ATRIUM Children's Books, Arctis, WooW Books

Atrium Books Publishing House and History

Atrium
Atrium is a trade publisher focused on fiction. It was founded in 1935 in Switzerland and its initial purpose was to protect the work of Erich Kästner from the Nazis. Up to this day, Erich Kästner is one of the most popular and most successful children’s books authors and Atrium holds the world rights to all of his works.

Atrium Children’s Books
“Don’t allow your childhood to be driven out!” is one of Erich Kästners most salient sentences. To Atrium, this profound statement is also an obligation, an obligation to continue publishing children’s books in his spirit.

Arctis
Arctis was founded 2016. It publishes a well selected, top-class programme of realistic and fantastic young adult titles, consisting national as well as international authors. From epic Fantasy to realistic contemporary themes to historical novels, there is something for almost every taste.

WooW Books
WooW Books is an imprint of Atrium Verlag and was founded in 2016. As the name suggests, the programme stands for special and surprising children´s literature which conjures a »wow-feeling« while reading.

Programm

Atrium children's Books

“Don’t allow your childhood to be driven out!” – Books in the spirit of Erich Kästner

Alongside the popular classics of Erich Kästner, Atrium children’s books publishes a mixture of rediscovered children’s books classics and books by contemporary authors for children between 4 and 12 years of age.

Our classics are timeless and therefore appeal to a new generation of young readers who can discover books their parents and grandparents may have read as children. As such, our classics are directed at both children and their parents who love to travel back to their own pasts (and refuse to let their childhoods be driven out). Atrium has published the following classics: “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott,” “The little Broomstick” by Mary Stewart, “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein and “Anne of Green Gables” adapted by Kallie George.

Our books by contemporary authors take children and their problems seriously. Just as the books of Kästner, they tell stories that deal with important topics young readers are confronted with in their modern daily lives. Outstanding examples of this are “The Boy at the back of the class” by Onjali Q. Raúf, “Willkommen in der Villa Bernstein” by Antje Bones and “Die Hafenpiraten” by Ortwin Ramadan.

Imprint Arctis

The Arctis program is aimed at young people and young adults aged 14 and over who are enthusiastic about unforgettable stories. There are about five new releases every six months. Arctis is characterized above all by a well thought-out program selection. You can find something special in every of our genres.
Epic fantasy does not always have to come from North America, as the bestseller series “The Raven Rings” by the Norwegian author Siri Pettersen proves. In the realistic contemporary world, we look at LGBTQ love stories with the author duo Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera and, with titles such as “Words on bathroom walls” and “Sicherheit ist eine verdammt fiese Illusion”, we also successfully tackle disease issues and raise awareness of them. Other titles such as “MOXIE” and “My eyes are up here” show that feminist literature is not only important, but also extremely entertaining.
The Arctis program is completed by our small library of memories with the titles “Almost Autumn” and “The Last Paper Crane”. Both illuminate historical events from completely new perspectives and in a literary way.

Our program includes established bestselling authors such as Benjamin Lebert, Roshani Chokshi, Mats Strandberg and Claire McFall, but also new voices with great potential for the future, such as those from Kyra Groh, Rosaria Munda, Julia Walton or Laura Zimmermann.

Anyone who holds an Arctis book in their hands knows that we not only focus on something special
in terms of content, but that we also give the look and haptic of our books something impressive, for
example through special finishes, color cuts or linen bindings.

Imprint WooW Books

The programme is aimed at children aged 5 to 12 and stands for a varied, colourful mix of books.
Besides exciting adventures with a pinch of magic, such as the internationally acclaimed fantasy book “The Wild Folk” by Sylvia V. Linsteadt, you can also find special illustrated stories to read aloud to children. The characters are often funny – for example the lovable Stinky Dog, as well as Loranga, the best dad in the world, who always runs around with a coffee pot cosy on his head. The list is complemented by realistic novels about topics on everyday life of children. “South is always somewhere” by the award-winning Norwegian author Marianne Kaurin chronicles child poverty and bullying at school.
Narrative non-fiction books add the final touch to the list. So far, WooW Books has published a biography about the famous children´s books writer Astrid Lindgren and the opulently illustrated volumes about Nordic mythology by the Swedish bestselling illustrator Johan Egerkrans.
Apart from Marianne Kaurin and Johan Egerkrans, many other acclaimed Scandinavian authors and illustrators found a home at WooW Books publishing house: Barbro Lindgren, Ole Lund Kirkegaard, Klaus Hagerup and Lisa Aisato.