Copenhagen Literary Agency Fall 2016
Rights List
Copenhagen Literary Agency is the result of a merger in 2015 between Leonhardt & Høier Literary Agency (established 1951) and Lars Ringhof Agency (established 2001). The agency represents Scandinavian authors worldwide. Personnel: Monica Gram (mg), owner, senior agent (translation rights) Lars Ringhof (lr), owner, senior agent (Danish rights, film rights) Esthi Kunz (ek), senior agent (translation rights, sub rights) Åsfrid Hegdal (åh), senior agent (translation rights) Anneli Høier (ah), associated agent (translation rights) Eva Haagerup (eh), agent (sub rights, contract management) Ane Lauenblad (al), agent (Danish rights, contract management) Stephanie Andén (sa), junior agent (maternity leave) Celeste Meersohn (CFO) Alexander Buk-Swienty (assistant, contract management) Sophia Hersi Smith (assistant, contract management) Address: Copenhagen Literary Agency Frederiksholms Kanal 2, 3. floor DK-1220 Copenhagen K Tel.: +45 33 13 25 23 E-mail: firstname@cphla.dk Web: www.cphla.dk Åsfrid Hegdal (Oslo office) Tel.: +47 924 46 123 Anneli Høier (visiting address only): Studiestræde 35 A DK-1455 Copenhagen K Tel.: +45 51 51 50 37
New fiction
Helene Uri (NO) HÃ…LKE
Helene Uri is back with an intense, new novel, Slippery Slope, about a marriage, a lifetime of scores to settle and the perfect opportunity to do so. Slippery Slope is about Ebba and Karl. They have been married for a lifetime. They have shared sorrow and happiness. They have raised their children together. They have loved, betrayed and deceived one another. Wounds and bruises have come and gone. Now they have retired with aged and aching bodies. It’s winter outside. The world is coated in thick hard ice, and the council can’t afford to salt the roads. Going out means risking broken bones, perhaps even the beginning of the end. Ebba and Karl stay indoors and begin a fight to end all fights. One day, becomes two, becomes several, where they only have each other. The coffee runs out, as does the bread. Over these wintery and isolated days, past betrayals, brutalities and uncertainties are brought back to life. But so too is their love. This raises the impossible and even dangerous question: Can you hate and love someone at the same time? Uri writes convincingly about power and powerlessness, especially the complex constellation - built by a lifetime of pent up anger, disappointment, and co-dependency - that exists between two people whose entire lives are intertwined. - VG Towards the end, Uri has included a surprisingly brutal and nerveracking scene that could have been ripped straight from the pages of a crime novel. This book is an uncompromising portrait of a woman. - Dagbladet Helene Uri (b. 1964) is the author of bestselling novels The Best Among Us, A Righteous Man, Bitches and Clearing Out amongst others. Original title: Hålke (Slippery Slope). Published in Norway by: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 2016. 240 pages. English sample translation available.
Agent: åh
Previous publishers include: Denmark: Klim, France: Editions JC Lattès, Germany: Piper Verlag, Hungary: L´Harmattan, Italy: Marsilio, Netherlands: De Geus, Poland: PI Publishing House, Spain: Maeva Ediciones, Sweden: Norstedts Förlag.
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Mich Vraa (DK) HAABET
1787. On board the slave ship Hope, a violent rebellion breaks out among the black captives locked in the cargo hold. Below deck, two young women - the captain’s and the doctor’s wives – are at the mercy of these desperate people. By the time the slave rebellion is savagely brought to an end, the lives of those on board is forever changed. Hope is a dramatic and entertaining story told through diaries, manuscripts, letters and the ship’s logbook. It features a diverse cast of characters, whose individual stories are woven together to reveal, piece by piece, a period of unspeakable evil in Danish history: A time of unbelievable wealth in Copenhagen earned off the backs of slaves working the Danish West Indian sugar plantations. ❤ ❤❤ ❤ ❤ A tough, beautiful and engrossing novel that ignites both imagination, compassion and indignation. - Politiken
A brilliant story about idealists and cynics […] intricately composed with jumps in time, space, and writing style that infuse it with an underlying sense of urgency and tension from start to finish. The significance of the past, the often troublesome present and the intangible sense of the future act as a driving force for the people trying to reconcile themselves with their destiny, and for those trying to change it. - Weekendavisen
Mich Vraa (b. 1954) is a journalist, author and translator of Don DeLillo, Jonathan Franzen, Hemingway, Elmore Leonard and many more. He lives in Odense and is the father of three children and three cats. Original title: Haabet (Hope) Published in Denmark by: Lindhardt and Ringhof, 2016. 240 pages. English sample translation available.
