A New Chapter: Wolke Verlag in Spring and Summer 2025

Dear Readers,

Anyone who has stopped by our new location at FMP1 in Berlin over the past few months may have already noticed that there’s a lot going on at Wolke right now. After 45 years in Hofheim am Taunus, we’re now taking the reins as a new team—with new colleagues, new projects, and, yes, a new home in Berlin. It’s time to pause for a moment and share what’s been on our minds this year and what’s still to come.

A Celebration to Kick Things Off

In April, we celebrated our first Wolke Spring Fest to mark the fact that we’re now working right next door to the legendary label Free Music Production. Three days, more than 30 concerts, readings, and talks, over 1,500 guests—for us, this was the best proof that a music publisher can be more than just a place where books are printed. It can be a place where music itself comes to life. We’re now carrying this idea forward with our new concert series , “wolke in concert, ” which will take place regularly at our venue and elsewhere.

The Program: Between the Archives and the Present

In terms of content, our focus remains the same as it has been since 1980: new music, sound art, free improvisation, jazz—and the bridges that can be built between these fields. Since the beginning of the year alone, 16 books have already been published, and more are about to go to press.

This summer, Juana Zimmermann’s book about the women at the Darmstadt Summer Courses is particularly close to our hearts—a story that has gone untold for far too long and that we’re covering in conjunction with the book launch in Darmstadt. Just as important: Joseph Horowitz’s exploration of American classical music culture, which raises uncomfortable questions about the history of Black composers in the U.S. And with *Schalten Sie ab!* we continue our exploration of the history of contemporary music on the radio—as a companion volume to *Radio Cologne Sound*, which was published last year.

Things get academic with Simone Heilgendorff and Karolin Schmitt-Weidmann, who both explore the concept of resonance from different perspectives, as well as with Lorenzo Romano’s study on compositional re-composition. And for everyone who loves covers just as much as content: Our secret favorite this year is *Perspectives on Sylvano Bussotti* —a book that does equal justice to queer opera, drawing, and musical deconstruction.

New: Magazines at Wolke

A real first for us is our entry into the magazine business. In July, we’re launching the Monheim Papers in collaboration with the Monheim Triennale, followed in December by 13 Reasons, a periodical on curatorial practice at the Lothringer 13 Halle in Munich—ten issues over five years, designed as a collection in a slipcase. Neither format is intended as a traditional program booklet, but rather as an independent journalistic space for reflection, process, and nuanced perspectives.

On the Go and Online

Our book booths have already made appearances at several festivals this year, and we’re continuing on: In Darmstadt, we’ll be represented by Juana Zimmermann and Jim Igor Kallenberg’s latest volume in the Caprice series; in October at the Donaueschingen Music Festival; and in November at the Berlin Jazz Festival. At the same time, we’re working on finally integrating our web shop into the main site to make ordering easier. And on Instagram (@wolke_verlag), our two interns, Elisabeth Mrzik and Lisa Kriegsheim, regularly share behind-the-scenes glimpses.

A publishing house that also makes a sound

For us, all of this stems from a simple belief: A publishing house can do more than just publish books. It can open up spaces, spark conversations—and, as our concert series shows, actually make music audible. We look forward to everything that’s still to come this year. And to everyone who listens and reads along.

Sincerely,

Patrick Becker
July 2026