Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
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Gyldendal Denmark 318 pages Literary fiction Nominated for DRs NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2019 Sample English available Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Rights sold: Mare Verlag, Germany Solum Bokvennen, Norway Eva Tind Origins Eva Tind The 18 year old Sui decides to moves away from home. Eva Tind is based in Denmark. She She was brought up by her father Kai, because her mother was born in 1974 in Pusan, Korea. At the age of one, she was separated Miriam, a world famous artist, left them when Sui was a from her biological family and toddler. When she moves out, Kai is driven into a deep, adopted by a Danish couple. Today personal crisis. He leaves his architect studio in the hands she has a mother in both countries. of his colleague for an undefined period of time, and goes Based on her education from ‘The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts to an alternative community in India to regain his strength. School of Architecture’ known After he leaves Denmark, Sui discovers a cyst in her objects, space and places are an tummy, and since her father is away she decides to pay a integrated part of her writing and visit to her mother. The last time they met Sui was 7 years work. She often manifests her novels, literary portraits and old, Miriam is now 70. She has turned her back on society collections of poetry in the related and lives isolated in the deep, Swedish woods building her fields of film and fine art. final artwork: A circular wall that seals the area around the Eva Tind often explores the whole concept of origin in relation to her world’s oldest tree leaving this piece of land untouched by own story. She reflects on the nature humanity for hundreds of years. of belonging and the way we forge After an unresolved meeting with her mother, Sui decides to our own identity – How much of it is look for her father´s roots in South Korea. She ends up on shaped by our environment and what is internal, highlighting how the world the Island of Marado; a matriarchal society where women can seem very different depending make a living of diving for pearls. on who is looking at it and from ORIGINS is a story about a family of three that separates where. Both fictional and non- fictional characters, themes and and travels into the world to find peace with themselves and matter unfold in her storytelling and each other. An adventurous tale of the love and pain that new connections appear releasing separates, but also connects a family. About the feeling of the fixed ideas of what is possible not belonging, and the search for a meaningful life. and what is not. Eva Tind’s Origins is written with humour, wisdom, warmth and a touch of magic. «I feel with Eva Tind's work, like I do with Siri Hustvedt and Josefine Klougart: No matter what they write about - they do it so aesthetically that it by definition becomes a pleasure reading» Litteratursiden.dk, Denmark «Origins is a liberating, atypical, strongly outgoing and engaging humanistic, feminist and idealistic novel on abandonment traumas, family communities and other forms of community, love, cynicism, reconciliation and chronology of death. Eva Tind accelerates her narrative story in soft jerks and confirms herself as a wild, discreet and unique author» Weekendavisen, Denmark «Eva Tind writes with energy, humor and cheekiness (...) Refined, intelligent, elegant (...) Such a beautiful novel» 5/6, Politiken, Denmark
Pelikanen Forlag 111 pages Literary English translation available Winner of the Tarjei Vesaas debut award Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Kenneth Moe Restless Kenneth Moe A young man writes a letter to the woman who rejected him. Kenneth Moe (born 1987) grew up Driven by doubt and unbridled desire, he tries to write near Larvik, a small town outside Oslo in Norway. He currently lives in himself to a new understanding of his loneliness. Oslo. At the same time, he suspects literature is to blame for all He has studied creative writing in of this. Bø, Bergen and Lillehammer, He therefore dreams of literature that cures the need for Norway. Moes debut novel Restless won the literature, literature where life has precedence. Tarjei Vesaas debut award. Restless is a disobedient short novel, narrated by aphorisms and small episodes of everyday life, conveyed by a presence and an intensity that never folds back to a Rights sold: personal darkness. Residenz Verlag, German Restless also contains remains of an almost extinct classic Nordisk Books, World English ideal. At least hope: Books can make us better people. Poklonka, Argentina & Colombia “I only have one book in me, after all. It’s called “How I Learned to Love,” and I hope to write it over and over again, with little variations until I die. “ «I admire this book a lot (...) The overwhelming majority of the work I see feels to me as if it were written in the mid-19th century. The best work, from any era, always feels shockingly contemporary. This is true of RESTLESS. There is, for me, no higher praise» David Shields, author «Kenneth Moe is a clear literary talent – it was obvious to us that we were dealing with an author right from the start. I needed only to read a few sentences of his manuscript to understand that this was something I wanted to work with and eventually publish.Kenneth has a strong awareness of form; he’s also stubborn and possesses a completely original literary voice. We’re sure that Restless will be the first of many books in a promising career» Karl Ove Knausgård, author «A rare example of what intelligence, irony, tenderness do to a man and his novel! „Restless“ shows us the contemporary way to tell a love story.» Jessica Beer, editor, Residenz Verlag
Bjartur,Iceland 111 pages Original language: Icelandic Literary fiction English translation available Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Bergsveinn Birgisson Reply to a Letter from Helga Bergsveinn Birgisson Bergsveinn Birgisson holds a Bjarni has long held onto a letter from former lover Helga, doctorate in Norse philology and has with whom he shared an illicit, impassioned love and whom an expansive background in folklore, invited him to leave his wife and his farm and follow her to oral histories, and lyrical poetry. the city. Years later, as he reflects on a long and simple life Birgisson is also happy having learnt about the cultural institution a sheep shepherding in the Icelandic hillsides, he finally finds farm represents. himself ready to explain why. With retrospective clarity and A true researcher at heart, Birgisson poetic affection, Bjarni pens his Reply to a Letter from has spent his life studying language Helga, weaving a life of longing for Helga’s sensual and how it represents the truth of the human condition. He currently presence and the visceral pleasures of daily exposure to resides in Bergen, Norway, where