Bert Bakker was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 publishing company whose main focus is on literature and language. It was founded by Bert Bakker

Bert Bakker

Lambertus Jozef Bakker was a Dutch writer and publisher in the Netherlands. He wrote literary studies, two novels, poetry, and children's books. In World War II he was involved in the Dutch Resistance and assisted in the publication of Vrij Nederland...

 in 1953. While being part of PCM Uitgevers

PCM Uitgevers

PCM Uitgevers was a Dutch publishing company. Until 2007 Apax Partners held a controlling stake in the company. In December 2009, it merged with De Persgroep to become De Persgroep Nederland...

, it merged with Prometheus, until the two became independent again in 2007.

History

The publishing company was founded by "legendary" publisher Bert Bakker, who was succeeded by his nephew, also named Bert Bakker, in 1969. The younger Bakker's tenure was marked by conflict; he himself had little knowledge of literature and kept the company afloat by publishing a number of non-literary books. Bakker was forced to resign from the company in 1993, "een puinzooi achterlatend" ("leaving a mess"). The company merged with Prometheus, another publishing company, and the joint group was owned by PCM Uitgevers

PCM Uitgevers

PCM Uitgevers was a Dutch publishing company. Until 2007 Apax Partners held a controlling stake in the company. In December 2009, it merged with De Persgroep to become De Persgroep Nederland...

. Bakker was succeeded by Mai Spijkers, who had earlier been an editor for Bakker but had been forced out and, credited with a keen eye for business, had made the competitor Prometheus a success; he led Prometheus/Bert Bakker after then-president Van Albada left the company in 2003. Prometheus/Bert Bakker became one of the largest literary publishers in the Netherlands, publishing best-selling authors such as Connie Palmen

Connie Palmen

Aldegonda Petronella Huberta Maria "Connie" Palmen is a Dutch author.Palmen debuted with the novel De wetten , published in the USA as The Laws , translated by Richard Huijing...

, Maria Stahlie, Tim Krabbé

Tim Krabbé

Tim Krabbé is a Dutch journalist and novelist.Krabbé was born in Amsterdam. His writing has appeared in most major periodicals in the Netherlands. He is known to Dutch readers for his novel De Renner , first published in 1978...

, Hafid Bouazza

Hafid Bouazza

Hafid Bouazza is a Moroccan-Dutch writer. Bouazza came to the Netherlands in October 1977 as a seven-year-old boy. He lived with his parents in the village Arkel, near Gorinchem, until he went to study Arabic language and literature at the University of Amsterdam. He received the E...

, and Martin Bril, besides prominent historians and politicians such as Frits van Oostrom

Frits van Oostrom

Frits van Oostrom , born in Utrecht, Netherlands, is University Professor for the Humanities at the Utrecht University. In 1999 he was a visiting Professor at Harvard for the Erasmus Chair. From September 2004 to June 2005, he was a fellow of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study . He was...

, Wouter Bos

Wouter Bos

Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...

 and Wijnand Duyvendak

Wijnand Duyvendak

Anton Johan Wijnand Duijvendak is a Dutch politician. He is a former member of the House of Representatives for GreenLeft.Duyvendak is the eldest son of a minister from Zeist....

.

In 2007, Prometheus/Bert Bakker left PCM to continue independently, led by Mai Spijkers.

Bert Bakker -both the company and the owner- were known for their fierce support of Dutch poets (against the grain of commercialism), and supported and published authors such as Paul van Ostaijen

Paul van Ostaijen

Paul van Ostaijen was a Flemish poet and writer.Van Ostaijen was born in Antwerp. His nickname was Mister 1830, because of his habit of walking along the streets of Antwerp clothed as a dandy from that year....

, Adriaan Roland Holst

Adriaan Roland Holst

Adriaan Roland Holst was a Dutch writer, nicknamed the "Prince of Dutch Poets". He was the second winner, in 1948, of the Constantijn Huygens Prize...

, Martinus Nijhoff

Martinus Nijhoff

Martinus Nijhoff was a Dutch poet and essayist. He studied literature in Amsterdam and law in Utrecht. His debut was made in 1916 with his volume De wandelaar...

, Gerrit Achterberg

Gerrit Achterberg

Gerrit Achterberg was a Dutch poet. His early poetry concerned a desire to be united with a beloved in death.Achterberg was born in Nederlangbroek in the Netherlands as the third son of a family of nine children. He was raised as a Protestant within the Calvinist tradition. His father was a coach...

, and Neeltje Maria Min; the latter's Voor wie ik liefheb wil ik heten became the most successful Dutch collection of poetry ever.