After 33 years, it is all over. Doris Bintner and Eric Steffen, the managers of the Op der Lay publishing house, have announced their difficult decision to cease publishing activities. They have run the business on a part-time basis with a great deal of personal commitment and idealism for the past few years. For Steffen, the birth of his daughter in September 2024 changed everything. He now wants to turn a new page and spend more time with his family.
Renée Weber and Robert Gollo Steffen founded the publishing house Op der Lay in 1993. This marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Luxembourgish literature. From crime novels by Marco Schank to children's books for adults by Roland Meyer, and the literary career of writer and musician Claudine Muno to picture books by Renée Weber, the Op der Lay publishing house has a little bit of everything. For many years, the publishing house has helped shape Luxembourgish literature.
Books from Op der Lay have also been honored with major literary prizes. The Prix Servais was awarded to Claudine Muno for Frigo in 2004 and to Roland Meyer for Roughmix in 2015. Op der Lay books often won the Luxembourg Book Prize, even taking both the Literature and Children's and Young Adult Literature categories in 2016 and 2017.
In 2016, the prize went to Claudine Muno for Komm net kräischen (Don't come crying) and to Renée Weber for the children's book Eng Maus am Haus (A mouse in the house). In 2023, Claudine Muno won the book prize once again for Dëst ass net däi Liewen (This is not your life).
In 2017, Charles Meder won the book prize in the literature category for his debut novel, Aname. Roland Meyer won the prize in the Children's and Young Adult Literature category for TelMo, his children's book for adults that tells the disturbing story of a boy who would be described as a disruptor nowadays.
Gast Groeber was awarded the European Prize for Literature (EUPL) for All Dag verstoppt en aneren (Each day hides another) in 2016.
An impressive track record for a small publishing house!
In 2019, there was a change in leadership at Op der Lay: Robert Gollo Steffen stepped down. At the 2019 Luxembourgish Book Prize ceremony, Gollo Steffen was surprised with a special gift: Eng Rees am Krees (Going around in circles), a book in which many Op der Lay authors contributed to honour Gollo's career as a musician, author, and publisher.
Ever since then, Eric Steffen and his associate, Doris Bintner, have been running the publishing house. Besides publishing books, their responsibilities extend to ensuring that people can access them, whether through bookstores or the publisher's online shop.
This online shop features many little gems from Luxembourgish literary history; for example, La Quête (The quest), the debut novel by rising talent Antoine Pohu, and Auf Rufweite (Within earshot), a story by Margret Steckel, winner of the Batty-Weber Prize. Nonfiction books are also included, such as Confinement Cocktails – which features 48 cocktail recipes compiled by authors Françoise Reuter and Daniel Eischen during the 2020 pandemic – and cookbook Cook it Like Tammy (unfortunately, already sold out). Almost everything from the last 30 years of publishing history is still available, but you'll have to be quick because the online shop is only accessible until 3 July.
I have fond memories of many wonderful reading moments thanks to the books from Op der Lay. Here are just a few of my personal highlights from the programme:
Thank you to the entire Op der Lay team for the last 33 years. Best wishes to Doris and Eric for the future!