Agent: ek 5
Erik Fosnes Hansen (NO) ET HUMMERLIV
Sensational new novel by the author of international bestsellers Hymn at Journey’s End, Tales of Protection and The Lion Woman A Lobster Life is a burlesque comedy, a tender love story and a psychological drama about delusion and courage. Through exquisitely drawn characters, Fosnes Hansen shows us how self-deceit can be a means of survival. We lie to ourselves and to others, because honesty is difficult. In this epic coming-of-age tale, the author gives us a unique, albeit at times horrifying, portrait of a most unusual family. A brilliant story told with originality, subtlety and vivid imagery. - Adresseavisen Original title: Et hummerliv (A Lobster Life). Published in Norway by: Cappelen Damm, 2016. 384 pages English sample translation available. Sold to: Germany: Kiepenheuer & Witsch
Agent: ah
The new movie based on The Lion Woman is sold in 40 markets. Previous publishers include: Denmark: Gyldendal, Estonia: Sinisukk, France: Gallimard, Germany: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Italy: Marco Tropea Editore, Japan: Shinchosa, Latvia: Atena, Netherlands: De Geus, Portugal: Presenca, Spain: JP Libros, Sweden: Bonniers, Turkey: Agspi Yayinlari. 7
Nicolai Houm (NO) JANE ASHLANDS GRADVISE FORSVINNING
As with his previous novel Here’s What’s Wrong with The Lindebergs, Nicolai Houm combines both surgically precise observations with the pace and attention to detail of the best TV-series. The similarities with Don DeLillo and Jonathan Franzen cannot be denied. - Dagens Næringsliv An American woman wakes up alone in a tent in the Norwegian mountains. She doesn’t have a map or a compass or any food. Her cell phone is dead. She only has one thing left to lose. Jane Ashland came to Norway to seek out distant relatives, but when her trip goes awry she hooks up with a zoologist and joins him on a musk oxen hike through the Dovrefjell mountain range, but here too everything goes wrong. Houm serves up events from Jane’s life with a steady hand [and] skillfully crafts a rising curve of excitement, not unlike that of a thriller. Although the content is at times sad, the author has luckily not lost his funny satirical wit. – Adresseavisen Houm exhibits a strong sense of confidence. Insightful observations, unsentimental depictions of nature, and believable details bring the settings and characters to life. Jane Ashland’s journey away from evil is deftly portrayed.- Dagbladet An elegantly composed, well-written and psychologically credible crisis novel. - Stavanger Aftenblad
Nicolai Houm has a degree in journalism and studied creative writing in Bø. His second novel Here’s What’s Wrong with The Lindebergs was a much-acclaimed breakthrough in 2013. Original title: Jane Ashlands gradvise forsvinning (The Gradual Disappearance of Jane Ashland). Published in Norway by: Tiden Norsk Forlag, 2016. 175 pages. English sample translation available.
Agent: åh 9
Linda Bostrรถm Knausgaard (SE) Vร LKOMMEN TILL AMERIKA
In Welcome to America we meet a family on the brink of disaster. The girl stopped talking a long time ago. By now, the whole family is used to it; the mother, who is an actress, the brother, who locks himself in his room and urinates in empty bottles. They all just want to be left alone. They all desperately long for one other. Home from school, the girl suddenly sees her dead father sitting on her bed. Only she knows that his death is her fault. “We are a family of light and happiness,” the mother repeats once again. But the girl’s darkness seeps out from beneath her bedroom door filling the entire house. A great book! […] No, Linda Boström Knausgård certainly does not shy away from the dark and horrible in her family dramas. Her prose is beautiful, clear and precise. I really love this novel. - Aftonbladet “Boström Knausgård’s writing is masterful. [She] has written a succinct, precise, beautiful and at times paradoxically entertaining novel about a bizarrely painful childhood. […] she never judges, never justifies. She just narrates, with perfection. - Sydsvenskan Linda Boström Knausgård (b. 1972) is a poet and author, as well as a producer of documentaries for Swedish radio. Grand Mal, her critically acclaimed collection of short stories was published in 2011. Her first novel The Helios Disaster (2013) proved to be her breakthrough. Original title: Välkommen till Amerika (Welcome to America). Published in Sweden by: Modernista, 2016. 92 pages.
Agent: mg
English sample translation available Rights sold: Denmark: Lindhardt og Ringhof, Finland: Like Kustannus, Norway: Oktober. 11
Birgithe Kosoviđ (DK) DEN INDERSTE FARE
Just how far should you bow down to totalitarian power? Where is the line between subjugation and integrity? It is the summer of 1940. Denmark is powerless against the Nazi occupation. The king and the prime minister turn to the only man, they believe can negotiate with the Germans: Erik Scavenius. Scavenius is a nobleman’s son fallen from grace, the fierce political leader and an unabashed womanizer. This man will lead his country almost unscathed through years of war, only to become the most despised politician to ever run the country. Scavenius is heralded by historians as the most astute prime minister of all time and he is dismissed by others as a morally corrupt collaborationist. To this day, his legacy remains heavily disputed. Inner Danger, one of two volumes, is the first book to take a close look at the most controversial political leader of Denmark in the 20th century.
ŝƌŐŝƚŚĞ <ŽƐŽǀŝđ (b. 1972) received several awards for her novel Det dobbelte land (A Country in Two) based on her family history in the former Yugoslavia.
Original title: Den inderste fare (Inner Battle). Published in Denmark by: Politiken, 2016 400 pages Agent: ek
Previous publishers include: France: Éditions Calmann-Lévy, Germany: btb, Greece: Kedros. Netherlands: De Bezige Bij, Italy: Donzelli Editore, Lativa: Atena, Macedonia. Antolog, Norway: Aschehoug, Spain: Lumen, Sweden: Albert Bonniers Förlag, Serbia: Direkcija NNK International.
Erik Scavenius (1877-1962), politician, diplomat and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Danish Prime Minister during German occupation from 1942-45.
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Birgit Alm (NO) ENDELIG SKAL VI LE A spider spins a thread in the window above a stack of bills. There are plenty of spiders, plenty of unpaid bills. Two of them are reminders. There’s a debt collection notice on the phone bill, too. I slam the spider with the collection notice, repeatedly, until its body is splattered on the paper. Birgit Alm (b. 1967) is a literary critic. Finally We Will Laugh is her first novel.
Elinor Nor is a single mom and student. Every day is a bitter struggle. A struggle to make money stretch. A struggle to be a good mother to a child growing up in a neighbourhood, where everyone has anything they might ever want. A struggle to hold on to a measly shred of dignity in the face of landlords, neighbours and social welfare officers. The little bit of pride she has left is too difficult to swallow, making it impossible for her to ask for help. Original, critical, hard-hitting, strong and tender [...] a significant voice in contemporary literature. - Hamar Arbeiderblad Finally We Will Laugh is the title of Birgit Alm’s unpretentious, straightforward, easy to read and likable first novel. - Stavanger Aftenblad A first novel with guts and power. - Dagbladet
Original title: Endelig skal vi le (Finally We Will Laugh). Published by: Tiden Norsk Forlag, 2016. 238 pages.