he the elements. He has knowingly avoided the glamorous continues to write classical tales. choices of modern living and taken comfort in the measured Birgisson’s work has been widely recognized through prestigious cadence of nature’s cycles—and thus he reduces the awards and nominations. human condition to a series of mating seasons, passed on the land toiled by his forefathers. Rights sold: Pelikanen Forlag, Norway Lumen, Spain Awards: Poklonka editores, Columbia The Icelandic Bookseller ́s Award Zulma, France C&K, Denmark Prix des lecteurs Nantais Palto, Turkey Prix Amphi, France Bompiani, Italy Prix du Cercle de l'Union Interalliée Bazar Förlag, Sweden Bazar Kustannus Oy; Finland Nominations: Al Arabi, Egypt Dublin Literary Award: Lesa Press, Israel Film rights: Nordic Council Literary Award ZikZak film The Icelandic Literary Award Theatre rights: Norway Iceland «Beautiful and erotic» France Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark «More erotic than 50 shades» 4 Dagbladet, Norway «Touching and deeply sensual» VG Norway, 5/6 «One of the stories that makes the reader hurt with nostalgia for a world and a time never lived in (...) Birgisson's novel becomes a song, with the capacity to turn the love of a woman into love for a landscape - and that manages to melt the inner glaciers to the one who chooses to live with love, not against love» La Stampa, Italy
Bjartur, 2019 230 pages Original language: Icelandic Literary fiction English translation available Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Bergsveinn Birgisson VITALITY BROOK Bergsveinn Birgisson Nominated for the Icelandic Literary Award 2019 Bergsveinn Birgisson holds a doctorate in Norse philology and has an expansive background in folklore, On the far northern, most thinly populated shores of the oral histories, and lyrical poetry. Westfjords in Iceland flows a little brook that the inhabitants Birgisson is also happy having learnt believe to have great healing power. It is said that anyone about the cultural institution a sheep farm represents. who drinks one cup of the brook’s water per day, cannot die A true researcher at heart, Birgisson — which in turn gives the body the opportunity to heal itself. has spent his life studying language Even now, the brook is still called Vitality Brook. and how it represents the truth of the This was in the days when the life of the Icelandic nation human condition. He currently resides in Bergen, Norway, where he hung by a thread. The greatest volcanic eruption in the continues to write classical tales. history of Iceland began in 1783, with the earth spewing fire Birgisson’s work has been widely and toxic gases for nearly an entire year. Men and beasts recognized through prestigious awards and nominations. were decimated, grass could no longer grow, the sea froze and hindered fishing. Rights sold: A plan was proposed by the Danish authorities, then the Vigmostad & Bjørke Norway colonial lords of Norway and Iceland, to relocate all able- Residenz Verlag, Germany bodied Icelanders to Denmark and Finnmark in Norway. Corvina, Hungary Iperborea, Italy This historical fact forms the framework of this novel. Lesa Press, Israel The Danish authorities´representative sent to Iceland, a scientist, falls in love with a local woman; he gets severely injured one one of his expeditions, and his beloved goes looking for the healing water which she strongly believes will cure him. Birgisson elegantly tells a lovestory while discussing science, faith, and colonialism. «5/5 stars; Vitality Brook will find its way to many readers; this adventorous and well 5 written story deserves it (...) masterfully and powerfully written (...) Incredibly funny!» Morgunbladid, Iceland «Extraordinarily well written and interesting story with a stunning final chapter Fréttablaðið, Iceland Beautifully done (...) a fantastic novel (...) will give you goosebumps» Þorgeir Tryggvason, Kiljan, Iceland «Particularly well written (...) hits the right spot for the lover of historical novels» Víðsjá/RÚV, Iceland «This is the best Birgisson has done so far (...) a grand novelty (...) Warmly recommended» Egill Helgason, Kiljan, Iceland
Pelikanen Forlag 316 pages Literary English sample available Nominated for the Tarjei Vesaas debut award 2019 Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Ragnhild Eskeland Insulated Insulated is a moving and plain-spoken novel about living with Ragnhild Eskeland a chronic disease that affects all the aspects of life we usually Ragnhild Eskeland (b. 1986) trained take for granted and never think about. It explores what it in literary studies and writing at Gothenburg and has also studied feels like to be ill, what it means when the body attacks itself creative writing at the Nansen and how illness has always been viewed judgementally with Academy in Lillehammer. She has a moral overtones. master’s degree in French literature from the University of Oslo. Insulated ‘Diabetes is a feeling of squandering ones desires. It is the is her first novel. disease of greed. It is lack of restraint. The disease strikes those who are governed only by their feelings, those who lack common sense and self-control. The blood sugar level affects how you feel. Hypoglycaemia (‘a hypo’) can make you feel very odd. Diabetes is the punishment for displaying your feelings, wearing them on your sleeve, lack of restraint. The punishment for a big appetite for food and a big appetite for life. The shame of having too many feelings, too many desires. Diabetes is a vulgar disease. If tuberculosis is a love poem, diabetes is porno. If minimalism is fear of ones body, diabetes is maximalism. Diabetes is flesh. Diabetes is food and urine. It is blood and pee. It is sugar in blood and urine. It is shame.’ Insulated is a novel about diabetes, a novel about growing up, about being young and struggling to accept oneself. «A powerful portrait of living with a chronical disease, through adolescence and as a young adult. The novel also explores, in an open and intellectual manner, the disgraceful aspects of a so-called lifestyle disease, which to a greater extent than many other disorders can be self-inflicted, and which imposes a kind of moral guiding on the sick's way of life, entails an extra responsibility that can be heavy carry. INSULATED gives insight into a life situation that is more rarely illuminated in the literature, depicted with both great intellect and physicality» Jury, Tarjei Vesaas debut award «A page-turner! (...) INSULATED is a debut novel that places itself at the forefront in the field of important pathographies. But regardless of that INSULATED is an excellent novel» Aftenposten, Norway «This is a language-driven novel. Eskeland´s debut is brilliantly written. The «now» form in the book creates proximity and her style is scarce, almost laconic» Klassekampen, Norway
