Foreign Rights Frankfurt 2010 Grup 62
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Foreign Rights Manager Daniel Cladera (dcladera@planeta.es)
Foreign Rights Assistants Gemma Sanjuan (gsanjuan@planeta.es) Merche San Segundo (msansegundo@planeta.es)
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Foreign Rights Frankfurt 2010 Grup 62
Catalan language authors
Víctor Alexandre, 2 Manuel Baixauli, 3 Antoni Bolinches, 4 Xavier Bosch, 5 Assumpció Cantalozella, 6 Llorenç Capdevila, 7 Victòria Cardona, 8 Albert Casals, 9 David Castillo, 10
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Jordi Coca, 11 Flavia Company, 12 Jordi Cussà, 13 Plàcid García-Planas, 14 Joan Giné, 15 Isidre Grau, 16 Albert Llimós, 17 Bartomeu Mestre, 18 Lluís Muntada, 19
Pere Antoni Pons, 20 Armand Puig, 21 Llucia Ramis, 22 Domènec Sesmillo, 23 Isabel-Clara Simó, 24 Carmen Suárez, 25 Emili Teixidor, 26 Ferran Torrent, 27 Miquel Àngel Violán, 28
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A short novel that offers a pluralist look at amorous problems in today’s society
Víctor Alexandre
With a wellmeasured plot and a skillful, orginal style, Víctor Alexandre offers us a new vision of love via the different characters in the novel
A short novel which deals with love in a contemporary period, in the space of Barcelona and the surrounding area. It is focused on an upper middle class couple, teacher and psychologist respectively, but it also portrays a collection of interesting characters, such as the gigolo Alex, the student Eva, the friend Francesc, the psychologist Ruth and the patient Blanca. Through a well crafted plot, each character gives us his particular vision of love.
An Immoral Story Proa / 176 pages / September 2010 Víctor Alexandre (Barcelona, 1950) is the author of several essays – including Jo no sóc espanyol (1999) and Nosaltres, els Catalans (2008) -, which he combines with writing plays and fiction. In the field of narrative, he has published El somriure de Burt Lancaster (2005), a small treasure
on the importance of chance in people’s lives, and he received the Premi Mercè Rodoreda 2008 for Set dones i un home sol, a high voltage sexual story about the complexity of sentimental relationships between men and women.
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Premi Mallorca for Fiction 2006
Manuel Baixauli Who is writing the texts that the protagonist of this novel keeps finding in the most unexpected places? The hidden stories speak about him and his life: the man he could have been and the man he may end up becoming. They are disturbing texts that compel him to look in the mirror and analyse the state of his existence. But what can one mirror facing another truly reflect? The questions that these texts provoke force him to undertake a journey that will change him forever. Manuel Baixauli has written an ambitious, intense and imaginative novel about the passion for literature and its ability to transform the shape of our lives.
Rights sold to: H2O edizioni (Italy) Constructed as a maze of mirrors, this is an intense and imaginative book about the obsession of writing
The Manuscript Man Proa / 208 pages / June 2007 Manuel Baixauli (Sueca -Valencia-, 1963) is a painter and writer. He has published the short story collections Espiral (Premi Ciutat de Badalona, 1998) and the novel Verso (Premi Ciutat d’Alzira, 2001), both of them to critical acclaim. He won the Premi Narrativa for L’home
manuscrit in 2006.
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The author is a well known psychologist in Catalunya, who contributes to many media, from television to radio and newspapers
Antoni Bolinches Peter Pan is an endearing character that never existed, but his profile of an immature young boy that doesn’t want to grow old is more and more present everyday in our society. Which are the causes that lead to the proliferation of so many men afraid of commitment that refuse to mature and behave as adults? What can Peter Pan-man do to stop being like that? These are the questions that this book tries to answer, a fascinating book that is destined to become an essential guide to help the young boys of the 21st century finding the way of creating a new model of gender relationships.
The subject, the Peter Pan syndrome, is a very common subject these days A book that will catch the attention of both men and women
Peter Pan Can Grow Up Columna / 176 pages / February 2010 Antoni Bolinches is one of the main instructors of humanist psychology in Catalunya and is specialised in the treatment of sentimental conflicts, sexual disfunctions and personal growth therapies. He works as professor in the Master’s Degree of Clinical Sexology
and Sexual Health in the Medicine Faculty and professor of the Master’s Degree of Emotional Education in the Psychology Faculty of the Universitat de Barcelona. He is also a professor in the Institut Superior d’Estudis Psicològics of Barcelona.
