Memoir of Gender Transition Sells in Germany
Monica, My Father by Maaike Sips is a memoir about the author's experience dealing with her father's decision, in his retirement years, to transition from male to female. Podium in the Netherlands is the originating publisher, and German house Droemer-Knaur has preempted the nonfiction work. Marleen Seegers of 2 Seas Agency controls all rights on behalf of Podium. The author is a journalist and filmmaker who has made a number of documentaries and short films.
Dutch Novel Heats Up at Frankfurt
Joost de Vries' De Republiek, which was originally published in the Netherlands in 2013 by Prometheus, was one of the buzzed-about books at this month's Frankfurt Book Fair. British agency Conville & Walsh is selling international rights to the book (at the suggestion of Prometheus' Job Lisman) and said the novel explores "deception and self-deception, ambition, the love of history as entertainment, and the hunt for the perfect enemy." So far, sales of the book have been made to Heyne Core (Markus Naegele's new division of Random House Germany), Bompiani in Italy, and Anagrama in Spain. At press time, auctions for the book were underway in France and Greece. Joost's previous book, 2010's Clausewitz, is about a doctoral student who plagiarizes the work of a writer that's disappeared.
Pair of Partners In Stories Projects Draw Buzz
Two books represented by Sweden's Partners in Stories Agency have been heating up internationally. The first, an unusual nonfiction work called South of Forgiveness, explores the subject of sexual violence from an unexpected vantage point. Written by Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger, the book delves into a trauma that both authors have been unable to overcome: him raping her when they were teenagers. After maintaining a multi-year correspondence, the two decided to meet face-to-face; she wanted to forgive him, and he wanted to forgive himself. The book, which Elva and Stranger worked on together, predominantly focuses on this meeting, though it does flashback to their initial meeting in high school. German rights to the book, which Partners in Stories is calling a "nonfiction narrative," have sold to Droemer-Knaur, while Swedish rights have sold to Bokforlaget Forum. At press time offers were in from the following markets: the U.S., the U.K., Australia/New Zealand, Japan, Poland and Iceland.
The second book, a meditation on loss called In Every Moment We Are Still Alive by the poet Tom Malmquist, has been picking up a number of foreign sales in the wake of Frankfurt. The memoir chronicles the passing of Malmquist's wife, who she died in childbirth, and then, months later, the death of his father. German publisher Klett-Cotta bought the book at auction for mid-five figures; it has also sold in Denmark, Norway, Finland, and the Netherlands. Natur & Kultur is the originating Swedish publisher.
Danish Thriller Goes Global
Fatal Crossing by Danish author Lone Theils, which has sold over 10,000 copies in Denmark, is now racking up international sales. Published by Lindhardt & Ringhof and represented by Sweden's Nordin Agency, the book follows Nora Sand, a British kickboxing correspondent for a Danish newspaper. When a suitcase mistakenly falls into her possession, she becomes involved in an investigation into the disappearance, during the 1980s, of two Danish girls. Rights have sold to publishers in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland. Additionally, at press time, offers on the book were in from publishers in Greece and Estonia.