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Agent: åh
Kyrre Andreassen (NO) FOR ØVRIG MENER JEG AT KARTHAGO BØR ØDELEGGES Furthermore, I Consider That Carthage Must Be Destroyed is a novel about love, anger management and getting paid under the table. Krister Larsen is an electrician who takes great pride in his work, despite massive back pains. Krister is the voice of Kyrre Andreassen’s new novel, his first since Svendsen’s Catering in 2006. I wasn’t in the least bit interested in the pergola. Not in the slightest. It was all Marianne, she thought it would be majestic with a pergola in the garden. The idea weaseled its way back from our Easter trip to Rome, where we’d eaten at a restaurant called La Pergola. Back home I’d barely lugged our suitcases through the door before she was in full swing, inspecting the lawn. She stood there waving her arms about the place. The snow hadn’t even disappeared.
Kyrre Andreassen (b. 1971) is the author of two novels, a short story collection and two plays.
Can you see it? Marianne said, but just because you sit on some Roman pavement with all sorts of vines dangling overhead, stuffing your face with rich food and wine, all of antiquity shoved in your face, doesn’t mean you can just nail a few planks to the garage back home and call it a pergola. I told her it was naïve. Original title: For øvrig mener jeg at Karthago bør ødelegges (Furthermore, I Consider That Carthage Must Be Destroyed). Published by: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 2016 356 pages.
Agent: åh
English sample translation available. 15
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Birger Emanuelsen (NO) ANNA OG KJÆRLIGHETEN Is it ever too late to forgive oneself? Anna Bergseng works as a midwife. She has never had a sick day off her entire life. She is selfassured and experienced, someone the younger colleagues can look up to.
Birger Emanuelsen (b. 1982) is the author of three novels and a short story collection.
One evening, outside the maternity ward, she meets somebody she once knew, and the memories send her reeling into the past. Love and Anna is a novel about hope and change, about a life that once was and could have been. A literary tour de force, so elegant and gripping, a sheer performance of dramaturgy and prose… a warm embrace of a novel, about making the small things in life great. - Adresseavisen The strength of the novel lies in Emanuelsen’s courage to analyse truly important feelings, and he carries this off without it ever becoming ridiculous. - Dagens Næringsliv
Original title: Anna og kjærligheten (Love and Anna). Published by: Tiden Norsk Forlag, 2016 175 pages.
Agent: åh
English, Czech and German sample translation available.
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Bjørn Arild Ersland (NO) STORE HENDELSER I LITEN SKALA As if Stoner was written by Dag Solstad. - DN What happens when you are no longer needed? Neither at home, nor at work. And what if you’re the last one to realize it? This is the starting point of the novel Great Occurrences on a Small Scale, where we meet librarian Arne Sjølingstad the day he is pushed into retirement. The problem: Arne still loves his job. He lives and breathes local government projects and has absolutely no plans of giving in or giving up. Great Occurrences on a Small Scale is a comical novel with a serious undertone. We see life through Arne’s eyes, usually heavily tinted by his overwhelming enthusiasm for his job as a public librarian. A great disparity is revealed between life as Arne would like it to be, and life as it has turned out.
Bjørn Arild Ersland (b. 1965) is a well-known author of non-fiction and books for children and young adults. He has been nominated for a long list of prizes, such as the Brage Prize no less than three times. Great Occurrences on a Small Scale is Ersland’s fiction debut.
Great Occurrences on a Small Scale is a short novel about the great things in life. It does not pretend to be bigger than it is […] It is not reliable either, rather its unpretentiousness underlines what’s important: to be seen, to be appreciated at work, to have someone to share in your enthusiasm. - NRK Original title: Store hendelser i liten skala (Great Occurrences on a Small Scale). Published in Norway by: Pelikanen, 2016 175 pages Agent: mg English sample translation available. 17
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Johan Jensen (NO) KRÅKEN The tragedy of Skinnøya was the bloodiest attack on Norwegian soil during WWII. The German army slaughtered 331 civilians, leaving a gaping wound in the nation’s psyche. Until now, hardly anyone has been aware of the dramatic course of events triggered by the Skinnøya tragedy – the ripple effect of which has shaped Western history.
Johan Jensen (b. 1976) is a Norwegian journalist and author. He lives in Belgrade. The Crow is his first novel.
An unpublished memoir provides the basis for this gripping conspiracy thriller about one of Norway’s most dangerous men. Those who know him, fear him. Those who don’t, ought to. He is known as The Crow. There are so many good things to say about Johan Jensen. His wealth of knowledge is impressive […] an inspiring and unusual example of war literature. - Aftenposten A cunning tale […] By mixing facts and fiction, the author creates a literary cocktail that many will happily enjoy. - Dagbladet The Crow is an expansive and ambitious novel about a historical search for the truth in which the plot steals the scene. - Morgenbladet Original title: Kråken (The Crow) Published by: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 2016 356 pages English sample translation available.
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Agent: åh
John Ajvide Lindqvist (SE) VÅRAN HUD, VÅRAT BLOD, VÅRA BEN New literary horror stories by the prize-winning author of Let the Right One In. Night after night, a child waits by the railings on the Finland ferry, staring out to sea. A lorry driver with a gory secret picks up a suspicious looking hitch-hiker. A young couple are offered a house at too low a price due to “special extenuating circumstances.” Our Skin, Our Blood, Our Bones is a collection of horror stories in the unmistakable style of John Ajvide Linqvist. The stories take place in contemporary Sweden, where ghosts, pixies and werewolves lurk, if you know where to look... The title story was nominated for the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story.
John Ajvide Lindqvist (b. 1968) is the author of Let the Right One In. His most recent novel, I will always Find You, was nominated for the Swedish August Prize 2015.
