Editor's Trip
The GBO is known for its annual editor's trips: A one week excursion to Germany to visit with publishing houses and to get to know the German book market.
2009
From March 15th through the 21st, the German Book Office ran its yearly Editor’s Trip that has taken American publishers to Germany for the past ten years. For the first time, the theme of the trip was non-fiction along with the new translation funding program for the humanities and social sciences “Geisteswissenschaften International.” The trip was organized with cooperation from Anke Simon from Geisteswissenschaften International. This year’s participants were Emily-Jane Cohen from Stanford UP, Lara Heimert from Basic Books, Kathleen Keane from John Hopkins UP, Rob Sanders from Greystone, Philip Cercone from McGill-Queen and the journalist Ruediger Wischenbart. The group was lead by Riky Stock, the director of the GBO.
There were meetings with the Carl Hanser and C.H. Beck publishing houses in Munich, along with a visit to a book store. At a conference in the Amerikahaus they met with representatives from Random House, Libreka!, Barbara Budrich Publishing, Akademieverlag, VDG Publishing, and Geisteswissenschaften International.
The group then headed for Frankfurt where the Campus, S. Fischer, and Suhrkamp publishing houses were visited, along with the Institute for Social Research and the National Library. The trip closed out with a presentation from the publishers Klett-Cotta, V&R, Hamburger Edition, Boehlau, and Eichborn. Trends and publications in philosophy, recent history, environmental history, and political science were discussed with the scholars Dr. Wenren Konitzer, Dr. Cord Arendes and Dr. Martin Hartmann, and in the afternoon they discussed rights and licenses together.
2008
The American group of six editors, one journalist, and one translator met with German editors and other publishing professionals, visited local bookstores, and took part in roundtable discussions. The US participants and their German counterparts explored the theme of crime in the modern German novel, as well as the recent developments and trends in their respective book markets. The participants were Peter Constantine Translator, Katie Herman Editor, Soho Press, Alison Janssen Editor, Bleak House, Joshua Kendall Senior Editor, Penguin Group, Michael Reynolds Editor Europa Editions, Sal Sarah Robinson Associate Editor, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Liesl Schillinger Literary Critic, New York Times, Judy Sternlight Editor, Random House, Riky Stock Director, German Book Office.
The trip began in Berlin with a lecture on crime novels from one of Germany’s leading literary critics and an expert on crime literature, Thomas Woertche. This was followed by a dinner reception. The group also visited the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB), an organization that has become one of the centerpieces of German literary life. Seated outside the LCB’s 19th century villa next to the Wannsee, American participants met with editors from eight different German publishers located in Berlin. The “speed-dating” sessions and a barbecue afterwards allowed all the participants to formally and informally discuss relevant issues in publishing today.
In Munich, the Goethe-Institut hosted a roundtable discussion for the American group during which representatives from three large German publishers gave presentations about issues related to crime literature and the German publishing industry. The participants enjoyed the opportunity to further compare issues facing their respective book markets and exchange thoughts on crime literature and other contemporary titles.
2007
This year, the GBO joined forces with the French Book Office and the French American Foundation to organize a trip to Paris and Berlin from February 10-17. The group of nine American editors, journalists and translators got an inside view of the European publishing scene and established valuable personal contacts with their European counterparts. The participants were Eric Banks (Bookforum), Bruce Benderson (Virgin Books USA), John Cullen (Translator), Karen Holt (Publishers Weekly), Jenna Johnson (Harcourt), Terry Karten (Harper Collins), Cressida Leyshon (The New Yorker), Scott Moyers (Penguin Press) and Lorin Stein (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux). They met with a number of people from the French and German cultural and literary scene including editors, rights directors, authors and literary critics, and attended a small book fair.
2006
This year, from September 9-16, the GBO is conducting a trip with a special focus on independent publishiing. Participating from the US are Cal Barksdale/Arcade; Katie Dublinski/Graywolf Press; Lauren Wein/Grove Atlantic; Dennis Johnson/Melville House; Richard Nash/Softskull Press, and Rachel Deahl/Publishers Weekly.
The group will be meeting with editors from independent publishing houses in Munich and Berlin.
2005
From April 23-30, 2005, five American children’s book editors and a children's book review magazine editor learned about German publishing through meetings with representatives from 13 German, Swiss, and Austrian children's book publishing houses (including Oetinger, Carlsen, Rowohlt, Esslinger, Thienemann, Hanser, and Random House) in Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Munich. The group visited the the bookstore Hugendubel, children’s book magazine Bulletin, and the International Youth Library in Munich. They also attended the Small Book Fair at the Literaturhaus in Munich.
2004
From May 9-15, eight American adult trade book editors and one journalist learned about German publishing through meetings with representatives from 24 German publishing houses in Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt. One of the highlights was a "mini book fair" at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin followed by a barbecue.
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