der Hörverlag

Das Programm umfasst mehr als 700 lieferbare Titel; jährlich werden etwa 100 Novitäten veröffentlicht. Eine tragende Säule bilden Klassiker wie Thomas Manns Buddenbrooks oder große O-Ton-Editionen wie Lyrikstimmen oder The Spoken Arts Treasury. Titel wie Harry Potter oder Der Herr der Ringe haben innerhalb kürzester Zeit in hohem Maße zur rasanten Steigerung des Bekanntheitsgrades von Hörbüchern beigetragen. Und Autoren wie Umberto Eco, Frank Schätzing und viele andere führen mit schöner Regelmäßigkeit die Hörbuch-Bestsellerlisten an.

Convinced that the most suitable way of conveying a special literary experience was via the spoken word, Der Hörverlag (founded in 1993) publishes its first program in May 1995, which included the radio play of Jostein Gaarder's Sofie's World. Showing high quality standards and a great vision, the publishing company has been offering all acoustic media formats since then: readings, radio plays, original recordings and features. About one third of the titles published by Der Hörverlag has received prizes.

The company's program comprises over 700 available titles, with a yearly output of about 100 novelties. The classics, e.g. Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks or voluminous editions of original recordings like Lyrikstimmen or The Spoken Arts Treasury, form one of the program's main pillars. Titles like Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings have significantly contributed to the impressive increase in the popularity of audio books in a very short time. And authors like Umberto Eco, Frank Schätzing and many others can be found with pleasing regularity at the top of audio book bestseller lists.

The reading. At a reading a single performer lends his voice to the text. In some cases he can slip into individual roles, for example by using different accents and dialects. Some novels are ideal for a complete reading, others benefit from being abridged.

The radio play. Radio plays are cinema in your head: a novel gets dramatized and a director turns it into a multilayered production with actors, music and sound effects. Radio plays can be divided into original radio plays and radio play adaptions, for which novels are being adapted and arranged for the recording studio.

Original recordings. Original recordings, often from radio archives, help to keep the past alive. Because what can have a stronger effect than the author's own voice? Sound documents exist from the time it became possible to record and transmit sounds and thus also voices. These recordings are our acoustic memory, since they serve as lasting documents of our past.

The feature. Following the radio play the feature is the second original art form that has been generated by the radio. While the radio play is based upon fictional texts, the feature has documentary character. It turns the world into an audible space and communicates its subjects in an entertaining way.