Book on Hunger Gains Momentum
The latest nonfiction title from Argentine writer Martín Caparrós, El Hambre, has been selling in auctions and pre-empts since the Frankfurt Book Fair season, via María Lynch of Casanovas & Lynch Agencia Literaria. In the book, the author reflects on the fact that 1 billion people today are suffering from hunger. The book has been sold to, among other houses, Faber (world English), Suhrkamp (Germany), Einaudi (Italy) and Other Press (U.S.). El Hambre was originally published by Planeta, in August, in Latin America. Anagrama will be publishing the book, in January, in Spain.
Bayern Munich Book Draws Interest
Herr Pep: The Inside Story of Pep Guardiola, about the manager of Bayern Munich, is the product of the year author Martí Perarnau spent with the soccer club during the 2013-2014 season. (The year marked Guardiola's first season as coach of the successful German club.) At the invitation of Guardiola, Perarnau shadowed the Catalan coach, and his players, on, and off, the field. Spain's SalmaiaLit controls all rights, and deals have been made with RocaEditorial (Spain), Kunstmann Verlag (Germany), Back Page Press (English), Toho Shuppan (Japan), as well as with publishers in Poland, Brazil, Estonia, and world Arabic. The author is a former Spanish Olympian turned journalist.
Terry Gilliam Memoir Collects Sales
Next September, Canongate will publish Gilliamesque: A Pre-posthumous Memoir by filmmaker Terry Gilliam. The book, by the director of films such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and 12 Monkeys, will feature a collection of never-before-seen artwork; it will also detail the author's interactions with celebrities ranging from Woody Allen to Richard Nixon to Hunter S. Thompson. Canongate controls world rights, and, thus far, it has sold to HarperCollins (U.S.), Heyne (Germany), Sonatine (France), and to houses in Turkey, Russia and Hungary.
First Book in Crime Trilogy Sells for Film
The Whispering City, the first book in a new crime trilogy by Rosa Ribas & Sabine Hoffman, has been optioned by Tornasol Films in Spain. Ediciones Siruela published the book in Spain in 2013, and rights are controlled by Ella Sher of The Ella Sher Literary Agency. The novel is set in Barcelona in 1952, as General Franco’s fascist government is creating fear throughout the city. After a prominent socialite is found dead in her mansion, a young journalist is assigned the story and soon learns that a cover-up may be afoot. Sales have been made to Little, Brown UK (world English), Mondadori (Italy), Rowohlt (Germany), Pegasus (US), and to houses in France, Turkey, and Japan.
Finnish Young Adult Fantasy Trilogy Takes Off
Maresi: Book 1, in the Red Abbey Chronicles by Maria Turtschaninoff, has won the Finlandia Junior Prize, Finland's best-known award for YA literature. The prize brings with it a purse of 30,000 Euros. World rights are controlled by Elina Ahlback of the Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, and deals have been placed with Heyne Verlag (Germany), Turbine (Denmark), Tammi (Finland), Berghs (Sweden) and in Romania. The originating Finnish publisher was Schildts & Söderströms. The novel, the first in a crossover fantasy trilogy, is set in a refugee community for women and girls, where inmates are given the freedom to develop their talents. When a young girl named Jai arrives, having fled her murderous father, the community comes together to defend her. The second and third books in the series are forthcoming, set for 2016 and 2017, respectively.
