Two Salomonsson Agency Projects Heat Up Ahead of Frankfurt
As the Frankfurt Book Fair approaches, Sweden's Salomonsson Agency is representing two projects that have collected numerous sales prior to the bookfair. The first book, William Wenton and the Luridium Thief, by director and screenwriter Bobbie Peers, is the author's debut as a children's book writer, and was recently optioned by director Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game). Rights have also sold to Gyldendal (Denmark), Aschehoug (Norway), and other countries. The book is for 8-12 year- olds and follows the young "code breaking genius", William Wenton.
The second book, called The Book Thieves, is by journalist Anders Rydell, and was recently sold in the U.S. to Patrick Nolan at Viking. It's a nonfiction account of how the Nazis stole books across Europe by plundering libraries, fueling a competition between Heinrich Himmler and Alfred Rosenberg, who were in competition to possess the literary heritage of Europe. Rights have sold so far to Norstedts (Sweden), Atlas (the Netherlands), Mime (Norway), and in other countries. The agency expects much action at the fair for both titles.
Slush Pile Success Story Sells to Morrow and Racks Up International Deals
Laura Macdougall of UK literary agency Tibor Jones & Associates has sold NA rights (excluding Canada) for The Keeper Of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan to Rachel Kahan at Morrow. UK & Commonwealth, as well as Canadian rights, sold to Federico Andornino of Two Roads, and six other international deals have been made, including to Ullstein in Germany (after a five-way auction) and Rizzoli in Italy (after a six-way auction). The book follows Anthony, who once lost a precious item that his fiancee made him promise to keep. After her death, he searches for atonement by finding the things that others have lost, and writing stories about them. The book came in via the slush pile and Macdougall read the book overnight and signed the author within a week. She joined Tibor Jones & Associates in March.
Two Swedish Sisters Find Success with Trilogy About Sisterhood
The Reconciliation, the first book in the "Two Sisters" trilogy, will be published by Forum in Sweden in November. The books are by real-life sisters Hannah Widell and Amanda Schulman, and Norwegian rights have been pre-empted by Cappelen Damm, with Nordic television rights optioned by Yellow Bird. The trilogy follows Alice and Vanessa, sisters who are complete opposites and fight frequently, but who are both looking for love in their lives. Sweden's Lennart Sane Agency controls all rights. A partial translation of the first book will be ready for Frankfurt Book Fair.
Italian Debut Novel Collects International Deals
The Unpredictable Journey Of A Lost Thing by Salvatore Basile, which will be published by Garzanti in Italy in May 2016, recently sold to Blanvalet Random House in Germany, after a seven-way auction, in a six-figure deal. The novel also just sold to Beatrice Duval at Denoel in France. Laura Ceccacci of the Laura Ceccacci Agency is handling all rights. The book is about a man who works at the lost property office in a train station in the provinces of Italy, handling the items that people leave on trains and will never find again.
Catalan Bestseller Sells in The Netherlands and Beyond
The new novel by Rafel Nadal Farreras, called The Curse Of The Palmisanos, has recently sold to Sander Knol at Xander in the Netherlands and to Albatros in Poland. The book was published in Spanish by Destino, and the originating Catalan publisher, Columna, has announced a second printing of 5,000 copies after the initial print run of 20,000 copies. Rights are controlled by the Barcelona-based Pontas Literary and Film Agency. Set between the two world wars, the story starts out as two women work to change the destiny of a newborn who is raised as the twin brother of another boy, born on the same day, who comes from a privileged family.
Hitchcockian Finnish Thriller Gets Pre-empted in Germany
In The Rear Window, the new novel by Pauliina Susi, author of Rush Year, has been pre-empted by German publisher, dtv. The book, described as a Hitchcockian "cyberthriller" with echoes of Gone Girl and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is about a single mother who starts working on a project that aims to support men who go to prostitutes, and becomes the target of vitriol within Finland. She begins to fear for her life when a hacker becomes increasingly aggressive. Tammi in Finland is the originating publisher and Elina Ahlback of the Helsinki-based Elina Ahlback Literary Agency controls all rights.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of Bobbie Peers's children's book. It is William Wenton and the Luridium Thief, not William Wenton and the Ludicrum Thief.
