Anne Frank Book Draws European Pubs
Anne Frank, A Cold Case Diary by Vince Pankoke sold to Ambo Anthos in the Netherlands in a six-figure deal right before the start of the London Book Fair. Rights to the title also sold in Hungary to Partvonal; in Serbia to Vulkan; and there are offers on the title in from houses in several other countries. Pankoke, a former FBI agent, has been working on an investigation into what happened to the Frank family and, specifically, who revealed their location to the Nazis, as he thinks it was never adequately investigated or solved. Working with a team of historians and police officials, the group has been relying on modern technology methods for the investigation. Marianne Schonbach Literary is representing world rights to the book, which will detail the culmination of the investigation and research. A proposal will be available after this week's London Book Fair, which publishers will need to sign a nondisclosure agreement in order to read. The investigation is in collaboration with The Anne Frank Foundation Netherlands, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and other organizations.
Swedish Thriller Drums Up Pre-London Interest
Mattias Edvardsson's A Nearly Normal Family, which will be published by Sweden's Forum in June, has sold in a number of deals in advance of the London Book Fair. In a preempt, U.S. rights were acquired by Deb Futter at Celadon Books, and additional deals have been made with houses in Finland, France, Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Poland. (At press time there were ongoing auctions for the book in the U.K., and several other territories.) The thriller is about a teen girl who is accused of murdering an aging businessman. Astri von Arbin Ahlander of the Ahlander Agency controls all rights.
Formula 1 Champion Bio Creating Buzz
Finland's Siltala Publishing is fielding interest in a new biography of a Formula 1 racer. The book, The Unknown Kimi Räikkönen by Kari Hotakainen, is about the Finnish F1 auto-racing World Champion, who has been racing since 2001, having once left F1 and then making a comeback. Sales for the book have been recently closed with houses in Hungary, Estonia, Italy, and Poland, with, at press time, offers in from houses in several other territories. Siltala will publish the book in August, and a sample English translation is currently available with a signed nondisclosure agreement.
Ghanaian Novelist Lands U.S. Deal
North American rights have sold to Other Press for The Hundred Wells of Salaga by Ayesha Harruna Attah, a Ghanaian author who is represented by Spain's Pontas Literary & Film Agency. Other Press will publish the book in February. (German rights have also just sold to Diana Verlag, after an auction.) The novel, set in precolonial Ghana, is based on the life of Attah's great-great-grandmother, who was sold into slavery. Cassava Republic will publish in the U.K. and Nigeria next month.
Humorous Finnish Novel
The Angry Widow by Minna Lindgren, which was published in Finland by Teos last month, has sold to Albatros Media in a deal for Czech & Slovak rights. Elina Ahlback Literary Agency controls all rights to the book, which is about a 74-year-old woman who gets a new lease on life after her mean and alcoholic husband dies. Lindgren is the author of the Sunset Grove trilogy, which is published by Pan Macmillan.
