Bastei Lübbe AG: Prominent Addition: Bastei Lübbe AG brings Top Author Mario Giordano Joining as 'Head of Content Development'

Prominent Addition: Bastei Lübbe AG brings
Top Author Mario Giordano Joining as "Head of Content Development"

Cologne, 23 September 2014. There's a prominent addition in the works at Bastei Lübbe AG (WKN A1X3YY): Mario Giordano, one of Germany's most versatile authors, will be joining the Cologne-based media company as its new "Head of Content Development". The appointment, effective 1 October 2014, represents a major coup for the group's digital division. "Our goal is to grow in the coming years, especially through the development and publication of proprietary content. This applies to our classical print business as well as to our joint ventures in the USA and China (planned). We're thrilled to bring Mario Giordano on board. He'll be in a position to help us realize our goals from a central position," announced Thomas Schierack, CEO of Bastei Luebbe AG.

Mario Giordano has succeeded brilliantly as a versatile writer of German light fiction. He has penned numerous novels and screenplays, including the popular "Tatort" and "Polizeiruf 110" TV shows. His Vatican thriller, "Apocalypsis," (Bastei Luebbe) spent several weeks on the best-seller lists. His novel, "Das Experiment," and the accompanying screenplay earned the Bavarian Film Prize. The renowned author has been working closely with the Bastei Luebbe catalogue for the past several years. "Mario Giordano has been consulting with our firm since 2012 on the development of new digital content. Working closely with our in-house team, he created the first German Web novel, ('Apocalypsis') which has seen success beyond Germany's borders," notes CCO Felix Rudloff.

As Head of Content, the 51-year-old Giordano will oversee all development of proprietary print and digital content. The position has a highly intentional international orientation. Going forward, new content will be released not only in Germany, but ideally also in the USA and China. "The English and Chinese markets are clear parts of our future planning. One focus of the new role will be the effective coordination of all activities with the new joint venture in the U.S. and the planned joint venture in China," Rudloff says.

Mario Giordano will report to Board Member Felix Rudloff as do Publisher Marco Schneiders, who is responsible for the entire adult catalogue at Bastei Luebbe, and Mathias Siebel, the General Director of Children's and Teen Books.

Contact for Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Director of PR and Event Marketing
Tel.: +49 (0) 221 / 82 00 28 50
Email: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de

About Bastei Lübbe AG:
Bastei Lübbe AG is a media company organised around its publishing venture. The Cologne-based company currently has around 335 employees. It publishes books, audio books, ebooks and digital products in both the literary and popular science genres, as well as serialised novels and puzzle magazines. Bastei Lübbe is also actively involved in brand licensing and the development, production and distribution of gift, decoration and merchandising articles. Bastei Lübbe has for many years enjoyed an almost unbroken streak as the market leader in the growing segment of hard-cover literature; in 2013 its literary ebooks division was also ranked number one on the market. 2013 saw the company's 60th anniversary celebration and its launch as a publicly traded company. Shares of Bastei Lübbe AG are listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0).