Cappelen Damm 234 pages Literary fiction Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Gert Nygårdshaug The Rainmaker The globe is in deep crisis. There are blazes, large forest Gert Nygårdshaug fires raging, and there is not a drop of rain from the sky. Gert Nygårdshaug was born in Everywhere there are desperate people on the run, who are Tynset, the mountains of Norway. Since his literary debut in 1966, he is kept at a distance up by barbed wire fences, sticks and the author of nearly 40 books, both rifles. novels for children, poetry and Only one place remains idyllic. It is a nameless little village fairytales- together with literary works, thrillers and crime novels. that, strangely enough, is blessed with adequate doses of The trilogy of Mino (Mengele Zoo, rain. There the 800 inhabitants live in peace and tolerance, The Heaven ́ s Flower Tree and The until a great danger threatens. Basin of Aphrodite) earned him The agency, the state, the hierarchy and the mighty ally are immense recognition from critics and the public. Nearly 400,000 copies looking for this village. They want to find the cause of the sold in Norway, and elected Norway strange weather phenomenon. The methods they use are ́ s favorite novel in the Norwegian relentless. international literature festival in Lillehammer in 2007. This title adds to the narrative tradition Nygårdshaug is best His crime novels where the main known for, and is often associated with names in Southern character is the chef and cryptologist European or Latin American literature, where the form of Fredric Drum, also make the fable contains social criticism and philosophical issues. Nygårdshaug appear regularly on the bestseller lists in Norway. Concerned about the environmental cause, Gert Nygårdshaug fights for the preservation of rainforests, especially the Amazon, where he has spent much time. . «Nature and human nature are intimately connected and constitute a kind of collective organic consciousness in the service of potential good (...) stimulating perspectives» Aftenposten, Norway 7 «A political novel and a fairytale (...) Nygårdshaug has created a playful, quirky and engaging book» 5/6, Hamar Arbeiderblad, Norway «The author has created a fable, a kind of unreal story, which in its naive language points to the simple and a child’s world. This is the strength. Lurking under this surface a darker reality unfolds (...) Nature and the environment are the main issues in this book as in many of his other works. Reading him is pure joy» Kulturspeilet, Norway «Well done, witty and subtle» Dagbladet, Norway «Another energetic fable» Lierposten, Norway
Idunn, Iceland 166 pages Literary Rights sold: Rowholt, Germany Rosinante, Denmark Vega, Sweden China International Radio Press, China Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Steinunn Sigurdardottir The love of fish Steinunn Sigurdardottir "The love of fish is as cold as they themselves are." Baron Cuvier Samanta is reasonable, well behaved and a confident single. Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is one of Her secret passion though are Sanskrit poems which she Iceland´s most highly acclaimed novelists and poets. translates. But then, vacationing in Ireland, she meets her She has sustained a writing career real live darling, a young fellow Icelander called Hans since 1969, as well as a Örlyggson. distinguished career in journalism. In France, she made a name for They swim around each other for years, like the fish do. herself with the best-selling novel It’s very late until Samanta finally learns to accept the power Voleur de vie. It was adapted to the of this love. screen, starring Emmanuelle Béart Too late? and Sandrine Bonnaire. In 2017 the same novel was adapted to the stage by The National Theatre of Iceland, to high critical acclaim. «Fish are slippery and sluggish against each other and apart. Perhaps, therefore, the title "The love of the fishes"; It is also with us people, which is why this book may be relevant at any time. It is based on existential and philosophical issues, but also psychological, including In terms of how we meet people, go apart and communicate as well as we can with the tools we have» Bogrummet, Denmark «Light as a feather and yet meaningful. This is the short and also cheerful love story of the Icelander, a reading suitable for men and women alike. It is about the "passion against all reason", which happens to the independent editor Samanta when meeting the married manager Hans. The impossibility of the relationship turns around and becomes a stimulating and intensifying moment. Since the first-person narrator reports from memory, her grief still seems to be locationless, the event remains unresolved until a new love finds itself and the pain flows into the elemental Icelandic soul landscape. Steinunn Sigurdardottir, also in her other novels, added to the insular writing a self-assured note that, away from the purely epic, combines irony with melancholy, the unfathomable with the neurotic, and yet does not lose sight of the Icelandic forces of nature, and leaves me such a happy reviewer!!» Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Germany
EINAUDI, Italy 136 pages Literary fiction English sample available Nordic Rights Contact: trude@immaterial.no Valeria Parrella ALMARINA Can a prison free the people who enter it? Is there an island in the Mediterranean from which you can never reach the sea? Valeria Parrella It happens at Nisida, just beyond the promontory of Posillipo. Nisida, moored like a boat, is a small island nestled between Capri and Bagnoli. This is where Elisabetta Maiorano does VALERIA PARRELLA was born in 1974; she lives in Naples. She sums at the blackboard with a mixed group of young debuted with the collection of short inmates. stories Mosca piú balena (minimum She is fifty years old; she lives alone; every morning she fax 2003). She has published with Einaudi: Lo spazio bianco (2008, crosses the city with all its contradictions. 2010, and 2018), on which But one day, Almarina shows up in her classroom. The Francesca Comencini based the prospects change, the earth becomes the sea and its same-titled film; Tre terzi (2009, with opposite, and those stairs always leading downward – ener- Diego De Silva and Antonio Pascale); Lettera di dimissioni vating bureaucracy, unexpected deaths, sleepless nights – (2011); Antigone (2012); Tempo di reveal the other possibility: an opportunity to ascend them. imparare (2014); Ma quale amore In a dry writing style, warm, intimate, and political, Valeria (2014); Troppa importanza all’amore (2015); and Enciclopedia della Parrella precisely touch- es our emotions, giving voice to two donna. Aggiornamento (2017). forms of loneliness whose power will move us. “The hardest For years she has written the book thing is to see them go away, because of where will they go. column for Grazia and collaborates They are still so young, and they will go back to where they with la Repubblica. came from, and where they came from is the reason they are here”. “For years, I entered the Nisida juvenile detention center without ever being able to really recount it. It was the same thing with Naples: I always found it elusive, so I would talk about it without ever naming it (and then: I was too afraid of reducing it to a label). In this book, I tried to go the extra mile. To name Naples and talk about Nisida: to conjugate the world with our intimate solitude. And since it wasn’t an easy project, I decided to use an easy, un- derstandable language: a way to write respectfully”. RIGHTS SOLD: John Murray, World English Hanser, Germany
