On September 1, seven children's book editors set out on a week-long, three-city journey to visit a host of children's book publishers in Germany. Representatives from seven children's book publishers around New York City (as well as PW) were chosen to go on the trip and meet their German counterparts.
Organized by the German Book Office in New York City, and funded by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Federal Cultural Foundation in Germany, the trip was put together to "expose a group of American children's book editors to the German publishing scene," according to Riky Stock, director of the German Book Office and coordinator of the trip. The editors chosen were Michelle Coppola, editor at Dutton Children's Books; Caitlyn Dlouhy, executive editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Robbie Mayes, editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers; Mark McVeigh, editor at HarperCollins Children's Books; Janna Morishima, assistant to the creative director at Scholastic; Emily van Beek, editor at Hyperion Books for Children; and Marissa Walsh, editor at Delacorte Press.
"There are many exciting German children's and YA books available—it is frustrating to discover that only a few succeed in the U.S.," said Stock. "I feel that now, more than ever, it is important to introduce children to other cultures."
Over the course of the week, the group visited more than a dozen publishers in Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt. Some of the major issues raised in those meetings could have come straight from the headlines here in the United States: larger companies buying out smaller ones, poor economic times and fantasy novels dominating the marketplace.
Each of the publishing houses has a different approach to the books they produce and how they reach their readers. Here we take a closer look.
Lost in Translations
Translations, whether from the U.S. or other countries, make up a large percentage of the German children's book market. Munich-based DTV Junior, the market leader in paperback publishing, builds its list mostly with translations. Their first American children's translation was published in 1996—Sharing Susan by Eve Bunting—and the number of translations has skyrocketed since then, with 70% of their list currently made up of titles from other countries (mostly the U.S.). A few of their all-time bestselling titles are The Outsiders and Go Ask Alice.
Thienemann (based in Stuttgart), in contrast, publishes only German authors and illustrators; rights sales make up 15% of gross sales (the worldwide bestseller The Neverending Story by Michael Ende originated at Thienemann). The company, however, is in the minority in Germany, as most houses do rely on translations to make up a good deal of their lists each year.
In fact, some of the American books that are brought into Germany become big bestsellers, and even make up the core of a publisher's backlist. According to Ina Feist, rights director at Gerstenberg (located in Hildesheim), The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is "surely the house's best-known and most important pillar. Almost every child in Germany grows up with this lovely book."
Munich-based ArsEdition, which publishes children's and gift books, has had its biggest success in the book market to date with the Das Magische Auge (Magic Eye) series, which they first began publishing in 1994 (over 2.5 million copies are now in print). The books had a humble beginning, as not everyone at the company understood the idea behind them, and the first title started out with a first printing of just 8,000 copies.
Bertelsmann (also based in Munich) has a children's book list made up of 60% translations, and senior editor Kirsten Gotthold told the American editors that she and her fellow Bertelsmann colleagues like American authors a lot. They publish the Gossip Girl series and the Redwall series. Hamburg-based Carlsen, German publisher of the Harry Potter books, also has a high translation rate—70%. Along with the boy wizard, Carlsen publishes Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and books by Gary Paulsen.
Other big U.S. titles recently translated into German that are making their mark are Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Beltz & Gelberg), Lucy Cousins's Maisy books (Patmos) and True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff (Hanser).
Building a Brand
German publishers approach the branding of children's books quite differently than Americans do. In this country, publishers focus on making an author or a series of books stand out on their list, while in Germany they focus on branding their publishing house—mainly by having the publisher's name on the cover of the book (as well as the spine) and creating a uniform design for all their books.
Sabine Lippert, foreign rights director at ArsEdition, said her company's goal is to reinforce its corporate identity by strictly maintaining a singular appearance of the ArsEdition brand in the market and in the press. According to Doris Keller-Riehm, foreign rights director at Thienemann, one of the secrets of her company's success is "having a list that is clearly structured. That means a bookseller immediately recognizes a Thienemann book even if it is new, because every book fits into a structure they already know, and people tend to buy what they know. For example, when a sales rep presents a new series for boys, edited with a similar design to our popular Cheeky Girls series for girls, words are not necessary. This helps a lot."
Another way German publishers get their lists to booksellers and consumers is by including a full-color flyer in each of their books—in essence, a mini-catalogue. "It's a cheap way to publicize your books," said Anne Schieckel, editorial director at DTV Junior.
Following the Trends
The trends in the German book market were familiar to the American editors. Fantasy was the word heard most often from the publishers when asked what was selling well. Harry Potter leads the way, of course, and the fifth book in the series will be released in Germany on November 8. Carlsen publisher Klaus Humann didn't want to mention the exact size of the print run, "because bookstores will want a bigger share," he said.
