Karl Heinz Petzler dies
20.04.09 | Katie Coyne
A vocal supporter of Europe's open market, Karl Heinz Petzler, died unexpectedly at his home in Portugal on 14th March aged 54. A memorial service in London has been arranged by his friends for this evening (Monday).
Petzler worked during the '80s as the German sales manager for Faber and Pan Books. He moved to Portugal to work for Districultural and Centralivros after learning the Portuguese language. He returned to book distribution in Portugal in 2001 and formed distributor Lisma.
His friend Paul Torjussen, publisher at Southbank Publishing, said Petzler had worked closely with Benedikt Taschen and was "one of the key architects behind the rapid international growth" of Taschen. Torjussen described Petzler as "very intelligent, extremely well read and fluent in six languages".
He added: "Karl Heinz was a formidable talent and one of the best negotiators I have ever had the joy to observe. In full flow, his manner and powerful argument could charm those concerned into seeing things his way very quickly, allowing more time for the serious business of putting the world to rights over good food and lively debate."
Petzler was behind an attempt by European booksellers and distributors to prevent British publishers gaining exclusive sales rights for their books in Europe and spoke in numerous debates about the "turf wars".
The memorial service will take place at the The Mau Mau Bar, 265 Portobello Road from 6 p.m.
