De Arbeiderspers Foreign Rights

Transcription

De Arbeiderspers Foreign Rights
Rights Guide
London
2013
De Arbeiderspers
Foreign Rights
For any requests or
enquiries contact:
Laetitia Powell-Gutierrez
Foreign Rights Manager
Contact:
Tel. +31 ((0)30 247 04 37
Mob.+ 31 (0)6 55 36 50 18
Fax +31 (0)30 241 00 18
E-mail: laetitia.powell@awbruna.nl
Publisher’s address:
De Arbeiderspers
Franz Lisztplantsoen 200,
3533 JG Utrecht
Postbus 40203, 3504 AA Utrecht
The Netherlands
De Arbeiderspers Foreign Rights
Foreign Rights Manager
De Arbeiderspers Uitgeverij
Tel:
+31 (0) 30 247 04 68
Mob:
+31(0) 06 5536 5018
E-mail: laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Publisher’s address:
De Arbeiderspers
Franz Lisztplantsoen 200
3533 JG Utrecht
Postbus 40203
3504 AA Utrecht
The Netherlands
2
Contents
Abdelkader Benali – Bad Boy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Christiaan Weijts – Euphoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer – La Superba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Arjan Visser – Hotel Linda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Peter Terrin – Post Mortem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Jolien Janzing – The Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Geert Kimpen – The Prince of Filettino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Britta Bolt – Valour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Britta Bolt – Witch Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
J.J. Hermsen – We Have Everything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
J.J. Hermsen – Walking Wounded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Anna Enquist – Anaesthesia/Poems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Atte Jongstra – Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Kisling & Verhuyck – Black Lace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Corine Kisling – The Bath House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Arthur Japin – To The Outside Gaze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Roderik Six – Flood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Christine Pannebakker – Seven Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Boris O. Dittrich – The True is a Lie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Marion Bloem – The Hundred-Year-Old Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Ineke Riem – Seven Attempts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Christophe Vekeman – An Extraordinary Woman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Herman Chevrolet –The Mystery of the Yellow Shirt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Jeroen Wielaert – France through the Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3
4
LITERATURE
‘What do you do when life takes an
unexpected turn…punch back?’
Abdelkader Benali
Bad Boy
Marzoek Kaddoeri is a successful kick boxer in the K-1
category (Karate, Kickboxing and Kung Fu), widely known
as a tough man. After accusations of assault by a man
from the advertising world, Marzoek runs away to
Morocco. The life he made for himself, the world he built
with his sweat and bare knuckles, his achievements, his
heroic status, are shattered.
The only person who still stands by him, is his old school
friend Mo. Mo was present in his life way before
Marzoek’s transformation into a prize-fighter. He knew
him when he was still a vulnerable and insecure boy. Now
Mo has been helping him with a successful comeback.
But what happened that night anyway and why can’t
Marzoek remember anything at all? What role does
girlfriend Chanel have in the chaos?
Literature: 352 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
English sample available
Bad boy is Benali’s twelfth book published by
De Arbeiderspers.
- Publication date: August 2013
- Film rights under negotiation
Abdelkader Benali (1975)
writes novels, stories and
poetry. He also writes plays
and works as a journalist. He
has also created some
television show that is called
Benali’s books. His debut
Bruiloft aan zee (Wedding at
the Sea) was a big success
both in the Netherlands and
internationally.
~
5
LITERATURE
‘An uncompromising reflection of the Zeitgeist.’
Shortlisted for the Libris literatuur Prijs Award
Christiaan Weijts
Euphoria
Following a terrorist attack in The Hague on a
summer’s morning, an architect, Johannes Vermeer
(allegedly a descendant of the famous painter) becomes
the protagonist of a prestigious project.
He is put in charge of the designs for the redevelopment
of the area devastated by the attack.
This project will have a major impact on his personal and
professional life.
Euphoria is about the generation that grew up in the
nineties, in the bloom of technology, wealth, air travel,
parties, globalization, and its actual limits. This is an
indispensable book for anyone seeking to understand our
time.
Literature: 452 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
English sample available
In October 2008 he published his second novel, Via
Cappello 23 and was named by Peter Steinz as “a natural
successor to Mulisch.” The novel was nominated for the
Golden Owl and the AKO Literature Prize, and won the
Gerard Walschap prize. In 2009, The Window Dresser
was published and was selected for the Libris Literature
Prize. It is also fully available in English.
What the press says about Euphoria:
- Euphoria will be published in November 2012
Christiaan Weijts (1976) is an author but also a columnist
for the NRC.next.and the Groene Amsterdammer.
In 2003, he published a collection of columns entitled
Sluitentijd.