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Premi Sant Jordi 2009
Xavier Bosch “The job lasted as long as a pair of shoes”, says Dani Santana. What circumstances pushed the editor of Crònica newspaper to suddenly leave his job? What balancing act between power and politics makes the foundations of the newspaper tremble? What is hidden in the wings of the world of journalism? The truth seems caught in a web of silence and corruption. When Senza, Chief Editor of Crònica’s Society section, is implicated in an investigation into islamist terrorism in Barcelona, the facts mount up and the two journalists start to lose control of their destiny. Set in Barcelona, Se sabrà tot is a direct, fast-paced novel full of life.
The best selling catalan book in 2010 The reality of today’s Barcelona in a story of corruption and journalism Xavier Bosch runs the most important political TV show in catalan television
The Truth Will Come Out Proa / 304 pages / Februry 2010 Xavier Bosch was born in Barcelona in 1967. One of the most popular journalists in Catalunya, he triumphed in the literary field with Se sabrà tot. He had previously published the short story collections Jo, el simolses (1992), Vicis domèstics (1998) and the short novel La
Màgia dels reis (1994). Holding a degree in Information Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, he has typed on all the keyboards in journalism. He was editor of the newspaper Avui (2007-2008) and chief of programming at RAC1 (2000-2007).
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The powerful attraction of the countess Aurembiaix for the conqueror Jaume I
Assumpció Cantalozella
An historical and romantic novel about one of the national legends of Catalonia
Aurembiaix, Countess of Urgell, has lived from an early age in the court of Castile. As a girl, she met Jaume I and, aside from arousing expectations of a union between the two dynasties, a powerful attraction for Jaume I develops in Aurembiaix’s heart, maintained according to the conventions of troubadour love. Years later, both of them live an idyll, but the relationship cannot be formalised owing to political questions. Aurembiaix returns to the lands of Urgell, where she lives quietly in a sad marriage of convenience while Jaume I embarks on the conquest of Majorca. The Secret Love of King Jaume I Proa / 240 pages / February 2010 Assumpció Cantalozella was born in Santa Coloma de Farners (Girona). She has a degree in Catalan Language and has given literature and language classes. She regularly contributes to the newspaper El Punt. She participated in some of the books in the collection “Ofèlia
Dracs” and is the author of various novels and narratives. She had remarkable success with her historical novels El falcó del comte and Corpus de Sang.
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A noir novel about the murder of a prostitute by a serial killing truck driver, set in the year 2005
Llorenç Capdevila Sota la pell is a noir and psychologically introspective novel inspired by a real case: in 2005, on the Eix Transversal road, a prostitute was found dead – unidentified even today – with a strange erotic tattoo. Coincidentally, or not, the design coincided with that on the body of a man killed in Darnius a couple of years before. From this point, the novel simultaneously unfolds two stories: that of Pau Perellós, a writer whose wife has just left him, and that of Paula Galkiewick, a Polish prostitute who he meets at the end of the highway. The disappearance of Paula leads Pau to travel to an underworld, in a journey to hell which helps him overcome his creative and sentimental crisis.
The themes of foreign prostitution and tatoos are very well researched and executed
Under the Skin Proa / 200 pages / May 2010 Llorenç Capdevila (Alpicat, el Segrià, 1969) is a graduate in Catalan Language and works as a teacher in Manresa, as well as collaborating in various regional communication media, such as Regió 7. Cultivator of the historical genre, he has published the novels El color del crepuscle
(Premi Leandre Colomer 2001), O rei o res! and Ànima de llop (Premi El Lector de L’Odissea 2004), set in the middle ages. He is also author of Serrallonga, l’últim bandoler (2006), a biographical novel about the contradictory outlaw Joan Sala i Serrallonga. 7
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A parenting book written by one of the main experts in this field
Victòria Cardona
A useful guide on how parents can educate their children by combining freedom with authority
How can we manage to properly educate our children without compromising their own autonomy and freedom? What is the nature of our authority over them? How can we establish a climate of communication and confidence that will help us to reach agreements with them? Victòria Cardona gives us the answers to these questions, with a series of reflections and anecdotes, experienced over a long professional career and through her own family experience, which will help us to experience the relationship between parents and children with confidence and optimism. Who is in Charge Here? Pòrtic / 152 pages / January 2010 Victòria Cardona i Romeu (Barcelona, 1936), is a mother and a teacher who specialises in family counselling. She is a frequent collaborator on various radio and TV programmes. She also actively participates in conferences dedicated to education held by various associations
and schools, and in different events as an expert on family communication and dialogue, self-esteem and the discovery of values, among other subjects. She has been a municipal advisor in the area of Education and Public Health on the Barcelona local council.
