French Debut Sells Abroad Pre-Pub
Monsieur Origami by Jean-Marc Ceci has sold to SeixBarral/Planeta in Spain and Salani/Mauri-Spagnol in Italy, ahead of its September release in France. Gallimard is publishing the book in France, and controls all rights to the novel. The novel is about a Japanese origami artist who travels to Italy to find the Italian woman he fell in love with, but fell out touch with. The novel mark Ceci's first book; he is a legal theorist who currently lives in Belgium.

Singaporean Writer's Novel Sells in the States
Rainbirds by Clarissa N. Goenawan has sold to Soho Press in a world English rights deal. The Pontas Agency, which controls all rights to the book, said it combines elements of literary fiction and magical realism. Set in Japan in 1994, it follows a young man who moves to the small town where his sister was murdered. Once there, he takes a job as a teacher--at the same school she worked at--and befriends a troubled student.

Italian Novel Draw French Interest
Salvatore Striano's Sasa’s Tempest, which is a fictionalized account of the actor's life, has sold to Albin Michel in France, in a preempt. The book has also been acquired by Alma Littera in Lithuania. Striano was a gang member in his youth, and wound up in prison before the age of 30. In the book, he recounts how he had a hopeless future ahead of him, until he discovered books, in particular the work of Shakespeare. The author has had several acting credits, including at the Berlin festival. Rights to the book are controlled by Carmen Prestia at the Alferj e Prestia Literary Agency.

French Author's Novel Moves to Germany
A French novel about a military officer who returns from Afghanistan with PTSD has sold in Germany. L’Insouciance by Karine Tuil has sold to Ullstein, in a deal brokered the book's French publisher, Gallimard. Set to be released in France next month, the novel follows the officer as he begins an affair with a journalist, only to learn that she is married to the son of a French minister. The author’s previous book, The Age of Reinvention, was published by Simon & Schuster last year.