Original title: Våran hud, vårat blod, våra ben (Our Skin, Our Blood, Our Bones). Published in Sweden by: Ordfront, 2016 337 pages. Agent: ah Previous publishers include: ANZ: Text Publishing, Brazil: Globo Livros, China (complex): Locus, China (simplified): China Citic Publishing House, Croatia: SysPrint, Czech Republic: Argo, Denmark: Rosinante, Finland: Gummerus France: Editions Télémarque, Germany: Lübbe, Indonesia: Gramedia Publishers, Italy: Marsilio, Japan: Hayakawa, Korea: Munhakdongne, Netherlands: Signatuur, Norway: Cappelen Damm, Poland: Amber, Portugal: Bertrand Editora, Romania: Editura Trei, Russian: Azbooka, Slovakia: Marencin PT Spain: Espasa Calpe, Thailand: The Aspirer Group, Turkey: Pegasus, UK: Quercus, USA: St. Martin’s Press, Vietnam: Phuong Nam Books. 19
Niels Lyngsø (DK) HIMLEN UNDER JORDEN Through flashbacks a story unfolds of a sexually curious Nadia Nazir, whose fieldwork in sex clubs and primate behavior inspires her to found the Sapiens collective.
Niels Lyngsø (b. 1968) is a poet, author and the translator of Philip Roth, Junot Díaz, Michel Houllebeq and Marcel Proust, amongst others.
Now Nadia lives in an underground world of shafts and tunnels below Paris. With a group of likeminded people, she has established Sapiens, a scientific collective which utilizes sex as a crucial social mechanism. When Nadia’s lover, the female artist Baartman, disappears with their son, Nadia receives cryptic messages from a man claiming to be her halfbrother, which forces her above ground. The Sky Below is about origin, identity, and the attempt to foster communities. The novel can be read as a standalone sequel to My Unknown Brother (2015): ˔˔˔˔˔˔季季 Masterful [...] a seamless story, written in an effortless, flowing and fully commandeered language, revealing himself as a superior writer of prose. The book is a surprise from beginning to end; a sober, yet empathetic psychological analysis of a forty-year-old man’s upbringing, breakdown and recovery [… ] A great contemporary novel – full of subtle humor and mild irony, exciting and insightful, so that you blazes right through it. – Jyllands-Posten Original title: Himlen under Jorden (The Sky Below). Published in Denmark by: Gyldendal, 2016. 369 pages. Agent: mg
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Iben Mondrup (DK) KARENSMINDE Karen’s Place is a story about the family as a living organism. It is about the bonds that tie us together over time and space, and the events – both great and small – that mark us all for life. It’s summer and Bjørk is with her parents, Karen and Jens, who’ve just moved from Greenland to Denmark looking to spend more time with their three children and grandchildren. Out in the countryside, they’re busy with the restoration of the abandoned farm “Karensminde” which they dream of turning into a bed & breakfast. Bjørk and her brother Knut were once very close, but now he’s got his hands full with his wife and their young twin daughters. Their older sister, Hilde, no longer wants to visit the farm. After many years of separation, both hidden and forgotten emotions resurface along with a host of new ones, and soon the reunion becomes a bumpy ride into the depths of the family’s history. In the middle of all this, Jens has a bad fall. His injuries will not only change his life, but also the lives of all around him.
Iben Mondrup (b. 1969) is the author of Godhavn, winner of the Danish Radio Best Novel Award 2015.
Original title: Karensminde (Karen’s Place). Published in Denmark by: Gyldendal, 2016. 312 pages.
Agent: ek
Previous publishers include: France: Denoël, Netherlands: Querido, US: Open Letter.
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Anne-Sophie Lunding-Sørensen (DK) HAPPY ENDING 39-year-old Elvira Gregersen is a morbidly obese, chronically lazy phone girl at a Copenhagen bordello. Her twin brother Sixten is a drug addict. Her best friend Køster is a police officer. The three have been inseparable since childhood. When one of the sex workers disappears without a trace, a frequent patron of the brothel, known as The Rag, asks Elvira to help him look for her. Anne-Sophie LundingSørensen has a degree in film and media studies. She has previously worked as a quiz writer for the trivia game Bezzerwizzer. Happy Ending is her third novel.
Things don’t go down as expected. Happy Ending is a novel about misfits and tough luck, about loneliness and fragile hope. It is impossible to not fall in love with the noisy 300 pound Elvira […] she is a genuine novel’s heroine with a mission that the author creates with solidarity and humour. - Politiken Funny, entertaining and extremely well-written. - Jyllands-Posten An entertaining romantic and tragic comedy, that I ate up in one sitting. - Weekendavisen
Original title: Happy Ending (Happy Ending) Published in Denmark by: Gyldendal, 2016. 175 pages. Film rights sold to SAM Productions.
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Agent: ek
New non-fiction
Tom Buk-Swienty (DK) TOMMY OG TANNE
An outstanding storyteller - Berlingske 1918: A Love Story is the utterly engaging biography of two siblings, a brother and his older sister. Already at a young age, the siblings swear an oath to “follow father’s God.” That is, “to seek what is great in life.” Their father, the distinguished Captain Wilhelm Dinesen, killed himself at age 50, leaving behind a wife and four young children forever marked by his death. The older sister, Karen ‘Tanne’ Blixen also known as Isak Dinesen, travels to Africa in search of her destiny and greatness, only to fail. She is forced back home to Denmark, where she would, years later, become a beloved and world-renowned author. Tanne also persuades Tommy to enlist in WWI, where she believes he might find father’s greatness. Tommy survives the horrors of the Western Front in 1918 and is awarded the highly-esteemed Victoria Cross for gallantry in service. Yet this is not only a tale of courage on the battlefield, but one of love, and how Thomas almost broke his heart by falling in love with a married woman. 1918: A Love Story is based on never-before-seen diaries, letters and new research into one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 19th century. Tom Buk-Swienty is a celebrated author of the two-volume bestselling biography of Captain Wilhelm Dinesen, as well as two award-winning books about the Danish-Prussian war of 1864. Original title: Tommy og Tanne (1918: A Love Story). Published in Denmark by: Gyldendal, 2016. 480 pages. English sample translation available.