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Rights sold to: Martínez Roca (Spanish) and Woongjin Think Big (Korea)
Albert Casals “I want to tell you a story. It’s the story of a boy who was born early because he was so eager to see the world. It is also the story of what happened to that boy’s need to meet new people and to learn new things. Evidently, this is an adventure story.” El món sobre rodes is the story of Albert, a boy who, despite suffering from leukaemia, begins a journey at the age of fourteen, alone and in his wheelchair, across half the world. His restless and adventurous spirit, his curiosity to discover the world and his determination to overcome adversity have made him into an exceptional globetrotter who describes his experiences in this book.
A testimony of personal recovery free of self-pity Optimism and vitality from the first to the last page For more information about the life and adventures of Albert, visit the web page www. elmonsobrerodes.cat
The World on Wheels Edicions 62 / 208 pages / March 2009 Albert Casals i Serradó was born in Barcelona in 1990. At the age of five he suffered a mononucleosis infection that developed into leukaemia, leaving him confined to a wheelchair. He has lived in Esparreguera (Barcelona) since the age of seven with his parents and sister,
where he finished his primary school. At the age of fourteen he began to travel the world on his own. He was recently named ambassador for the Step-by-Step foundation (www.fundacionsbs. org), dedicated to the rehabilitation of patients with spinal injuries. 9
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The portrait of a group of friends in Barcelona, as seen through the nostalgic and critical eyes of an outsider with money troubles
David Castillo Angel returns to his neighbourhood of Vallcarca in Barcelona, where he spent his childhood, to hide from his problems with internal revenue and to find himself again. There he reencounters friends from the neighbourhood gang, who vegetate in resignation, the loss of others and, above all, who remember many anecdotes, such as the fights with the boys from Carmel and El Coll, the visceral hatred for the gypsies and people from Murcia, the football games in the tenement buildings, the first joints, the girls, paid sex, the relationship with a legendary old anarchist and so on. But the uncomfortable reality of today must be faced.
A generational novel that looks at the Barcelona neighbourhoods of the sixties and the world of the counterculture
The Sea of Tranquility Proa / 224 pages / September 2010 David Castillo (Barcelona, 1961) has been one of the energisers of Catalan culture since the 1980s. He has run the cultural supplement of the newspaper Avui since 1989 and has coordinated and managed other headliners. He has won civic action awards for
this work in different neighbourhoods of Barcelona. He was founder of the Setmana de Poesia (‘Poetry Week’) and has run other cycles. He has published the novels El cel de l’infern (1999), Premi Creixells and No miris enrere (2002), Premi Sant Jordi.
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Jordi Coca
Jordi Coca (Barcelona, 1947) has worked in the field of education and has translated plays and poetry collections. His interest in literature led him to write the biographies of the Catalan writers Brossa and Pedrolo, but at the end of the 1980s he returned to the novel with great success, publishing Mal de Lluna (Premi Documenta 1988), La japonesa (Premi Josep Pla 1992), Louise. Un conte sobre la felicitat (Premi de la
Crítica 1993), Paisatges de Hopper (1995), Dies meravellosos (Premi Ciutat de Palma de novel·la Llorenç Villalonga 1995), La faula dels ocells grecs (Premi Ramon Muntaner 1997) and Sota la pols (Premi Sant Jordi 2000). He is currently regarded as one of the best authors in the Catalan language.
Novelistic recreation of a woman who became a symbol of the effervescent, uncertain Barcelona of the 70s and the transition from dictatorship to democracy Jordi Coca is one of the most outstanding novelists in contemporary Catalan literature. Winner of many major literary prizes, he also writes short fiction, essays, poetry, drama, translation and journalism
La nit de les papallones is a novel that portrays the colourful Barcelona nightlife of the 1970s, and at its centre is Carla, a burlesque dancer who turns heads with her aesthetically dazzling and emancipated performances. Written as an homage to the legendary stripper Christa Leem, and in part inspired by her personality, the novel shows us the slow construction of a legend that would come to obsess a generation of intellectuals, avant-garde artists and political radicals.
