Australian Debut Moves to Europe, and Beyond
Australian publisher Brow Books sold world rights to Shaun Prescott's novel The Town to Faber and Faber in the U.K. Brow said the novel "follows an unnamed narrator’s efforts to complete a book about disappeared towns in the Central West of New South Wales." Additional deals for the novel have closed with Farrar, Straus and Giroux (U.S.), Buchet/Chastel (France), Aufbau (Germany) and Literatura Random House (Spain). Faber will publish the book in the U.K. in August.
Dutch 'Fill-In' Series Sells in Multi-Book Deals
A set of books that encourages the recording of family histories is taking Europe by storm. The series, by Elma van Vliet, sold this month to Sextante in Brazil in a four-book preempt, and in Finland in a two-book deal. Marianne Schonbach Literary, which controls rights to the series, referred to the titles as "fill-in books" and explained that each of the four books in the line features questions for a specific family member about their past. The first book in the series, Mother's Book, was released in 2004 in the Netherlands by Unieboek. Sales of the title began to soar in 2016, after newly designed editions were released. Deals were previously made to several other publishers, including Droemer in Germany and Gads Forlag in Denmark. The Schonbach Agency said the series--the three other titles in it are Father’s Book, Grandmother’s Book and Grandfather’s Book--has sold over 3 million copies in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. The author got the idea for the series, the agency continued, after creating a book of questions for her ill mother. The book was something van Vliet saw as a way to maintain her family history.
Mexican Novel Nabbed in Poland
The Devil Forced Me by Mexican author F.G. Haghenbeck has sold this month to Rebis in Poland. Rights to the book, which SalmaiaLit controls, were previously sold in Italy to Newton Compton. Suma de Letras Mexico published the fantasy-horror novel, about a man who hunts demons and otherworldly creatures to sell on the black market, in 2011. Interest in the book has jumped since Netflix announced, in August, that it is developing a TV series based on the book that is set to air in 2018.
German Debut Draws Grove Atlantic
Peter Blackstock at Grove Atlantic acquired world English rights to The Club by Takis Würger. Rights to the novel are controlled by Kein & Aber, and deals were previously made to Slatkine in France and Keller Editore in Italy. The book was a bestseller in Germany; it follows a young German man who investigates a secretive group of social climbers at Cambridge University called the Pitt Club. The author is an editor at Der Spiegel, and Grove has the book set for a spring 2019 release.
Finnish Superhero Novelization Draws Interest
A novelization of the Finnish superhero movie Rendel has sold to Heyne (Germany). The Finnish literary and branding agency Rights & Brands controls all rights to the novel, which was written by Helena Waris and the director of the movie, Jesse Haaja. The film has been released in Germany and Finland, and distribution rights have sold in close to 30 territories. In January, the movie will be released in North America; the novelization was released (by the publisher Like) in Finland in September. The movie and book follow a man named Jukka Rämö, who becomes the superhero Rendel --who wears a mask of armor-- and battles a multinational drug company.
