Droschl is based in Graz, Austria’s »secret capital of literature« and has devoted itself exclusively and with amazing consistency to promoting contemporary authors, including many non-German-speaking writers. The first book was produced in 1980, when the decision was taken to convert Droschl, the gallery-cum-bookshop into a publishing house, primarily for literature. Amongst the first authors Droschl published were such well-established names as Wolfgang Bauer and Bernhard Hüttenegger, soon to be followed by Helmut Eisendle, Gerhard Roth, Klaus Hoffer, Reinhard P.Gruber and Alfred Kolleritsch.

From the start it was clear that Droschl would support above all the rebellious writers, the formal innovators and breakers of tradition. When in 1992 Heimrad Bäcker, the publisher of edition neue texte, Linz, retired, Droschl took over both Bäcker’s approach and his stock, thus emphasizing ist own commitment to experimental language and philosophical-discourse-analytical writing.
Even the first books by writers like Michael Donhauser, Antonio Fian, Eleonore Frey or Peter Waterhouse won critical acclaim and also literary awards. This policy of taking risks with first publications is being continued; Klaus Händl for example was awarded the »Rauriser Literaturpreis for his first book (Legenden), Thomas Stangl was awarded the »aspekte-Preis« for the best literary debut (the novel Der einzige Ort), Monique Schwitter was awarded the »Robert Walser Preis« for her literary debut Wenn’s schneit beim Krokodil. Olga Martynova won the Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis 2013. And Ernst Jandl, in the Austrian weekly Profil, praised Droschl as a courageous and dynamic exception in the publishing scene.