The Ohio State University Press Literary Nordic & Dutch rights Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no David Shields The Trouble with Men: David Shields Reflections on Sex, Love, David Shields is the internationally Marriage, Porn, and Power bestselling author of twenty-two books, David Shields’s The Trouble with Men: Reflections on Sex, including Reality Hunger (named one of the best books of 2010 by more Love, Marriage, Porn, and Power is an immersion into the than perils, limits, and possibilities of human intimacy. All at once thirty publications), The Thing About a love letter to his wife, a nervy reckoning with his own Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead fallibility, a meditation on the impact of porn on American (New York Times bestseller), Black Planet (finalist for the National Book culture, and an attempt to understand marriage (one Critics Circle Award), and Other marriage, the idea of marriage, all marriages), The Trouble People: Takes & Mistakes (NYTBR with Men is exquisitely balanced between the personal and Editors’ the anthropological, nakedness and restraint. While Choice). . unashamedly intellectual, it’s also irresistibly readable and extremely moving. Over five increasingly intimate chapters, Shields probes the contours of his own psyche and marriage, marshalling a chorus of other voices that leaven, deepen, and universalize his experience; his goal is nothing less than a deconstruction of eros and conventional masculinity. Masterfully woven throughout is an unmistakable and surprisingly tender cri de coeur to his wife. The risk and vulnerability on display are in the service of radical candor, acerbic wit, real emotion, and profound insight—exactly what we’ve come to expect from Shields, who, in an open invitation to the reader, leaves everything on the page. «A fearless consideration of sex and power that is also a moving meditation on the possibility of love» Amy Fusselman «His honesty would be startling if we didn’t already expect just this from David Shields: a willingness to ask what no one wants to ask (but everyone longs to know) and say what no one will say (but everyone longs to hear)» Sallie Tisdale «David Shields is the most honest writer alive» John Scoyles
Gloria Forlag 166 pages Literary English sample available Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Mari Ann Augestad Three Women Maria has started looking back. She studies the choices she made, wondering about small and big events in her life and Mari Ann Augestad their consequences. Mari Ann Augestad was born in Especially when it comes to love, Maria ponders and reflects 1963. She grew up in Ski outside Oslo; and around why she chose and acted as she did. Her beloved currently lives there with her family. one, that was never only hers, the replacement she took Augestad studied pedagogy and has instead of him, and the student she finally settled with, who worked as a teacher for many years. Three Women is her debut novel. became the father of her child. Maria discovers how events in her life are connected. She sees how the footprint of her strict grandmother and well meaning mother has influenced her, and the reader gets a small insight of the dramatic life both Marias mother and grandmother had as a result of a mystical grandfather described as a charlatan. We follow Maria through her not so streamlined maneuvers and choices, always sensing the presence of her beloved one, Marias grandmother; the mothers sometimes demanding softness and Marias daughter Rakel. With wit, humor, sharp observations, warmth and honesty, Mari Ann Augestad gives the reader a taste of a universe somewhere between Sally Rooney and Elena Ferrante, set in Norway. «The well-studied and stylish study of an uncompromising but, after all, quite ordinary life» Adresseavisa, Norway «How can Three Women be compared to Anna Gavalda and her books? To me because of the direct and naked language, the credible feelings described without excessive patos and the openness Augestad has given to her main character. I can cite directly what I wrote about Gavaldas book Someone I loved - feeling the same the same about Three Women: "It's a beautiful story of love, honesty and loss, showing clearly human doubts and weaknesses when it comes to big choices in life. " This is also what Augestad expresses in her book Three Women. I simply loved the language, the frequent stage shifts and the evolution of the story - and will definitely read Augestad again if she decides to publish a new title. This really gave me a taste for more» Marianne Søiland, Ebokbloggen, Norway «So elegant and delightfully written about three women who loves and hates men, and loves and hates each other! Finely tuned, with vulnerability, and a great atmosphere. Great stuff!!» Unni Lindell, author, Norway
Non-fiction Spring 2020 12
Bjartur, 2019 390 pages Non-fiction Sample in English available Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir I AM REAL I AM REAL recounts in a very heartfelt manner how deep a mother ́s love for her offspring is and it shows that no power Margret Dagmar on earth is a match for the determination and strong Ericsdottir headedness rooted in the care of a mother. After the first few years that brought the family to the brink of destruction, Margret is born and raised in there is finally a let up and things start to move in the right Reykjavik, Iceland. She is the direction. We learn how Margret is able to turn an adverse second youngest of five siblings. She went to college and studied business situation to her advantage and completely change the administration with emphasis on outlook and quality of life for her son. It is a book about marketing. She graduated with her triumph, determination and love. It is about how you deal marketing degree as well as an MBA with challenges that life throws your way, both the sweet from Florida Institute of Technology in the US. and the sour and so it appeals to everyone, since we all Her first role after graduation was for have our share of the hard knocks of life. It demonstrates advertising agency McCann in the importance of having the right attitude to make the best Reykjavik and from there she went out of every situation. It shows that with determination and into management for well-known Icelandic companies both as positive attitude of never giving up and to refuse defeat, you marketing manager, executive VP can turn any situation around and make that ‘mission and COO. impossible’, possible. This is a very strong and empowering She was active during her career in non-profit professional management story that speaks to any reader. organizations, being on the board of the Icelandic Quality Management Organization for a number of years. «My darling, wonderful Margret... I don’t know where to begin. Thank you. You have changed my life... There are many things we experience as human beings that empower and change us - if we let ourselves change. Your story empowers me as a mom and as a human being. Thank you for letting me change. You are the magical one. You are the best mother in the world... I learn from you, every day. In so many ways. I love you. Now, lets keep on going!» Academy awarded actor Kate Winslet
