Blanvalet is a German

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

house, based in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, which was founded in 1935 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and is now part of the

Bertelsmann The Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Bertelsmann (), is a German privately held company, private multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, ...

's Random House publishing group. Blanvalet publishes entertainment literature and non-fiction, first in

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

, and as

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

s since 1998. The publisher became well known with the novel series " Angélique". More recent authors include

Charlotte Link Charlotte Link (born 5 October 1963) is a German writer. She is among the most successful contemporary authors writing in German. Life Charlotte Link is the daughter of well-known German writer and journalist Almuth Link. She wrote her first w ...

, Marc Elsberg, Karin Slaughter,

Diana Gabaldon Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author and television writer. She is best known for the book series ''Outlander''. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventu ...

and

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...

History

Lothar Blanvalet founded, on 1 April 1935 in Berlin, the "Buchwarte publishing Lothar Blanvalet", which was named after him and its publications included humorous works. The operation was registered as a private company in the

commercial register Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

and established in 1937. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in January 1946, the publisher received the license to continue publishing activity. The program focused on fiction - mainly criminal and adventure novels – as well as art books and

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of the data, as in design and manufa ...

. The first titles published by Blanvalet were, "Hinein!" from soccer player Hanne Sobek, "Nueces und Shorty", "Spuren im Cañon", "Die goldene Hölle", "Die schwarzen Berge" from Clarence E. Mulford and "Land ohne Frau" from Armin Otto Huber. In addition to German authors such as

Albrecht Haushofer Albrecht Georg Haushofer (7 January 1903 – 23 April 1945) was a German geographer, diplomat, author and member of the German Resistance to Nazism. Life Haushofer was born in Munich, the son of the retired World War I general and geographer K ...

("Moabiter Sonette") Lothar Blanvalet also published

American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...

, for example, William Keepers Maxwell Jr.'s "Junges Blatt am Baum" or Ben Lucien Burman's "Der große Strom". 1954 Blanvalet launched, under the name "Blanvalet-Sport-Taschenbücher" (Blanvalet sport paperbacks), a program that was terminated without success after only two issues. Larger demand was received for the book "Der Weltraum rückt uns näher" by Donald E. Keyhouse. Commercial success was recorded by Blanvalet Publishers in 1956 with the Angélique novels. The German edition of the novels was published by Blanvalet even before the French original. By the end of 1963, the first four novels of the series reached a circulation of over 680,000 copies. In 1965 a controversy developed around the Angélique series between Blanvalet and

. The company had offered the novel as an advertising premium for new members of the ''Bertelsmann Lesering'', which Blanvalet criticized as a surprising offer. The publisher refused to cooperate with Bertelsmann since the late 1950s and sold licenses for novels by Anne Golon to competitors of the ''Bertelsmann Lesering''. Starting in 1973, Blanvalet began awarding other publishers the rights to publish

editions of its successful books, including the

Rowohlt Verlag Rowohlt Verlag is a German publishing house based in Hamburg, with offices in Reinbek and Berlin. It has been part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group since 1982. The company has been dissolved and restarted twice since its creation in 1908. Hi ...

. In 1974, Lothar Blanvalet sold his company, for reasons of age, to the Bertelsmann publishing group to which he stated that they would ensure continuity in his lifework. Before this, the publisher had already been relocated from Berlin to Munich. Lothar Blanvalet died on January 17, 1979, in Berlin. Blanvalet founded with publishers Penhaligon and Limes, a common corporate part of

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

publishing group which is led by Nicola Bartels.

Program

Among the better-known authors of the 1980s and 1990s include

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy '' The Bachelor and the Bobby-Sox ...

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

Elizabeth George Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949) is an American writer of mystery novels. She is best known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley. The 21st book in the series was published in January 2022. The first 11 were ...

and

. Blanvalet initially published mainly

s. In 1996 the publisher was involved alongside Albrecht Knaus, Goldmann and Siedler in the paperback publisher btb, since 1998 Blanvalet also publishes paperbacks. In bookshops, the Blanvalet Publishing and the Blanvalet Paperback Publisher are run as independent publishers. In 2014 Blanvalet was the third largest German-language publisher. Today, the Blanvalet program covers all areas of fiction and entertaining nonfiction. The program is divided in the areas of "tension", "most Popular women entertainment", "Historical novels", "nonfiction" and" Fantasy and Science Fiction". Blanvalet became famous in recent years especially with

bestseller 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 ...

s by authors such as

, Marc Elsberg or Karin Slaughter. Also included are Joanne K. Rowling,

Nora Roberts Nora Roberts (born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950) is an American author of over 225 novels, known for romance novel, romance published under her own name. She also writes police procedurals which have elements of science fiction ...

, George RR Martin and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanvalet Publishing companies established in 1935 Mass media in Berlin Mass media in Munich Book publishing companies of Germany Random House 1935 establishments in Germany