German book trade magazine Buchreport closes down

German book trade magazine Buchreport has closed down after parent company Harenberg Kommunikation filed for bankruptcy.

Publishers Weekly reported last month that the magazine had been put up for sale. A statement on Buchreport’s website today (3rd January) confirmed the magazine was shutting down. It said Harenberg ceased operations at the beginning of 2024 and thanked staff for their hard work. The editorial team thanked contacts within the industry for their trust and patience, even when facing difficult questioning.

Buchreport was founded by the Dortmund publisher Bodo Harenberg and was first published on 11th September 1970. It was best known in Germany as the company that compiles the bestseller lists published in Der Spiegel magazine. 

In a separate release, Spiegel announced that their bestseller lists will now be provided by the eBook cooperative, which includes 850 independent bookshops, “together with Media Control and the Spiegel cultural department". The Spiegel bestseller lists will also be published in eBook’s monthly magazine BuchMarkt.

Harenberg Kommunikation was acquired in 2021 from Spiegel by Cologne publisher Timo Busch and his partners, owners of the BuschGlatz Group.