Agent: ek
Rights sold: Spain: Ediciones del Viento. Previous publishers include: Germany: Osburg Verlag, Norway: Gyldendal, UK: Profile Books, USA: W.W. Norton. 25
Ivo de Figueiredo (NO) EN FREMMED VED MITT BORD "Where does my fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story begin? Where does my own?" When Ivo de Figueiredo, aged 45, asked himself these questions, he opened the door to a hitherto unknown family history spanning four continents, five centuries and the rise and fall of two empires. His father's family emigrated from the Portuguese colony Goa in Western India to British East Africa. They were Indian with European ways and values, trusted servants to the imperial powers. The end of colonialism saw them become homeless, redundant, caught between the age of empires and the age of nations. And so, they were forced to fight their way westwards. Some travelled to the United States, some to England, but one member of the de Figueiredo clan travelled further than the others, ending up alone in Bamble, on the coast of Telemark in Norway. This is the story of a family formed by the building of an empire and ultimately torn apart with its downfall. It is the story of a family that never stops losing one another, but somehow always manages to find each other again. More than anything else, it is an account of a son in search of his father's story, who ends up rewriting his own. Ivo de Figueiredo (b. 1966) is a historian, author, critic, and a member of The Norwegian Academy. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed biography of Henrik Ibsen and more recently, Words/Flesh - A History of Norwegian Stage Drama from 2014. Original title: En fremmed ved mitt bord (A Stranger at My Table). Published in Norway by: Aschehoug, 2016. 303 pages. English sample translation available.
Agent: mg
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Crime
Ane Riel (DK) HARPIKS
˔季Winner of the Glass Key for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel 2016 ˔季The Harald Mogensen Price for Best Danish Crime Novel in 2015 ˔季Awarded the Niels Price 2016 by the Danish Ministry of Culture ˔季Nominated for the Danish Radio Award for Best Novel 2016 ˔季Nominated for Berlingske’s Best Novel Award 2016 What happens to a sensitive father when he loses more than he can bear? Perhaps he flees from it all. Perhaps he kills his own mother. He could even report the death of his own child. Maybe he stands idly by while his wife chokes. Maybe he drowns himself in all the things he cannot let go. And how does this man’s much-loved daughter grow up in his upside down world — where good is evil and right is wrong, where darkness is light and the dead are living? ˔˔˔˔˔季Her language is pure and sharp in a crooked sort of way, her characters ambiguous and colourful, while the story is captivating, the tone melancholic, melodious and masterfully strange. - Berlingske Holy smoke! Ane Riel has written a totally captivating and remarkable novel. - Weekendavisen ˔˔˔˔˔季It is both a thriller and a family saga of the oddest sort, narrated with a fantastic feel for the child’s mind and inner world.季– Ekstra Bladet
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Convincingly scary. - Politiken Original title: Harpiks (Resin). Published in Denmark by: Tiderne Skifter, 2015. 257 pages. English sample available. Agent: ek Rights sold: Germany: btb/Random House, Norway: Aschehoug Finland: Aula & Co, Japan: Hayakawa, Slovakia: Premedia. Film Rights: Zentropa Productions. 31
Ragnar Jรณnasson (IS) DARK ICELAND SERIES
THE DARK ICELAND SERIES Has all the skilful plotting of an old-fashioned whodunit although it feels bitingly contemporary in setting and tone. - Sunday Express A No. 1 Amazon Kindle bestseller in UK and Australia. Selected amongst The Best Crime Fiction of 2015 by The Independent. Nominated for the Barry Award in the US for Best Paperback Original. Original title: Snjóblinda (Snowblind), Náttblinda (Nightblind), Myrknætti (Blackout), Rof (Broken), Andköf (Breathless), Published by: Veröld Bjartur, 2010-2014. English translations available. Agent: mg Rights sold: Arabic: Kalima, Armenia: Guitank Publishing, France: La Martinière, Germany: S. Fischer Verlag, Italy: Marsilio Editori, Japan: Shogakukan Inc. Korea: Bookplaza, Poland: Wydawnictwo Amber, Turkey: Andante, UK: Orenda Books, US: St. Martin’s Press UK production company On the Corner in the UK has acquired TV rights to the Dark Iceland series.
NEW CRIME SERIES: THE HULDA SERIES A lawyer and a translator of Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic, Ragnar Jónasson has written seven novels. Five in the Dark Iceland series, sold to 11 territories, and two in the new Hulda series, with the first book called Hulda’s Last Case. The plots he leaves behind are more interesting, more believable and more unexpected than fans of crime novels have come to expect. Hulda’s Last Case is an outstanding book in every way […] the ending makes the reader crouch in excitement. – Hringbraut, starred review Original title: Dimma (Hulda’s Last Case). Book 1 in the Hulda Series. Original title: Drungi (Gloom). Book 2 in the Hulda Series. Published by: Bjartur Veröld, 2015 and Fall 2016. Agent: mg English sample translation available. Rights sold: UK: Michael Joseph (two book deal) with DHH Literary Agency.
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Anna Grue (DK) I LIGE LINJE 750.000 copies of The Bald Detective series printed in Denmark The seventh volume in the popular series about former adman turned private eye Dan Sommerdahl, finds him unemployed, depressed, and unhappy. Geir Gulliksen (b. 1963) is an author and book editor. He has written poems, essays, plays, novels and children's books.
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In Christianssund, the idyllic seaside town where Dan lives, a man is killed in a motorcycle accident. Shortly after his friend is found murdered. Dan, who is on his own mission of truth discovers a mysterious connection between the two deaths… In Denmark, Anna Grue is just as famous as her colleague Jussi Adler-Olsen, because she writes crime novels that are brilliantly sophisticated and credible. - Die Welt Orchestrates plot and characters with a grown up sense of logic and a completely natural dialogue. - Weekendavisen An exceptionally good crime series. - Berlingske Tidende Original title: I lige linje (Like Father, Like Son). Volume 7 of The Bald Detective series. Published in Denmark by: Politikens, 2016 395 pages Agent: ek
Previous publishers include: Armenia: Guitank, France: Gaïa Editions, Germany: Atrium Verlag, Iceland: Forlagiđ, Italy: Marsilio, Norway: Cappelen Damm, Sweden: Piratförlaget Film rights sold: ndf (Neue deutsche Filmgesellschaft). 34
Elsebeth Egholm (DK) DEAD WEIGHT The ninth novel in the Dicte Svendsen series. Dicte Svendsen visits the island of Malta with a group of students, when a boat carrying refugees from Africa is brought into the harbor after a shipwreck. Among the many dead is one white woman. Soon the press and the local police investigation focus too much of their attention on her. Elsebeth Egholm’s crime series has sold over 1 million copies and was made into a TV-series. Season 1 is now showing on American Netflix and season 3 has just started in Denmark. Elsebeth Egholm surpasses herself - Fyens Stiftstidende 季˔˔˔˔˔季
Geir Gulliksen (b. 1963) is an author and book editor. He has written poems, essays, plays, novels and children's books.
