tredition GmbH

tredition GmbH is a German self-publishing platform headquartered in Ahrensburg, near Hamburg. Founded in 2007 by Sandra Latußeck and Sönke Schulz, the company provides authors with tools to publish, distribute and market books without giving up their rights or entering into a long-term contractual commitment. Its services span print-on-demand paperback and hardcover production, e-book conversion and worldwide online distribution, as well as optional paid upgrades such as professional editing, cover design, premium book checks and imprint protection. The company describes itself as a family business and states that it has published more than 200,000 titles for over 20,000 authors, with a claimed 98% customer satisfaction rate. tredition positions itself as a full-service self-publishing partner rather than a traditional publisher. Authors retain all rights and responsibility for content; tredition performs a basic quality check on every book and offers a paid Premium Book Check for more intensive review. The platform distributes titles through bookshops and online retailers, and until 2026 automatically listed books in the German Verzeichnis Lieferbarer Bücher (VLB); from 2026 authors decide themselves whether to be listed there. The company has deliberately avoided social media and major book fairs such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, arguing that authors' money is better spent elsewhere. Ownership is concentrated among the two founders, who each hold 39.5% of the shares. The German Social Democratic Party (SPD), through its media holding Deutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (ddvg), holds 9.9%, with the remaining shares held by three other shareholders. According to its 2024 annual accounts, tredition is a small capital company under § 267 HGB. In 2024 the company reported publishing more than 52,000 new books, a 37% increase over 2023. Since 2025 tredition has faced sustained criticism for hosting large numbers of apparently AI-generated non-fiction and academic books, including fabricated medieval history and musicology titles that entered library catalogues. In May 2026 managing director Sandra Latußeck acknowledged the problem and announced extensive countermeasures: revised terms requiring authors to declare AI use, a new book-checking tool, a reporting form, and retroactive removal of predominantly AI-generated titles from sale, including recalls from libraries and buyer compensation. The founders also established Cultural Assets GmbH in January 2025, which took over the Projekt Gutenberg-DE digital library in February 2026.

tredition GmbH was founded in 2007 in Hamburg by Sandra Latußeck and Sönke Schulz as a self-publishing platform offering print-on-demand services. The company began operating its platform in 2007 and gradually expanded its service portfolio to include e-book distribution, book marketing tools and paid professional services such as editing, cover design and premium book checks. Around 2023 the company moved its headquarters to Ahrensburg, near Hamburg. By the early 2020s tredition had become one of the larger German-language self-publishing providers. In 2024 the company reported publishing more than 52,000 new books, a 37% increase over 2023. Its website claims over 200,000 titles and more than 20,000 authors, with a 98% customer satisfaction rate. In the Selfpublisher Association's 2025 survey, tredition ranked #1 among print-on-demand service providers, up from #5 in 2024. Ownership has remained concentrated among the founders. As of June 2026, Sandra Latußeck and Sönke Schulz each held 39.5% of the shares. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), through its media holding Deutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (ddvg), held 9.9%, with three further shareholders holding the remainder. The SPD's involvement dates back at least to 2013, when then party treasurer Barbara Hendricks highlighted tredition in her 2011/2012 financial report as a self-publisher with a high reputation among customers and as part of the party's entry into digital business models. According to its 2024 annual accounts, tredition is a small capital company under § 267 HGB. A major controversy emerged in January 2025 when the editorial team of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica warned on its website about several tredition publications on medieval history. One book about Louis the German was described as a "crude and illogical composition of partly factually false text modules with a technical vocabulary that no medievalist would use in this way, with invented historical figures." The supposedly scholarly appearance of the books was particularly criticized. MGH president Martina Hartmann suspected a large number of tredition works citing each other and apparently generated by artificial intelligence. In February 2025, Cologne historian Sebastian Schlinkheider pointed to an AI-generated book on Cologne city history that had already entered the library catalogue of the University of Cologne, criticizing the lack of labelling. In December 2025, musicologist Klaus Martin Kopitz published a review of an AI-generated book, calling its sale "basically fraud," and compiled a list of 79 musicology titles from tredition published within a few weeks showing AI characteristics, with no information about the purported authors and obviously AI-generated cover images. In April 2026, subject specialist Stephan Wünsche wrote in the University Library Leipzig blog about how many libraries had fallen for the fake academic books, drawing wider media attention. On 8 May 2026, managing director Sandra Latußeck responded in a statement, acknowledging the diagnosis as accurate and promising extensive countermeasures. The company's terms and conditions were amended to require authors to declare AI use. tredition introduced its own book-checking tool, sharpened its AI self-declaration, and set up a reporting form for tips. It planned to retroactively remove from distribution all books found to be predominantly AI-generated. Stephan Wünsche expressed himself "positively impressed" that the company not only admitted the problem but had already taken "massive countermeasures" and, as announced, removed a user's AI-generated titles from tredition's offering in May 2026, recalled them from libraries and intended to compensate buyers. The damage caused by such predatory publishing is nevertheless multifaceted and long-lasting. Separately, the two founders and majority shareholders founded Cultural Assets GmbH in Ahrensburg on 7 January 2025. In February 2026, Cultural Assets GmbH took over the Projekt Gutenberg-DE digital library project and redesigned its website.

• 2026

  February: Cultural Assets GmbH takes over Projekt Gutenberg-DE. April: University Library Leipzig blog post draws wider media attention to fake academic books. 8 May: Managing director Sandra Latußeck acknowledges the AI problem and announces countermeasures including AI declaration requirement, new book-checking tool, reporting form, and retroactive removal of AI-generated titles.

• 2025

  January: Monumenta Germaniae Historica warns about AI-generated medieval history books on tredition. February: historian Sebastian Schlinkheider points to an AI-generated book in the University of Cologne library catalogue. March: tredition ranks #1 in the Selfpublisher Association survey. December: musicologist Klaus Martin Kopitz calls AI-generated book sales 'basically fraud' and lists 79 suspect musicology titles.

• 2025

  7 January: Founders establish Cultural Assets GmbH in Ahrensburg.

• 2024

  tredition reports publishing more than 52,000 new books, a 37% increase over 2023.

• 2023

  Company headquarters moves to Ahrensburg.

• 2013

  SPD treasurer Barbara Hendricks highlights tredition in her 2011/2012 financial report as a self-publisher with high reputation and part of the party's digital business entry.

• 2007

  tredition GmbH founded in Hamburg by Sandra Latußeck and Sönke Schulz; begins offering print-on-demand self-publishing services.

Full-service self-publishing platform for authors, emphasizing author rights, free core tools and optional paid professional upgrades.

• Self-publishing platform

  Free core platform for publishing print and e-books with worldwide distribution; authors retain all rights and no contractual commitment.

• Print-on-demand books

  Paperback and hardcover books produced on demand and sold through bookshops and online retailers.

• E-books

  Digital editions distributed through online channels.

• Book marketing tools

  A range of marketing tools to help authors reach their target readership.

• Premium Book Check

  Intensive paid review of cover, typesetting, blurb and keywords for 99.90 €.

• Imprint service

  Service to avoid publishing the author's private address in the imprint, for 10 projects at 99.90 €.

• AI-generated academic book controversy

Read more

1. 1tredition - Bucherfolg leicht gemachttredition.com
2. 2Service Upgradestredition.com
3. 3Über unstredition.com
4. 4In eigener Sachetredition.com
5. 5tredition GmbH - Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Tredition - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org