Rights sold to Bruguera (Spanish)
The Night of the Butterflies Edicions 62 / 208 pages / October 2009
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A modern adventure novel with psychological intrigue about two people at their limit
Flavia Company
A gripping story, as believable as only best true stories can be
Matthew Prendel is a sober and reserved doctor about whom everyone speculates. He doesn’t like talking about his life or his past. Above all, he refuses to give details about the pirate attack on his yacht on the coast of equatorial Africa. Nor does he want to discuss about the two colleagues he lost aboard the same vessel. Even less does he like to talk about the five years he disappeared for, shipwrecked and lost somewhere in the Atlantic. Only when he knows he is ill does he feel the need to confess his secret story to his lover of the last few years. The Island of the Final Truth Proa / 144 pages / January 2010 Flavia Company (Buenos Aires, 1963) has worked as a translator, literary critic, teacher of literary workshops and television presenter for Barcelona Televisió, but her professional trajectory stands out because of her literature. Highlights among her works, written in Catalan
and Spanish, include the following: Llum de gel (1996), which is currently being prepared for film; Ni tu, ni jo, ni ningú (Premi Documenta 1997); Dame placer (1999), translated into several languages; Melalcor (2000); La mitad sombría (2006) and Con la soga al cuello (2009).
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Winner of the Premi Lector de l’Odissea
Jordi Cussà His twelfth birthday is the last which Dusko spends in his home. The war in the Balkans in the 1990s enters his life and marks him forever. Son of Sarajevo and a mix of all the ethnicities of the region, Dusko celebrates his 13th, 14th and 15th birthdays amidst a setting of fights, hatred, vengeance and lies between neighbours. After these years, nothing can ever be the same again. Set in the wars between Serbia, Croatia and BosniaHerzegovina, El noi de Sarajevo goes beyond a war chronicle and demonstrates the deep impact it had on those who lived through it. Finally, he realises how far he himself is a collateral victim of the nightmare.
The Balkans war as experienced by an adolescent in Sarajevo, the child of a clash of cultures Rights sold to: Atmosphere Libri (Italy)
The Boy from Sarajevo Proa / 264 pages / March 2010 Jordi Cussà (Berga, 1961) is a writer, poet, author and theatre director. In 2000, he surprised the public and critics with the novel Cavalls salvatges. Subsequently, he published five more novels, including La serp (2001) and L’alfil sacrificat (2002). As a playwright, he has
written several works, six of which have been performed. He has translated authors of the calibre of Chuck Palahniuk, Truman Capote and John Boyne to Catalan.
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The author has been awarded with the Premi Godó de Periodisme i Reportatge
Plàcid García-Planas What can explain war better? The Afghan army offensives against the Taliban or the soldiers’ eagerness to record their fights in their Nokia mobile phones? Where is the news? Is it in the fact that Bet Furik is the West Bank village where more «martyrs» were born, or in the fact that the first suicide explode himself wearing a Real Madrid t-shirt and the second one with a Barça t-shirt? What is more bewildering? The fact that the border crossing where the Second World War is now a gay district or that the place where Mussolini was hanged is today a McDonald’s? Paradox is an efficient way of explaining the atrocities of today’s wars.
A very personal view of a war correspondent of the main decisive moments of the 20th century A new approach to war and its causes
Jazz at Hitler’s Office Edicions 62 / 232 pages / September 2010 Plàcid García-Planas was born into a family of the textile world in Sabadell in 1962. He has a degree in Journalism by the Universidad de Navarra, and works as a journalist for La Vanguardia since 1998. Along his wide career, he has covered the Yugoslavian wars, the Gulf wars and the conflicts of Lebanon,
Israel, Palestine and Afghanistan, amongst others. This book, Jazz al despatx de Hitler, has been awarded with the Premi Godó de Periodisme i Reportatge.