Opera forlag, autumn 2020 300 pages Non-fiction Sample in English available Sample in German Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Ingeborg Solbrekken Voice of the Century The biography of Kirsten Flagstad, The Voice of the Century, is a story of triumph and tragedy. The shy and Ingeborg Solbrekken stubborn Norwegian singer who became world famous Ingeborg Solbrekken is a Norwegian overnight, cultivated in the United States as the world’s author and playwright with a number greatest voice and in Europe for her vocal art, Flagstad of publications behind her. Her three rescued the New York Metropolitan from bankruptcy in the books about the legendary Kirsten Flagstad makes her the world’s 1930s and revitalized interest in Richard Wagner’s operas leading researcher on Flagstad’s in the United States. In music history, she is considered one biography. Two of the books have of the foremost Wagner interpreters ever. She was also a been seized by filmmakers, and the book concerning the persecution of big draw at Covent Garden in London, at the festivals in the world star was designated by the Zurich and at La Scala in Milan. During and after the war, newspaper Fædrelandsvennen as she was unjustly accused of having had Nazi sympathies, one of the best books of the year. of singing to Hitler and of profiting greatly from the war. Her research on non-judicial aspects of the post-war settlement has These rumors are traced to leading officials in the received much publicity. Fall 2018, Norwegian Foreign Ministry. A campaign was launched Ingeborg published a comprehensive against her, resulting in major demonstrations around her account of the communist-led performances in the United States. Her fortune was seized resistance movement in Norway during the war. and she had to live under police protection. The biography looks into the darkest corners of Norwegian intelligence history, scandals that jeopardized both the police and the prosecution’s credibility. The thoroughly documented account of how a foreign ministry organized a years-long persecution of a world-renowned female artist is as creepy as the most well-composed thriller.
Aschehoug forlag 2020 216 pages Non-fiction Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Magnus Helgerud Cabin Crazy-in search of the Norwegian happiness Norwegians are cabin crazy! A population of 5 million people with 500 000 cabins to their names, and 5000 new Magnus Helgerud ones being built every, single year. The average Norwegian Magnus Helgerud (born 1983) is a spends 50 days per annum at his house in the mountains graduate in history of ideas from the University of Oslo. or by the sea. But why on earth do these people spend their Easter holiday stumbling their way up snowy hilltops on History of ideas linked to traveling is slippery skiis? And why do they spend the long awaited, his field of expertise. nordic summer days, doing maintenance work on their Helgerud has written about tourism cabins? Were they born that way, or have they become like and travels for many Norwegian that? In short: How did they contract this cabin fever? newspapers and magazines, among Norwegian journalist and historian, Magnus Helgerud, take others Aftenposten, Klassekampen, Vagabond and Harvest. us along on an entertaining journey from the fjords to the mountains, through the curiosities of the Norwegian Tell me where you travel and I tell cabintopia, and on a parallel hike through the history of life you who you are is his first book. at the cottage. Our point of departure is his families cabin chronicles, dating back to the 1940s, which takes us back to the time when discarded railway carriages were hauled out to the coast and used as cabins. Along the way we are joined by a colorful cast of characters. A cabin owner poisoning her brother-in-law because he acts like the cabin is his own, billionaires blowing up rocks to build illegal tennis courts, a brother cheating at dice games, seaside doctors prescribing jellyfish stings for back pains, and the author’s own grandmother who misses her paradise on earth.
Picador, Australia 374 pages English Nordic Rights:trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Behrouz Boochani NO FRIEND BUT THE MOUNTAINS Behrouz Boochani Where have I come from? From the land of rivers, the Behrouz Boochani holds a Masters degree in political geography and land of waterfalls, the land of ancient chants, the land geopolitics. He is a Kurdish-Iranian of mountains… journalist, scholar, cultural advocate, In 2013, Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani was writer and filmmaker, founder of the Kurdish language magazine Weya, illegally detained on Manus Island. He has been there an Honorary Member of PEN ever since. International. In 2013, he fled Iran People would run to the mountains to escape the and became a political prisoner of the Australian Government warplanes and found asylum within their chestnut incarcerated in the Manus Regional forests… Processing Centre (Papua New This book is the result. Laboriously tapped out on a Guinea). mobile phone and translated from the Farsi. It is a voice of witness, an act of survival. A lyric first-hand account. A cry of resistance. A vivid portrait through five years of incarceration and exile. Do Kurds have any friends other than the mountains? Winner of 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature Winner of the Australian National Biography award Winner of New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award Rights sold: Picador UK Hugo & Cie, France Penguin Random House, Germany House of Anansi, US/Canada Add Editore, Italy Homeward, Taiwan Jurgen Maas Uitgeverij, The Netherlands Leya, Portugal Rayo Verde, Spain Gyldendal, Denmark Screen rights: Aurora Australia
