Business Crisis in the Austrian Publishing Industry: Leykam Discontinues Novels and Children's Books
Austria's oldest publishing house is facing a radical reorientation. As announced by the management of the long-established Leykam publishing house, the company will largely withdraw from the consumer market starting in 2027. In concrete terms, this means the end of the literature, children's, and young adult book divisions, as well as popular non-fiction. In the future, the publishing house, founded in 1585, intends to focus exclusively on the fields of science and education.
Leykam Publishing has decided to discontinue its literature and children's book program, citing "economic reasons" as the driving factor behind this decision. / Picture: © IWM Institut fuer die Wissenschaften vom Menschen - Institute for Human Sciences
In the Styrian capital, the name Leykam has been an institution for centuries. But behind the venerable facades of the Graz publishing house, things are bubbling up, just like in the rest of the Styrian economy. The economic crisis in the domestic book market has now hit Austria's oldest publishing house with full force.
According to managing director Stefan Gartler, economic considerations are the reason for this drastic step. The consumer sector is running at a loss and can no longer be cross-subsidized by other divisions. “We very much regret this,” said Gartler in an initial statement. While the planned autumn program is still set to be published as planned, no new projects in the affected genres will be accepted after that. The good news for readers and bookstores is that titles already published will remain available and will be reprinted if there is sufficient demand.
Rising production costs coupled with declining sales in the book trade (the book and magazine trade recorded a real decline of 11.5% in 2024) have massively undermined the profitability of the general interest sector. As Leykam is a medium-sized Graz-based company without the backing of large corporate structures that could cushion the losses in the long term, the management is now pulling the emergency brake to ensure the continued existence of the rest of the company.
Sharp criticism from the world of authors
The news caused consternation in the literary scene, as reported by ORF. Award-winning author Michael Stavarič, who brought the publisher numerous successes in the children's book sector, reacted with incomprehension and sharp criticism on social media. Stavarič spoke of the “end of an era” and criticized the fact that the cultural value of a program was taking a back seat to purely economic figures. He warned of the social consequences if ambitious niche programs fall victim to budget cuts: “In the end, there will be a world in which I no longer want to live.” In recent years, Leykam Verlag has been regarded as a home for sophisticated, often socio-politically relevant literature.
Well-known names such as Mareike Fallwickl, Andrea Grill, Fabian Navarro, and Eva Reisinger have shaped the face of the publishing house and underscored its importance for contemporary Austrian literature.
A house with an eventful history
The partial withdrawal marks the end of a chapter in a history spanning almost 440 years. Founded in 1585 by court printer Georg Widmanstetter, the publishing house survived the monarchy, world wars, and political upheavals. Shaped by Andreas Leykam in the 18th century, the company was closely linked to the history of Styrian newspapers (including the Grätzer Zeitung and Tagespost). After an eventful period in the 20th century – from expropriation during the Nazi era to ownership by the SPÖ after 1945 – the publishing house has been owned by the Gartler family since 2017.
The focus on science and education is now intended to ensure the survival of the traditional location in Graz, where six employees currently work. Nevertheless, the withdrawal leaves a gap in Austria's cultural fabric that will be difficult to fill.