In 2006, his debut novel
Art.285b (The Scarlatti
Fingerings), whose title
refers to the stalking article
in the Dutch Penal Code,
Art. 285b. received high
praise, and earned him
nominations for both the
AKO Literature Prize and
the Golden Uil.
“Dazzling pages (..) A novel with such an upstanding
level as Euphoria is unusual , even though we are
accustomed to such novels of this author.” - Vrij
Nederland
“The most intelligent Dutch novel of the year” - Humo
“Subtle art of a novel”- De Telegraaf
“Euphoria is a novel rich of ideas” – Knack Focus
“A true finding of highly formulated smart conceptions”
– Trouw
The Libris Literatuur Prijs is the equivalent of the
Booker Prize but for the Dutch language. The winning
title will be chosen from a shortlist of six nominated
books.
~
6
LITERATURE
‘A love story, a city, the quest for something better…’
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
La Superba
This great novel pays homage to a city like no other:
Genoa, La Superba.
A novel about a labyrinthine city, it is also a love story
that ends tragically. La Superba investigates, explains and
unravels the illusion of a better life elsewhere, and shows
how people get lost in that fantasy in different ways from renowned writers to upstanding gentlemen, to poor
Senegalese immigrants and prostitutes, no one is left out.
A search for love, happiness and a better life when fate
gets in the way. A masterpiece! of the eighteenth
century, the Scottish Earl Elgin becomes
Literature: 347 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Translation sample available in English and Italian
What the press says about La Superba:
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (1968)
writes novels, stories,
poems, columns, essays,
theatre plays and lyrics. He
is also a critic. He lives and
works in Genoa for the last
five years and during that
time he has worked on this
ambitious novel.
‘Bravissimo!’ - Vrij Nederland
‘A clicking glass of prosseco.’ – De Morgen
**** ‘…..the virtuose Superba.’ – ”Volkskrant
~
7
LITERATURE
‘A gripping book about the reliability of memories
and a love that lasts a lifetime’
Arjan Visser
Hotel Linda
Jonah Jacobson, a Jewish diamond cutter from
Amsterdam, has lived in Brazil for a long time, sixty-five
years to be precise.
After all these years, he is returning to Amsterdam for the
very first time.
During his stay, he begins a quest, a search for a former
girlfriend lost in a forest of memories.
Where is the woman who helped him to flee the war?
Will Jonah admit to Linda how he repaid her? Or should
he, as Marcus Aurelius suggests, expect and ask for no
gratification for his good deeds?
Hotel Linda is a compelling story told through the prism
of old age that takes place between dreams and reality,
past and present. Amsterdam and Brazil.
Literature: 232 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Right sold: D.T.V Germany
English sample available
Arjan Visser (1961) is a wellestablished Dutch journalist,
interviewer and author. Arjan has
worked for the Nieuwe Revu and
Trouw. He has won the Anton
Wachterprijs, the Geert Jan
Lubberhuizenprijs and was
nominated for the AKO
Literatuurprijs with his debut ‘De
laatste dagen’ (The Last Days,
2003). His second novel
8
‘Hemelval’(Fall From Heaven) came out in 2006, followed
in 2009 by ‘Paganinipark’. Hotel Linda is his fourth novel.
What the press says about Hotel Linda:
‘A beautiful and gentle novel about reflection and
remembrance.’ – Trouw
‘Visser is a compelling storyteller.’ – Noordhollands
Newspaper
‘Arjan Visser succeeds wtih vivid images to evoke both
the prewar Amsterdam of life in rural areas in Brazil [...] It
is no more compelling. It is also a gripping book that
never sentimental.’ - Literair Nederlands
~
LITERATURE
‘An author's unforeseen circumstances.’
Winner of the AKO Literatuurprijs - Nominated for the Libris Literatuur prijs 2013
Peter Terrin
Post Mortem
“Due to unforeseen circumstances.” The unknown writer
Emil Steegman is in the shower while this thought comes
to his mind, as he is trying to think of a last minute excuse
to avoid an awkward dinner party with a delegation of
colleagues from Estonia.
It is a trite phrase, rather vague but it has impact. The
question of how these fictitious “unforeseen
circumstances” will be perceived by an ambitious
biographer who at some point in the future will read his
email exchange, will not leave him in peace and provides
him with a brilliant idea for a new novel.
Audaciously, Steegman decides that the time has come
to reveal his personal life in the literary battle.
Until something disastrous happens to Renée, his
daughter, almost four years old,
Literature: 288 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Rights sold: MacLehose Press UK
English sample available
His previous book The Guard
is a highly acclaimed pageturning huis-clos about war,
paranoia and the human
condition.
• Winner of EU Prize 2011 (for
best Belgian book in past 3
years period).
• Shortlisted for the Libris
Literature Prize 2010.