Vigmostad & Bjørke 2013 303 pages Original language: Norwegian Non-fiction English translation available Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Bergsveinn Birgisson The Black Viking Bergsveinn Birgisson Nominated for Brage award 2013 Bergsveinn Birgisson holds a doctorate in Norse philology and has an expansive background in folklore, This story begins in Rogaland year 846 AD. One day a very oral histories, and lyrical poetry. special royal son is born- Geirmund Heljarskinn. But we Birgisson is also happy having learnt know almost nothing about this personality, there is no saga about the cultural institution a sheep farm represents. about him, and posterity has done it´s best to forget him. A true researcher at heart, Birgisson Why? has spent his life studying language We know that his mother was from Siberia, therefore, he and how it represents the truth of the was born with Asian features. Geirmund Heljarskinn human condition. He currently resides in Bergen, Norway, where he becomes the “Black Viking” – the most powerful settler on continues to write classical tales. Iceland through times. Dark-skinned and with Mongolian Birgisson’s work has been widely facial features he was a pioneer in international hunting recognized through prestigious awards and nominations. economy. Heljarskinn had hundreds of slaves; Christians from Scotland and Ireland. Rights sold: 1100 years later a distant relative of Geirmund, author Paramount Pictures and Anonymous Content (screen rights) Bergsveinn Birgisson, addresses the question of Geirmund Gyldendal Denmark Heljarskinn´s life, and why he is forgotten. Old fragments, Lira, Hungary modern genetics and information collected on trips to Bazar Finland Bazar Sweden faraway places is put together, creating a fascinating and Albatros Media Czech Republic shocking portrayal of a raw and poetic past. Varrak Estonia Bjartur, Iceland, 2016 Rarely, if ever, has the Viking Age been introduced to us in Globo, Brazil, 2018 this way. Iperborea, Italy, 2018 Al Arabi Publishing, Egypt Vigmostad & Bjørke, Norway «Birgisson is a fine combination of a poet and an exciting and original academic author. «The Black Viking» is a sensational work, nothing but a newly written Icelandic saga from the early settlers on Iceland. It differs from the classical sagas, 17 this is an alloy of academic historical and philological scrutiny and impressive penmanship. Fascinating and innovative in its own well documented saga with personal notes» Jan Askelund, Stavanger Aftenblad «A masterpiece! I have never been interested in Siberia. Not until now. Maybe not really the Viking period either. Not until now. This book presents priceless knowledge at a time when humanities tales supposedly not are worth publishing anymore. Thank goodness then for professional defiance and the stubborn need to tell, and for publishers' efforts to keep the stories alive. This book's wealth and excitement deserves respect. It should get a lot of readers. They will be surprised how history still has so much new to say. So many undiscovered coasts» Mona Ringvej, Aftenposten
Cappelen Damm, Norway 224 pages Non-fiction NTNU Literary award 2018 Norwegian Language Council Award 2018 Sample in English available Contact: trude@immaterial.no WWW.immaterial/no Maria Berg Reinertsen The Journey to Bretton Woods Maria Berg Early one summer’s day of 1944 John Maynard Keynes, Reinertsen together with a small group of economists, set sail across Maria Berg Reinertsen (b. 1980) is the Atlantic on the former luxury ocean liner Queen Mary. an economist and journalist for the The members of this group had various agendas- some of Norwegian weekly newspaper Morgenbladet. There, among other them wanted to create a better world. It was just 10 days things, she writes about economical after the D-Day landings in Normandy. In their wake, topics for people who normally London was getting over the first attack performed with the wouldn’t be interested in economics. She’s published three critically VI – the flying bomb – Hitler’s new super weapon. Under acclaimed books. In 2010, she the deck of the ship, 2000 German prisoners of war from published The Equation for the landing at Normandy were kept. Ahead of them were Happiness. The Numbers, Thoughts seven days at sea, journeying to the Bretton Woods and Accidents Behind the Prevailing Economic Sense. For the biography conference that was to shape the economic order of the Henriette Schønberg Erken. A postwar world. This book tells the story of the boat trip that History of Norway Seen From the laid the foundation for the world economy as we know it Kitchen Counter, she received the today, 70 years later- and the fascinating characters on Booksellers’ Prize for Best Non- Fiction Book in 2014. In 2017, she board, the people behind this agreement. During the published The Journey to Bretton crossing to the Bretton Woods conference, the travelers Woods, and for this she received the wrote a draft of the organization of the World Bank and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Book Prize as well as IMF (The International Monetary Fund) while the ship The Language Prize from the Queen Mary sailed in zigzags to avoid German Language Council of Norway. submarines- none of the passengers knew which route they were sailing. The mixture of solid academic content, reflected social analyzes and a sophisticated literary form makes the Journey to Bretton Woods an admirable piece of prose Jury, NTNU literary award 18 Acquiring professional knowledge is only the beginning of transmitting. The next step is to find a language that communicates with people who lack prior knowledge and do not know the jargon (...) Maria Berg Reinertsen conveys extraordinarily Jury, Norwegian language council literary award
Bjartur, Iceland 316 pages Non-fiction Rights sold: Hanser Verlag Germany Gloria Forlag Norway Mondadori, Italy Kobiece, Poland John Murray, UK Harper Collins, Holland LIKE, Finland CLIO, Serbia Capitan Swing, Spain Forlaget KLIM, Denmark Steinunn Sigurdardottir Heida: A Shepherd at the Edge of the World Steinunn Sigurdardottir A seasonal portrait of an Icelandic superheroine Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is one of Iceland´s most highly acclaimed Heiða, named after the one-and-only Heidi of literary fame, novelists and poets. is a solitary farmer, with a flock of five-hundred sheep on She has sustained a writing career the farm Ljótarstaðir in a remorseless area bordering since 1969, as well as a distinguished career in journalism. Iceland’s highlands. One of Heiða’s nearest neighbors is In France, she made a name for Iceland’s most notorious volcano, Katla, which has herself with the best-selling novel repeatedly driven away the inhabitants of Ljótarstaðir ever Voleur de vie. It was adapted to the since people first started farming there in the twelfth screen, starring Emmanuelle Béart and Sandrine Bonnaire. In 2017 the century. same novel was adapted to the The heroic tale of this charismatic young woman, who had stage by The National Theatre of a chance to work as a model in New York, is divided Iceland, to high critical acclaim. Amongst Steinunn Sigurdardottir’s according to the four seasons. Heiða tells of her struggles other titles in French translation are with herself and the powers of nature with deep feeling, La Place du Coeur, Le Cheval Soleil, keen wit and humor, weaving the narrative with anecdotes and