Magvető facts for kids
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| Parent company | Líra Könyv Zrt. |
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| Founded | 1955 |
| Founder | Géza Képes |
| Country of origin | Hungary |
| Headquarters location | Budapest |
| Key people | Anna Dávid, director |
| Publication types | Books |
Magvető is a Hungarian book publishing company located in Budapest. It mainly publishes books by Hungarian writers and also books from other countries. These books are usually fiction, like novels and short stories.
Contents
History of Magvető
Magvető started in 1955. It was created by the Hungarian Writers' Association. Its main job was to publish new Hungarian fiction and classic Hungarian books. But it also published books from around the world right from the start.
In the past, Magvető competed with another publisher called Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó. Magvető often published books that were a bit different or caused discussions. Some famous books they published early on include Rozsdatemető by Endre Fejes and Hajnali háztetők by Géza Ottlik. They also published works by many important writers like Iván Mándy, Magda Szabó, and Sándor Weöres.
After 1956, the company became separate from the Writers' Association. Magvető used to have its own bookstore, but it later joined the Libri book distribution company.
Leaders of Magvető
The person who helped start Magvető was Géza Képes, a poet and translator. He was one of the first leaders. Another early worker was János Pilinszky, who checked books for errors.
Géza Képes left in 1957, and Ferenc Vadász took over. In 1961, György Kardos became the head of Magvető. He was the longest-serving director, leading the company for about 25 years. Under his leadership, Magvető became one of the most successful Hungarian publishers. He published famous writers like Magda Szabó and also helped many young writers publish their first books.
After György Kardos, Miklós Jovánovics and Mária Hegedős became directors.
In 1993, Magvető became a private company. It was then bought by Líra Könyv Zrt. and has been part of their publishing group ever since. From 1995 to 2015, Géza Morcsányi was the director. He made Magvető one of the most respected fiction publishers in Hungary. During his time, they published books by Imre Kertész, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Magvető has won the "Publisher of the Year" award many times, including in 2003, 2006, 2010, 2011, and 2013.
From 2015 to 2016, Krisztián Nyáry led Magvető. Since July 2016, Anna Dávid has been the director. A person named Györgyi Bezúr worked at Magvető for a very long time, from 1961 until the end of 2016.
Book Series and Sales
Magvető has published several popular book series. These include Rakéta Regényújság (a novel newspaper) and Rakéta Regénytár. Other successful series are Világkönyvtár (World Library), Magvető Kiskönyvtár (Magvető Small Library), and Új Termés (New Crop), which helps new poets publish their first books.
They also publish the Gyorsuló idő (Accelerating Time) educational series and the Tények és tanúk (Facts and Witnesses) series, which features memoirs. Since 1963, Magvető has published Szép versek (Beautiful Poems), which is an important yearly collection of modern poetry. They also publish Körkép (Panorama) since 1964, which is a collection of important Hungarian short stories.
Within ten years of starting, Magvető became a very important cultural organization in Hungary. In 1966, they published over two million books. Their output grew, and in 1981, they published 5.4 million books. Today, they publish a large number of all Hungarian literary books.
Authors and Awards
Magvető published A virágok hatalma by Ferenc Juhász in 1955. They also published Kaján rajzok by cartoonist Tibor Kaján in the same year.
Magvető not only publishes well-known Hungarian writers but also focuses on new, talented young writers. They help these new writers start their careers and continue to publish their works. Some of these writers include Lili Kemény and Benedek Totth.
The AEGON Art Award celebrates the best Hungarian fiction from the past year. Many books published by Magvető have won this award. As of 2020, 11 books from Magvető have won the AEGON Art Award since it began in 2006. These include:
- 2006 – Fogság by György Spiró
- 2007 – Visszaút az időben by Zsuzsa Rakovszky
- 2011 – Esti by Péter Esterházy
- 2017 – Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai
- 2019 – A Vak Remény by Zsuzsa Takács
Magvető publishes many Hungarian authors who live abroad, especially from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Péter Esterházy was one of Magvető's longest-published authors, having all his books published by them since the 1970s.
Magvető also continues to publish important Hungarian classic books from the 20th century. These include works by writers like Géza Ottlik and Antal Szerb.
When Magvető publishes translated books from other countries, they choose works that are just as good as the Hungarian books their readers expect. They have published books by famous international authors like Gabriel García Márquez, Elena Ferrante, and Cormac McCarthy.
Magvető Café
On April 11, 2017, Magvető opened a café called Magvető Café in Budapest. It's a place where authors and readers can meet. You can buy Magvető books there, and they also serve coffee, wines, and breakfast.
Directors of Magvető
- Géza Képes and Géza Hegedüs (1955–1957)
- Ferenc Vadász (1957–1961)
- György Kardos (1961–1986)
- Miklós Jovánovics (1986–1990)
- Mária Hegedős (1990–1993)
- Géza Morcsányi (1995–2015)
- Krisztián Nyáry (2015–2016)
- Anna Dávid (2016–)
Magvető Book Series
- Gyorsuló idő (English, "Accelerating Time") – a series about general knowledge (since 1975)
- Körkép (English, "Panorama") – a collection of short stories
- Magvető Kiskönyvtár (English, "Magvető Small Library")
- Rakéta Regényújság and Rakéta Regénytár (English, "Rocket Novel Newspaper" and "Rocket Novel")
- Szép versek (English, "Beautiful Poems") – a collection of poetry
- Tények és tanúk (English, "Facts and Witnesses") – autobiographies and memoirs
- Új Termés (English, "New Crop") – for poets publishing their first book
- Világkönyvtár (English, "World Library") – books from around the world
Notable Books Published by Magvető
- Tibor Déry: Niki: The Story of a Dog (1956)
- Géza Ottlik: School at the Frontier (1959)
- Endre Fejes: Rozsdatemető (1962)
- Imre Kertész: Fatelessness (1975)
- László Krasznahorkai: Satantango (1985)
- László Krasznahorkai: The Melancholy of Resistance (1989)
- Péter Esterházy: Harmonia cælestis (2001)
- Attila Bartis: Tranquility (2001)
- László Krasznahorkai: Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming (2016)
Notable Authors Published by Magvető
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See also
- Hungarian literature
