Bert Bakker (publishing company)

Bert Bakker was a Dutch publishing company whose main focus is on literature and language. It was founded by Bert Bakker in 1953. While being part of PCM Uitgevers, it merged with Prometheus, until the two became independent again in 2007.

History

The publishing company was founded by "legendary" publisher Bert Bakker,^[1] who was succeeded by his nephew, also named Bert Bakker, in 1969. The younger Bakker's tenure was marked by conflict; he himself had little knowledge of literature and kept the company afloat by publishing a number of non-literary books. Bakker was forced to resign from the company in 1993, "een puinzooi achterlatend" ("leaving a mess").^[1] The company merged with Prometheus, another publishing company, and the joint group was owned by PCM Uitgevers. Bakker was succeeded by Mai Spijkers,^[2][3] who had earlier been an editor for Bakker but had been forced out and, credited with a keen eye for business, had made the competitor Prometheus a success;^[1][3] he led Prometheus/Bert Bakker after then-president Van Albada left the company in 2003.^[4] Prometheus/Bert Bakker became one of the largest literary publishers in the Netherlands, publishing best-selling authors such as Connie Palmen, Maria Stahlie, Tim Krabbé, Hafid Bouazza, and Martin Bril,^[4] besides prominent historians and politicians such as Frits van Oostrom, Wouter Bos^[2] and Wijnand Duyvendak.^[5]

In 2007, Prometheus/Bert Bakker left PCM to continue independently, led by Mai Spijkers.^[6][7]

Bert Bakker -both the company and the owner- were known for their fierce support of Dutch poets (against the grain of commercialism), and supported and published authors such as Paul van Ostaijen,^[8] Adriaan Roland Holst, Martinus Nijhoff, Gerrit Achterberg, and Neeltje Maria Min; the latter's Voor wie ik liefheb wil ik heten became the most successful Dutch collection of poetry ever.^[9]

References