• Subsidies available from the
EU and the Flemish Literary Funds.
Rights sold to: Gallimard France, Bompiani Italy,
MacLehose Press UK, Dauphin Czech, Canetti Bulgaria,
Zavet Serbia, Carmel Israel, IBU Romania, Goncol
Hungary, Modrijan Slovenia, Turbine Denmark, Rayo
Verde Spain, Destek Publishing Turkey, Golden Poney
Egypt.
- Film rights available
What the press says about The Guard:
“I will say it right away…– The Guard is a sublime
book…this novel has an unbelievable amount to offer, in
first place a brilliantly told story. It doesn’t get much more
accessible than this.” – Het Parool
“The most intriguing author of his generation.” – De Tijd
“It is not that Peter Terrin will become great, he is
already.” – De Morgen
Peter Terrin (1965) studied at the University of Ghent. He
writes novels, short stories and contemplative pieces. His
novel Women and Children first was nominated for the
BNG Literature Prize, both Blanco (2003) and the stories
The Bee-eaters (2006) were nominated for the AKO Prize
and he also won a regional prize for the latter (WestFlanders province).
~
9
LITERATURE
‘Charlotte Brontë's secret love in 19th century Brussels’
Selected for Books at Berlinale 2013
Jolien Janzing
The Master
Charlotte, a minister's daughter from Yorkshire, England,
craves adventure, fulfilment and passionate love.
Together with her sister Emily, she travels to Brussels to
study French. Their plan is to set up their own school for
young ladies back home.
The girls stay in Madame Heger’s boarding house. The
sisters do their best to adjust as well as possible.
Charlotte falls in love for the first time and with no one
less than the man of the house, Monsieur Constantin
Heger... A coming of age story about a 19th century
young English woman who changed the face of the
British literature and based Jane Eyre on her own
experiences.
Charlotte Bronte is widely known, read and loved but few
know about her own love story.
The author has done extensive research on Charlotte
Brontë’s life and has dedicated many years to this oeuvre.
The Brussels Brontë Group is very interested in this
project. Jolien Janzing is open to participate in writing
the script and acting as a consultant during the process
A book trailer of The Master is available:
www.bronteinbrussels.com
Jolien Janzing (1964) became
famous with her sensational
journalistic reports in the
magazine Humo and other
prominent magazines in the
Netherlands and Belgium. Her
book Your money or your dreams
(2004) brought a new discussion
to the fore about the feminist
movement.
With her book Men’s Love (2009) Jolien wrote about the
love stories of famous male couples. Her debut novel
Grammar of an obsession (2006) is about the destructive
obsession of an author and was greeted with praise.
Her writing style is very literary and visual.
Article over the Books at Berlinale.
http://www.jungewelt.de/2013/02-15/034.php
Literature: 272 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager: laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
English sample available
~
10
NOVEL
‘The mayor says Basta… and everything changes!’
Geert Kimpen
The Prince of Filettino
The mayor of Filettino in Italy has grand aspirations. He
wants his village to become an independent principality
and its inhabitants of Filletino support him. The euro is
abolished. Europe and its financial institutions will no
longer have any grip on the city.
A new society is invented by trial and error; it is small,
self-sufficient and tolerant. Against the backdrop of these
developments, Geert Kimpen brings us the stories, the
lives and loves of these villagers.
Geert Kimpen (1965)
debuted in 2006 very
successfully with ‘De
kabbalist’ (The kabbalist),
which was also an
international success.
It was followed by De
geheime Newton (The
secret Newton) and
Rachel, of het mysterie
van de liefde (Rachel, or
the mystery of love) and
two non-fiction novels.
Literature: 162 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Publication date: May 2013
~
11
THRILLER/TRILOGY
‘A great new character-driven detective series,
set in Amsterdam.’
Britta Bolt
Valour
Pieter Posthumus is an extremely busy man - a suicide in
an attic, a naked body found in a canal, an unknown
tourist who suddenly dies on the street.
Posthumus works for the City of Amsterdam. He
organizes funerals for anonymous corpses found within
the city limits, for people who die with no traceable
relatives, and for those abandoned by their families.
Funeral directors, mortuary assistants, police officers and
detectives of all ranks – and of course dead bodies – are
all part of Posthumus’s working week.
Picture taken by Erik Smits
Posthumus’ problem is that he cannot leave things alone,
taking their courses. He is convinced that he has
discovered a murder, even if the police treat the cases as
accidents.
Britta Böhler (Germany 1960) is a criminal lawyer, she
became well known by defending Volkert van der Graaf,
Pim Fortuyn’s murderer, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
English version available
Thriller: 352 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Britta Bolt is the pen name of the writing duo Britta
Böhler, a German criminal lawyer and Rodney Bolt a
South African journalist.
