Herzlich Willkommen in der Lizenzabteilung des Arena Verlages!

Welcome to the Arena Publishing Rights Department!

You are interested in translation rights? Please choose the links “Foreign Rights Catalogues” and “Contacts and Agencies” from the drop down menu.

We are looking forward to your reading copy requests, and your questions and queries!
Your Foreign Rights Department

PS: Please do not send either book proposals or illustration samples to the rights department. This is not among our responsibilities.
Please understand that we are not able to either answer or forward these messages.
If you would like to get in touch with Arena Publishing, then please do follow this link.

The Publishing Company and its History

Arena Publishing is one of the major publishing companies for children’s and young adult fiction in Germany. Founded in 1949 by Georg Popp, its place of business has been Würzburg ever since. Georg Popp had been the head of the company for thirty years. Since 1979, Arena Publishing has been a part of the Westermann Publishing Group situated in Braunschweig.

From the very beginning, the name Arena has stood for knowledge and entertainment, for top quality non-fiction and exciting fiction for children and young adults. In 1958, Arena was the first publisher in Germany to market paperback series for young readers, and in 1981 it again led the way with a series of books systematically arranged in steps to teach beginners how to read. These books form a collection now known as Book Bear. In 1987, Arena took over the complete programme of the Zürich children’s book publisher Benziger, and in 2000 it also acquired Ensslin Verlag with its rich tradition of books dating back to 1818. Arena started its own programme of audiobooks in 2006 under the label “Arena Audio”.

Today, with no less than 2,000 available titles, Arena offers a wide range of books specially written for reading beginners, children and young adults. It celebrated its 75^th birthday in 2024, and this link offers a record of its outstanding achievements since its foundation.

Programme

The colourful world of Arena offers a wide range of books for children and young adults, to cater for all tastes.

Even the youngest of readers will revel in the fantastic world of cardboard picture books. They’ll have lots of fun with Bandolo and Mandalas, and will enjoy the stories about Tilda Apfelkern  [Tilda Appleseed],  Snöfrid from Meadow Valley, Hieronymous Frosch [Hieronymus Frog], and Erdbeerchen Erdbeerfee [The Strawberry Fairy]. The Bücherbär [Book Bear] series will engage all those youngsters who are just learning to read, while those who are already able to read on their own will be engrossed in Mein LOTTA-Leben [My Life as Lotta]. Eulenzauber [Owl Magic], Woodwalkers  and Seawalkers, and Die Duftapotheke [The Magical Pharmacy].

In the programme for young adults, Arena’s thrillers guarantee goose bumps, while modern love stories will touch the heart. Mystery stories will also have their readers hooked, as will autobiographies and novels based on controversial subjects. Some books, like Marilu, Off the Record and Mein letzter Livestream (My Last Livestream] are used in schools as modern class readings. Arena’s home page offers a number of useful educational pointers free of charge.

Arena’s non-fiction books include the Arena Bibliothek des Wissens [Arena Library of Knowledge] and Nevio the Fearless Science Mouse, as well as outstanding individual books such as Die Natur und Du [Nature and You], Das grosse Geheimnis kleiner Tiere [The Big Secret of Little Animals], and the entertaining series of computer books by IT expert Tobias Schrödel. The list covers a wide range of fascinating factual subjects for readers of all ages.