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Winner of the Premi Pin i Soler The Premi Pin i Soler has helped many previously unknown contemporary authors to achieve greater standing, including Antoni Pladevall and Roc Casagran
Joan Giné In the bloody battle of the Ebre, the young brigadier Paul Brians, son of a Catalan father and American mother, is the first to cross the river in the Republican offensive and the last to recross it swimming in his army’s retreat after their defeat. Paul’s passion and courage in combat, born of indisputable ideals, turn to disillusion and senseless violence on his long journey home. Only disproportionate sensuality or his affection for horses can keep his hopes alive.
A great realistically drawn tale of an epic episode in the Civil War, which has historical secondary characters such as Líster, Modesto, Tagüeña, Yagüe and Franco
The Naked Horserider Columna / 456 pages / March 2010 Joan Giné-Masdeu (Falset, 1950) has published three collections of poems and debuts as a novelist with El genet nu, given the Premi Pin i Soler 2009. Having participated in the collective volume ‘Poemes’ with the collection Poemes setantànics, he
published the poetry volumes A frec de capitell and Quadern de geografia. Head of the Martí Franquès School in Tarragona, he is a specialist in making videos applied to teaching.
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An exciting story of extreme desire and love
Isidre Grau “How many lives must we live to know that we are not deceiving ourselves?” This is the question Tomàs asks himself while he remembers the last episode lived through with Gloria, the woman with whom he shared a destructive relationship years ago, and who a little over a week ago reappeared in his life in a disturbing manner. In pain and confusion, Tomàs picks apart not only this tumultuous week but also the root of a passion destined to fail: he, the son of the bourgeoisie of the Eixample quarter and painter in self-exiled decadence in an apartment in Carmel; she, a woman as free as she is unstable, raised in the Raval in a conflictive environment.
A story which deals with overcoming personal hells and the limits of redemption ‘How far one can get used to heaven when they have known hell.’
The Beauty of the Devil Columna / 240 pages / May 2010 Isidre Grau has lived in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona) since he was born in 1945. He has combined chemical engineering with the practice and teaching of literature. Professor of Catalan and literary techniques, he works with written communication. He is the author of
eleven novels, seven narrative collections and two literary essays, among other texts. He was a member of the collective Ofèlia Dracs. In 2006 he ended the open literary circle with Els colors de l’aigua with the imaginary space of Vinyes de Savall in the background.
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Finalist in the Premi Sant Jordi 2009
Albert Llimós
The story of a genuine anonymous heroine of the twentieth century, one who has lived and suffered both the greatness and the mystery of the human condition
Teresa grew up without a mother, in an environment that far too early introduces her to the evil and violence inherent in human nature. She falls pregnant while she is still young and decides to leave the village where she was born in search of opportunities in Lleida. The outbreak of the Civil War, and the devastating effects it has on both her and the city itself force her to flee. She will encounter a Barcelona in upheaval, still suffering from the wounds of war, a city in complete transformation with huge social contrasts and many surprises.
The author is a young journalist who works for several different media outlets
The Women Who Fled from the Mist Proa / 376 pages / February 2010 Albert Llimós (Torrefarrera, el Segrià, 1981) has a degree in audiovisual communication from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and journalism from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He began his professional career in Cadena Ser. After passing through
Localia, he currently works in Ràdio Barcelona (cadena SER) and ONA FM. The idea for La dona que fugia de la boira has been with him since 2006.
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Finalist of the Premi Carlemany 2008
Bartomeu Mestre
The captivating biographical confession of a neo-nazi of his role in the bomb attack on the Palma de Mallorca train station
A man hangs himself in his cell on the same day in 1968 that they have imprisoned him for an attempted dynamite explosion at the Palma train station. Shortly after being arrested, he confesses and delivers an autobiographical manuscript to his priest for him to try and publish. This tale holds the confession of his failed attempt and of a previous sabotage of which nobody had suspected him. The former manager of a railway station, according to him, the passing of the railways on the island is a clear demonstration of the succumbing to uncontrolled tourism which is reaping the foundations of his society.
In his debut novel, Bartomeu Mestre captivates with the voice of a disturbed character
The Last Manuscript Columna / 264 pages / June 2010 Bartomeu Mestre (Felanitx, 1952) is an essayist. As a specialist in the Catalan Nova Cançó movement and in one of its members, Guillem d’Efak, he has published Crònica de la cançó catalana and Balada d’en Guillem d’Efak. The book El darrer manuscrit is his debut novel, with which
he was a finalist in the Premi Carlemany 2008.
