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 famous Hungarian book publishing company. It is located in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. Magvető mainly publishes exciting books, including stories by Hungarian writers and authors from all over the world.
Contents
History of Magvető
Magvető started in 1955. It was first part of the Hungarian Writers' Association. Its main job was to publish new Hungarian stories and classic Hungarian books. But it also published books from other countries right from the start.
In the early days, Magvető had a friendly competition with another publisher called Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó. Magvető became known for publishing books that were a bit different. These books sometimes started interesting discussions about ideas or art. Some famous books published early on include Rozsdatemető by Endre Fejes and Hajnali háztetők by Géza Ottlik. Magvető also published works by many important writers like Magda Szabó and Sándor Weöres.
After 1956, Magvető became a state-owned company. It used to have its own bookshop on Szent István Boulevard. But later, this shop joined a larger network of bookstores called Libri.
Leaders of Magvető
The person who helped start Magvető was Géza Képes. He was a poet and a translator. Géza Képes was a co-director of Magvető. Another famous writer, János Pilinszky, even worked there as a proofreader for the first books.
Géza Képes left Magvető in 1957 due to political changes in Hungary. Ferenc Vadász then took over as director. In 1961, György Kardos became the head of Magvető. He led the company for about 25 years, which is the longest time anyone has been director. Under his leadership, Magvető became one of the most successful Hungarian publishers. It published books by many well-known writers and also helped new, young writers get their first books published.
After György Kardos, Miklós Jovánovics and Mária Hegedős became directors.
In 1993, Magvető became a private company. It was bought by Líra és Lant Kereskedelmi Rt., which is now called Líra Könyv Zrt. Magvető has been working as an independent part of the Líra publishing group ever since.
From 1995 to 2015, Géza Morcsányi was the director. Under his guidance, Magvető became one of the most respected publishers of Hungarian fiction. They published books by very important Hungarian authors, including Imre Kertész. He is the only Hungarian writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Magvető has won the "Publisher of the Year" award many times from the Hungarian Publishers' and Booksellers' Association.
From 2015 to 2016, Krisztián Nyáry led Magvető. Then, on July 1, 2016, Anna Dávid became the new director. She used to be the Editor-in-Chief. The person who worked at Magvető the longest was Györgyi Bezúr. She was a technical manager and worked there from 1961 until the end of 2016.
Book Series and Sales
Magvető has published many popular book series. One was Rakéta Regényújság, a "Rocket Novel Newspaper," which ran for many years. Other successful series include Világkönyvtár (World Library) and Magvető Kiskönyvtár (Magvető Small Library). They also have a series called Új Termés (New Crop), which helps new poets publish their first books.
Magvető also publishes educational books in the Gyorsuló idő (Accelerating Time) series. Since 1963, they have published Szép versek (Beautiful Poems) every year. This is a very important collection of modern poetry. Since 1964, they have also published Körkép (Panorama), which is a collection of the best Hungarian short stories.
Magvető quickly became a very important cultural organization in Hungary. In 1966, they published over two million books. By 1981, they published 5.4 million books in one year! Today, they publish a large number of all Hungarian literary books.
Authors and Awards
Magvető has always supported both well-known and new writers. They published Ferenc Juhász's poetry collection in 1955. They also published cartoonist Tibor Kaján's book in the same year.
Magvető is known for finding and promoting young, talented writers. They help these new authors start their careers and continue to publish their works. Some of the young writers they publish include Lili Kemény and Benedek Totth.
The AEGON Art Award celebrates the best Hungarian fiction each year. Many books published by Magvető have won this award. Since 2006, 11 books from Magvető have won the AEGON Art Award. This shows how high-quality their publications are.
Magvető publishes many Hungarian authors who live abroad, especially from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Péter Esterházy was one of Magvető's longest-published authors. He published all his works with them since the 1970s.
Magvető also keeps many classic 20th-century Hungarian books in print. These include works by Antal Szerb and Sándor Tar.
When it comes to books from other countries, Magvető chooses works that are just as good as the Hungarian books they publish. They have published famous international authors like Gabriel García Márquez, Elena Ferrante, and Michel Houellebecq.
Magvető Café
On April 11, 2017, Magvető opened a special place called Magvető Café. It's on Dohány Street in Budapest. This café is a cool spot where authors and readers can meet up. You can buy Magvető's books there, and also enjoy coffee, wines, and breakfast.
Directors of Magvető
- Géza Képes and Géza Hegedüs (1955–1957)
- Ferenc Vadász (1957–1961)
- Kardos György (újságíró) (1961–1986)
- Miklós Jovánovics (1986–1990)
- Mária Hegedős (1990–1993)
- Géza Morcsányi (1995–2015)
- Krisztián Nyáry (2015–2016)
- Dávid Anna (könyvkiadó) (2016–present)
Book Series by Magvető
Magvető publishes many different book series. Here are some of them:
- Gyorsuló idő (English: "Accelerating Time") – a series about general knowledge.
- Körkép (English: "Panorama") – a collection of short stories.
- Magvető Kiskönyvtár (English: "Magvető Small Library") – a series of smaller books.
- Rakéta Regényújság (English: "Rocket Novel Newspaper") – a popular magazine-style novel series.
- Szép versek (English: "Beautiful Poems") – an annual collection of poetry.
- Tények és tanúk (English: "Facts and Witnesses") – a series of autobiographies and memoirs.
- Új Termés (English: "New Crop") – a series that introduces new poets.
- Világkönyvtár (English: "World Library") – a series featuring modern books from around the world.
Notable Books Published by Magvető
Magvető has published many important and well-known books over the years. Here are a few examples:
- Tibor Déry: Niki: The Story of a Dog (1956)
- Géza Ottlik: School at the Frontier (1959)
- Endre Fejes: Rozsdatemető (1962)
- Imre Kertész: Fatelessness (1975)
- Péter Esterházy: Termelési-regény (kisssregény) (1979)
- László Krasznahorkai: Satantango (1985)
- Attila Bartis: Tranquility (2001)
- László Krasznahorkai: Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming (2016)
See also
- Hungarian literature
