German Novel Gains Traction
Orient by Stephan Abarbanell, which is set in Jerusalem in 1946 and follows a fictional member of the Jewish resistance, has picked up a number of foreign sales. Abarbanell's lead character is Lilya Wasserfall, who is given an assignment to search for a missing Jewish scientist. The British say the scientist was murdered in a concentration camp, but the scientist's brother has evidence indicating he is still alive. Blessing Verlag published the book Germany in September and controls all rights. So far, the book has been acquired by HarperCollins in the U.S., John Murray in the U.K., and Signatuur in the Netherlands. There is also an offer on the book from a publisher in France.
European Houses Vie for Danish Book on ISIS
The ISIS Hostage by Puk Damsgård is drawing interest from publishers around the world. The book recounts the experience of photographer Daniel Rye Ottosen, who was held hostage by ISIS in Syria for 13 months. The title, which was published in Denmark in October and is a bestseller there, has been sold to publishers in Sweden, Poland, Portugal and Hungary. Susanna Lea Associates is handling all rights on behalf of Danish publisher Politikens.
Brazilian Novel Finds Audience
The Imperceptible Life of Guida Gusmão by Martha Batalha has begun collecting foreign sales ahead of its March publication in Brazil by Companhia Editora Nacional. The Villas-Boas & Moss Agency controls all rights, with the exception of Dutch, Nordic and World English, which are controlled by 2 Seas Literary Agency. Set in the early part of the 20th Century in Rio, the book tells the story of Guida and her sister, Eudice. While Guida struggles with the fact that her ambitious ways are not supported by her parents or her husband, Eudice is forced into being a single parent after her husband leaves her. German rights to the book have been sold to Insel/Suhrkamp, with Norwegian rights going to Pax.
German Book on Trees Heats Up
Ludwig, a division of Random House Germany, is seeing a surge of interest in Peter Wohlleben's The Secret Life of Trees. The book, which is subtitled What They Feel, How They Communicate--Discovering A Hidden World, is about the ways trees can interact and communicate. Wohlleben, who studied forestry and worked in the forestry commission in Germany, uses scientific findings, along with his own experience observing trees, to show that they actually care for their offspring and their neighbors. So far the book, released in Germany in May, has racked up 13 foreign sales, and deals have closed in, among other places, the Netherlands, Italy and in Canada (for world English rights).
