News

« Headlines

Follett rises to the top in Germany

17.03.08 Anja Sieg

British author Ken Follett has beaten the renowned German writer Martin Walser to the top of that country's bestseller charts after an extensive marketing campaign set up by Follett's German publisher Lübbe. The translated edition of Follett's latest World Without End has already hit the top of the charts in Italy and Spain.

The German translation Die Tore der Welt went straight to the top of the national bestseller charts, compiled by the German newspapers Buchreport and Der Spiegel, after just two days and has remained in the top spot for a further two weeks, despite strong challenges from Walser, and the Spanish writer Ildefonso Falcones.

Lübbe does not give out sales figures, but said that its first print-run was 500,000 copies--a figure only a handful of authors can command in Germany. The Swansea-born writer was actively involved in the extensive marketing campaign well before the book's publication on 29th February, including a two-week author tour that took him through Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Lübbe also produced a lavish sales folder that was first distributed during the Frankfurt Book Fair, and a DVD complete with an interview and a reading from the book, which was sent to key account booksellers in January; this was followed by advanced reading copies in two instalments and a reading sample for bookshop customers. The publisher also set up an online campaign with T-Online and a deal with airline German Wings, which included advertising for the book in the in-flight magazine and on its service trays.

Since The Needle hit the German bestsellers lists 29 years ago, Lübbe which also publishes Dan Brown, has sold 27m copies of Follet's books. His most successful novel so far is The Pillar of the Earth with 3.8m copies in print, which in 2004 came third in a televised vote of the country's favourite books behind the Bible and The Lord of the Rings.

The relationship works both ways. Over the years Follett whom editorial director Marco Schneiders calls "a pillar of our list", has visited Germany numerous times.

Follet has enjoyed similar success across Europe: the Spanish El Mundo San Fin became one of the fastest selling books in Spanish history when it was published in January, while the book also hit the top of the charts in Italy at the end of last year.

International Bestseller News Anja Sieg Home Germany Ken Follett Martin Walser

See Also