Klaus Willbrand
Klaus Willbrand | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 August 1941 Essen, Germany |
| Died | 29 January 2025 (aged 83) Cologne, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Bookseller, literary commentator |
| Known for | Founding Berlin Verlag, antiquarian bookstore in Cologne, bookfluencer on social media |
Klaus Willbrand (5 August 1941 – 29 January 2025) was a notable German bookseller and literary commentator.
Biography
Willbrand, born in Essen and brought up in Leverkusen, undertook an apprenticeship during the 1960s at the Cologne bookstore Witsch & Co., achieving the position of "First Assortment" in 1962.
That same year, he encountered author Rolf Dieter Brinkmann and established his own publishing firm in Leverkusen, producing a limited run of Brinkmann's poetry collection Ihr nennt es Sprache (You call it language). Although these editions were initially destroyed due to printing errors, they were eventually published several years later. While working as an editor in Berlin, Willbrand met Ulrike Meinhof and played a role in founding Berlin Verlag in 1994. He returned to the Rhineland toward the late 1990s and co-wrote Einfach Literatur – Eine Einladung, which was planned for release in June 2025.
In 2001, Willbrand inaugurated an antiquarian bookstore in Cologne with a focus on fiction. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected revenue, placing the shop at risk of shutting down by early 2024. Nevertheless, in March 2024, together with business associate Daria Razumovych, he initiated social media profiles on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. His literary review and recommendation videos rapidly gained popularity, establishing him as a prominent "Bookfluencer."
Willbrand died in Cologne on 29 January 2025 at age 83.