12
Rodney Bolt (South Africa 1957) has lived and worked for
over fifteen years in Amsterdam. He writes regularly over
the city for the international press (including The Daily
Telegraph and Conde Nast Traveller). Bolt also writes
short stories and biographies. His book, Lorenzo da
Ponte, the librettist of Mozart’s life, was nominated for the
Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
Both authors live in Amsterdam. They are insiders and
outsiders at the same time. They have a unique view on
the city of Amsterdam and the social political events of
the Netherlands.
~
THRILLER/TRILOGY
’ Amsterdam whodunit.’
Britta Bolt
Witch Hunt
Marloes Vermeulen is the owner of a guest house, next to
the Dolle Hond, a café in Amsterdam's red light district.
She is accused of murder. Anna de Vries is convinced that
Marloes is innocent and asks Pieter Posthumus to help. To
unravel the sequence of events, Pieter Posthumus will
need to penetrate this gritty world.
The paintings of Zig - one of the victims - seem to play a
crucial role but which one? Time is running out as the
case and trial against Marloes almost comes to an end.
The press has already given her a nickname "The witch of
the red light district".
Picture taken by Erik Smits
Everything seems set against her. Will Posthumus
succeed in proving Marloes’ innocence? Or is she
perhaps not as innocent as Anna would like to believe?
What the press says about Britta Bolt Duo:
“The most Amsterdam’s literary thriller from the
Posthumus Trilogy.
English version available
Publication date: September 2013
“An atmospheric and wonderful crime novel, some duo
are more like one plus one equal three.” - JAN
Thriller: 288 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
~
13
PHILOSOPHY
‘Let’s slow down.’
Selected for Ten Books from Holland and Flanders
J.J. Hermsen
We Have Everything
We Need, Don't We?
In Stop the clock the last philosophical essay/bundle written
by the Author J. J. Hermsen, she named the following
states such as silence, rest, slowness and ennui the
necessary and appropriate conditions for creativity, clearseeing and understanding.
J.J Hermsen wants nothing less than a break and a slower
paced future but what happens after that? What type of
new mindset should one should go for?
Have any changes taken place? Is it now different?, and is
from this a not only a quieter, a more sustainable and
balanced society arisen? This new philosophical bundle
covers this matter, a natural successor of her previous book.
Literature: 352 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Publication date: September 2013
Film rights under negotiation
J.J. Hermsen is a talented
and versatile writer, from
Philosophy to Literary
Novels.
She organizes workshops
in the Bourgogne and is a
very active as a public
speaker.
http://www.jokehermsen.nl
~
14
LITERATURE
‘Hermsen takes a slice of middle class midlife crisis and turns it
into a magnificent drama.’
J.J. Hermsen
Walking Wounded
The winter is upon us. It has come early this year. A group
of old friends is well aware of the change of seasons as they
make their way out of Amsterdam in the Friday rush hour,
all in their own cars through heavy snowfall to a country
house in Drenthe, owned by one of them. They became
friends during their time at University and met through the
Student club Nil Desperandum ‘never despair’.
There is something recognisable about the middle aged
educated circle: they are either married or divorced, living
together but not childless, childless but not alone, having
an affair or all of the above.
They finally arrive at the house, tired and late and there are
not enough beds for everyone. The old group together with
their partners and offspring will now spend the weekend
under one roof, and things will take an unexpected turn…
Picture taken by Jaap de Jonge
Literature: 370 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
J.J. Hermsen (1961) is a
writer and philosopher.
She debuted in 1998 with
the novel Het dameoffer,
which was followed by the
historical novel Tweeduister,
De profielschets and De
liefde dus.
She is also the author of an essay collection Heimwee
naar de mens, which was shortlisted for the best
philosophical work in 2003. In 2008, her entire oeuvre
was awarded the Halewijn Prize.
The press about her last Book”Time on our side” which
was a bestseller:
“A well considered and stimulating collection of
essays…Hermsen gives a crystal clear demonstration of
how boredom and slowness can awaken creativity.”
- De Morgen
“Well-wrought and highly readable.”
- De Volkskrant, ****(five stars)
.
The latter was nominated
for the Libris Prize in 2009
and extremely well received
by the press.
~
15
LITERATURE
‘Hovering on the brink of life.’
Over 85.000 copies sold
Anna Enquist
Anaesthesia
A gripping novel about love, work and the
absurdity of life.
