Emons Verlag

What Emons Verlag does

Emons Verlag GmbH is a family-owned German regional publishing house headquartered at Cäcilienstraße 48 in Cologne. Founded by Hejo Emons and currently led by Managing Director Franziska Emons-Hausen, the company publishes German-language fiction and non-fiction with a pronounced regional focus across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and additional European destinations. Core products are organized into crime novels (Kriminalroman), historical novels, thrillers, general fiction, the signature '111 Orte' (111 Places) travel guide series, Erlebnisführer experience guides, illustrated picture books, children's books, calendars, and non-fiction titles. The company operates a three-imprint architecture — Emons (main brand), Emons Italia (Italian-themed content), and Grafit (crime fiction) — and runs two wholly owned subsidiaries: Emons Italia and Grafit.

The business runs a dual distribution model combining a direct-to-consumer e-commerce webstore (emons-verlag.de, accepting PayPal and Visa) with traditional book trade distribution through wholesalers, bookstores, and online retailers in DACH-region markets. Pricing is unit-based: physical paperbacks range from approximately EUR 9.90 to EUR 22.00, while e-books are priced from EUR 3.99 (Print on Demand titles) to around EUR 10.99. A minor Corporate Publishing service line provides custom branded content for B2B clients. The technology stack is conventional e-commerce (no proprietary platform, no public API, no mobile app), with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics powering web analytics, and Facebook plus Instagram plus email newsletter driving top-of-funnel marketing.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time physical and digital book sales to German-speaking individual consumers, with no subscription, licensing, or platform-revenue model disclosed. The company is privately held with no external funding rounds, awards, patents, or named enterprise customer relationships on record. Employee count is in the 11-50 range, and the operations are entirely domestic to Germany aside from the sales reach across DACH and selected European markets via the Emons Italia imprint.

Name

Emons Verlag

Legal name

Emons Verlag GmbH

Website

https://emons-verlag.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Emons Verlag is a family-owned German regional publishing house based in Cologne that publishes German-language crime fiction, historical novels, thrillers, and travel guides under three imprints (Emons, Emons Italia, Grafit), selling through its own webstore and DACH-region book trade channels to German-speaking readers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB), Lifestyle, Travel & Leisure Books Publishing (MPAJAAAH), Picture Book Publishing (MPAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Regional book publishing
• Crime fiction novels
• Travel guide books
• German language fiction
• Children's picture books

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Book Sales (Physical and Digital): Emons Verlag generates revenue through the sale of physical books (paperbacks, hardcover) and e-books directly through their webstore and through book trade distribution channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Emons Verlag is a German regional publishing house that publishes and sells fiction (crime novels, historical novels, thrillers, general fiction) and non-fiction (travel/experience guides, picture books, children's books, calendars, non-fiction, gift items) focused on German-speaking regions and select European destinations. Products are offered in physical (paperback, hardcover, Print on Demand) and digital (e-book) formats, sold directly through the company's own webstore and through book trade distribution. Three imprints (Emons, Emons Italia, Grafit) and a Corporate Publishing service for custom branded content round out the offering.

Product overview

Emons Verlag is a German regional publishing house operating an e-commerce platform for selling books directly to consumers. The product portfolio centers on regional fiction (crime novels, historical novels, thrillers, general fiction) with strong focus on German-speaking regions, and non-fiction travel/experience guides. The core offerings include the '111 Orte' (111 Places) travel guide series covering German states, Austria, Switzerland, and Europe; regional crime novels featuring recurring detective characters; and experience/travel guides. The company operates three imprints: the main Emons label, Emons Italia for Italian-focused content, and Grafit for crime fiction. Products are sold through the e-commerce website with both physical (paperback, paperback, Print on Demand) and digital (E-book) formats available. Additional services include Corporate Publishing for custom branded content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Emons: Main publishing imprint for crime fiction, novels, and travel guides
• Emons Italia
• Grafit

Products and services

• 111 Orte (111 Places) Travel Guide Series Regional travel guide series highlighting 111 special places per region, covering German states, Austrian, Swiss, and broader European destinations, with specialized variants for families with children.
• Emons Italia Italian-focused publishing imprint publishing regional crime novels, travel guides, and fiction set in Italy, including the Adriatic Coast and Grado series by Andrea Nagele.
• Grafit Crime fiction publishing imprint focused on crime fiction and detective novels, retained as a wholly-owned sub-brand of Emons Verlag.
• Corporate Publishing Custom publishing service for businesses and organizations requiring branded content or company publications.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KBV Verlagsgesellschaft: KBV is another mid-sized German publisher focused on regional crime fiction with strong ties to specific German regions, mirroring Emons' genre focus, regional specialization and author-driven model.
• Marco Polo Travel: Marco Polo publishes German-language travel guides and city guides with regional European focus, directly comparable to Emons' '111 Orte' and Erlebnisführer series in audience, format and DACH retail distribution.
• Gmeiner-Verlag: Gmeiner-Verlag is a German regional publisher whose catalog is heavily skewed toward regional crime fiction (Krimis) set in specific German states and cities — directly comparable to Emons' Küsten-Krimi, Westfalen-Krimi and Sachsen-Krimi series and similar target reader.
• Wellhöfer Verlag: Wellhöfer is a small German publisher specializing in regional crime fiction set in Franconia, comparable in size, genre focus and DACH regional strategy to Emons' regional crime imprints.
• Baedeker: Baedeker is Germany's most established travel guide publisher, directly comparable to Emons' '111 Orte' and Erlebnisführer series in target customer (leisure and travel readers), product format (curated destination guides) and DACH distribution footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Ullstein Verlag: Ullstein is a major German general trade publisher covering fiction, crime and non-fiction with strong nationwide retail reach, comparable to Emons in product category but operating at significantly larger scale.
• Droemer Knaur: Droemer Knaur is a large German trade house publishing general fiction, thrillers and non-fiction — overlapping Emons' thriller and fiction categories but with broader national distribution and bigger author advances.
• Rowohlt Verlag: Rowohlt is a large German trade publisher covering fiction, non-fiction and crime, with nationwide retail presence; it overlaps Emons' adult fiction and crime categories while operating at significantly greater scale.
• Bastei Lübbe AG: Bastei Lübbe is a major German trade publisher with broad fiction and crime fiction lists; it competes with Emons in the German crime fiction category but at much larger scale, with deeper marketing budgets and broader retail placement.
• Piper Verlag: Piper is a major German general trade publisher with fiction, non-fiction and travel-adjacent titles, sharing distribution channels and DACH book trade customers with Emons while operating a much wider catalog.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EmonsVerlag
• Instagraminstagram.com/emons_verlag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emons-verlag

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emons Verlag