Nolan-esque Psychological Thriller Heating Up Abroad
The Last Way Out, the new novel by Argentinian author Federico Axat (The Meadow Of The Butterflies), is being compared to the films of Christopher Nolan and David Cronenberg, and is heating up for foreign buyers. The psychological thriller sold in a 3-way auction to Destino in Spain, who will publish in February 2016, and it was also pre-empted in Germany by Atrium Verlag. Calmann-Levy won a six-way auction in France, and Swiat Ksiazki won an auction in Poland that included three bidders. Spain's Pontas Agency controls all rights. The book follows Ted, who has reached the decision to commit suicide, but just as he is about to pull the trigger on the gun, his doorbell keeps ringing and he sees a note in his own handwriting that he can't remember writing, saying, "Open the door. This is your last way out."
New Rothmann Novel Collects Foreign Sales
The new book by German author Ralf Rothmann, To Die in Spring, will be published by Suhrkamp Verlag on June 8 and has sold to Ravi Mirchandani at Picador, Rosinante in Denmark, and De Arbeiderspers in the Netherlands. An auction in Sweden recently closed with Wahlström & Widstrand as the winner, and offers from Spain are pending. Suhrkamp controls all rights, and they have published Rothmann since 1986. The book is about two friends, Fiete and Walter, who are forced to "volunteer" for the SS in 1945. When Fiete tries to desert, a sadistic officer tells Walter that he must execute his friend.
Finnish YA Series Sells to Macmillan
Macmillan Children's Publishing Group has bought world English rights to the Matthew Laurence's Freya series, produced in collaboration with Rovio Books. The first book in the series is called Freya and the Myth Machine, and it places Freya, the ancient Norse goddess, in the modern world. Elina Ahlback of Finland's Elina Ahlback Literary Agency controls all rights.
Two Literary Titles from Spanish Agency Gain Attention
Two literary titles from Spanish agency Salmaia—Twist by Harkaitz Cano & Shine, and Sea of Eden by Andrés Ibáñez—have been gaining increased attention and critical acclaim. Twist will be published by Archipelago Books in the U.S. after having sold to Susa for Basque language rights, Seix Barral in Spain, and in Bulgaria and Serbia. The novel follows Diego, who still feels guilty for the murder of his friends Soto and Zeberio, after he denounced them while he was being tortured by the Spanish police. The plot shifts from the 1980s to present times. Shine, Sea of Eden, originally published by Galaxia Gutenberg in Spain in February 2014, has won Spain's National Critics Award of 2014. Inspired by the television show, "Lost," the book begins as a plane crashes over the Pacific and 90 survivors find themselves on an island. The book is narrated by a Spanish composer who resides in the U.S. and has an obsession with romantic music.