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Is the plot realistic? Maybe. Believable? Close. Exciting? You bet it is! - Nordjyske Stiftstidende ˔˔˔˔˔季 Elsebeth Egholm made her debut in 1999 with The Free Women's Club and has since published a number of well-received books. The first book in the Dicte Svendsen series, Hidden Faults and Errors, was published in 2001. Original title: Dødvægt (Dead Weight) Published in Denmark by: Politikens Forlag, 2015 392 pages Agent: ek International publishers include France: Le Cherche Midi, Germany: Aufbau, Iceland: Forlagiđ, Italy: Einaudi, Japan: Tokyo Sogensha, Netherlands: Prometheus, NZ: Murdoch Books, Norway: Schibsted, Poland: Sonia Draga Publishing House, Sweden: Damm Hungary: XXI. Század Kiadó
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Helene Tursten (SE) SANDGRAV SANDGRAV is the second volume of Tursten’s new crime series featuring detective Embla Nyström.
Helene Tursten (b. 1954). Author of the Irene Huss series, published in 15 territories with more than 4 million copies in print.
9-year-old Amelie leaves school to fetch a white dress from home for the annual Lucia parade. She never returns. Soon after another child disappears. A 17-year-old boy becomes the prime suspect, but when other dramatic events unfold the police begin to suspect that other, larger forces are at play. 28-year-old crime investigator Embla Nyström is put on the case. Is there a serial killer on the loose? Will they find the children alive? Original title: Sandgrav (Sand Grave). Published by: Massolit, 2016. 378 pages Agent: ah Right sold: Denmark: Lindhardt og Ringhof Publishers of the Embla series include: Germany: btb Random House, Czech Republic: Motto/Albatros Media, Denmark: Lindhardt og Ringhof, World English rights: Soho Press.
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Keep an eye on
Geir Gulliksen (NO) HISTORIE OM ET EKTESKAP Story about a Marriage is a novel narrated by a man trying to figure out how his seemingly loving marriage could end in divorce. Trying to figure out what went wrong, he puts himself in his wife’s shoes and sifts through all the memories of their years together looking for answers.
Geir Gulliksen (b. 1963) is a distinguished editor at Oktober Forlag and an author. He has written poetry, essays, plays, novels and children's books.
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Nominations: The Nordic Council Literature Prize 2016 The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature 2015 The P2 Listeners Novel Prize 2015 Astute about love, sex and betrayal. Story about a Marriage is written with an enormously strong sense of language, that makes the novel just as beautiful as it is interesting. - Dagsavisen So well written that it becomes uncomfortable [...] With an aesthetic, expressive language, so rich in detail, he twists and turns the plot, so that it almost becomes embarrassing in the most erotic scenes. - Dagbladet Story about a Marriage is an emotionally complex novel and one of this autumn's finest […] It may be embarrassing to read, but it is truly literary impressive. - Klassekampen Original title: Historie om et ekteskap (Story about a Marriage). Published in Norway by: Aschehoug, 2015. 170 pages. English sample translation available. Agent: mg Rights sold: Arabic: East Western Publishing, Denmark: C&K Forlag, Finland: Siltala Publishers, Poland: Czarna Owca, Sweden: Svante Weyler Förlag, UK: Hogarth/ Chatto & Windus, US: Hogarth/Crown Publishing.
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Carsten Jensen (DK) DEN FØRSTE STEN When an entire Danish unit posted in Afghanistan are betrayed, twelve rogue soldiers, their chaplain and their disillusioned commander do just what their enigmatic enemy expects. Blinded by rage and with a thirst for revenge, they plunge deep into the heart of darkness that is Afghanistan at war. The First Stone is a gripping, panoramic drama about the power of myth-making and the limits of war.
♥♥♥♥♥♥ It is not only about the war in Afghanistan, but about war in general – and about modern technological warfare in particular […] Breaking with tradition, Carsten Jensen’s brilliant novel does not focus on the impossible distance between the battlefield and home: instead, we are catapulted directly into a group of professional Danish soldiers in Helmand, and in the middle of a war in which the first stone has long since been thrown. - Politiken
Carsten Jensen (b. 1953) wrote We, the Drowned a widely translated bestseller with more than 500.000 copies in print.
Winner of Berlingske’s the Readers Award 2016Shortlisted for DR Romanprisen 2016 Original title: Den første sten (The First Stone). Published in Denmark by: Gyldendal, 2015 550 pages. English sample available.
Agent: ah
Detailed English summary available upon request.
Sold to: France: Phébus, Germany: Knaus Verlag/Random House, Netherlands: De Bezige Bij, Norway: Forlaget Press, Sweden: Albert Bonniers Förlag,Turkey: Dedalus, World English: Melville House, Poland: Foksal. 39
Ida Jessen (DK) EN NY TID A Change of Time is the diary of a newly widowed former teacher from a small provincial town in the 1920s. In these pages, she contemplates her past and envisions the paths she might take in her future.
Ida Jessen (b. 1964) is a master of contemporary Danish fiction, a member of The Danish Academy, a bestselling author since her debut, and a translator of several major authors, including Alice Munro and Marilynne Robinson.