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Extremely literary novel that follows the trajectory of a contemporary individual of uncertain identity
Lluís Muntada
A novel with original ingredients such as the literary treatment of football and the exploration of the limits of sexuality and the human condition
David comes from a village on the border with France. He lives with his widowed mother and an orphaned cousin, Pol, who is a kind of big brother with an enormous seductive power which fascinates David. During this obsession, full of projections and fantasies, Agnès appears, a French girl who goes to the same village school. L’elegància del número zero portrays infancy, adolescence and youth of a generation with a blurry identity. We witness the gradual loss of innocence of Pol, David and the mysterious Agnès, a volatile and passionate woman who gives off a captivating sensuality. The Elegance of Number Zero Proa / 416 pages / January 2010 Lluís Muntada (1964) is author of the volume of narratives Canvi d’Agulles (Premi Mercè Rodoreda 2002), which was very well received by the critics. In 1982, he had published Espirals (Premi Just Manuel Casero). He is a teacher and writes articles for the newspaper El Punt and is a literary
critic for El País and the magazine L’Avenç. L’elegància del número zero confirms that Lluís Muntada is one of the most solid writers of today.
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Premi Documenta 2009
Pere Antoni Pons La felicitat dels dies tristos tells the story of Tabou, a troubled and fickle university student who at the same time isn’t resigned either to pessimism nor to sadness. Scarred by an intense and complicated family history, Tabou falls in love with Elisenda, a beautiful and lively classmate who quickly reveals herself to be an unobtainable objective. What could be a motive for bitterness and disappointment ends up becoming a fascinating challenge and an invigorating experience which leads Tabou to discover, just when he feels he is about to hit rock bottom, the best things in life: the exaltation of love itself, family loyalty, the generosity of friends and the pleasures of joy.
A novel about the sublimation of impossible love that stands out for its exceptional lyricism The magnificent title captures the essence of the book: a prevailing melancholy with sublime moments of hope and excitement
The Joy of Sad Days Empúries / 182 pages / March 2010 Pere Antoni Pons (Campanet, 1980). So far, he has published three books of poems, two books of conversations with writers, the narrative essay Fals entre fulgors o el deure d’assumirse, included in the collective volume Qui no mereix una pallissa! (2005), and
the interview book La vida, el temps, el món: sis dies de conversa amb Joan F. Mira. As a press journalist, he has contributed in various media as literary and cinema critic, writing opinion articles, conducting interviews and writing travel and socio-political chronicles.
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Gaudí and the Sagrada Familia temple are two of the best known things of Barcelona
Armand Puig
Armand Puig is a professor in the Theology Faculty of Catalunya and has written several works on the figure of Jesus Christ and the Apocryphal Gospels
Gaudí’s architecture apeks through the symbol, texture, the materials used, the shapes obtained; it is a world of quotations that we must know in order to comprehend such a unique and outstanding work. The Sagrada Família is not an isolated monument to the city and the country that have made it possible. On the contrary, the cultural and religious, the artistic and poetic, the musical and anthropological tradition of Catalonia is captured in every one of its stones. The book includes many photographs, and sketches explaining the façades and the inside of the temple.
The author has been translated into Italian and Portuguese
The Sagrada Família According to Gaudí Pòrtic / 280 pages / October 2010 Armand Puig (la Selva del Camp, 1953) has a PHD in Political Science and is a dean for the Teology University of Catalunya. A member of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas and of the Biblical Association of Catalunya, he has written many articles and books about
biblical subjects, like Jesús. Un perfil biogràfic (2004), translated into five languages, and Els evangelis apòcrifs (2008). He has also worked upon the mediaeval catalan versions of the Holy Bible and about the Organyà homilies.
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Winner of the Premi Josep Pla 2010
Llucia Ramis An anonymous Majorcan writer of self-help books is accused by a sensationalist TV programme of having committed a ‘careless near-murder’. Her victim is a young man who was hospitalized after being hit in the head by a bag of rubbish. Someone threw the bag from the flat where the writer lived twelve years ago. Unexpectedly, a friendship develops between the writer and the shameless journalist who made the accusation, introducing her to the perversions of an exclusive part of the city’s society. Meanwhile, the man she supposedly hurt, who is in turn facing punishment for alleged abuse of his exgirlfriend, insists on becoming the protagonist’s best friend...
