Jumbo Verlag

The publishing house and its history

According to the motto "only the best for children", the Hamburg-based JUMBO publishing company has been publishing high-quality and exciting audio books for 30 years. Books and audio productions for adults and young people are published under the labels GOYA, GOYALiT and GOYAlibre. Gabriele Swiderski and Ulrich Maske founded the publishing company in 1991 with other private initiators. Altogether, the programme comprises more than 1,600 available titles. Around 150 new titles are added to the varied repertoire every year. With around 30 employees, JUMBO publishing company is one of the largest German audio book publishers and is still independent of any corporate group. Numerous productions have been placed on the hessian radio station's hr2 best audiobook list or have received awards such as the German record critics' award "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik" or the audio seal "AKI Audiosiegel".

Program

In JUMBO's audio books, characters such as the dormouse Bobo (Bobo Siebenschläfer) or the little caterpillar that is never full (Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt) delight young listeners from the age of two. An important part of the programme are well-known series such as Mein Lotta-Leben, Die Nordseedetektive or Snöfrid aus dem Wiesental. The radio play series Wieso? Weshalb? Warum? - also for first-time readers in two tempo variants for listening and reading along - imparts knowledge and is fun at the same time. High-quality literary titles are published by renowned authors such as Kirsten Boie (Thabo und Emma, Sommerby) or Andreas H. Schmachtl (Snöfrid, Hörnchen und Bär).

Musical diversity is offered by children's songs by Bettina Göschl, Matthias Meyer-Göllner, Robert Metcalf, Ulrich Maske and others. Classical music is introduced to children in a playful way by Marko Simsa.

The GOYAlibre label publishes audio books for young people and all-age-titles. Cornelia Funke's Tintenwelt, Kirsten Boie's Alhambra, Amanda Quain's retelling Skandal & Vorurteil, the radio plays for the movies Herr der Diebe, Krabat and Die Welle as well as novels for young people by Morton Rhue or Antje Babendererde combine suspense with literary ambition. Dystopias and fantasy multi-series by Gina Mayer, Bianca Iosivoni or Kiera Cass are just as much a part of the programme as the popular series Die Seelenpferde von Ventusia by Jennifer Benkau and sparkling young-adult-romance such as Ever & After or Kiss me once by Stella Tack.

Renowned actors lend their voices to the productions: Katharina Thalbach, Julia Nachtmann, Hans Löw, Stephan Schad, Dietmar Wunder, Leonie Landa, Pia-Rhona Saxe, Rosa Thormeyer, Uve Teschner, Karl Menrad, Robert Missler, Rainer Strecker, Jacob Weigert, Bernd Stephan, Julian Greis, Jonas Minthe, Marion Elskis, Katja Danowski, Katrin Gerken, Elise Eikermann and others.

Parallel to the audio book programme, JUMBO has been publishing books for many years. In addition to lovingly illustrated picture books by Rocio Bonilla, among others, and children's books such as the series Die Nordseedetektive by children's channel star Bettina Göschl and successful author Klaus-Peter Wolf, books with stories, songs and games belonging to the audio productions are also published, such as Über das Meer by Matthias Meyer-Göllner or Klassik für kleine Ohren by Marko Simsa. The spectrum ranges from cardboard picture books for the youngest children to picture books for reading aloud and discovering and children's books with cheeky illustrations to colourfully illustrated literary classics for young and old.

Renowned illustrators of the JUMBO book programme are Silke Brix, Franziska Harvey, Franziska Harvey, Dorothée Böhlke, Andrea Reitmeyer, Annette Swoboda, Adolfo Serra, Florian Pigé, Nele Anders, Leonie Daub and others.

The publisher at a glance: www.jumboverlag.de

Current awards

  • AKI Audiosiegel 2023 – Rena Finder: Ich überlebte. Ein Mädchen auf Schindlers Liste
  • EMYS-Sachbuchpreis 2023 – Juli
    Hanna Müller und Carla Swiderski: Wie Tiere trauern
  • hr2 Hörbuchbestenliste 2023 – Dezember
    Kirsten Boie: Thabo und Emma. 3 spannende Abenteuer
  • Plattdeutsches Buch 2023 – Preisträger 2022/2023
    Ove Thomsen: Regen in'n Kopp
  • HörKulino 2022 – Klaus-Peter Wolf, Bettina Göschl: Die Nordseedetektive - Filmreife Falle
  • AUDITORIX 2020 – Kira Gembri: Ruby Fairygale. Der Ruf der Fabelwesen

Foreign Rights Highlights

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How Animals Grieve

  • Hanna Müller, Carla Swiderski
  • Illustrated by Miren Asiain Lora
  • Autumn 2022, 48 pages, 21.5 x 28 cm
  • Hardcover
  • 5+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Elephants withdraw from others to die while relatives stand guard. Chimpanzees carry their deceased to their final resting place. Cats show less interest in playing and eating when they lose an animal or human with whom they had formed a close bond. Many animal species express grief in their own unique ways, this is being researched more and more. There is no right way to deal with loss and grief, but many variations.This book illustrates that grief and death have a place in life and helps children understand and talk about these difficult topics.