Psychotherapist Drik de Jong returns to his work
after a period of mourning. His wife has passed
away after a long illness. This is a new beginning
to his professional life, he is soon faced with a
young patient, a student in psychiatry named
Allard Schuurman, whom he cannot seem to
reach. The relationship becomes even more
complicated when Schuurman tells him that he is planning
to stop his study in Psychiatry and instead tranfer to
Anaesthesiology. Dr. de Jong hears that Allard is going to
be mentored by his sister Susan who is an Anaesthesiology
Specialist, Drik consciously doesn’t mention to Allard, which
will have dreadful consequences.
Anaesthesia is a novel about the elusiveness of our
drives and our desires. The remedy that work and
discipline can bring to our lives.
Picture taken by Bert Nienhuis
Anna Enquist has done some extensive research for this
book, in the Anaesthesiology Department from the
Amsterdam University Hospital.
Anna Enquist (1945) is one of
Holland’s best-loved writers. She
is also the author of the widely
translated, bestselling novels The
Secret, The Masterpiece and The
Homecoming, as well as plays,
poems and short stories. She
studied music, piano at the
academy of music in The Hague
and at the same time psychology
in Leiden. Her last book
Counterpoint was an international success.
“Showing people the way they do not wish to be seen,
when irrational, instinctive or compulsive, trying to save
their own skin, this is the biggest talent of Anna Enquist.”
- Aleid Truijens De Volkskrant
16
Literature: Circa 272 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Rights sold to: Sifriat Poalim Publishing
Group/Israel, Actes Sud/France, Random
House/Germany, Natur & Kultur/Sweden
English sample available
‘A poetry
collection of
Anna Enquist’
Anna Enquist – Poems 1991-2012 – A collection of Anna
Enquist’s poems published to coincide with National Poetry
Week for which she was the guest poet.
Anna Enquist, a multi talented author is also one of the
most loved Dutch poet.
Poetry: Circa 554 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
~
NOVEL
‘A young boy’s obsession.’
Atte Jongstra
Depth
Nothing ever seems to happen In Wispolia. Then in 1959, a
mysterious hole in the ground is discovered.
Protagonist Junius (the writer’s alter ego) recalls how he
began to develop a fascination for holes as a toddler in
Friesland.
He suddenly sees them everywhere; the holes grow to
mythical proportions. In perhaps his most autobiographical
novel ever written, painted in bright colours, Atte Jongstra
tells the harrowing story of a small Frisian village, situated
on the border between heaven and hell.
Novel: 191 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Atte Jongstra (1956) is the
author of a versatile
literature oeuvre
(approximately twenty-five
individual titles). In the
recent years De
Arbeiderspers published the
novels ‘De avonturen van
Henry || Fix’ and ‘De
heldeninspecteur’, the
biography ‘Klinkende ikken’
(Privé-domein) and a novel
about Multatuli, Kristalman.
~
17
NOVEL
‘A hasty theft, a feud between two lords, a corpse, the
breasts of Marie Antoinette, pornographic pictures, a ghost
story, antiquarians, swindlers and rare books.’
One of the 10 Books from Holland and Flanders for Frankfurt 2012
Kisling & Verhuyck
Black Lace
Is porn lethal? In a village of the Dordogne are two castles.
The elegant Cudessac, owned by the magnate and
multimillionaire Durand, and the inhospitable Rameuillac,
owned by the impoverished Baron De Malinobre.
It seems that today the French Revolution is very present.
The chapel of the Château Cudessac is hosting a
conference over the erotic writings from the eighteenth
century. Nora Blanker, who works for the prestigious
Amsterdam antiquarian Nil Novi decides to attend several
lectures there while on holiday.
When one of the speakers suspiciously dies, a hasty search
is made to find the culprit. This unplanned lecture sets in
motion a series of fatal events, culminating to an equally
morbid and nerve-racking apotheosis.
These are the ingredients that Corine Kisling and Paul
Verhuyck throw into their entertaining fourth joint novel.
* Eros and Thanatos in a French castle”,
This is an unconventional novel. Fully charged with literature
and art …
Sample available in
English and German
Corine Kisling was born in Rotterdam (1954) and studied
French and literature at the University of Leiden. After her
studies she started to work as a translator (French and
English). In 1993, she published her first novel Tangen. And
a year later, The Engelenbak which was nominated for the
Libris Prize. In 1996 her book Satan in de polder, was
awarded the Shadow Prize (the award for the best debut
Dutch thriller). In 1998 she wrote on behalf of the Sugar
Union a novel to mark the 100-year anniversary of this
cooperative De groene gloed.
Corine Kisling and
Paul Verhuyck make a
well-established and
excellent partnership.
They have published
individually 5 novels
each and worked on
Paul Verhuyck was born in Antwerp (1940). and studied
Philology at the University of Ghent. He worked at the
School of Translators & Interpreters in Antwerp. Then he left
for the Netherlands, and worked as associate professor at
the University of Leiden. Besides a series of scientific
publications, he has also published several novels and short
stories.
