German Book on Muhammad Goes Global
Abdel Hamed-Samad's Muhammad: A Reckoning, which was originally published by Droemer Knaur, has been picking up interest from foreign publishers after climbing the charts in Germany. The book, which examines the way Muhammad's life has been presented over hundreds of years, has remained among the top ten on the German bestseller list since it was released in October. Droemer Knaur, which controls rights, said the title has sold more than 100,000 copies in Germany. On the heels of this success, rights have sold to publishers in Korea, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
Chinese Author Finds New Audience Posthumously
Sanmao, the pen name of Chen Ping, is finding a new readership in Europe. Considered one of the most important Chinese writers of her generation, Sanmao, who died in 1991, is the subject of a biopic currently in the works by a Hong Kong director. Perhaps sparked by interest in the film, foreign sales for one of her backlist books is taking off. Gray Tan of the Grayhawk Agency is handling rights to Stories of the Sahara, originally published in Taiwan in 1976, on behalf of Taiwanese publisher, Crown Culture. Rights to the book, which melds memoir and travelogue, have sold to Meridiaan in the Netherlands (in a preempt), and to publishers in Spain and Norway. At press time, a U.K. sale for the book was pending. The book is autobiographical and largely set in the Sahara Desert, where Sanmao lived for a spell in the 1970s with her Spanish husband. According to Tan, Sanmao's work has sold over 11 million copies in China and Taiwan.
Danish Novel Draws International Buyers
The Premature Death of Ana Ivan by Mikkel Rosengaard, to be published by Gyldendal next month, has been garnering interest in Scandinavia. Foreign rights to the book, which the Gyldendal Group Agency control, have sold to to Querido in the Netherlands and to Forum in Sweden. Rosengaard previously wrote a YA novel titled Next, and this book marks his adult debut. The book centers on the relationship between a young Danish man and an intense Romanian artist, who is hiding, the published explained, a "bizarre" story.
Swedish Crime Series Picks Up Sales Abroad
Killer Deal, the first book in a new crime trilogy by bestselling Swedish author Sofie Sarenbrant, has been gaining global sales. The book, which features the detective Emma Sköld, was published in Sweden in April 2014. Since then it has sold 150,000 copies in the country, according to Philip Sane of the Lennart Sane Agency, which controls all rights. Deals for the book have now closed with People's Press (Denmark), Vikend (Czech Republic) and Aufbau Verlag (Germany). In Killer Deal, Sköld is investigating the death of a father whose body is discovered by his six-year-old daughter after a house viewing in suburban Sweden.
