International Hot Book Properties, Week of April 24, 2017
By Francis Hoch
Female Anatomy Book Draws European Bidders
The Wonder Down Under, by Norwegian medical students Nina Brochmann and Ellen Stokken Dahl, has become a hot title in Europe. Originally published by Aschehoug in Norway in January, the book has now sold in over 20 foreign rights deals to publishers including Luitingh (the Netherlands), Fischer Verlag (Germany), and People’s Press (Denmark). Oslo Literary Agency, which controls all rights, said the book "explains everything you wanted to know about the vagina but didn't dare to ask.” The book delivers detailed information about female genitalia in an accessible and humorous way, covering topics ranging from cervical cancer to STIs (sexually transmitted infections).
Swedish Children’s Gets Hot in Europe
The Magical Heart, the new book by Kristina Ohlsson, has sold to Mlada Fronta (Czech Republic), Alvilda (Denmark), and Lilla Piratförlaget (Sweden). Julia Angelin of the Salomonsson Agency, who is handling foreign rights for the book, confirmed that German rights just sold to Fischer after a three-bidder auction. The children’s book, for ages 9-12, is about Roberta, whose best friend Charlotte, needs a new heart because hers is failing. Ohlsson is a top-selling author of crime fiction and children's books, including the children's suspense trilogy, The Glass Children.
Italian Trilogy Catches Fire
Matteo Righetto's The Soul of the Frontier, a coming of age novel which we reported on last month, has collected a number of new sales, including to Pushkin Press (U.K.), Text Publishing (Australia New Zealand), and House of Anansi (Canada). (All sales were three-book deals.) Italy’s Piergiorgio Nicolazzini Literary Agency controls rights, and Mondadori (Italy) will publish the novel in June. A previous foreign deal was made to Atlas in the Netherlands. Set in the 19th century, the book is about a young girl who, after her father has disappeared, must carry on his work as a tobacco smuggler.
Swedish Romance Author's Latest Nabbed in Germany
The new book by Simona Ahrnstedt, All Or Nothing, has sold to German publisher Lyx/Lübbe for publication next spring. Originating publisher Forum, in Sweden, will publish the novel in October. Sweden’s Nordin Agency controls all rights, and described the book as an office romance set in the world of advertising. The novel follows a young woman who hits on a man at a bar, without realizing that he is her new boss. Ahrnstedt is a pioneering author of Swedish romance; her book All In was published last year in the U.S. by Kensington.