Rotterdan – On 7 June, writers Arnon Grunberg and Elisabeth Lockhorn will appear at De Unie/Club Uniek on Mauritsweg 34 for an evening hosted by Sibarani & Inge Janse. Grunberg will discuss his new essay Mogen we nog een beetje leven?, while Lockhorn presents new poems from her book troostboek. Also joining the programme is Sietse Leeflang the publisher of the Rotterdam publishing house Uitgeverij Ad. Donker.
But behind the scenes, the publisher is facing a far more dramatic story.
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A 88‑Year‑Old Publishing House Loses Its Home
Uitgeverij Ad. Donker, founded in 1938, has been based for decades in a stately mansion on the Koningin Emmaplein, near the Kunsthal. In 1980, Willem A. Donker (1938–2018) took over the publishing house from his father. He passed away in 2018 during a walk near the same square. His widow, Jos Exler, became director.
New publisher
In 2024, Exler appointed former Leeskabinet employee Sietse Leeflang as the new publisher. Around the same time, the family decided to sell the property to an Amsterdam real‑estate investor. According to Exler, the new owner assured her she could remain in the house for the rest of her life.That promise has now collapsed.
The Conflict: Concerts, Students, and a Legal Trap
In recent years, Exler hosted intimate chamber concerts in her home, giving Conservatory students a chance to perform and raise modest funds for their musical development. The realtor seized on these events, arguing that Exler had turned the residence into an “unauthorised commercial venue” — grounds, he claimed, to terminate her right to stay.
Exler initially won in court. But after the realtor appealed to the Hoge Raad, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling. She now has three months to vacate the property.
Political Outrage
Former Rotterdam mayor Ivo Opstelten has condemned the eviction and vowed to support Exler in any way he can. His intervention underscores the symbolic weight of the case: a cultural institution, a widow, and a decades‑old publishing legacy threatened by a real‑estate dispute.