Lucien Leitess, born 1950 in Zurich, Switzerland, studied history, philosophy, and German literature. He has worked as a radio/TV salesman, freelance journalist, and exhibition organizer (anniversary exhibition of cartoonist Martin Disteli). In 1975, he founded the Unionsverlag, which he continues to run today. “Great storytellers – strong stories,” was the motto from the beginning, with a focus on work from regions that were on the fringes of the European literary scene. In addition to publishing books, he programmed the publishing software EDDY (DOS version), as well as the tool for the global conversion to ISBN-13 for the International ISBN Organisation. He is developing the website of the Union Publishing House and the automated production of e-books based on transpect. In 2015, he was named “Publisher of the Year” by the industry magazine Buchmarket. In 2017, he was awarded the Culture Prize of the Canton of Zurich.