Rowohlt Verlag

Rowohlt was first founded in 1908 in Leipzig by Ernst Rowohlt – a short interlude. However, just four years later Kurt Wolff, who until then had been a silent partner in the business, acquired all authors' rights. The company was founded anew for a second time in 1918 – this time in Berlin, and then after the Second World War for a third time in Stuttgart and Hamburg. From very early on famous German authors such as Kurt Tucholsky, Hans Fallada and Robert Musil belonged to Ernst Rowohlt’s group of resident authors.

The well-known New York publisher, Roger Straus, once said Rowohlt is "actually an American publishing company that just happens to be situated in Germany." In earnest, the company has always been a first-class address for great American literature. It all began in 1928 with Sinclair Lewis and Ernest Hemingway – two men belonging to the clique of great U.S. authors who both were awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. From great names such as Thomas Wolfe, Henry Miller and Vladimir Nabokov, from John Updike, Thomas Pynchon and Toni Morrison - these writers form the "American line" at Rowohlt that leads to the key American authors of our day such as Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Paul Auster, Siri Hustvedt, Jonathan Franzen and Jeffrey Eugenides.

In 1949 a philosophical-literary fixed star within the French modernity, Jean-Paul Sartre, found his way to Rowohlt. His writings were followed by works from Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus. The broad range of international literature of Rowohlt is documented by the literary Nobel Prizes for the American author, Toni Morrison (1994), the Portuguese José Saramago (1998), the Hungarian Imre Kertész (2002), the Austrian Elfriede Jelinek (2004) and the British playwright Harold Pinter (2005).

More than half a century ago with books such as Gods, Graves and Scholars from C.W. Cerams, an archaeological novel that became a bestseller, Rowohlt set the trend for narrative books. Among others, the most important nonfiction authors of today include: Joachim Fest, Stephen Hawking and Oliver Sacs. Since 2002 publications from the Alexander Fest publishing company have been integrated into the Rowohlt portfolio. Martin Walser and Daniel Kehlmann, two of the most important German current day authors, also recently found their way to the city of Reinbek.

Rowohlt Verlag also comprises:

Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag
Under the label rororo, this company publishes some of the most successful series of paperbacks in the world. Since 1950, as the first four rororos reached the market (among them Hans Fallada Little Man, What Now? and Kurt Tucholsky Castle Gripsholm), thousands of different titles have been published, accounting for several hundred million copies.

Rowohlt Berlin
Rowohlt Berlin was founded in the turbulent year of 1990 directly following the fall of the wall that separated East and West Germany. Its independent portfolio of writers and publications reflect the political and social development of the country, not to mention the growing importance of Berlin as a European metropolis. The most important fiction authors at Rowohlt Berlin include: Aharion Appelfeld, Friedrich Christian Delius, Max Goldt and Kirsten Fuchs; for narrative and political works Wolfgang Buescher, Klaus Bednarz, Helge Timmerberg, Hans Leyendecker, Kathrin Passig and Dirk Sager.

Wunderlich Verlag
Since the mid-1980s Wunderlich has been publishing entertaining fiction, thrillers, memoirs and nonfiction books. Its authors range from Rosamunde Pilcher and Ildikó von Kuerthy up to Petra Hammesfahr, Karin Slaughter, Jilliane Hoffman and Simon Beckett.

Kindler Verlag
Together with biographies and autobiographies, works on current affairs and major encyclopedias, Kindler (founded in 1945) has become one of Germany's most important traditional publishing companies in the post-war era. Since March 2004 the company’s home is in Reinbek where it functions under the Rowohlt label. Kindler's most important authors include: Jan Weiler, Andrea Camilleri, Philippe Claudel, Monaldi & Sorti and David Safier.