Once I read the opening, I was sold. Ida Jessen’s writing is understated, delicate and perceptive. I gave myself over to the narrator’s quiet adamancy, to her deep-rooted emotions, to the relaxed rhythm that gives us room to breathe, feel and think. - Jill Schoolman, Archipelago Books Winner of Danish Radio Best Novel Award 2016 Winner of The Blixen Prize for Best Novel 2016
Original title: En ny tid (A Change of Time). Published in Denmark by: Gyldendal, 2015. 210 pages. Agent: ek Rights sold: USA: Archipelago Books, Italy: Scritturapura
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Ida Jessen (DK) BIBELHISTORIER
♥♥♥♥♥ Ida Jessen’s treatment of the stories from the Bible is done with great respect and a smile. - Politiken
****** A masterpiece. – Jyllands-Posten
One of the most respected authors in Denmark, Ida Jessen, and illustrator Hanne Bartholin have created a classic with their rendition of the many fantastic stories from the Bible. Original title: Bibelhistorier (Bible Stories). Published in Denmark by: Bibelselskabet, 2016. 317 pages, illustrated. Agent: ek
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Josefine Klougart (DK) NEW FOREST (prev. COLUMBIA BLUE) New Forest presents three women living under three different circumstances, and at different stages in life. A young girl rides a horse through New Forest in the south of England. A young author in a complicated relationship contemplates the prospect of having children. An older woman takes care of her dying husband until he draws his very last breath. Their storylines come together in an ambitious novel about what it means to be a daughter, mother, sister, and lover. What it is like to be loved and what it is like to stand outside the light of love.
Josefine Klougart (b. 1985) made her literary debut in 2009 and was nominated twice for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.
Original title: New Forest (New Forest) Published in Denmark by: Gladiator, 2016. 500 pages. Agent: mg One of Us Is Sleeping (2012) Scandinavia now has its own Virginia Woolf. – VG Klougart’s graceful and precise language […] a beguiling conjuring of consciousness. - Publishers Weekly Previous publishers include: Bulgaria: Perseus Publishing, Croatia: VBZ, France: Actes Sud, Italy: Scritturapura, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk forlag, Sweden: Albert Bonniers Förlag, Turkey: Bence Kitap, World English: Deep Vellum Publishing (On Darkness), World English: Open Letter Books (One of Us is Sleeping). 41
Madame Nielsen (DK) DEN ENDELØSE SOMMER The Endless Summer is the story about people who, caught in the throes of reckless love, are thrown out of time and into an endless summer. Within a short few months, they live full lives. But death pulls them all apart.
Claus Beck-Nielsen, Danish author, has worked under the name Das Beckwerk, Nielsen, and Madame Nielsen. Twice nominated for the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize.
At its core, the novel is a whirlwind romance between a mother and her daughter’s friend, a young Portuguese artist. It is a story of a passion so violent that it weaves together the fates of all around forever. Original title: Den endeløse sommer (The Endless Summer). Published in Denmark by: Gyldendal, 2014. 185 pages. Full English translation is available.
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Agent: ah
Rights sold: France: Notabilia, Norway: Pelikanen Sweden: Kabusa, World English Rights: Open Letter Books, NY, Spain: Editorial Minúscula
Jรณn Kalman Stefรกnson (IS) /dd,s K ^d Zั s/K >, /D/EE The story starts with Ari on his way to see his father on his deathbed. Soon the plot intertwines stories of the past with stories from the present. Stefรกnssonโ s novel offers a compelling description of burning passion between husbands and wives, and tales of forbidden love, violence, sorrow, betrayal and depression. Original title: Eitthvaรฐ รก stรฆrรฐ viรฐ alheiminn (About the Size of the Universe). Published in Iceland by: Bjartur, 2015. 355 pages. Rights sold: Denmark: Batzer & Co., France: Gallimard Germany: Piper Verlag, Italy: Iperborea Netherlands: Ambo Anthos, Norway: Press Portugal: Cavalo de Ferro, Sweden: Svante Weyler Fรถrlag, UK: MacLehose Press
Jรณn Kalman Stefรกnson (b.1963) is the author of The Trilogy About the Boy which is published in 25 countries.
About the Size of the Universe is a stand-alone sequel to the novel Fish Have No Feet: Nominated for the 2015 Nordic Council Literature Prize and the 2015 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Jรณn Kalman Stefรกnssonโ s novel of storm-tossed fishermen and oceanic grandeur has the saltscoured wisdom of ancient Nordic sagas. - The Spectator, on Fish Have No Feet
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Morten Strøksnes (NO) HAVBOKA Winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize, 2015 Winner of the Norwegian Critics‘ Prize for Literature 2015. Winner of the Norwegian Reine Ord Prize at Lofoten International Literature Festival 2016
Morten Strøksnes (b. 1965) is a Norwegian historian, journalist, photographer and writer. He is the author of four critically acclaimed books of literary reportage and has written reportages, essays, portraits and reviews for most major Norwegian newspapers and magazines.
The ice cold depths off northern Norway is home to the great Greenland shark, one of the world’s most peculiar sharks. Shark Drunk is the story of two friends who become obsessed with bringing this legendary monster to the surface. During their adventures at sea, Strøksnes speaks with contagious enthusiasm about the teeming life beneath the sea. He delves into both old and new literature describing real and mythical sea monsters, and contemplates the origins of life. Original title: Havboka - eller Kunsten å fange en kjempehai fra en gummibåt på et stort hav gjennom fire årstider (Shark Drunk). Published in Norway by: Forlaget Oktober, 2015. Agent: mg 320 pages. English, French and German translations available.
Rights sold: Czech Republic: Argo, China (simplified Chinese): Penguin Random House, Croatia: Fraktura, Denmark: DonMax/Hr. Ferdinand, France: Gallimard, Germany: DVA/ Random House, Hungary: Jelenkor/Libri Kynövkiado, Iceland: Bjartur, Italy: Iperborea, Korea: Business Books, Netherlands: Atlas Contact, Poland: Wyd Literackie, Russia: Corpus Books, Spain: Salamandra, Sweden: Leopard Förlag, Taiwan (Complex Chinese): Locus blishing, UK: Jonathan Cape, US: Knopf.
