Standaard Uitgeverij and De Bezige Bij establish a new publishing house: De Bezige Bij Antwerpen

De Bezige Bij Antwerpen opens its doors on January 1, 2011.

De Bezige Bij and Standaard Uitgeverij have taken the initiative to establish a new literary publishing house in Antwerp.

With the new publishing house, de Weekbladpersgroep (WPG) sees its goal achieved to occupy a prominent position in Belgium as a publisher of literary fiction and non-fiction.

The new publishing house will bear the name De Bezige Bij Antwerpen and will publish Dutch literary fiction and non-fiction in Belgium and the Netherlands. De Bezige Bij Antwerpen is going to be a haven for writers and a meeting point in the public debate. The new publishing house will publish books on the contemporary world, in all genres and with a broad view on history.

The selection offered by the new publishing house will be based on the catalogues of De Bezige Bij and Meulenhoff/Manteau, which will become an integral part of De Bezige Bij Antwerpen on December 31.

De Bezige Bij Antwerpen will be managed by Robbert Ammerlaan (manager-publisher of De Bezige Bij) and Johan de Koning (manager-publisher of Standaard Uitgeverij).

Harold Polis (publisher Meulenhoff/Manteau) will be the publisher of De Bezige Bij Antwerpen.

The first catalogue will be presented in autumn 2010.