Spain's Martinez Gaining Attention
International publishers are taking notice of Gabi Martínez, whose latest novel, The Defenses, has just sold at auction in Spain to Elena Ramirez at Seix Barral, and in Catalonia to Catedral. The book is based on the life of a real-life neurologist named Domingo Escudero, who overcame an autoimmune disease by devoting his life to studying and understanding the ailment. (In September, Martínez published a piece about it in Granta called "The Exorcism of Doctor Escudero.") The sale of The Defenses, which was handled by the Pontas Literary & Film Agency, follows a recent spate of international deals for the Spanish author. Martínez’s In the Land of Giants, a nonfiction book a Spanish zoologist who was murdered, will be published in the U.K. (by Scribe) in November; the book has also sold to houses in Brazil (Rocco) and France (Autrement).
Norwegian 'Hell' Drawing Int'l Interest
Hell Was Open, the second book in a crime series by Gard Sveen, is gaining traction in a number of countries. The novel was first published in Norway by Vigmostad & Bjørke and has sold to houses in the U.S. (AmazonCrossing), the Netherlands (Bruna), Germany (Ullstein), and Italy (Marsilio), among others. Rights to the book are controlled by Anna Frankl at the Nordin Agency. The series follows a police inspector named Tommy Bergmann. In Hell Was Open, Bergmann begins questioning an old case after finding a beaten prostitute whose injuries seem to match those from a crime he encountered when he first joined the force.
Book on Boko Haram Ordeal Making the Rounds
Patience Ibrahim and Andrea Claudia Hoffmann's Not Without Her Daughter is picking up interest from publishers around the world, following an initial sale to dtv in Germany. The book is about Ibrahim's experience escaping from the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, cowritten with German journalist Hoffmann. Ibrahim was pregnant when she fled, and later named her daughter "Gift." Christine Proske at the Germany agency Ariadne Buch handled the sale to dtv, and Barbara Zitwer, who has an eponymous shingle, is preparing to submit the proposal in the U.S. and U.K., as well as other territories, this week. Hoffmann also co-wrote The Girl Who Beat Isis (published in the U.S. by Vintage Digital) and Raif Badawi, The Voice of Freedom: My Husband, Our Story (published in the U.S. by Other Press).
Italian Picture Book Gaining Recognition
The House of Other Children by Luca Tortolini, with illustrations by Claudia Palmarucci, received a special mention in the First Works category from the Bologna Ragazzi Award. The book was published in August by Italy's Orecchio Acerbo Editore, and rights are controlled by the house's foreign rights agent, Anna Spadolini. French rights have been sold to Cambourakis Editions with simplified Chinese rights going to Everafter Books/Trustbridge Publishing. The book, which has been picking up attention since receiving the special mention, is about houses around the world, and the children who inhabit them.
