Our History
Founding the Publishing House
The consequence of the success of the magazine SCHRiTTE is founding the axel dielmann – verlag. Before the official start into the business we are going to have six conversations, which are part of the most beautiful and friendly memories, which one could have along one's company history: the idea to initially ask the „old stagers“, what one can make wrong and how it could be done right , leads to the consideration of asking other members of the publishing house industry for help. Six estimable idols engage themselves to be invited to dinner by greenhorn Axel Dielmann and be bombarded with questions. An unforgettable and delicious evening with Vitorio Klostermann (same named publisher) in the Lobster and Christian Döhring(at that time stil with Suhrkamp), in the Coffee Bar (occasionally our neighbour at the old place in Schweizer Straße 21 from 2005 to 2011), who explain many helpful things and point out difficult steps. A big shout out goes to them, who were willing to sharee their experiences and encouraged!
Initially the publishing house runs under the name „Schritte Verlag Axel Dielmann“, which Jürgen Lentes, back then head of Huss'schen university library Frankfurt, and Alban Nikolai Herbst, one of the first authors, suggest to change throughout long conversations and phone calls at night (a belated thank you to both of them). – The publishing houses' location is in the Eckenheimer Landstraße 57, third floor, where it first occupies one room, later on two and three of the apartement.
On may the third 1993 the publishing house is being born with a small party at the Huss'schen library – some eyewitnessess claim to have seen how people were grabbing books from the shelves at three in the morning, citing Brecht, Ringelnatz, Homer and Herbst, which is not very credible in this constellation, but there are no reliable statements, especially as other witnessess report that around four in the morning a three headed group was sent out to comb through Bockenheim to Westend for liquor and wine.
Seven titles are published in the beginning, including the book „Wolpertinger oder Das Blau“ by Alban Nikolai herbst, which presents a huge project with 1.024 pages and half a year of editing. But those years with SCHRiTTE were very helpful and instructing, for all types of editing!