76th Frankfurter Buchmesse in Sight

‘From Italy to the World’ for translators; newly revived Literary Scouts Contact Sheets; and more: All roads this week lead to Frankfurt.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

See also:
Rights Edition: ‘From Italy to the World’: Torino’s Translation Conference at Frankfurt
Rights Edition: A Look at Crime and Mystery in the Philippines’ Book Market
Rights Editino: Bitter Lemon Press Buys World English Rights to Zayed Winner

Scouting for a Scout?

With everything moving so fast now toward Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 16 to 20), most of the focus is there, and time is short.

So we’ll make a quick reference to a couple of related items, and then move right into our roundup.

First, note the ‘From Italy to the World’ conference at the very beginning of Buchmesse, that may be of interest to our Rights Edition readers who work in translation. It’s a sure way to get a comprehensive look at Italian titles ready for rights-transaction consideration.

That’s on Frankfurt Wednesday, running 9 to 11:45 a.m. CEST in Hall 4.1.

And we’ll also remind you of the event we pointed out to you last month, in which Unlocking Efficiency: BISG’s Proposed Standards for Translation Rights Royalty Statements be held on Frankfurt Friday at 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CEST in conference room “Encounter,” Hall 5.0.

While looking into those events, we’ve also learned that the Publishing Trends Literary Scouts contact sheet has made a return.

This is a resource that seemed to be moribund since 2021. But it’s back, thanks to the work of Market Partners International‘s Lorraine Shanley and Kliemann & Company‘s Kris Kliemann. They tell us that they’re glad to hear of any changes or additions needed, and the way to get those across is at info@publishingtrends.com.

The directory, indexed four ways, have information on what audience a scout’s work covers; publishers’ names and languages; and film and television studios and other media businesses represented by scouts. The main page on which to find all four sheets is here. And to reach each of the four newly constituted PDFs and their respective index criteria, use these links:

And here’s a last call for the upcoming Frankfurt Rights Meeting‘s in-person networking reception, set for 5 to 7 p.m. CEST on Buchmesse Eve, October 15 in the Agora’s Frankfurt Pavilion.

The evening includes a special keynote address from Madeline McIntosh, publisher and CEO with Authors Equity. More about the program is here, and the link to ticket purchases for the event is here.

Now we turn to our listings for today’s (October 4) Rights Roundup, which carries titles and their information sent to us from Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Catalonian Spain, the Czech Republic, and France. Looking forward to seeing you in Frankfurt, we wish you good travels and a prosperous 76th Frankfurt.

As in each roundup, we use some of the sales copy supplied to us by agents and rights directors, editing that copy to give you an idea about a book’s nature and tone, but limiting the promotional elements. If you’d like to submit a deal to Publishing Perspectives, see the instructions at the end of this article.

---

Cabane

By Abel Quentin

• Publisher: Éditions de L’Observatoire, Paris
• Rights contact: Elisa Rodriguez,  elisa.rodriguez@humensis.com
• Book info: Read more here

Reported rights sales:

• Newest – Italian: E/O Edizioni
• German: Matthes & Seitz Berlin

“Berkeley, 1973. Department of System Dynamics. Four young researchers are putting the finishing touches on the report that will change their lives.

“The results of the IBM 360, aka ‘Big Baby,’ are clear: If industrial and demographic growth does not slow down, the world as we know it will collapse during the 21st century.

“Within the team, everyone reacts according to their temperament; Mildred and Eugene Dundee, an American couple, decide to enter the ring to alert public opinion. The Frenchman Paul Quérillot thinks about his career and dreams of living fast. And the enigmatic Johannes Gudsonn, the Norwegian, gifted in math? Gudsonn, we don’t really know. Some say he has gone mad.

“From the lukewarm, carefree 1970s to the hangover of the 2020s, Cabane is the story of a hunt, and the fierce satire of a humanity dancing on the edge of the abyss.”

Cabane is Quentin’s third novel. His first, Sister, was a contender for the 2019 Prix Goncourt, and a finalist for the Prix Goncourt des lycéens. His second book, Prix de Flore, was Renaudot finalist and selected for the 2021 Goncourt. Cabane is Abel Quentin’s third novel, published on August 21.

---

One Hundred Days in July

By Emilie Schepp

• Publisher: Norstedts, Stockholm
• Rights contact: Signe Bedinger, Nordin Agency
• Book info: Read more here

Reported rights sales:

• Newest – Germany: Piper Verlag
• The Netherlands: HarperCollins
  
• Finland: Otava
  
• France: HarperCollins
  
• Iceland: MTH Publishing
  
• Latvia: Latvijas Mediji
  
• Norway: Gyldendal
  
• Sweden: Norstedts

Emilie Schepp

“On a hot summer’s day in July, Amanda Sundin disappears without a trace. Exactly one year later, her husband, Johan, is found badly injured in his home. Who wants to hurt the couple and why?

