Norwegian Maps Book Heats Up
Theatre of the World by Thomas Reinretten, which looks at how maps have influenced the world, has sold to Little, Brown (U.S) and to Hodder & Stoughton (U.K.). The book, which traces the evolution of its subject matter from the stone age to the creation of Google Earth, has also been acquired by publishers in the Netherlands and Sweden. At press time, auctions for the book were underway in Poland and Germany. The book was published in Norway, by Forlaget Press, in September 2017, and Norway's Northern Stories controls all rights to the title.
Dutch Book on Surgery Draws Interest
Under the Knife by Arnold van de Laar, a 2014 book originally published by De Bezige Bij in the Netherlands, has sold to United Sky (China), KOC Üniversitesi Yayιnlarι (Turkey), EULAY (South Korea), and Eksmo (Russia). The sales have come since an English translation from the book's UK publisher, John Murray, became available. Deals were previously made, in Germany, Turkey, and the U.S., among other countries. De Bezige Bij controls all rights to the book, which examines the history of surgery through the prism of 28 operations on famous patients like Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, and Bob Marley.
'Black Feminist' Book Sells to Multiple English Language Pubs
A book by the Nigerian/Finnish/Swedish writer Minna Salami, called Sensuous Knowledge: A Radical Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, has sold to London-based Zed Books for world English rights, excluding the U.S. and Canada. HarperCollins' Amistad imprint has acquired U.S. rights. The Pontas Agency is handling the rights for the title, which was sold on proposal, and written in English. Salami, who now lives in the U.K., is behind the popular blog MsAfropolitan. (In addition to her blog, she has written for various news outlets, including The Guardian and The Huffington Post.) The Pontas Agency said the book is a "multi-disciplinary exploration" of subjects ranging from "power, gender, globalization, science and sexuality." The agency added that the book offers "a new way of negotiating the world that rebukes both the patriarchal and imperialist systems."
Somali-Italian's Novel Moves to Brazil
Igiaba Scego's Adua has sold in a new two-book deal to Editora Nós (Brazil). The novel, by Somali-Italian Scego, was recently published by New Vessel Press in the U.S. and Canada, and by Contempo in Sweden. The book, originally published in Italy by Giunti, is about a woman's search for identity on a journey from Somalia to Rome. Italy's PNLA Agency controls all rights to the book.
