Del Amo's Latest Sells in Spain
Jean-Baptiste Del Amo's latest, Animal Reign, will be published by Gallimard this month. The fourth novel by the French author (Une éducation libertine), who's known for writing about identity and sexuality, has been acquired by Barcelona-based publisher Cabaret Voltaire. Rights to the book are controlled by Gallimard. The novel focuses on two time periods--a point right after World War I and a time 60 years later--and is about five generations that live on a plot of land which will one day become a pig farm.
Italian Pokémon Book Draws Interest
In September, Italian publisher Antonio Vallardi Editore will release The Unofficial Guide to Pokémon Go: Secrets, Tricks and Suggestions About the App That Is Driving the Whole World Crazy. The book aims to teach people the basics of the mega-hit app. The publisher controls rights to the book, which has various authors. So far, deals for the title have closed in France, Turkey, Lithuania and Poland, with Antonio Vallardi Editore noting that there is "strong interest" from houses in a number of other territories. The book was an in-house idea and evolved after director Marcella Meciani reached out to what she called a "group of geeks" to start writing the book. They began work on the title at the beginning of July; the app became available for download in Italy on July 15.
Escobar Book Sells in U.S.
In anticipation of the 2017 film based on the backlist Spanish book Loving Pablo Hating Escobar, a flurry of international deals for the title have closed. Escobar, which will star Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, uses journalist Virginia Vallejo’s 2008 Spanish-language memoir as the basis for its story about the infamous Colombian drug lord. (Vallejo, in addition to covering Escobar, was one of his lovers.) The book is being shopped by Spanish agency Casanovas & Lynch, and a deal has now closed in the U.S., where Anne Messitte at Vintage acquired the work for six figures. Additionally, the book has recently sold in France (J’ai Lu); Italy (Giunti, after an eight-way auction); the U.K. (Canongate); and Russia (Eksmo). The film is being financed, distributed and co-produced by Luc Besson's company, EuropaCorp.
French Novel Sells in Korea
Michaël Uras' Take Two Chapters and Call Me In the Morning, a French novel about a "biblio-therapist" that we previously reported on, has now sold to Korean publisher Chaekpung. The book is about a therapist who helps his patients using literature, and will be published in its native France in September by Preludes Editions. The book sold in an earlier deal to Italian publisher Nord. The 2 Seas Literary Agency, which is handling world rights on behalf of Preludes Editions, brokered the Korean deal.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of the Korean publisher, Chaekpung.
