Der Freund ("The Friend") was a literary magazine published by Axel Springer AG. It was produced by Christian Kracht (publisher) and Eckhart Nickel (editor-in-chief) in Kathmandu, Nepal.[1]
Der Freund appeared every three months, with a total of eight editions between September 2004 and June 2006.[2] Its visual style was elaborate, with artistic designs and arcane illustrations, and its range of (often light-hearted) material included essays, short stories, literary miniatures, poems, opinion columns and in-depth interviews. Most pieces were in German, but occasionally English or French. Der Freund was available for International Mailing.[3]
Authors published in Der Freund included Julia Franck, David Woodard, Albert Hofmann, Ian Buruma, Eduardo Kac, Rem Koolhaas, Reinhold Messner, Ira Cohen, Momus, Ingo Niermann, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Jonathan Safran Foer, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Nika Scheidemandel.[4] Notable illustrators were Neue Slowenische Kunst and Fischli & Weiss. The magazine also reprinted pieces by major writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Truman Capote under licence. Interviewees included Albert Hofmann, Stanisław Lem, David Lynch and Nam June Paik.[5]
Der Freund was critically acclaimed for its design and cover pages, and won two awards in 2006: a bronze award from the Art Directors Club of Germany for magazine design,[6] and the gold prize for "cover of the year"[7] from the LeadAcademy in Hamburg.