Books for the Soul

"Bokförlaget Bonnier Existens is a merger of two previous imprints, Viva, which was a part of Forum, and LevNu, which was part of W&W," says Ann Pålsson, publisher of Bokförlaget Bonnier Existens. "When we went through a reorganization with Bonnierförlagen, we decided that we shouldn't compete internally, and since Viva and LevNu had a similar publication list, especially within psychology, it felt natural to join together," she says.

Pålsson and her colleague Lisa Ydring quickly realized they needed to broaden their offering, and since both were interested in existential issues — and noticed that there was strong interest — they decided that should be their focus.

"Currently we publish books on psychology, philosophy and spiritual issues," says Pålsson. "Plus some of our titles lie somewhere on the border between literature and non-fiction. The plan is to publish eight to ten titles per year."

Is there a must-have title from any of the upcoming releases?

"This spring we have a book called Trädgårdsterapi (garden therapy) — a psychology book on how to help your body handle stress through nature and gardening," Pålsson says. A typical Bonnier Existens book, it is grounded in research but geared toward a general audience."

Where do you get ideas for the books you want to publish? Do you publish translations?

"We publish only Swedish books for the most part," Pålsson says. "Translations from the U.S., for example, rarely work — we don't have the same views on relationships or beliefs. So we find our own projects. We get ideas from our authors but also by networking, reading newspapers and magazines, following the public debate, going to presentations — by just doing our jobs."

How do you avoid being too ethereal?

"Good question," says Pålsson. "It varies a lot from person to person as to what is too ethereal and what has substance. But we have a reference group of journalists we meet and discuss ideas with. And they come from a totally different viewpoint that is useful for us."

What's the latest trend in your niche?

"Happiness and mindfulness have been hot topics and will continue to be so in 2010," says Pålsson. "I think we'll also see a greater demand for books on something called nature-assisted therapy, and in general on non-religious spirituality."