Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) is a Dutch publishing group of fiction and nonfiction books that is active also in Belgium. It operates through multiple units. Its headquarters are located in Utrecht. The company is a subsidiary ofSimon & Schuster.
Bosch & Keuning was founded in 1925 when the name of Christian publisher E.J. Bosch J.Bzn was coupled with that of his companion Pieter Keuning. In 1997 the graphical activities were split from Bosch & Keuning, after which the company expanded as a publisher. In 1999 Veen Uitgevers Groep spun off from publishing groupWolters Kluwer. Veen referred to L.J. Veen, founder of one of the units, founded in 1887. In the Spring of 2001 Veen and Bosch & Keuning merged into Veen Bosch & Keuning.
TheNoordelijke Dagblad Combinatie merged in March 2005 with Veen Bosch & Keuning to form NDC|VBK.ThiemeMeulenhoff was also part of the media conglomerate. On 1 June 2007, the NDC Mediagroep was established as the subsidiary of NDC|VDK that would handle interests in periodicals, radio and TV. The group's interest in radio and TV was temporary. In late 2012 the VBK and ThiemeMeulenhoff book publication activities were spun off. As a result, the NDC|VBK became obsolete and VBK, ThiemeMeulenhoff,NDC Mediagroep became independent companies again.
In December 2017 Veen Bosch & Keuning acquiredBruna.[1][2] In 2019, it sold Bruna to theAudax Groep, who already owned AKO, Bruna's main competitor.
In May 2024, Simon & Schuster acquired Veen Bosch & Keuning. The acquisition includes all of VBK's imprints in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as its sister companies, the audiobook producer Thinium, and Bookchoice, a subscription-based platform for e-books and audiobooks. This is the first expansion of Simon & Schuster into a non-English market.[3]
Van Dale Lexicografie publishes theVan Dale dictionary, the authoritative Dutch-language dictionary. It also publishes bilingual dictionaries for other languages, translated from and to Dutch, and offers language courses and translation services.
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| Parent company | Veen Bosch & Keuning |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1851 (Sijthoff), 1947 (Luitingh) 1989 (merged) |
| Founder | Albertus Willem Sijthoff |
| Country of origin |  Netherlands |
| Headquarters location | Amsterdam |
| Distribution | Dutch language market |
| Imprints | Luitingh, Sijthoff, Poema Pocket, Luitingh Fantasy, Uitgeverij Luitingh, Mouria |
| Official website | luitingh-sijthoff.nl |
Luitingh-Sijthoff releasesfiction andnonfiction books for theDutch language market.
The A.W. Sijthoff company was founded byAlbertus Willem Sijthoff inLeiden in 1851 and Luitingh was established in 1947.[4] Sijthoff, who rose to prominence in the trade of translated books, was opposed to a petition for the Netherlands to become a signatory to theBerne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1899 because he felt that the international copyright restrictions would stifle the country's publishing industry.[5] The Sijthoff office was attacked bycar bomb after theHaagsche Courant, owned at the time by the Sijthoff family, printed a negative article about business activities in the 1980s by acollection agency owned by Dutch criminal Eef Hoos.[6]
In 1989, the A.W. Sijthoff andLuitingh publishing companies merged to form Luitingh-Sijthoff,[4] which is headquartered inAmsterdam.[7]
The books in Luitingh-Sijthoff's catalogue are published under a number of specializedimprints, including Luitingh, Luitingh Fantasy, Mouria, Poema-Pocket, Sijthoff, and Uitgeverij L.[4] Luitingh publishes Dutch versions of popularEnglish language novels by writers that includeDan Brown,Michael Crichton,Stephen King,Dean Koontz,Robert Ludlum andThomas Harris.[4] Since its establishment in 1992, the Luitingh Fantasy imprint publishes authorsRaymond E. Feist,Terry Goodkind,Bernhard Hennen,Robin Hobb,Robert Jordan andGeorge R.R. Martin.[4] Poema-Pocket is a publisher ofmass market paperbacks by popular fiction authorsPatricia Cornwell,Jill Mansell andDanielle Steel.[4] Sijthoff publishes thrillers and nonfiction books for casual readers, includingDe zaak Natalee Holloway (The Case of Natalee Holloway) byJoran van der Sloot.[8] Since 2005, Uitgeverij L (Publishing House L) publishescartoon collections andgraphic novels and bycomic book authors such asChristophe Arleston andMartin Lodewijk as well asmanga artists such asOsamu Tezuka.[4]
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