Rights sold to: Destino (Spanish) “Egosurfing: the practice of surfing the Internet in search of information about oneself.” WIKIPEDIA
An innovative and absorbing story that ironically portrays the egotistical side of Internet users The author’s first book went into further editions and was considered ‘a general manifesto’ for contemporary thirty-somethings today
Egosurfing Destino / 332 pages / February 2010 Llucia Ramis (Palma de Mallorca, 1977) is a writer and journalist. Her debut novel, Coses que et passen a Barcelona quan tens 30 anys (Columna, 2008), was a critical and commercial success. She has also been featured in the anthologies Odio Barcelona (2008) and
Matar en Barcelona (2009). Egosurfing is her second novel and has won the 2010 Premi Josep Pla.
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A sentimental novel of a family saga of Indianos (wealthy returnees from South America)
Domènec Sesmilo In a moment of life crisis, Joan Rogent decides to leave Barcelona and go to live in Mataró, in a house which belonged to Ramon Turú, an old Indiano who has just committed suicide. While the police investigate the case, Joan Rogent pulls the thread of his information on the death and embarks on a journey to Colombia. There he finds surprises regarding the figure of the Indiano, but also about his own family, who had unclear business in South America. La casa de l’indiano is a novel of family secrets which takes us to the little known world of the Indianos who sought their fortune in South America between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.
Warm and intriguing, with family secrets and punch lines of argument
The Indiano’s House Proa / 320 pages / May 2010 Domènec Sesmilo (Barcelona, 1942) is a quantity surveyor by profession and, since 1976, a militant of the Unió Democràtica de Catalunya, in which political party he has assumed various responsibilities. He has been a deputy in the Catalan Parliament since 1984. In
December 1999, he was designated senator for Convergència i Unió, representing the party in the Catalan Parliament. His latest books are El paper dels democristians en la construcció europea (1998), La societat comunitària (2000) and Saba nova (2007).
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Isabel Clara Simó Blai was an insipid and none too bright boy, but he was born with the luck of knowing where spirit can be found. Having left his studies, he started working at the slaughterhouse but that job wasn’t for him, he didn’t like it. Three years later, he begins working at the bar ‘La Cantonada’ as the kitchen help and slowly changes from being a boy who is unskilled in cooking to becoming a sought out chef in the ‘La Sargantana d’Or’ restaurant. Despite this, his life is grey and dull until he meets Rosario, a Columbian prostitute with whom he falls hopelessly in love. He had never loved a woman, nor had he imagined it was a feeling like this. But destiny deals them a bad hand.
Isabel-Clara Simó (Alcoi, 1943) has a doctorate in Romanic Languages. She has been a teacher at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. She currently works exclusively as a writer. She has generated more than forty works: Júlia; La salvatge; Històries perverses; Dones; El gust amarg de la cervesa; T’imagines la vida sense ell?; L’home que volava en el trapezi; Adéu-suau; El caníbal, etc. She has received
numerous awards, amongst which stand out the following: Premi Víctor Català, Premi Sant Jordi, Premi de la Crítica del País Valencià, Premi de la Crítica Serra d’Or, etc. Her works have been translated into several languages: Spanish, Basque, Galician, English, French, German, Italian, Swedish, Dutch and Turkish.
A great love story. A story about the farthest reaches of love. How far can you go not to be separated from the one you love? Isabel-Clara Simó is considered one of the most important writers in the Catalan language and is a committed author whose style is far from the commonplace
The Cannibal Columna / 144 pages / February 2007
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A cook book to seduce your partner
Carmen Suárez Sensual, seductive, suggestive and tasty are just some of the adjectives that describe the more than one hundred recipes included in this excellent cookbook. The Sexy Cooking book is more than a simple collection of recipes: all kinds of recipes to amaze and succeed with your partner; dishes that include amongst their ingredients the so-called «aphrodisiac food» for nibbling, dishes with rice, pasta, meat or fish; love potions, desserts and recipes for the next morning brunch. A complete menu to seduce and be seduced. With the recipes proposed in these pages we will find out, at last, what’s the taste of love.
