Crime writer Friedrich Ani called him the “Godfather of the regional crime novel”. Publisher Hejo Emons died at the age of 73.
Hejo Emons is dead. The Cologne publisher died in his hometown on August 20, 2023, two days after his 73rd birthday. This gave the founded by him. The publisher did not name a cause of death, only mentioning that Hejo Emons was ill.
“Hejo was not only our publishing manager, he was a husband, father, grandfather, brother, confidant, companion, friend,” says the obituary on the homepage. He describes the publisher as an approachable boss: “He never forgot any of our birthdays, he made us sandwiches at the book fair, brought us a loaf of cheese every year when he was on vacation, and in the summer he went around the publishing house and handed out ice cream.”
In 1984, Hermann-Josef Emons, as he was born, founded Emons Verlag in Cologne. The first book that was published there was the city guide “Cologne between Heaven and Ääd”. The regional focus was clear from the start.
“Godfather of Regional Crime Fiction”
In 1985, Christoph Gottwald (68) published “Tödlicher Klüngel”, the first novel in the “Köln-Krimi” series. The book is considered the first German regional thriller. Crime series from various other regions followed later. Today there are 40 series in the publishing house. So Hejo Emons was the publisher who started the wave of successful regional crime novels that have meanwhile also spilled over onto television.
The Munich writer Friedrich Ani (64), who is best known for his novels about the investigator Tabor Sueden, then also called Hejo Emons the “Godfather of the regional crime novel”. Emons only made him a crime writer on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
The popular travel guide “111 Places You Must Have Seen” also comes from Emons. Volume one appeared in 2008, of course about Cologne. There are now over 360 editions.
The future of the publishing house should also be secured without its founder. His daughter Franziska Emons-Hausen is said to continue him “in his spirit”, as the website says.
Source: Stern
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