“A new investigator, Maia Bohm, gets the case on her desk when she moves with the family to Motala. Together with her colleague Greg Wallin, she tries to find the perpetrator. At the same time, she does everything she can to help her thirteen-year-old son Tim, who is at the hospital in urgent need of a new heart.

“With each passing day, the risk that Tim will not survive grows. When Maia makes the terrifying realization that her son’s fate depends on her solving the case, she won’t let anyone or anything stand in her way. Maybe not even the truth.”

By Daniela Krien

• Publisher: Diogenes Verlag, Zurich
• Rights contact: Susanne Bauknecht, Diogenes Verlag
• Book info: Read more here

Reported rights sales:

• Newest – Norwegian: Press
• Catalan: Bromera / Mes Llibres
• Croatian: Fraktura
• English (UK): MacLehose
• Romanian: Humanitas Fiction
• Slovenian: Mladinska
• World Spanish: Vegueta

“She had everything, and she lost everything.

“Following the death of her 17-year-old daughter Sonja and a cancer diagnosis, Linda leaves behind everything that had previously defined her: her work at a Leipzig art foundation; her husband Richard; her family and friends.

“Feeling distraught and vulnerable, she flees to an old farmhouse in the Saxon countryside. And it ends up being another woman’s daughter who brings her back to life from the brink of the abyss.”

---

We’re Off to the Forest

By Katarína Macurová

• Publisher: Albatros, Prague
• Rights contact: Tomáš Jodas, Albatros
• Book info: Read more here

Reported rights sales:

• Newest – English in China: Shenzen Bookin
• World English, excluding China: Albatros
• Spanish: Albatros
• French: Albatros
• Thai: Nanmeebooks
• Simplified Chinese: Oriental Babies and Kids
• Korean: Korean Studies Information

“Join a charming daddy squirrel and his son on a heartwarming autumn adventure, discovering nature’s magic and ecological lessons in this enchanting picture book for young children.

“We’re Off to the Forest paints a vivid autumn picture as leaves cascade in a dance of color. Daddy squirrel and son venture into the forest daily, not just for supplies but also for something special.

“Amid the rustling leaves and chilling air, a heartwarming story emerges, revealing the extraordinary in the ordinary and how even the smallest things can weave magic into the vast world.”

This book is an addition to the “Katarina’s Small Wonders” series, by illustrator Katarina Macurova.

Albatros likes to make promotional videos for its picture books, and has posted this one on its site for ‘We’re Off to the Forest’:

---

All Those Seas
(Tots aquells mars)

By Laia Aguilar

• Publisher: Columna, Barcelona
• Rights contact: Anna Soler-Pont, Pontas Literary & Film Agency
• Book info: Read more here

Reported rights sales:

• Newest – German: Thiele Verlag
• Spanish: Destino

“One summer afternoon, Julieta, a 7-year-old girl disappears from a beach on the coast of the Balearic Island of Formentera.

“Her 11-year-old sister Greta is unable to stop it from happening.

“Twenty years later, an adult Greta, who lives in London, returns to Formentera for the first time after the tragedy to care for her ill grandmother.

“Confronted with the ghosts of her past, she must navigate her mother’s silences, her grandmother’s legends, and her own fragmented memories.”

Laia Aguilar is the author of Wolfgang and Pluja d’estels.

---

Wolf Cub

By Johanna Holmström

• Publisher: Albert Bonniers Förlag
• Rights contact: Elina Ahlback at Ahlback Agency
• Book info: Read more here

Reported rights sales:

• Newest – Finnish: Otava
• Swedish (Finland): Förlaget

Described as “wilderness noir,” Johanna Holmström’s Wolf Club is set in in Kuhmo, northern Finland, in a wilderness as beautiful as it is terrifying.

“One day, a dirty and unfamiliar little boy is found, only a memory card in his mouth.

“Police Inspector Minna and her sidekick Timo are called, but no one has reported a missing child. Who is the boy and where does he come from?

When the photographer Gloria moves into a collective in the forest, she feels that she has found her home. She enjoys the freedom and companionship, blind to what is going on around her. And when the truth is finally revealed, it is too late for her to escape.”

---

Submitting Rights Deals to Publishing Perspectives

Do you have rights deals to report? Agents and publishing-house rights directors can use our rights deal submission form to send us the information we need. If you have questions, please send them to Porter@PublishingPerspectives.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

---

More of Publishing Perspectives‘ rights roundups are here, and more from us on international rights trading is here.