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Ole Thorstensen (NO) EN SNEKKERS DAGBOK Diary of a Carpenter is the story of a loft. Simple and brilliant. A carpenter’s diary documents a project from start to finish. Reflections on work and identity blend effortlessly with heavy lifts, blood, sweat and frustration. We learn the value in hard manual labour and witness the pride and joy of craftsmanship. In this rarely told story about the other side of most people’s dealings with builders and manual labour. What primarily makes the book worth reading is that it is so rich in descriptions of all pleasures related to mastering a craft: the portrayal of the working community, the joy of seeing something take shape, and the knowledge that one has left a piece of oneself behind. The pleasure of drinking coffee from a thermos, listening to good radio, observing the city from a new angle, and feeling the weight of history when you build on something that craftsmen before you have started. - Klassekampen
Diary of a Carpenter is Ole Thorstensen’s first book, a simple but rewarding story about how he spends his days. Ole Thorstensen (b. 1965) is a carpenter who has worked in construction for 25 years.
Original title: En snekkers dagbok (Diary of a Carpenter). Published in Norway by: Pelikanen, 2015. 221 pages. English sample available. Agent: mg Rights sold: Denmark: People’s Press, France: Gaïa Editions, Germany: btb/Random House, Japan: X-Knowledge, Korea: Sallim Publishing Co., Netherlands: Lebowski Publishers, Sweden: Albert Bonniers Förlag, UK: MacLehose Press US: Penguin US. 45
Lene Kaaberbøl (DK) VILDHEKS 1-6
THE SHAMER’S CHRONICLE YA fantasy. Sold in 25 countries. Movie and theatre adaptations.
MADELEINE KARNO TRILOGY Crime in the 1890s. TV-rights sold.
THE NINA BORG SERIES with Agnete Friis. Modern Scandi Crime. Sold in over 15 countries. A New York Times Bestseller. TV-rights sold. and
WILDWITCH 1-6 Sold in 250.000 copies and 12 countries. Movie in pre-production. Lene Kaaberbøl’s wonderful story begins when 12-year old Clara is attacked by a big, black cat and then sent by her mother to visit the mysterious Aunt Isa. The Wildwitch Series is about finding yourself and your place in the world. Clara will learn the meaning of her secret skills as a wildwitch and she will discover a world full of magic and great danger. پ پ پ پ پ Kaaberbøl writes like a queen and spins her story like a witch in total control. The Wildwitch series has the potential to be deep, wise and entertaining. The story has just begun. - Politiken on vol. 2. Original title: Vildheks 1-6 (Wildwitch 1-6). Published in Denmark by: Alvilda, 2010-2014. 170-190 pages. English translations available.
Agent: ek
Sold to: Bulgaria: EMAS, China: Blossom Press, Colombia (Latin America): Panamericana Editorial, France: Bayard, Germany: Hanser, Italy: Carlo Gallucci, Netherlands: Lannoo, Norway: Samlaget, Poland: (pending), Russia: Eksmo, Sweden: Rabén & Sjögren, UK (World English): Pushkin Press. 47
Alm, Birgit: ENDELIG SKAL VI LE (Finally We Will Laugh) 14 Andreassen, Kyrre: FOR ØVRIG MENER JEG AT KARTHAGO BØR ØDELEGGES (Furthermore, I Consider That Carthage Must Be Destroyed) 15 Buk-Swienty, Tom: TOMMY OG TANNE (1918: A Love Story) 24 Egholm, Elsebeth: DØDVÆGT (Dead Weight) 35 Emanuelsen, Birger: ANNA OG KJÆRLIGHETEN (Love and Anna) 16 Figueiredo, Ivo de: EN FREMMED VED MITT BORD (A Stranger at My Table) 26 Grue, Anna: I LIGE LINJE (Like Father, Like Son) 34 Gulliksen, Geir: HISTORIE OM ET EKTESKAP (Story of a Marriage) 38 Hansen, Erik Fosnes: ET HUMMERLIV (A Lobster Life) 6 Houm, Nicolai: JANE ASHLANDS GRADVISE FORSVINNING (The Gradual Disappearance of Jane Ashland) 8 Jensen, Carsten: DEN FØRSTE STEN (The First Stone) 39 Jensen, Johan: KRÅKEN (The Crow) 18 Jessen, Ida: EN NY TID (A Change in Time) 40 Jónasson, Ragnar: DIMMA (Hulda’s Last Case) 30 Kaaberbøl, Lene: VILDHEKS (Wildwitch) 46 Klougart, Josefine: NEW FOREST (New Forest) 41 Knausgård, Linda Boström: VÄLKOMMEN TILL AMERIKA (Welcome to America) 10 <ŽƐŽǀŝđ͕ ŝƌŐŝƚŚĞ͗ DEN INDERSTE FARE (Inner Battle) 12 Lindqvist, John Ajvide: VÅRAN HUD, VÅRAT BLOD, VÅRA BEN (Our Skin, Our Blood, Our Bones) 19 Lunding-Sørensen, Anne-Sophie: HAPPY ENDING (Happy Ending) 22 Lyngsø, Niels: HIMLEN UNDER JORDEN (The Sky Below) 20 Mondrup, Iben: KARENSMINDE (Karen’s Place) 21 Nielsen, Madame: DEN ENDELØSE SOMMER (The Endless Summer) 42 Riel, Ane: HARPIKS (Resin) 30 Stefánson, Jón Kalman: EITTHVAÐ Á STÆRÐ VIÐ ALHEIMINN (About the Size of the Universe) 43 Strøksnes, Morten: HAVBOKA (Shark Drunk) 44 Thorstensen, Ole: EN SNEKKERS DAGBOK (Diary of a Carpenter) 45 Tursten, Helene: SANDGRAV (Sand Grave) 36 Uri, Helene: HÅLKE (Slippery Slope) 2 Vraa, Mich: HAABET (Hope) 4 48