Arctis, Atrium Kinderbuch, WooW Books & von Hacht Verlag

The Publishing Company and its History

The W1 publishing group was founded by Jan Weitendorf von Hacht. The publishing house includes Arctis, Atrium Kinderbuch, WooW Books and von Hacht in the field of children's books.

W1 is also represented in the USA with WestWind Scouting, Arctis USA and NorthSouth Books.

Find out more about the the publishers and brands: www.w1-verlage.de/

Program

Arctis

Arctis was founded in 2016 as an imprint of Atrium Verlag AG and has since been delighting teenagers and young adults with selected, high-quality books by German and international authors.

In addition to exceptional fantasy literature such as the bestselling 'Rabenringe' ('Raven Rings') trilogy by Norwegian author Siri Pettersen, the 'Flüstern der Raben' ('Whisper of the Ravens') series by Danish author Malene Sølvsten (the first volume 'Ansuz' won the prestigious Buxtehuder Bulle in 2022 ) or 'Wo die Nacht verweilt' ('Where the Dark Stands Still‘) by A. B. Poranek, Arctis also publishes contemporary novels with topical themes by authors such as Anna Dimitrova, Amani Padda, Gulraiz Sharif, Rachel Lynn Solomon and Sara Barnard. Sara Barnard has been nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2022 in the category 'Youth Judging Panel' with 'Die beste Zeit ist am Ende der Welt' ('Destination Anywhere').

Speaking of Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis: 2025 Arctis was nominated again. The critics' jury had shortlisted 'Wohin das Licht entflieht' ('Where The Light Goes') by Sara Barnard and 'Nur dieser eine Augenblick' ('Only This Beautiful Moment') by Abdi Nazemian, while the youth jury has shortlisted 'Kanak Kids' by Anna Dimitrova.

If you are looking for intense love stories with great heart-stopping potential, Arctis is the right place. Diversity is important to us, as evidenced by the SPIEGEL bestseller 'Am Ende sterben wir sowieso' ('They Both Die at the End') by star author and Tiktok phenomenon Adam Silvera, 'Was ist mit uns'('What If It's Us') and the eagerly awaited sequel 'Auf das mit uns' ('Here's To Us') by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.

Atrium Kinderbuch

Atrium Kinderbuch is an imprint of Atrium Verlag, also known as Erich Kästner Verlag. In the spirit of Kästner, Atrium Kinderbuch publishes books that take children seriously and meet them in their own world. In addition to the popular classics by Erich Kästner, Atrium Kinderbuch publishes a mixture of children's classics, narrative books by contemporary authors and narrative non-fiction books for children aged 4 to 12.

The selected classics of children's literature such as James Krüss, whose 100th birthday we will celebrate in 2026, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Louisa Alcott, are timeless and can be rediscovered by a new generation. They also appeal to parents who want to travel back to their own childhood.

Books by contemporary authors such as Helen Rutter, nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2023 with 'Neun Wünsche für Archie' ('The Boy Whose Wishes Came True'), Onjali Q. Raúf or Elle McNicoll tell stories that deal with issues that young readers are confronted with in today's reality.

The non-fiction books published by Atrium Kinderbuch have a narrative character and deal with topics from children's everyday lives.

The Atrium Pics label launched its autumn 2025 program, which focuses on books with strong images that make reading fun and easy to get into. At the top of the first program is the successful series from England 'Lottie Brooks' by Katie Kirby. In addition, graphic novels such as 'Nur noch ein bisschen mehr' ('Just A Little Bit More') by Jenny Jordahl and hybrid forms with narrative text and comic elements such as 'Erben des Imperiums' ('Heirs Of The Empire') by Oskar Källner and Karl Johnsson will be published in the future.

WooW Books

WooW Books was founded in September 2016 and is an imprint of Atrium Verlag. As the name suggests, it publishes special and surprising books that evoke a real 'wow' feeling.

WooW Books is aimed at children between the ages of 5 and 14 and offers a colourful mix: in addition to exciting adventures with a touch of magic, WooW Books offers unconventional, special read-aloud stories with funny characters, imaginative fantasy and sensitively told stories with wit and depth from a child's perspective. The icing on the cake is a range of high quality decorative editions, including mythological creatures, fairies and our bestseller 'Alle Farben des Lebens' ('All the Colours of Life') by Lisa Aisato.

In addition to Marianne Kaurin, winner of the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2021 for 'Irgendwo ist immer Süden' ('Somewhere is Always South'), and Lisa Aisato, many well-known Scandinavian authors and illustrators have found a publishing home at WooW Books, including Agnes-Margrethe Bjorvand and Klaus Hagerup. German-speaking authors and illustrators are also a priority. These include Kristina Kreuzer, Friederike Ablang, Christina Wolff, Jana Scheerer, Timm Milan, Katja Ludwig, Jessica Liedtke, Ulrike König, Christiane Fürtges, Christine Werner, Nicoloe Röndigs and Horst Hellmeier.

The stories from WooW Books offer the very best in entertainment. So start reading - and let yourself be infected by the wow-feeling!

von Hacht Verlag

Von Hacht Verlag was founded in 2019 by Rebecca Weitendorf von Hacht and her husband Jan Weitendorf von Hacht. The publishing house stands for high-quality, carefully selected children's literature by international authors.

The von Hacht Verlag ranges from lovingly and beautifully illustrated picture and non-fiction books for reading aloud to the very young, to exciting adventure stories for children up to the age of 12. Important authors include Hannah Gold, Oliver Jeffers, Linde Faas, Flavia Z. Drago and Pete Oswald, who has been nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2022 with 'Berg - Ein Tag mit Papa' ('Hike').

Von Hacht books bring children and adults together and provide moments of security and happiness. The best reading pleasure is always guaranteed.