the recently published of her animals and farm work. Heiða’s energetic narrative is Maitresses Femmes. Apart from France, Steinunn Sigurdardottir’s interspersed with her deftly-composed quatrains, as well as books have been extensively her insightful reflections on Icelandic nature. translated, notably in Germany and the Nordic countries. I consumed the book at speed and on the few occasions I had to put it down, one or other members of my household were quick to pick it up: the cover alone excited a wish to read it…I had the feeling while reading it that Heida was in MY kitchen, idly chatting to ME and that I was getting to know her really well, as a close friend. My overall feeling is gratitude for its transparent honesty. So much biography sets out to paint a picture of someone with at least some of the flaws/facts removed or altered. It causes a huge sigh of relief to read one where we are given a rounded picture of a real person doing a real job. I find any work about a farmer irresistible but am often disappointed; not so this time… It was a privilege to be 'talked to' as a friend and allowed to share a fine farmer's life for a few hours.’ ROSAMUND YOUNG, author of Secret life of cows
Res Publica, 2019 165 pages Non-fiction Selected title by NORLA autumn 2019 English sample available Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Øystein Skjælaaen Getting high and why- Øystein Skjælaaen the meaning of alterring consciousness Øystein Skjælaaen (b. 1977) holds a doctorate degree in sociology. He has worked in alcohol and drug Some people visit a pub in the morning, others shoot heroin research for many years, and his in a park. Some go on a wine trip to Tuscany, others take thesis "Beer for breakfast. Identity and community in the pub in the mdma and dance in the woods. Why is it that in our culture, morning" received academic praise some forms of intoxication are accepted, while others are and attention from the general press forbidden? when published in 2018. Øystein has published in numerous Through all times and all over the world, people have academic journals with articles about sought to get high. Today it is part of most people’s lives. drugs, alcohol and intoxication. Getting high gives a break from work and routines and can “Getting high, and why”. is his first give us freedom and community – it helps us. But everyone book. Skjælaaen is also a musician, and plays in the band Real Ones, knows someone for whom alcohol and drugs no longer among others. gives pleasure, only pain, shame and sadness.The use of . substances has become a means of coping with everyday life. Øystein Skjælaaen has researched and worked with intoxicants, but also shares his own experiences. Through meetings with people and their stories, Getting high and why challenges our perceptions of the importance of getting high in society and for individuals. «An author’s virtues such as simplicity, clarity and precision makes "Getting high and why" a text that caters to an audience20 far beyond the universities» Morgenbladet, Norway «...elegantly formulated and thought provoking about getting high» 5/6, Aftenbladet, Norway
Res Publica 166 pages Non-fiction English sample available RIGHTS SOLD/ Forlaget FILO, Dnmark Contact: trude@immaterial.no Wegard Harsvik & Ingvar Skjerve HOMO SOLIDARICUS Wegard Harsvik & Ingvar Skjerve New insights from biology, behavioral science and economics have, over the last 50 years, turned ideas about Wegard Harsvik (b. 1967) is head of human beings upside down. public relations and strategy in LO. He has long political experience, Especially the notion of Homo Economicus – the idea that including as state secretary at the we all have narrow self-interest as a goal in everything we do Ministry of Health and Care Services – has been changed. and the Ministry of Culture, political In this book, Wegard Harsvik and Ingvar Skjerve introduce adviser at the Ministry of Education and the Storting representative (AP). us to an opposite to Homo Economicus: Homo Solidaricus. Harsvik holds a Master’s degree in The book shows that selfishness and self-gain must be Social Economics, Sociology and prevailing as an idea is wrong. History from University of Oslo, and has written several books, including It puts together new knowledge that shows cooperation is “Blåkopi” (2013) and “Word is fundamental to us as a species. The authors let us see how power”, with Sara Gunnerud, (2015). this must also have consequences for how we discuss Ingvar Skjerve (b. 1978) is a nurse politics and create good societies. Solidarity and community with a master ’s degree in professional ethics and diakonia. He is not a fight against human nature. It is deeply rooted in us. works as a political advisor. Ingvar has co-written the book “Participants. A journey in the future of democracy ”(Manifesto, 2009). «Homo solidaricus will kill the notion of the selfish […] All in all, this is a fine summary of why Homo Solidaricus should be recognized as the opposite of the selfish person Finansavisen, Norway a thought-provoking and good book» Vårt Land, Norway «An excellent ideological tool for progressive forces fighting for a more just world» Radikal Portal, Norway «Solidarity and social behaviour is not learnt, it is found in our genetic material. Therefore, we have the potential to create a more just world. We can become Homo solidaricus, if we organize society so that it stimulates our empathic sides. It is not at all a bad New Year's message. […] There are worse things to do in 2019 than reading Homo Solidaricus» Klassekampen, Norway
EINAUDI; Italy 166 pages Non-fiction Nordic rights through Immaterial Agents Contact: trude@immaterial.no Michela Murgia INSTRUCTIONS FOR Michela Murgia BECOMING A FASCIST The incisive voice of an intellectual who puts a long silence MICHELA MURGIA was born in Cabras in 1972. In 2006, she to rights, reminding us that when we talk about fascism, published with Isbn Il mondo deve nothing is a given forever. sapere, the tragicomic diary of a Fascism is a herpes which can resist for entire decades in month’s work, which inspired the the marrow of a democracy; it makes us think it has movie by Paolo Virzì Tutta la vita davanti. With Einaudi, disappeared only to reappear more viral than ever at the first in 2008 she published Viaggio in sign that the host’s immune system is weakening. Sardegna. Undici percorsi nell'isola It takes an enormous effort to be democratic. che non si vede; in 2009, the novel It means coming to terms with complexity, supplying the Accabadora, which won the 2010 Campiello Prize; in 2011, Ave Mary greatest number of people with the instruments to decode (re-published in the Super ET series and interpret the present times, guaranteeing areas and in 2012 and 2018); in 2012, Presente meth- ods of participation to all those who want to exploit (with Andrea Bajani, Paolo Nori, and Giorgio Vasta), and L'incontro. them to improve collective life. More- over, not everyone is With Einaudi, he has also published interested in being democratic. And actually, if we take a look the novel Chirù (2015) and the essay at pre- sent-day Italy, it seems that no one is interested in it Futuro interiore (2016). anymore, least of all Italian politics. So then, why do we continue to waste our time with democracy when we can take a fast- er and more certain shortcut? Isn’t fascism a well-oiled system for guaranteeing that the state is run better, for less money, faster and more efficiently? RIGHTS SOLD: Brazil (Editora Ayiné) Catalan language (Grup62) Galician (Rinoceronte Editora) Germany (Wagenbach) World English rights (Pushkin Press) World Spanish rights (Seix Barral)
