Eksmo-AST is the largest general interest publishing house in Russia. The list includes fiction, non-fiction, children’s and young adult books, reference and educational publications.
The Moscow-based publisher is home to many international writers, particularly from the U.S., Austria and Germany. International bestsellers include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Stephen King, Paulo Coelho, Dan Brown, Anna Gavalda, Neil Gaiman, Suzanne Collins, Lauren Weisberger, Candace Bushnell, Stephenie Meyer, Wilbur Smith, James Patterson, Harlan Coben, Matt Haig and George R.R..Martin.
Russian bestsellers include Boris Akunin, Edward Radzinsky, Dmitri Glukhovskiy, Sergei Lukjanenko, Ludmila Ulitskaya, Viktor Pelevin, Tatyana Tolstaya, Marina Stepnova, Evgeny Vodolazkin, Zakhar Prilepin, Pavel Sanaev, Darya Dontsova, Alexandra Marinina, Yuri Nikitin, Vasily Golovachev, Nick Perumov, Vera Kamsha, Vadim Panov and Alexey Pekhov.
EKSMO - AST claims more than 40% of the Russian book market and operates nine regional distribution centers.
Key Company Developments 2013
Financial
Despite a decline in the Russian book market, Eksmo-AST reported steady revenues and in profits, with total publishing revenues at 11.26 billion RUB.
Eksmo's interest in various retail businesses such as Novy Knizhniy, Bukvoed, and Litres (the leading Russian Ebook platform) earned the company 467 million USD in 2012.
Ownership, Mergers & Acquisition, Internal Organization
In 2013, Eksmo completed the integration of publishing house AST which began with the acquisition of several AST divisons in mid-2012, excluding AST’s Bukva chain book stores.
In 2012, Eksmo has acquired two publishing houses, Mann-Ivanov-Ferber and Alpina Business Books.
Eksmo Publishing House currently consists of 3 main divisions: fiction, nonfiction, and children's. The fiction list includes crime, fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, poetry, classics, romance, and other genre fiction. Nonfiction includes books on health, cooking, sports, and beauty. The children's division covers all genres and targets readers aged 0 to 18.
AST Publishers is divided into 4 major divisions (education, general, DIY, and children’s),each being with several imprints. Corpus publishes contemporary literary fiction and nonfiction. Neoclassic publishes international bestsellers of the 20th century and non-fiction. Elena Shubina publishes contemporary Russian fiction, Russian book award winners, and cultural studies.
Other imprints include Astrel SPb, Vremena, Kladez, OGIZ, PROlingua, Malysh and Planeta znaniy.
Digital
Eksmo-AST controls Litres, the leading Russian e-book platform and forerunner in Russian e-Books, with total sales of more than 10 million USD in 2013 and a profit of 2.1%.
International
Eksmo-AST is dedicated to broadening its international presence both by acquiring translation rights, and as the leading legal channel for e-books in Russia.
Bestselling Authors & Titles
Top bestsellers in 2013 included Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, 1Q84. Book 3 by Haruki Murakami, Inferno by Dan Brown and Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, as well as new fiction from Russian authors Boris Akunin, Dmitry Glukhovsky and Zakhar Prilepin, Alexandra Marinina and Tatiana Ustinova.
Eksmo-AST is home of many of Russia’s bestselling authors in fiction and nonfiction, notably Daria Donrsova, Tatiana Ustinova, Victor Pelevin, Tatiana Tolstaya, Liudmila Ulitskaya, Dina Rubina, Vasiliy Golovachev, Vladimir Makanin, Oleg Roy, Alexandra Marinina, Julia Vysotskaya, Tatiana Garmach-Roffe, Marina Kramer, Andrey Dementiev, Marina Stepnova, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Evgeny Vodolazkin and Sergey Lukianenko.
Click here to return to the full listing of the world's largest publishers.