Picture taken by Richard Praast
Thriller: circa 240 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
18
3 novels together: Het leugenverhaal, Kwelgeest and De
duim van Alva. All three novels have been nominated and
also awarded for the Hercule Poirot Award, the Diamonds
Bullets Award and the Golden Strop Award.
~
NOVEL
‘Her cries are left unheard...’
Corine Kisling
The Bath House
There is an old woman laying in the bath. She slipped
and could not get out of it by herself.
Her cries are left unheard. Marie Truyens is the old lady’s
name.
Marie was born in the same small village, where she still
currently lives.
She has lodged for thirty years at the presbytery where
has worked as a housekeeper.
Since her retirement, she has lived a somewhat surly,
reclusive life above the old bathhouse, which is only used
by her.
Sitting in the cold water, her memories are coming to the
surface: a tragic suicide, the death of her child and the
violent end of one of the priest from her village…
Novel: circa 176 pages 352
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Corine Kisling (1954) was
born in Rotterdam and
studied French literature at
the University of Leiden.
Following, her studies she
started to work as a
translator (French and
English). In 1993 she
published her first novel
Tangen. A year later, her
other book De Engelenbak
was nominated for the literary award Libris Prijs. In 1996
her book Satan In De Polder, was awarded The Shadow
Prize (the award for the best debut Dutch thriller). In 1998
she wrote on behalf of the Sugar Union, the novel De
Groene Gloed to mark the 100-year anniversary of this
cooperative.
~
19
LITERATURE
‘There are only two places where nothing can happen to you.’
Arthur Japin
To The Outside Gaze
When she comes to the aid of a young rape victim,
Zonne, a popular singer, becomes wrapped up in a
dangerous lawsuit that threatens to expose the harrowing
events in her own past. As the case progresses, she
comes to realize that what's at stake is nothing less than
her privacy, her career, and her marriage.
Every day, memories return to haunt her. But instead of
hiding them away, as she has done all her life, she
decides to do battle for herself and her sisters against
their tyrannical stepfather.
"When we were very young, we learned that there are
only two places where nothing can happen to you. You
can be completely safe and locked away in the dark, so
that no one can see you, or stay in the full glare of the
spotlight, where you can't be missed."
Literature: 304 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: RCW
Arthur Japin currently features in a theatrical production
of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ By William Shakespeare.
What the world press says:
‘The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi, Arthur Japin’s rich and
risky first novel (…)a deeply humane book about a
spectacularly exotic subject. It has spaciousness and
stamina, and an unforced sense of history that nowadays
are almost as unusual as Kwasi Boachi himself.’ – The
New York Times.
Option publishers: Bompiani
Arthur Japin (1956) is one of
Holland’s most celebrated
writers. He has won almost
every prestigious prize in
Dutch Literature, including the
Libris Prize. Arthur has written
historical bestsellers such as
The Two Hearts of Kwasi
Boachi (De zwarte met het
witte hart, 1997) and in Lucia’s
Eyes (Een schitterend gebrek,
2003).
On Lucia’s Eyes
‘Lucia exhibits an earthy wit. ( ) Eventually she makes an
astonishing discovery about love. ( ) The plot is suspenseful
and there are as many dramatic turns in her life as in that
of her famous lover.’ – Laura Baggeley in The Observer On
Lucia’s Eye
His books have been translated into numerous languages
and many of his works have been adapted for film and
theatre.
~
20
LITERATURE
‘An uncompromising reflection of the Zeitgeist.’
Winner 2012 of the Bronze Uil Award
Roderik Six
Flood
For months now, an infernal rain has been lashing the earth.
From the rooftop of a hall of residence, four students watch
as the city is slowly inundated. They are the last remaining
residents; the others have long since fled. Survival has
become a full-time occupation. As the young people fight
boredom with sex, alcohol and the new synthetic drug Ultra,
the unrelenting water keeps rising. When one of the students
is fatally injured during a storm, their relationships come
under pressure: was it a tragic accident or something else?
Desperately, the four cling to that one sign of life: a tiny rent
in the clouds, admitting a few measly rays of sunshine. Is it
enough to turn the tide?
Roderik Six deploys his razor-sharp style to deliver a chilling
story about the resilience of man and his ruthless urge to
survive.
Literature: 352 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Winner of the 2012 with Flood of the Bronze Uil
(The prize of the best debut novel in the Dutch language).
English sample available
Roderik Six works as a
literary critic for Cutting
Edge and Focus Knack. He
is on the jury of this year’s
edition of the Gouden
Boekenuil, Flanders’ premier
literary prize. His short
stories have appeared in De
Brakke Hond, DWB and
Poëziekrant.
