Michael Then

Born 1960, working for Weltbild GmbH since 2020 as Head of Category Management Media. Weltbild is one of the TOP 5 Booksellers in Germany, mainly focused on a D2C-strategy with a multi-channel strategy: from a monthly Catalogue over shops and a digital platform.

Previously Director Education at Elsevier; Head of Marketing at Piper, before that in a similar position at the Penguin Random House publishing group and Ullstein Heyne List. Career start

1988 at Callwey Verlag and before that at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich as a research assistant on the book studies program.

I have seen so many ideas, how content should be and what is the best way to reach book readers. All these models have failed since the internet appeared and new competitors entered the state of producing and selling books. Some people think, that the marketplace “Text” is losing against “Picture” and “Audio”. I don´t think they are right; I still believe in the power of storytelling, in reading and in the future of stories. That is why my motto is: We tell ourselves stories in order to live (Joan Didion).

Voluntary work: since 1999 Chairman of the working group Munich book show, 2015 to 2021 Honorary Chairman of the Association of German Publishers and Booksellers in Bavaria. Member of the Board of the Munich NS Documentation Center Association