Bjartur, Iceland 341 pages Non-fiction Sample English available TV rights sold to Palomar Pictures Contact: trude@immaterial.no www.immaterial.no Ásdís Halla Bragadóttir Blood Ties Ásdís Halla Bragadóttir In 2011, Ásdís Halla Bragadóttir got a phone call from a Asdis Halla Bragadottir is a Harvard man she’d never met who said his father thought she might graduate, and has worked as a journalist for the largest daily be his daughter. At the time, Ásdís Halla was a 43-year-old, newspaper in Iceland. She was an nationally known woman who had variously worked as a assistant to a government minister, journalist for the largest daily newspaper in the country, an the mayor of a conservative assistant to a government minister, the mayor of a municipality, and was the CEO of a large home improvement company. conservative municipality, the CEO of a large home She has also founded a private improvement company, and was now founding a private health clinic. health clinic. Given that she had no reason to think she had any connection with the stranger, Ásdís Halla took the call with a grain of salt. She had been raised by a man who she looked upon as her father; she thought she knew who her biological father was, but didn’t have any contact with him. When Ásdís Halla asked her mom about the man who the stranger suggested could be her father, it turned out that her mother did know him, and little by little, Ásdís Halla began to uncover a family saga that was more dramatic than she’d ever anticipated. As she did so, she was forced to relive her own childhood, which was no walk in the park. «A well-wrought, well-written, and truly effecting story that plays on all of the reader’s emotions» Fréttablaðið (Daily Paper), Iceland «One of the most poignant family sagas this reviewer has ever read» Morgunblaðið (Daily Paper), Iceland «Ásdís Halla’s family story is a tragic one, and her mother and grandmother’s story is heartbreaking. The book is written with considerable confidence, as if Ásdís Halla was already a seasoned author. Great book» Kiljan (TV show about literature), Iceland
Tiden Forlag 2019 180 pages Non-fiction Sample in English available Rights sold: Wielka Litera, Poland EC Edition, Denmark Siw Aduvill The Value of Rest – and what we Siw Aduvill gain from refrain Siw Aduvill has a background from contemporary circus arts where she We live in a society where stress is a public disease and worked as a performer, teacher, and where action, work and constant activity is supposed to director. She holds certifications in several solve everything for us. The Value of Rest – and what we different styles of yoga, bodywork gain from refrain – is a personal and multifaceted book and meditation. Her main interest is about NOT doing anything in the best possible way. in exploring in the intersection Research shows that when we learn to step out of the between movement, art, philosophy, personal practice and social change. hustle and bustle, the grass will become greener, the Siw is a sought after workshop quality of the wine improves and the orgasm can be faciliator and teaches on these enjoyed more deeply. subjects at teacher training programs in Norway and internationally. Not to mention that we become more generous, more . productive and more intelligent when we rest, so there is no doubt that rest is worthwhile. So why don’t we manage to stop? Siw Aduvill takes us through brain research and floating thoughts, everyday life and refugee camps, yoga, sex and wine tasting in this entertaining, educational and wise book about the simplest and most difficult of all: doing nothing. «An important and universal message» Fevennen, Norway «Aduvill conveys old and new knowledge 24 from physiology, biology and biochemistry and thoroughly examines how our nervous system works (...) The strength of this book is the self-help it offers in a fair, green light» Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway
Non-fiction Nordic rights through Immaterial Agents RIGHTS SOLD: UK – Head of Zeus US – Forge Holland – HarperCollins Italy – Mauri Spagnol Portugal – ASA; Brazil - Autentica; Sweden – Nordstedts Contact: trude@immaterial.no Louise Callaghan FATHER OF LIONS Louise Callaghan Between 2014 and 2017, the 'Islamic State' ruled the city of At the age of 26, Louise moved to Istanbul as Turkey correspondent for Mosul, in northern Iraq, killing 'traitors', destroying books and The Sunday Times (one of the oppressing women. But miraculously, in a park on the youngest foreign correspondents eastern edge of the Tigris, a zoo was kept open. ever hired by the paper) and with the Father of Lions is the story of Mosul Zoo. It survived under following year, won young reporter of the year at the 2016 British Press the stern hand of Abu Laith, the zookeeper, a man with an Awards and the 2017 British interesting past and a lifelong animal lover. His real name Journalism Awards, as well as being was Imad, but for as long as he could remember everyone highly commended for Foreign had called him by his nickname, Abu Laith 'Father of Lions'. Reporter of the Year. After two years of reporting on the ground on the And the lions and bears survived not only two years of Isis failed coup in Turkey and the sieges occupation, but starvation and bombardment by liberating of Raqqa and Mosul, in 2017 she forces. realised her current position as Middle East correspondent for The As the animals began to starve, Abu Laith and his family and Sunday Times. This year, she was helpers went hungry to keep them alive. They risked their named as one of Forbes Europe 30 lives to pick through bins for leftovers in Isis-occupied under 30 in media and shortlisted for neighbourhoods. In a final heroic effort, the surviving animals Foreign Correspondent of the year in the British Journalism Awards. were smuggled out of Iraq in a daring rescue operation. This is a story of human decency in the midst of barbarism. ’An unexpectedly funny and moving book. You might not expect to laugh when reading about ISIS-held Mosul, but through the story of a man who loves both lions and life, Louise Callaghan shows how humour and defiance can counter cruelty, and why both humans and animals crave freedom' Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News
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