Ricki Needs a New Home

  • Carla Swiderski, Hanna Müller, Hannah Stollmayer
  • Illustrated by Adolfo Serra
  • Spring 2023, 32 pages, 24.6 x 24.4 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 3+
  • Rights sold to Denmark
  • Website

Ricki, the shy little octopus, has to move! Because the shipwreck in which he lived has been salvaged. He starts to look for a new place to live, with a lot of help from his friends. Will Ricki find a place in the cave with a moray eel? Or live with the seahorse in the seagrass meadow? None of this really seems to suit Ricki – if only he had such a great house like the turtle, which always carries its shell with it! But Ricki and his friends won’t give up until they find a suitable home for him.

Pelle and Yoko Save the Forest

  • Andrea Reitmeyer
  • Illustrated by Andrea Reitmeyer
  • Spring 2023, 32 pages, 24.6 x 24.4 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 3+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Pelle, a brown bear, and his best friend Yoko, a small fox, live together with other animals in the forest. One day, the stream that is the centre of their lives gradually dries up. Where has the water gone? Pelle and Yoko go on an adventurous search and eventually find out that the beavers have built a huge dam to keep all the water to themselves. The two friends now have an important task: they must bring the water back to the other animals!

The Wonder Twins. Mean Trap

  • Klaus-Peter Wolf
  • Illustrated by Franziska Harvey
  • Autumn 2022, 136 pages, 12.5 x 19.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 9+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Laura and Leonie Wonder are twin sisters, but they couldn’t be more different. Shy Laura loves numbers and science while lively Leonie is happiest when she can scramble up rocks or the climbing wall in her room. Nevertheless, the two are always there for each other when things get dicey. Since Laura solves crimes with her keen sleuthing skills, the twins have had many adventures. When Leonie is accused of a theft she didn’t commit, Laura is the only one who believes her. She sets out to solve this difficult case, daring herself much more than ever before.

The North Sea Detectives. Dangerous Trail

  • Bettina Göschl, Klaus-Peter Wolf
  • Illustrated by Franziska Harvey
  • Autumn 2022, 160 pages, 12.5 x 19.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 8+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Burglars in the Villa Janssen! Just as Emma and Lukas are alone at home. Due to a severe onset of winter, daddy Mick and mommy Sarah are stuck on the North Sea Island of Juist. Fortunately, the North Sea Detectives know how to help themselves and get to safety. But that’s just the beginning of their tricky new case! What were the thieves looking for in their great-uncle’s old house? And why does not even the police believe that they are in great danger? Emma and Lukas develop a courageous plan.

Billie and Stüx. A Pony Falls from the Sky

  • Dorothée Böhlke
  • Illustrated by Dorothée Böhlke
  • Spring 2023, 176 pages, 12.5 x. 19.5 cm
  • Hardcover
  • Ages 7+
  • All rights available
  • Website

Billie has to spend the summer with her grandmother in the country – and she has absolutely no desire to do so. She is convinced that she is in for the most boring vacation imaginable. But there she is mistaken. Grandma Gisela is anything but boring, as Billie soon realizes. And then, a pony mysteriously appears in the apple orchard of grandma’s farm. Billie and Stüx get along right from the start and become inseparable. But how did Stüx actually get into the garden? Where did the pony come from? Jenny from the village helps Billie find the answers. An exciting, adventurous summer begins for the two girls.

Events

All events in German language!

Currently no events. Visit the publisher’s website for up-to-date events (visit website).

Contact

JUMBO Verlag

Henriettenstraße 42 a
20259 Hamburg

Germany

Phone +49 (0) 40 / 4 29 30 40-0

info@jumbo-medien.de
www.jumboverlag.de

Contact Person

director Gabriele Swiderski

programme management Ulrich Maske

rights and licences Milena Schilasky, Constanze Albrecht

lectorate
Inga Reuters, Milena Schilasky
lektorat@jumbo-medien.de

sales and marketing
Caroline Klabunde (-11)
c.klabunde@jumbo-medien.de
Lena Schmidt (-242)
l.schmidt@jumbo-medien.de

press and public relations
Maja Dreyer (-27)
m.dreyer@jumbo-medien.de
Philine Neuthor (-254)
p.neuthor@jumbo-medien.de

readings and concerts
Anna Appel (-241)
a.appel@jumbo-medien.de

social media and blogger relations
Lisa Rupieper (-143)
l.rupieper@jumbo-medien.de