And while German readers seem to be taking in all the fantasy they can get their hands on, it seems as if the booksellers have had enough. Oetinger publisher Jan Weitendorf told the American editors, "Bookshops are telling us 'no more fantasy'—they want something new and different."
Also riding high in popularity in Germany are teen books—both in hardcover and paperback. Chick lit for teen girls, and series books for younger girls and young adults, are hot. Another trend that mirrors those of the U.S. is the economic crisis and its effect on publishing houses. "Both adult and children's publishing are in a crisis," said Carlsen's Humann. "Although the adult side is worse off because of the large advances they give."
What's in Store?
A visit to a 26-year-old independent children's bookstore in Munich, Kinderbuchladen, gave the editors a glimpse of bookselling in the German market. Bookstore owner Jutta Langreuter told PW that picture books are the big sellers in her store; most are sold to adults looking to give gifts to youngsters. Her sales are made primarily by recommendations to the customers. "They aren't sure of what they want when they come in," said Langreuter.
When asked how holiday sales were for her store, Langreuter said, "Christmas-time is very busy and pays for the store to stay in business the rest of the year." Because of the small size of the store, they stock only one or two copies of the books, no matter how well it sells. Once they run out, they order more from a distributor.
Perusing the store, it's interesting to note that almost every single book is displayed face-out, either in a rack or propped up on a shelf. One current bestselling book, Dicke Freundinnen, is part of a series by German author Cornelia Funke (The Thief Lord). While there may be limited room in the store, Langreuter takes care to make sure every space is occupied with a book or book-related product. Sold among the books are stuffed animals, greeting cards, key chains and pens as well as other sidelines.
Not So Well-Traveled
It's no secret that U.S. children's houses publish an extremely small number of foreign titles, especially in comparison to the number of American books that are translated into other languages. All the editors on the trip expressed interest in some of the books they were shown, yet their excitement for the titles were somewhat kept at bay, given the obstacles that must be overcome before they can think of acquiring a book.
Van Beek from Hyperion pointed out the major obstacle: "Over the course of the trip, German editors undoubtedly introduced our group to books that are compelling and that might be a fit with the American list, but then we run into the language barrier."
Dlouhy of Atheneum agreed. "The publishers show us these wonderful books and they tell us what they are about, but then I open them up and can't read them because I don't read German," she said.
Suggestions were made by the editors to their German counterparts on how to deal with this problem. One suggestion was to have the German publishers choose the titles on their list that they think would be the best fit for the American market. Then, for picture books, they could have a full translation done and for novels, have the first two chapters translated. This would give American editors a chance to read the books, or get a good feel for the voice in a novel, which would go a long way in aiding an editor whose interest in a book can only be secured by reading the actual text.
Another way Americans can overcome the language barrier is to hire their own translator. This cost is what holds many editors back, but McVeigh of HarperCollins said, "Hiring a translator is one additional step to acquiring a book, but the quality of the things I saw justifies the additional work." Another solution is to learn to read German, which Mayes from FSG is already doing. "The trip was inspiring," he said, "so much so that I began German classes when I returned in hopes that in a couple of years I'll be able to read some of their books."
On Reflection
Overall, each editor came away from the trip appreciative of the opportunity to go to Germany and make so many contacts. Morishima from Scholastic said she found the trip "stimulating" and hopes it will "bear much fruit in the future." Bearing fruit for Scholastic is likely, as one book Morishima (who is a fluent reader and speaker of German) found in a used book bin at Kinderbuchladen is already under consideration for acquisition at the house.
Coppola from Dutton, who is also fluent in German, came away from the trip with a new outlook on German literature. "I was always under the impression that there wasn't such a thing as 'German humor,' " she said. "But I was seeing things that were funny and learned that they like funny and appreciate humor." Walsh from Delacorte mentioned that going on the trip was very timely. "It seems like the new place to go for fiction," she said. "People are now aware of Germany and German writers because of Cornelia Funke's success here in the U.S."
The American editors were unanimous in their respect for the way the Germans were able to publish the books they do, but were left with some unanswered questions. "It was interesting to see the whole range of publishing that goes on and the beautiful packaging that they do," said Coppola. "The long, fully illustrated books that would be very prohibitive for us, they are able to do somehow." Morishima mentioned the publishers' catalogues as a source of wonder. "They do four-color catalogues on nice, thick paper," she said. "How do they afford this? How do they do it?"
Mayes from FSG told PW that for him the trip was "informative and rewarding, in seeing a different world where the book industry isn't plopped down in one city."
Whatever the reasons for going on the trip and whatever was taken home, one thing is for sure—the contacts made will benefit both countries now and in the future.
