This series features interviews with independent photobook publishers. This month’s interview is with, Angelika and Markus Hartmann of Hartmann Projects and Books.

Don’t Take Pictures: How would you describe Hartmann Projects and Books to someone who has never seen your books?

Angelika & Markus: We publish books, mainly photography and a few art books that deal with topics we are interested in. Our books should always be sutiable in their design and matching the production to their content, so that each book has a different form, design, size etc. We try to treat each book we publish as its own adventure and study of a new theme or world we are entering into, whether this is the archive of an artist (like Arnold Odermatt) or a theme (like the Sibylle, Berlin 1945-2000, or Continent books).

DTP: What series of events led you to start your own publishing house?

A&M: We both left the big publishing world in 2010 (Angelika) and 2013 (Markus) with the idea of trying something different, smaller, more content-led, less marketing-led and not necessarily publishing but more exhibition curating, marketing and acting as agents for artists and ideas. We first started Hartmann Projects following these ideas but some (un)fortunate circumstances caused us to start Hartmann Books in 2016.

When trying to pitch ideas, artists, exhibitions to institutions, the media, collectors etc., it became clear to us that the old fashioned printed and bound book is still the best way to describe and summarize an idea or artist’s work—even more so if it is a good and beautiful book. We started with a small, what I would call a romantic Cindy Sherman book in early 2016 and our first big seller and book was the Sibylle in December 2016, which became a big success as a book and exhibition. The tour ends this October, unfortunately. It had seven venues but only in German-speaking countries and it would deserved so much to be shown abroad…

DTP: How do you find photographers that you want to work with and how do you determine what might make a good photo book?

A&M: We are not looking for main stream names and themes, we look for the cultural gaps and the unexpected surprise. We’d rather discover someone, something that was not published before than do another book with photographers that already had many monographs. Again, the Sibylle book is a good example for this but also the KLEINSTADT by Ute Mahler and Werner Mahler and also some recent publications like Tree and Soil by Robert Knoth and Antoinette De Jong. For inexplicable reasons, we seem to make good books with couples (like the Mahlers and Knoth/De Jong) being a couple in life ourselves.

DTP: Have there been any books that have been particularly rewarding to produce or that you felt a special kinship with?

A&M: Certainly our latest book (it is always the latest. If you ask a publisher, he tries to sell…) DIVIDED WE STAND by Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer (another couple!) as it has been our biggest risk so far. The project came short noticed and there was no easy funding available plus when we tried to find funding COVID-19 shut down Europe. Sometime in Summer 2020 we simply had to decide whether to go ahead and print 2.500 copies at full risk (which for us is normally a very high print run, when there are no guaranteed museum sales or other institutional orders) or to stop the publication.

We decided to go ahead as we look at this book as our modest effort to help a discussion about the future of democracy and also make a statement about the U.S. society. This book may be more important in decades to come as it will allow us to look back at the years 2019-2020, in the aftermath of events still to come. The future is still untold… but the theme was perfect for September/October 2020 and the book and work by Braschler Fischer got all the media attention you could hope for as a publisher.

We helped a lot I should say to generate this media attention as we spend a lot of money and time in publicity. These days, you can only sell a book when there is publicity. Books without publicity only sell to the FFF: close fans, friends and family. Sometimes that is enough for a niche book but sometimes we want to reach further!

DTP: What are some forthcoming titles are you particularly excited about?

A&M:  We have a hard time talking about future projects as we are at this moment so much involved with this fall/winter books that are all coming out in the next weeks and we also do not want to give too much away. But there will be more books with the Mahlers and other Berlin-based or East German photographers. And some books need to stay secret as they are meant to be surprises! And especially in COVID times it is a bit harder to predict which titles will be published on time and which titles might be postponed.

DTP: What was one of the most challenging books that you have published and why?

A&M: Probably DIVIDED WE STAND as we took the highest risk so far. We want to stay in business for many more years. When we risk €25,000-30,000 on a book and it fails, it leaves a big scar in our finances. So the books had better sell and have a second print run. So far, this concept worked quite well for us. Almost all the books of the past years were more successful than we calculated and some of the older books started selling years after they were published because our name and program suddenly became more visible nationally and internationally.

DTP: It seems that an increasing number of photographers, at all stages of their careers, are looking to publish a book. What should photographers think about before they embark on the book process?  

A&M: Do you really have pictures or a story to tell that holds a book and is worthwhile spending the resources of producing the book? I think our carbon footprint will be more and more an issue in any production process. I see so many books I wished would never have been printed. This is also why we try to be very selective, stay small, and only publish what we really fathom and want to share with the world.

Just publishing a book will not make you famous. The book is only part of the bigger picture. And you always have to keep in mind that there are a lot (too many) books published today. Only the books that have a very individual language, look and theme will get publicity and then contribute to a photographer’s career. 

You also do not need to go into high print runs (and costs) right away. If you do not find a publisher, why not self-publish 100 or 200 copies (using the newest Inkjet book printing technology) and send them to festivals, awards, show it to booksellers and publishers. If your work is good it will find its way. And yes, you have to be a good self promoter or have somebody to do that for you. 

The assumption that you (still being unknown) show your work to a publisher and he takes all the risk and publishes your book is romantic. It happens but not too often. And you might want to check the publisher’s other books and marketing, publicity efforts before deciding which publisher to work with.

Visit the Hartmann Projects and Books website to learn more about their books.