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# 1 Swiss Bestseller: A Picture of Lydia
Lukas Hartmann’s latest novel A Picture of Lydia made it to # 1 of the Swiss Bestseller list. And the press received the book very warmly:
»In his approach Lukas Hartmann skilfully uses literary advantages by reviving historical facts and connecting them with feelings.«
Alexander Sury / Tages-Anzeiger, Zurich
»… Lydia Welti-Escher falls victim to this violent time of upheaval in Lukas Hartmann’s consistent and thrilling portrait of an epoch.«
Charles Linsmayer / Neue Zürcher Zeitung
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Englisch/world (Hodder)
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Sales of and endorsements for The End of Loneliness by Benedict Wells
Two years after its first publication and after spending over a year and a half on the Spiegel bestseller list, we have sold 250.000 hardcovers and foreign rights for 27 languages.
Most recently, the Chinese (China South Booky) and the English (Hodder) edition have been published. John Irving (author of The Cider House Rules) read the book and declared: »Our fate is everything we become; yet what happens to Jules and Alva, in the hands of Benedict Wells, is dazzling storytelling. The End of Loneliness is both affecting and accomplished – and eternal.«
The UK publication led to an interview with the BBC on The Arts Hour (please find the interview here). In it Benedict Wells talks about his family reading his novel and what inspired him to write it.
Benedict Wells was also interviewed by The Guardian on his life and what led him to The End of Loneliness – please find it here.
Foreign rights sold:
Albanian (Dudaj)
Bulgarian (Colibri)
Catalan (Les Hores)
Chinese / CN (China South Booky)
Croatian (HENA)
Czech (Plus)
Danish (Lindhardt & Ringhof)
Dutch (Meulenhoff Boekerij)
English/world (Hodder)
French (Slatkine)
Hebrew (Hakibbutz Hameuhad)
Hungarian (Geopen)
Italian (Salani)
Latvian (Janis Roze)
Lithuanian (Gelmes Publishing)
Macedonian (Tri Publishing Centre)
Norwegian (Forlaget Press)
Persian (Qoqnoos)
Romanian (Polirom)
Russian (Azbooka-Atticus)
Serbian (Laguna)
Slovak (Albatros Slovakia)
Slovenian (Mladinska knjiga)
Spanish (Malpaso)
Swedish (Thorén & Lindskog)
Ukrainian (Hemiro)
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French edition of Tomi Ungerer's »Why Am I Not You?« by L'Ecole des Loisirs
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Now published in translation
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Gems from our backlist: The Hunkeler Mysteries by Hansjörg Schneider
»The man who wrote the novel at that time is, all in all, the same one I am today,« finds Hansjörg Schneider and refers to one of his books that was published 36 years ago. An astonishing conclusion, considering that length of time. To him, this realization is at once frightening and consoling. Frightening because he had overestimated the potential to improve himself. Consoling because he is now convinced that there is a core to his personality that remains the same. (Please find Hansjörg Schneider’s entire blogpost on looking back here.)
Even more of these insights can be found in his autobiography Child of the Aare, which reached # 6 of the Swiss bestseller list. What is the occasion? Hansjörg Schneider turns 80 next week, on March 27.
Hansjörg Schneider is one of the most performed playwrights in the German language and his Hunkeler mystery novels are regularly on the Swiss Bestseller list. Besides being awarded the ›Friedrich Glauser Prize‹ in 2005, his fellow mystery author Friedrich Ani praises the Hunkeler series: »The unerringly straightforward narration reads with the same simplicity, clarity and unassuming nature as Georges Simenon.« (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Munich). Besides the German original the Hunkeler mystery novels are currently in print in Italy, Estonia and France. Six of the overall nine cases have been adapted as a TV series for Swiss public television
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Praise by the press for Leinsee by Anne Reinecke
The press is raving about Anne Reinecke’s debut Leinsee – here are a few quotes from the latest articles:
»[…] one of the most unusual and beautiful love stories you have ever read.«
Brigitte woman, Hamburg
»Leinsee is an experience, intense and rich in reality.«
Cicero, Berlin
»Leinsee, one of the best debut novels in recent years.[...] Captivating!«
Galore, Dortmund
»Anne Reinecke strikes a wonderful chord in her novel: poetic but not one bit kitschy.«
Donna, Munich
»It’s light as a feather but still has depth!«
Lea Schulze / Emotion, Hamburg
The debut also made it to # 50 on the Spiegel bestseller list just after publication. If you would like a full list of press quotes, we would be happy to provide you with one.
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Just published: Helme Heine The Adventurers
It is another dull day in Mullewapp, and Waldemar the hog, Franz von Hahn and Johnny Mauser do not know what to do with themselves. High time for a real adventure! The three friends grab their bikes and cycle all around the world – a princess needs their help, a treasure is waiting to be unearthed, and they have a narrow escape from a cannibal. But with the help of Jumbo the elephant they still make it home in time for dinner.
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The first edition (1967) and a reprint from the 1990s
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Gems from our backlist: Travelling to Tripiti by H.U. Steger
This is the story of the found-again blue: When the children’s book Travelling to Tripiti by H.U. Steger was originally published by Diogenes in 1967, its cover was bright blue – and remained in print for the following decades. In later print runs and with new printing techniques, the cover changed slightly over the decades, even though the general appearance remained the same, as you can see in the picture above. A few years ago, at the author’s special request, the original slightly brighter blue was re-adopted for our latest edition in 2016.
But why this special kind of blue? Though the author did not specify it in his letter, we strongly suspect it is due to the final destination of the teddy bear and his friends in Travelling to Tripiti: Greece, where the skies shimmer in a very special cerulean blue. (If you would like to know more about this story, please have a look at our blog, here.)
The author of Travelling to Tripiti H.U. Steger was born 95 years ago, on March 21, 1923. He passed away in June 2016.
Travelling to Tripiti is currently available also in Japanese, Faroe and Chinese.
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