Otava Publishing Company Ltd ( fi, Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, sv, Förlagsaktiebolaget Otava) is a major Finnish publisher of books. It was founded in 1890 and now is the second largest in Finland. It publishes fiction, non-fiction, books for teenagers and children, multimedia and teaching materials. The number of new titles a year exceeds 400. Otava has also been at the forefront of

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

-publishing in Finland, with many well-known series, such as the ''Otavan Suuri Ensyklopedia'' (Otava's Big Encyclopedia). Writers whose work Otava has published over the years include

Frans Emil Sillanpää Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is '' Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplo ...

, Eino Leino, Paavo Haavikko,

Pentti Saarikoski Pentti Saarikoski ( Impilahti, now in the Republic of Karelia September 2, 1937 – Joensuu August 24, 1983) was one of the most important poets in the literary scene of Finland during the 1960s and 1970s. His body of work comprises poetry and ...

and

Laila Hirvisaari Laila Ellen Kaarina Hirvisaari (7 June 1938 – 16 June 2021), also known as Laila Hietamies, was a Finnish author and writer. By 2008, more than four million copies of her works had been sold.(30 September 2008)Laila Hirvisaaren teoksia myyty yl ...

. The parent company Otava Group also owns

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa Suomalainen Kirjakauppa (meaning 'Finnish bookshop') is the largest bookshop chain in Finland, with its flagship branch in Helsinki being Finland's largest bookshop. It was founded in 1912 and expanded to become Finland's largest bookshop chain ...

. The name "Otava" refers to the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...

History

Otava was founded in 1890 by

Hannes Gebhard Hannes Gebhard (8 April 1864 – 23 February 1933) was a Finnish economist, cooperative movement activist and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1907 to 1909, representing the Finnish Party. He was born in Kemijär ...

and Eliel Aspelin-Haapkylä to publish Finnish national literature. became managing director in 1893 and was the main figure during the company's early years. His descendants (surname fennicized to ''Reenpää'') have continued his work so that Otava remains, in spite of its size, to a large extent a

family company A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willing ...

. 1906 saw the completion of the new headquarters right in the centre of Helsinki. In 1908

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

operations began and in 1916 the printing of

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s got under way. The first magazine to be launched was '' Suomen Kuvalehti'', which still comes out weekly. From 1945 to 1991 the company was listed in the

Helsinki Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Helsinki, formerly known as the Helsinki Stock Exchange ( fi, Helsingin Pörssi, sv, Helsingforsbörsen), is a stock exchange located in Helsinki, Finland. Since 3 September 2003, it has been part of Nasdaq Nordic (previously called ...

. In 1955 a new printing house was put up in Keuruu, near

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

. During the 1960s Otava faced grave financial difficulties but was able to pull through by rationalizing operations. In 1998 it bought out its rival company WSOY from the jointly owned Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet, a large publisher of magazines.

References

External links

Otava
{{Authority control 1890 establishments in Finland Publishing companies established in 1890 Book publishing companies of Finland Mass media companies of Finland Art Nouveau architecture in Helsinki Art Nouveau commercial buildings Mass media in Helsinki