udgivers

Udgivere, plural of udgiver, is a Danish term that refers to the publisher or publishing entity responsible for issuing and disseminating written or digital works. A udgiver can be an individual who acts as a publisher, but more commonly it denotes a company or organization such as a publishing house. The udgiver holds responsibility for the publication process and the business aspects connected with a work.

The role of a udgiver typically includes acquiring rights and manuscripts, coordinating editing and design, overseeing production, and arranging printing or digital distribution. It also covers marketing, distribution to bookstores and platforms, and rights management, including negotiating author royalties, licensing, and, where relevant, open-access or re-use arrangements. In practice, authors sign contracts with a udgiver, which then acts as the legal and commercial entity behind the publication.

Udgivere vary in scope and type. They include commercial publishing houses, university presses, government or state publishers, nonprofit or charity presses, and digital-only or self-publishing platforms. In Danish usage, the term is often used alongside forlag, with udgiver emphasizing the publishing entity or rights holder.

In a broader context, the Danish concept parallels utgivare in Norwegian and utgivare in Swedish, and the English term is publisher. The role of udgivere has evolved with digital publishing, encompassing e-books, online distribution, metadata management, and digital rights considerations. Examples of well-known Danish udgivere include Gyldendal, Politikens Forlag, and Lindhardt og Ringhof.