Ahead of Frankfurt, Summit Acquires Buzzy Swiss Novel by Biedermann

A week out from this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, Summit Books publisher Judy Clain has preempted North American rights to Nelio Biedermann's Lázár, described by Summit as a "fairytale-esque novel in the vein of Kazuo Ishiguro and Daniel Kehlmann" that "follows a noble Hungarian family over several generations, from the beginning of the 20th century through the Nazi era, the ensuing expropriation and deportation by the Soviets, to the Hungarian national uprising in 1956." Marc Koralnik of Liepman Agency brokered the deal. 

The novel will be translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch, and U.S. and U.K. publication is set for early 2026. German rights were sold in a heated seven-way auction, in a six-figure two-book-deal to Rowohlt, who will publish as a big lead title in Fall 2025. In addition, English U.K. & Commonwealth rights were sold to Quercus/MacLehose Press; French rights to Belfond; Danish rights to People’s Press; Spanish rights to Salamandra; and Dutch rights to Atlas Contact.

Biedermann, who is Swiss, was born in 2003 and grew up near Zurich. His unpublished collection of short stories won awards from the canton of Zurich and his debut novel Anton will bleiben was published in 2023.