Mission
Zagava aims to publish and distribute books produced to the highest standards, both as far as the contents and the production values are concerned. Zagava’s books transcend the boundaries of the weird, the supernatural, the decadent and mystical.
History
2013, chance, if you might call it that, placed the manuscript of Reggie Oliver’s novel “Virtue in Danger” into my hands. It eventually became the first, then still jointly published Zagava book. What a wonderful opportunity, what great memories!
My beginnings in the booktrade date back to 2002 when I had started an antiquarian online bookstore.
My main bread-winning occupation back then was — and still now is — working as a camera operator and photographer.
For the next one-and-a-half years I fully financed and co-published a number of books with an editor from Romania, until severing those ties and becoming an independent imprint as Zagava in December of 2014.
Since then I have enjoyed the privilege and honour of publishing a number of unusual and genre-defying books from many brilliant authors and artists.
I aim to reach the highest standards, both as far as the content and the production values are concerned. Zagava books transcend the boundaries of the weird, the supernatural, the decadent and mystical. Expect the Unexpected!
— Jonas Ploeger
Sustainability
Zagava books are printed on acid free FSC certified paper on Blue Angel eco-certified printing machines. Our electricity is exclusively sourced from regenerative energy. All packaging material is made from recycled paper.
All books are printed and bound in Germany.
Trust & Security
ZAGAVA is proud member of IOBA.org. “The Independent Online Booksellers Association is an international trade association founded in 1999 for the purpose of ensuring the preservation of traditional bookselling values in the face of rapid developments in the world of online bookselling. Members take responsibility for fostering mutual trust and respect between booksellers and customers by providing reliable services and conducting themselves with fairness and integrity, as detailed in the IOBA´s Code of Ethics.” (ioba.org/pages/code-of-ethics)
In addition, ZAGAVA is member of the German branch (VG Wort) of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisation protecting authors’ and publishers’ rights and of the Fine Press BookAssociation (fpba.com).
Furthermore this is a SSL certificated website to ensure a safe shopping experience.
Wunderkammer
You probably didn’t know that even before conceiving Zagava in 2013, I had already been creating and selling unusual books online since 2002. I designed and commissioned re-bindings of limited editions by publishers whose works I admired and created book objects using special innovative concepts and materials. It was great fun to correspond with authors and illustrators in order to make exclusive books even more unique.
The next step was to design prototypes for non-existing books and some of these later became blueprints for books of my own imprint Zagava. Here you may see the results of some of my efforts (more will follow) and although most of these are not for sale (anymore) I am open to design bespoke bindings for your Zagava collection and library.
Wunderkammer is Zagava’s showcase for bibliophiles, where exclusive custom-made books and book-related objects may be found. Wunderkammer items are made to order from only the finest and highest quality materials. Each Wunderkammer creation is produced by the most experienced and capable craftsmen using both new and long-forgotten techniques.