Edition Kirchhof & Franke

Edition Kirchhof & Franke (often abbreviated EKF) is a German academic publishing house founded in 1998 and based in Leipzig and Berlin. It describes itself as a Wissenschaftsverlag — a scholarly publisher — dedicated to issuing selected specialist literature in the humanities and cultural studies. Its publishing programme appears under the imprint "EKF Wissenschaft" and spans a broad set of disciplines, including theology, religious studies, contemporary history, regional history, urban studies, political science, philosophy, sociology, Scandinavian studies, literary studies, linguistics and pedagogy. The house is a purely specialist academic publisher. Its output ranges from classic printed books to electronic and digital publications, and it places emphasis on the interplay of content and form: high-quality design is intended to underscore the scholarly quality of the works it publishes. Alongside its publishing activity, EKF offers layout and typesetting services (Satz & Grafik) to clients independently of any publication in the Edition Kirchhof & Franke, drawing on long-standing and varied layout experience. EKF is organized as a GbR (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts), a German civil-law partnership, and is led by its founders Dr. Tobias Kirchhof and Jan-Gunnar Franke. Its catalogue includes monographs, edited volumes and series. Notable series and titles include the Leipziger Theologische Beiträge (LThB), the Schriftenreihe des Vereins für Universitätsgeschichte in Frankfurt (Oder), and works in contemporary history such as the volume "Kräftig vorangetriebene Detailforschungen" (Abt. Zeitgeschichte, Bd. 6, 2012). As a small, independent scholarly publisher, EKF serves a niche readership of researchers, academic libraries and institutions rather than the general trade market. Its list is concentrated in German-language scholarship, with a strong presence in theology, church history and regional and university history, particularly around Leipzig and the Viadrina university tradition in Frankfurt (Oder).

Edition Kirchhof & Franke was founded in 1998 as a scholarly publishing house and has operated since then as a GbR (civil-law partnership) with locations in Leipzig and Berlin. From the outset it defined itself as a Wissenschaftsverlag — a specialist academic publisher — committed to publishing selected literature in the humanities and cultural studies. Its founders, Dr. Tobias Kirchhof and Jan-Gunnar Franke, remain the named principals of the firm. The house built its identity around a focused, discipline-based catalogue rather than a broad trade list. Its declared fields include theology, religious studies, contemporary history, regional history, urban studies, political science, philosophy, sociology, Scandinavian studies, literary studies, linguistics and pedagogy. Publications appear under the imprint "EKF Wissenschaft," and the list has grown to include both classic print products and electronic or digital publications. A distinctive feature of EKF's model is the combination of publishing with a service business: the firm offers layout and typesetting (Satz & Grafik) independently of its own publications, leveraging its design experience. This reflects its stated principle that the high-quality design of its products should underscore their scholarly quality. Among the series and titles that illustrate its profile are the Leipziger Theologische Beiträge (LThB), a theological series whose seventh volume (by Tobias Kirchhof, on Friedrich Schleiermacher in Landsberg an der Warthe) was announced as a new release, and the Schriftenreihe des Vereins für Universitätsgeschichte in Frankfurt (Oder), whose second volume — a translation of Urban Dietrich Lüdecke and Samuel Stryk's dissertation "Über die Neugier" — appeared in 2025. In contemporary history, EKF published the sixth volume of its Zeitgeschichte division, "Kräftig vorangetriebene Detailforschungen," a 2012 Festschrift for the historian Ulrich von Hehl. The publisher also issued works such as Horst Krüger's "Begegnung mit Werner Ihmels," edited by the Theological Faculty of the University of Leipzig. Over more than two decades EKF has remained a small, independent academic publisher serving researchers and academic institutions, with a catalogue concentrated in German-language scholarship and a particular strength in theology, church history, and regional and university history connected to Leipzig and the Viadrina tradition in Frankfurt (Oder).

• 2025

  Publication of the second volume of the Schriftenreihe des Vereins für Universitätsgeschichte in Frankfurt (Oder): Lüdecke/Stryk, "Über die Neugier."

• 2012

  Publication of "Kräftig vorangetriebene Detailforschungen" (Abt. Zeitgeschichte, Bd. 6), a Festschrift for Ulrich von Hehl.

• 1998

  Edition Kirchhof & Franke is founded as a scholarly publishing house (GbR) in Germany.

Specialist academic publisher for the humanities and cultural studies, combining scholarly quality with high-quality design; also offers professional layout and typesetting services.

• Leipziger Theologische Beiträge (LThB)

• Schriftenreihe des Vereins für Universitätsgeschichte in Frankfurt (Oder)

• Kräftig vorangetriebene Detailforschungen (Abt. Zeitgeschichte, Bd. 6)

• Horst Krüger: Begegnung mit Werner Ihmels

• Urban Dietrich Lüdecke / Samuel Stryk: Über die Neugier

1. 1EKF und ihre Fachgebieteekf-wissenschaft.de
2. 2Zeitgeschichte in der EKFekf-wissenschaft.de
3. 3Regionalgeschichte in der EKFekf-wissenschaft.de
4. 4Edition Kirchhof & Franke – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
5. 5Edition Kirchhof & Franke – Wikidatawikidata.org