German Hit Travels to Holland...and Beyond
The debut novel Old Country by Dörte Hansen has been picking up sales abroad after breaking onto the bestseller lists in Germany, the author's home country. At press time, the title, which was published in February by German house Knaus, was #1 on the Der Spiegel bestseller list. Rights to the book are controlled by Random House Germany, and deals have been made with HarperCollins Holland, Kero (in France), and Host (in the Czech Republic). The book follows Vera, who has lived in an old farmhouse for 65 years. When Vera's niece unexpectedly shows up at her door with her son in tow, Vera's life is thrown into upheaval.
Swedish Romance Author Set for U.S. Splash
Sweden's Nordin Agency has just closed a deal with Kensington Books that it claims will see the first Swedish romance author published in English. Literary Agent Anna Frankl handled the three-book deal, selling world English rights for author Simona Ahrnstedt, and Kensington plans to publish the first novel, Only One Night, in summer 2016. So far, 70,000 copies of the Only One Night series have sold in Sweden (where it is published by Forum), and it has been acquired by houses in eight other countries, including France and Spain. The books follow a woman named Natalia De La Grip who has a budding career in finance and was also born into wealth. Expected to marry someone of equal stature, Natalia's life is thrown off course when she falls for a venture capitalist who has been plotting against her family.
YA Novel Continues to Collect Foreign Sales And Attention
Jack Cheng's See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan, which we first reported on when it sold in Germany ahead of a U.S. sale, continues to rack up foreign sales. The book is the YA debut of Cheng, who lives in Michigan but was born in China, and it follows 11-year-old Alex in Colorado whose father has recently died. Alex, who is obsessed with the scientist Carl Sagan, hatches a plan that entrails sending his brother's iPod into space. After Dial Books for Young Reader acquired the book in the States (taking North American rights), deals have closed in a number of other countries, including, among others, the U.K.; Spain; France; Israel and Poland. Agent Jessica Craig said a revised, or final, manuscript will be submitted before Frankfurt International Book Fair.
Flatiron Books Picks Up Swedish Title
In our previous edition we reported on the Swedish book Heart of Jazz by Sara Lövestam, and North American rights to that novel have now sold to Amy Einhorn and Sarah Barley at Flatiron Books. A deal for the book, about a bullied teenager who finds solace in music from the 1940's, has also closed with Allen & Unwin, which acquired rights in both the U.K. and Australia/New Zealand. Laura Widenburg, who works on the books of the Swedish bestseller Lars Kepler, will do the translation. Pontas Agency controls all rights and said the book will be published as YA title in North America, but as an adult-crossover in the rest of the world.
Spanish Coming-of-Age Tale Draws Attention
Rosa Ribas, whose novel The Whispering City will be published by Pegasus in November, has a new book out in her native Spain that's drawing attention. Ribas whose Whispering City series (cowritten with Sabine Hoffman) has sold in Germany, Italy, the U.K., and a number of other countries. Now publishers are noticing Guesthouse Leonardo, which was released by Siruela in May, and is in its second printing. The novel, set in the 1960's, follows 12-year-old Lali and explores the Barcelona neighborhood where she lives.
