Güntner: The Book of the book . 5000 years of book history. Schlütersche, Hannover 2007, ISBN 978-3-89993-805-0 , p. 403.
  5. ^ Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, pp. 16-22.
  6. ^ Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, p. 31.
  7. ^ Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, p. 33.
  8. ^ Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, pp. 36–37.
  9. ^ Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, p. 36 f.
  10. ^ Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, p. 38 ff.
  11. ^ Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag 1922–1962 . Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1962, p. 40 f.
  12. ^ A b c Thomas Lehning: The media house . Past and present of the Bertelsmann group. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 978-3-7705-4035-8 , p. 95.
  13. ↑ a b c A new child for the family . After the acquisition of Goldmann: The paperback business gets even tougher. In: The time . March 11, 1977. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  14. ^ Thomas Lehning: The media house . Past and present of the Bertelsmann group. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 978-3-7705-4035-8 , pp. 96-97.
  15. ^ History of Goldmann Verlag , accessed on February 23, 2016 (publisher's website).
  16. ↑ Concave mirror . In: Der Spiegel . October 8, 1958, accessed June 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ Jasmin Lange: The German book trade and the triumphant advance of cinematography 1895-1933 . Reactions and strategic consequences. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-447-06196-4 , p. 163.
  18. ↑ Books A – Z. Random House Publishing Group, accessed February 23, 2016 .
  19. ↑ Erotic novel makes a career . "Fifty Shades of Gray" conquers the bestseller lists. In: book report . May 23, 2012, accessed June 5, 2014.
  20. ↑ Caspar Busse: Fessel-Sex sells . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . March 26, 2013, accessed June 5, 2014.
  21. ↑ Riemann Verlag: Gerhard Riemann is retiring, Georg Reuchlein takes over . In: BuchMarkt . August 20, 2011, accessed June 4, 2014.
  22. ↑ Random House will discontinue advice area in autumn / focus on core business literature . In: BuchMarkt . February 18, 2002, accessed June 4, 2014.
  23. ↑ Riemann Verlag: Gerhard Riemann is retiring, Georg Reuchlein takes over. In: BuchMarkt. August 20, 2011, accessed June 16, 2014 .
  24. ↑ Profile view: Arkana Verlag . In: Address book for the German-speaking book trade. MVB Marketing and Publishing Service of the Book Trade, accessed on June 16, 2014.
  25. ↑ Profile view: Mosaik Verlag . In: Address book for the German-speaking book trade. MVB Marketing and Publishing Service of the Book Trade, accessed on June 16, 2014.
  26. ↑ Günther Wolf: The new wave of the crime novel . In: The time . August 7, 1964, accessed June 5, 2014.
  27. ↑ Norbert Honsza: studies on literature and linguistics . University of Wroclaw, Katowice 1987, ISBN 83-226-0119-0 , p. 71.
  28. ↑ Ulrich, Max . In: Lexicon of German crime fiction authors , accessed on June 5, 2014.
  29. ↑ World and Word . Volume 23. Helepolis, Tübingen 1968, ISSN  0043-2571 , p. 327.
  30. ^ Wolf Keienburg, Rudolf Radler: Goldmann Lexikon . Goldmann, Munich 1998, ISBN 978-3-442-90000-8 .

Coordinates: 48 ° 7 ′ 57 "  N , 11 ° 37 ′ 19.8"  E