The author is an expert in cooking and has worked for many magazines and newspapers with recipes and reviews A very special book for Saint Valentine’s Day
Sexy Cooking Columna / 198 pages / February 2010 Carmen Suárez (Gijón, 1946) is an expert gourmet who has worked as a cook journalist in several publications, amongst which El País, Elle and El Semanal. She has also been the Editorial Director of the magazines Cocinar Hoy, Cocina semanal and Imagínate. She
now combines literary translation with cook journalism.
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Emili Teixidor The “Guests”, who have come to consolidate with words what has been imposed by force of arms and will be helped by countrymen and collaborators convinced of their principles. The individual journeys of the various protagonists play out against a background of a devastating accident and a family celebration, weaving a web of relationships in which personal and group dynamics come into contact with collective tragedy. With a careful style, the author takes us back to difficult times, with guests who want to carve up the ruins of a disaster amongst themselves; some of the guests are innocent and some guilty, just like the inhabitants of the village.
Emili Teixidor (Roda de Ter, 1933). During the first years of his professional life, Teixidor worked as a teacher and was later a founding member of the Patmos school in which he established revolutionary, new teaching methods. Apart from his work as a teacher, he studied Law, Philosophy, Literature and Journalism. He has worked mainly in the genre of fiction, producing classic works like Sic transit Gloria
Swanson (1979), Retrat d’un assassí d’ocells (1988), El llibre de les mosques, Premi Sant Jordi 1998, Pa negre (2003) and Laura Sants (2006). He has won numerous awards.
A masterful novel about the consequences of war in a village in the interior of Catalonia His previous book, Pa negre, became the Catalan bestseller par excellence in recent years and has sold more than 50,000 copies Emili Teixidor is one of the most prestigious and valued writers in the environment of Catalan literature for adults and he is considered a classic author for children’s fiction
The Guests Columna / 256 pages / February 2010
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Ferran Torrent Valencia in the 1960s. With Franco’s dictatorship still at the height of its power, the decision of three young communists to show their displeasure at the official party line will have unexpected results. Meanwhile, an investigation into the death of a rich heiress will produce a confrontation between an honest police captain and the officious head of the PoliticoSocial Brigade. Parallel to the historical plot is a present day tale about the travails of a family that was ravaged by the civil war. The two narratives combine to create a unique novel, offering a playful vision of a society whose historical idealism has suffered in recent years.
Ferran Torrent (Sedaví, 1951) is one of the most popular writers in contemporary Catalan literature: Un negre amb un saxo (1989), Gràcies per la propina (1994) and L’illa de l’holandès (1999) are just a few of the works that have been translated and filmed, meeting with both critical and popular acclaim. Societat limitada (2002) won many prestigious prizes including the Premi Creixells. Espècies
protegides revisits some of the characters from that novel but, far from being a simple repetition, it takes Torrent’s great tale of contemporary Valencia to new, unexplored extremes, without losing sight of his distinctive characteristic: that of being an exceptional documenter of the time and place in which he lives.
Adventures in Valencia in the sixties during Franco’s dictatorship Ferran Torrent is one of the most popular authors of Catalan literature, as shown in his sales success and the numerous translations and cinematic adaptations of his work
Boulevard of the French Columna / 408 pages / February 2010
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Josep Guardiola has become an example to all football lovers thanks to his method based in humility, effort and common sense
Miquel Àngel Violán The seven championships that Pep Guardiola has won in the two years that he has been training the Barcelona first team prove to us that we are in the presence of a remarkable leader that bases in common sense the obtainment of incredible results. The author analyzes the values that have made Pep Guardiola the best football coach in the world, and Barça a world example of excellence made in Catalonia. A book that allows us to know deep the way Guardiola works and how his coaching has make him become one of the most renowned coaches, and how his leadership has transformed Barça in one of the most admired and triumphant football teams in the world.
The triumphs that he has achieved have turned Guardiola into a point of reference for the team work Miquel Àngel Violán explains the parallelisms between sports and the business world in a way that can be understood by all sorts of readers The current economic and social moment has generated a need of values like those defended by the Barça coach: common sense, effort, team work, cooperation, discipline, humility, risks, innovation
The Guardiola System Columna / 208 pages / September 2010 Miquel Àngel Violán has a degree in Journalism and in Law, an MBA through ESADE and is professor of corporative communication in the Instituto de Empresa and in EAE Business School. Former Editorial Director at the newspaper Avui, he worked as a
communication coach with Jorge Lorenzo. He is considered as one of the best lecturers in Spain in the field of communication.
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