What the press says about Flood:
‘Roderik Six’s writing has such a strong rhythm that you can
almost hear him as you’re reading. At the end of his novel, a
city is overgrown by vegetation following a tidal wave. His
prose has a similar primal force.’ – Hugo Bousset, professor
emeritus modern Dutch literature, University of Brussel
‘Damn, he’s a good writer, I thought to myself after only a few
pages. Not since Yves Petry has a debut made such an
impression on me.’ – Johan Vandenbroucke, literary journalist
and founder of bookshop De Zondvloed
Stop Press:
• Roderik Six has won the Literature Award from the
province of West-Flanders.
~
21
NOVEL
‘Seven days for yourself…’
Christine Pannebakker
Seven days
Seven days of freedom. No jealousy or suspicion.
Without ever telling your loved one what you did during
that time.
“Are you up for it?"
When Afra is asked this question, she realizes how much
she longs to enact her secret desires. "Freedom is an
illusion, you will find this out by yourself," her husband
predicts when she proposes this week of freedom. His
menacing tone eludes her. She goes to Paris to gain
some new insights. But the deeper she digs, the more it
comes to light that it is best to keep things hidden.
Novel: circa 176 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Publication date: September 2013
Christine Pannebakker has
worked for many years as a
journalist for De Standaard and
wrote for journals such as
Miljonair, Viva, Kidsweek and
De spirituele Margriet, she was
a columnist for Libelle en
Happinez. Cristine wrote seven
titles including Mamamasterplan and Vrouwerpower. She
gives lectures throughout the
country. Seven days is Cristine’s
debut novel.
~
22
NOVEL
‘Warning: after reading this novel, your subway commute
will never be the same!’
Boris O. Ditrich
The Truth is a Lie
Something happens in the diverse metropolis of New
York. The individual stories, each describing the event in
their own manner, eventually come together in one
place: the platform of subway 7, deep below Grand
Central
Station, where a tragic accident has taken place. Murder?
Suicide?
Each witness has his own story. Who is hiding what? The
FBI gets involved in the case. Will the truth be discovered
in time or the lies unmasked?
Novel: 272 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
English synopsis available
English sample available
Boris O. Dittrich has worked since 2007 as an advocacy
director of Human Rights Watch. Before moving to New
York, he was a member of the Dutch Parliament, a judge,
and a lawyer. This is his second novel. His first, ‘Crying
Blue Murder,’ was acclaimed by Dutch critics (‘provoking
and daring’, ‘the reader is
captivated by new and
unexpected developments
including an exciting and
beautifully crafted grand
finale’, ‘surprisingly well
written debut with a
beautiful plot’, ‘a great
page turner’). In mid-2013,
Dittrich moved with his
husband to Berlin.
What the press says about:
-… the stories are ingeniously put together. The truth is a
lie, The Big Picture Of The Big Apple. - Litteratuurplein.nl
~
23
NOVEL
‘Moemie sees things that others do not.’
Marion Bloem
The Hundred-year-old Girl
A Hundred-year-old Girl tells the story of Moemie, a girl
who sees things that others do not. It is her gift and her
fate. Moemie loses her parents and family in the ritual
suicide of the royal family in Bali in 1906.
Throughout her life, she searches for something or
someone to fill the hole made by the loss of her relatives.
Moemie is taken in by a family, they need her gift of
clairvoyance in order to chase some spirits from their home.
An epic story, which follows Moemie, her adoptive family
and their descendants.
This rich book takes the reader through one hundred years
of history: from the colonial past, wars, Japanese prison
camps and the independence of Indonesia to the Skype-ing
Indian grandmothers of the present.
A book full of compelling passages in which you can smell
the flowers in the garden, populated by characters who will
become immediately dear to you. Marion Bloem tells the
story of the twentieth century through their eyes.
Marion Bloem is celebrating 40 years as a writer with her
bestseller novel Geen gewoon Indisch meisje (1983).
This book is a classic and is often used in School.
Literature: 464 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager: Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
English sample available
Her parents, Alexander and Jacqueline Bloem, repatriated
from Indonesia in 1950. Her father is a survivor of the Junyo
Maru disaster. Marion Bloem, herself a psychologist, is
married to Dutch author and physician Ivan Wolffers.
In addition to her career as an author and film director,
Bloem is a painter who exhibits around Europe.
Marion Bloem is a Dutch writer
and film maker of Indonesian
(Eurasian) descent, best known
as author of the literary
acclaimed book Geen gewoon
Indisch meisje (No Ordinary
Indo Girl) and director of the
2008 feature film Ver van
familie (Far from Family).
~
24
NOVEL
‘Wake up my love…’
Ineke Riem
Seven Attempts
Oudering is a small village on the island of Voorne-Putten.
