Aschehoug
Encyclopedia
History
Aschehoug was founded as a bookstore in 1872 on Egertorvet in OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
by cousins, Hieronymus and Halvard Aschehoug. From the start the firm was involved in publishing in a modest way, its output consisting mainly of school books. In 1888, the company was taken over by William Martin Nygaard
William Martin Nygaard
William Martin Nygaard was a Norwegian publisher and politician.Nygaard was born in Kristiansand as the son of educator and linguist Marius Nygaard and his wife Elisabeth "Elise" Martin and brother of Kristen Brunfeldt Nygaard and Finn Nygaard...
and Thorstein Lambrechts (1856-1933), who kept the name while expanding its operations.
In 1900 William Nygaard withdrew from the bookselling side of the business and established a publishing company, which was given the name H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard). In 1935, following the death of William Nygaard, the publishing house turned into a corporation in connection with the inheritance settlement and Williams Nygaard's son, Mads Wiel Nygaard became the Executive Officer.
Aschehoug published an increasing number of important books through the years. Important Norwegian authors first published by Aschehoug have included Nobel Prize laureate, Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.-Biography:Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican...
, as well as Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
, Johan Falkberget
Johan Falkberget
Johan Falkberget, born Johan Petter Lillebakken, was a Norwegian author.-Life and career:Johan Falkberget was born on the Falkberget farm in the Rugldal valley in the Norwegian copper mining municipality of Røros.In 1891, he began to write his Christianus Sextus trilogy, though it was not...
, Hans E. Kinck
Hans E. Kinck
Hans Ernst Kinck was a Norwegian author and philologist who wrote novels, short stories, dramas, and essays.He was born in Øksfjord in Loppa, Finnmark, where his father was the local health inspector. He died in Oslo....
, Aksel Sandemose
Aksel Sandemose
Aksel Sandemose was a novelist, born in Nykøbing, Mors Island, Denmark to a Danish father and a Norwegian mother....
, Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg, born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg was a Norwegian writer.Garborg championed the use of Landsmål , as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into it...
- all of them writers whose works are today regarded as classics of Norwegian literature.
Operations
Its publishing program is divided into three main categories - works of fiction, including books for children and younger readers; works of reference, popular science and handbooks on various hobbies, and serving as the leading Norwegian publishing house for textbooks, for every level of instruction.In 2004, Aschehoug Agency was founded to represent the foreign rights of Forlaget Oktober, Aschehoug and Universitetsforlaget
Universitetsforlaget
Universitetsforlaget AS is a Norwegian academic publishing company, which publishes non-fiction literature and journals. Universitetsforlaget is the main academic press in Norway....
publishing houses. Aschehoug has an interest in several other publishing companies, among them:
- UniversitetsforlagetUniversitetsforlagetUniversitetsforlaget AS is a Norwegian academic publishing company, which publishes non-fiction literature and journals. Universitetsforlaget is the main academic press in Norway....
(100 %) - the main academic press in Norway - Forlaget Oktober (91 %) - formerly the Marxist-Leninist press, now a publisher of fictionFictionFiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
- Norli Gruppen (100 %) - bookstore chain
- Lydbokforlaget (33 %) - audio bookAudio bookAn audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
s - De norske Bokklubbene (48.5 %) - book clubs
- Forlagsentralen (50 %) - distributes more than 75% of all books in Norway
- KunnskapsforlagetKunnskapsforlagetKunnskapsforlaget is a Norwegian publishing company based in Oslo that concentrates on encyclopedias, encyclopedic books, textbooks, and dictonaries. The company, created in 1975, is owned by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag and Aschehoug ....
(50 %) - publishes encyclopediaEncyclopediaAn encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
s
Aschehoug also published Salman Rushdie's book Satanic Verses
Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses was a purported incident where a small number of apparently pagan verses were temporarily included in the Qur'an by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, only to be later removed...
. The company's CEO William Nygaard
William Nygaard
William Nygaard is a retired Norwegian publisher who graduated with a degree in economics in 1967. He is also chairman of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.-Business career:...
was shot and seriously wounded in 1993, presumably as a result of the fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
issued against Rushdie and his publishers.
Executive Officers
- William Martin NygaardWilliam Martin NygaardWilliam Martin Nygaard was a Norwegian publisher and politician.Nygaard was born in Kristiansand as the son of educator and linguist Marius Nygaard and his wife Elisabeth "Elise" Martin and brother of Kristen Brunfeldt Nygaard and Finn Nygaard...
(1900-1935) - Mads Wiel Nygaard (1935-1952)
- Andreas Wiel Nygaard (1952-1955)
- Arthur Holmesland (1955-1973)
- William NygaardWilliam NygaardWilliam Nygaard is a retired Norwegian publisher who graduated with a degree in economics in 1967. He is also chairman of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.-Business career:...
(1974-2010) - Mads Nygaard (2010-present)