Happy 175th

It isn’t every day that a book publisher celebrates its 175th birthday. So when Swedish publishing house Albert Bonniers Förlag reached the venerable age of 175, the company decided to mark the occasion with something out of the ordinary: a party for 550 including Sweden’s most famous authors and a liberal sprinkling of foreign book publishers, complete with champagne and lobster, a full orchestra and songs commissioned for the occasion.

“We started planning already two years ago,” says Anna Tillgren, who normally works as public relations manager for Albert Bonniers Förlag but has been detailed to work full time with the celebration since early May. “And the result was a big success.”

The party, hosted by publishers Albert Bonnier and Eva Bonnier and CEO Jonas Axelsson, was held at Nedre Manilla, the Bonnier family mansion on Djurgården in Stockholm. Guests were brought by boat from Stockholm’s Old Town, and mingled under a huge tent put up for the occasion. Serenaded by opera singers – including songs written for the occasion by composer Thomas Jennefelt and set to three poems by Nobel prizewinner Tomas Tranströmer – guests also watched a film produced for the occasion by Karin af Klintberg and narrated by Lena Endre. They also received English and Swedish copies of the book Manilla, also commissioned for the anniversary of author Per I. Gedin. The book covers the history of the family mansion with its numerous portraits of authors from the Albert Bonnier Förlag stable over the years.

“While the party was the biggest celebration of the birthday, it’s not all we’re doing,” says Tillgren. “We’ll have a party in the fall at our offices for all of us working at Bonnierförlagen, and at the Frankfurt Book Fair we’ll be marking the occasion, as well as in our annual Christmas book. But the next thing will be something a bit different: We’re launching an old-fashioned board game called ‘Litteraden’ in honor of the anniversary – it will be for sale at online bookstore Adlibris already next week!”