Its inhabitants live alongside each other, in a close
community, quite set in their ways but where dreams never
come true.
Lioba, an ambitious, arty type of girl, wants nothing more
but to leave this life, flee the village. One day, Lioba is
found unconscious, nearby. The rumors start spreading, the
village is buzzing, some inhabitants are desperately trying
to find a way to wake her up. Who knows?
Who can free Lioba from her mysterious sleep?
Novel: 208 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Ineke Riem (1980) has
spent her childhood on the
Southern Dutch Islands. She
studied Dutch at the
University of Groningen.
She also studied a year at
the Rietveld Academie in
Amsterdam. Ineke provides
poetry workshops for
children and young adult.
Seven attempts is her debut
novel.
Jury Nieuw Proza
Prijs 2012
~
25
NOVEL
‘A woman full of good intentions.’
Nominated for the Libris Literatuur Prijs 2013
Christophe Vekeman
An Extraordinary
Woman
As a small child, Gwen had already learned that the world
is a complex place, especially for those who have the
best intentions at heart; this realization is the start of her
search for love, her identity and her happiness, which will
last for decades.
All this time, Gwen has a constant feeling that she is
special, different from rest, a case apart, destined to rise
above the grey mediocrity. But life will eventually set her
right about that.
Christophe Vekeman has written an insightful portrait of a
woman, whom, however unique is also recognisable to
every reader.
Literature: 253 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Christophe Vekeman is a
Flemish writer, poet, performer
and also a journalist.
He is an important author in
the new Flemish literary scene.
Christophe has published
several novels, collection of
essays and poems. He is also a
columnist for the Flemish
newspaper De Morgen. His
literary style is often humorous
with great attention to
details.and wording.
What the press says about An Exceptional Woman:
Een uitzonderlijke vrouw is the latest novel by Christophe
Vekeman and his best to date, filled with comic details,
contemporary philosophy, subtly swaying sentences and a
kick-ass main character. - Flanders Today
His other work:
49 manieren om de dag door te komen (49 Ways to Get
Through the Day) · Vincent de Wimper is the main
character in Flemish author Christophe Vekeman’s
nonsensical novel. Vincent is a mess after breaking up with
his girlfriend, Patty, who was more passionate about Ikea
than about him. This slightly bizarre loner lives in his own
little world where he writes letters to his imaginary dog
and pays his therapist with Monopoly money. In his
famously cynical style, Vekeman has created 49 short and
sensational chapters that will both haunt and dazzle you.
~
26
Sport
27
SPORT
‘Le Tour de France stories untold.’
Herman Chevrolet
The Mystery of
the Yellow Jersey
The Mystery of the First Yellow Jersey is a literary book
about the history of the Tour de France. In nine wideranging stories, told chronologically, a clear historical
picture emerges. Chevrolet offers a window with an
uncanny view. No meaningless heroics, no statistics, only
penetrating portraits of loners filled with fear and doubt, in
constant conflict with the adversary or with nature itself.
Loners who are busy chasing fame without knowing why,
and finally come to the tragic knowledge that each success
is followed by a fall.
Novel: 288 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Date of publication: June 2013
Herman Chevrolet , works as a
journalist for the newspaper De
Muur and is widely seen and
recognized as a cycling racing writer
and expert. He has previously
written three cycling racing books at
De Arbeiderspers. All three were
highly acclaimed. Two of his books
were nominated for the Nico
Scheepmaker Cup as best sports
book. His book Het feest van list en bedrog details the
dealmaking and double-crossing that have existed
throughout professional cycle racing’s long and chequered
history.
English sample available of Het feest van list en bedrog.
Translated by Olivier Nilsson-Julien.
28
~
SPORT
‘ A travel guide of the Tour de France.’
Jeroen Wielaert
France through
the Tour
This book is more than a tour guide through the
landscape of the Tour de France.
It is also a cultural history of one of the biggest sporting
events in the world. A book full of personal observations
and anecdotes.
The author shows that France as we know it from the Tour
is a actually a construction, an image of France the
French like to show the world.
Vive la France! Vive le Tour!
Literature: 528 pages
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers
Translation rights: De Arbeiderspers
Foreign rights manager:
Laetitia.powell@apawb.nl
Jeroen Wielaert (1956)
studied Dutch at the
University of Utrecht. He
currently works as reporter for
Radio 1 and as a journalist,
FOR various magazine and
newspapers such as Wieler
Magazine, Volkskrant and Vrij
Nederland. His new book ‘Het
Vlaanderen van de Ronde’ will
be published in 2013.
What the press says about his book:
‘ A great book …’ - Wieler Revue
‘…The ultimate book about the Tour de France.’
- Wielersportboeken.nl
~
29
NOTES
30