06 Sep S3 E9: A Close Look at the Romanian Publishing Market with Ana Lotts-Nicolau

By Marleen Seegers, Co-Founder of 2 Seas Agency and Host of The Make Books Travel Podcast

September 6, 2022

^{Ana Lotts-Nicolau (c) Andreea Mitran}

Today’s guest is Ana Lotts-Nicolau of Nemira Publishing House in Romania.

Ana has had an impressive career so far; she currently is the CEO of Nemira, was for many years a member on the Board of the Romanian Publishers’ Association, and if that wasn’t enough on her plate already, in 2021 Ana founded the first audiobook platform on the Romanian market in partnership with her brother Radu Nicolau.

Here are some of the questions I asked Ana:

• What were the challenges of taking on the family business?
• Can you give a brief overview of the current Romanian publishing market? Is it doing well, all things considered?
• What’s the ratio of independent bookstores vs. bookstore chains? Is Amazon a player in Romania?
• How has the audio market developed in Romania in recent years?
• Can you tell us a bit about the audio platform that you launched?
• How do you see the next 5 years or so unfold, for both Nemira, and your audiobook platform?

Show Notes

Ana’s book recommendation:

• The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

About Ana:

Ana Lotts-Nicolau was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. She received her bachelor degree in French and European law at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in 2010, and a second bachelor degree in Romanian law from the University of Bucharest in 2011. Pursuing a path in publishing, she concluded an MA in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University in 2014.

In 2015 she became the CEO of Nemira Publishing House and a member on the Board of the Romanian Publishers’ Association (AER) – a position held between 2015 and 2022.

In 2021 she founded a second business in partnership with her brother, Radu Nicolau, the first audiobook platform on the Romanian market – AudioTribe.