Hans-Gerd Koch

Hans-Gerd Koch (*1954) is a German publisher, literary scholar, and expert in text editing. From 1975 to 1981, he studied German, English, and editorial studies. From 1982 to 2002, Koch was the editor-in-chief of the Kritische Kafka-Ausgabe (Critical Kafka Edition), within which the Tagebücher, Drucke zu Lebzeiten, and the volumes of Kafka’s letters were published. He also edited the paperback edition of Kafka’s works in their manuscript form.

After earning his doctorate in 1993, Koch taught at the University of Wuppertal and the Technical University of Berlin. He is an Adjunct Professor at San Diego State University. Starting in 2002, he worked as an editor at Klaus Wagenbach publishing house and later became program director at the audiobook publisher Patmos audio. Since 2012, he has been an editor at Karl Rauch Verlag in Düsseldorf, which he took over as director in 2015.

Among his significant publications are Theoretische und praktische Aspekte der Kommentierung von Schriftstellertagebüchern (1995) and Kafka in Berlin (2008), which reflect his in-depth engagement with Kafka and the commentary of literature. In 2024, his book Die Familie Kafka. Ein Fotoalbum was published, in which he examines Kafka’s relationships with his family and challenges the image of Kafka as a lifelong outsider.

Koch is also a curator, exhibition organizer, and author. He is a board member of the Hans Werner Richter Foundation and was a jury member of the Franz Kafka Prize. He has edited numerous major works, including the Kritische Ausgabe of Kafka’s works, diaries, and letters (S. Fischer Verlag), as well as the Gesammelte Werke of Max Brod (Wallstein Verlag).