The Fire by Daniela Krien soars to #3 on the Spiegel bestseller list

We have now printed 100'000 copies of the book, and with good reason: The Fire went up to #3 on the Spiegel bestseller list and to #1 on the Swiss bestseller list. 
Furthermore, The Fire continues to be showered with praise by the critics:

»Once again, Krien proves herself to be a grand master of creating a delicately poetic, multi-perspective diagnosis of the times.
Gisa Funck / Deutschlandradio, Cologne

»Daniela Krien’s The Fire achieves the masterstroke of touching upon the existential without flaunting it.«
Rainer Moritz / NZZ, Zurich

»The author Daniela Krien should be celebrated for her novel The Fire, because there are really few other books that work so well on so many levels.«
Denis Scheck / WDR 2, Cologne

»A book about daughters and mothers; families, their secrets; about intimacy – and how, despite decades together, we remain individuals – and foreign to one another.« 
Katja Kraft / Münchner Merkur, Munich

»In clear, unadorned and cliché-free language, The Fire unites the individual with the societal, and even the private with the political.«
Martin Ebel / Tages-Anzeiger, Zurich

»She writes clearly and without frills. Her language is never banal, but always artfully literary.«
Anke Jahns / NDR Kultur, Hamburg

»The seismograph lines register precisely the state of affairs, but they are not trying to be right.«
Karin Grossmann / Sächsische Zeitung, Dresden

Foreign rights sold:
Catalan: Bromera
English/UK: MacLehose Press
Italian: Corbaccio
Norwegian: Forlaget Press

Now published: My Friend RamTamTam by Helme Heine

Every night, a child dreams about the big wide world and fantastical treasures. And suddenly the big adventure lies just around the corner: RamTamTam. A tousled, scrappy dog who becomes a best friend. For years on end they go through thick and thin together, until RamTamTam, now old and grey, falls asleep and never wakes up. But their shared adventures are far from over.

This children's book is intended for 5 years and older. It comes with 36 full-colour pages and a format of 22 × 27.5 cm. We have a full English translation of this title available.

Now published: The Melody of Money by Petros Markaris

Left-wing politics are carried solemnly to the grave, in a funeral procession through the streets of Athens. What looks like a carnival parade is in fact the start of a new protest movement: the poor, uniting to make their voices heard. 
Is the murderer of the foreign investors among their ranks? Detective Haritos investigates and pricks up his ears when he hears the song of money all over the city.

Foreign rights sold:
Catalan (Tusquets)
Italian (La Nave di Teseo)
Spanish (Tusquets)

Kalmann by Joachim B. Schmidt shortlisted for Crime Cologne Award 2021

Kalmann made it onto the shortlist of the Crime Cologne Award 2021. Five other books are also nominated and the winner will be chosen in October. The award comes with an honorarium of EUR 3'000.

Just published in translation: Spanish edition of In the Middle of August by Luca Ventura

Spanish edition by Editorial Catedral, Barcelona

Just published in translation: Italian edition of Red Crosses by Sasha Filipenko

Italian edition by Edizioni E/O, Rome

»Filipenko is a relatable intellectual and a first-class writer who is gradually becoming known and appreciated in the West.«
Wlodek Goldkorn / L'Espresso, Rom

Do you know these films based on Patricia Highsmith's works?

We have all seen the film versions of Carol and The Talented Mr. Ripley. But did you know there were films based on The Glass Cell and The Cry of the Owl? Tanner Tafelski wrote an interesting piece on overlooked films on LitHub here. His summary: »Highsmith’s work is a well that directors draw from time and time again.«

Now published, pre-empted and shortlisted: our debut of this autumn Boy with a Black Rooster by Stefanie vor Schulte

Eleven-year-old Martin has nothing but the shirt on his back, and a black rooster which is both a protector and a friend. The villagers steer clear of the boy, finding him strange; far too smart and kind. They would rather mistreat him than acknowledge his talents. When Martin meets a travelling painter and seizes the chance to leave the village with him, he is led into a terrible world which, thanks to his compassion and understanding, he is able to resist, becoming a saviour for those even more innocent than he is.

Boy with a Black Rooster is one of eight novels shortlisted for the ›Klaus-Michael Kühne Prize‹. The prize is awarded to the »best debut novel of the year« and the ceremony will be held at the Harbour Front festival in Hamburg on 19 September 2021.

Foreign rights sold: 
Italian (Mondadori, in a pre-empt)

Charlotte Collins translated an English sample, please let us know if you would like to receive it.

Dutch bestseller Hard Land by Benedict Wells

The Dutch edition of Hard Land by Meulenhoff (see cover above) has been on the Dutch bestseller list for seven weeks now and there was a big interview with Benedict Wells in De Volkskrant.

Furthermore, Hard Land has remained in the Spiegel bestseller top ten for an astounding 22 weeks.

In terms of rights sales, we have just sold Spanish, Slovenian and Serbian rights, pushing the list further:
Catalan (Les Hores)
Dutch (Meulenhoff)
French (Slatkine)
Hungarian (Geopen)
Norwegian (Forlaget Press)
Polish (Wydawnictwo Poznanskie)
Portuguese (ASA)
Serbian (Plato)
Slovenian (Mladinska Knjiga)
Spanish (Grup Enciclopèdia)

Now published: I wish by Christoph Niemann

It’s usually a great joy to receive a present. But what if a present not only fulfils a wish, but leads us ever more deeply into the universe of our longing?

Praised by the press: From the Depth of the Lake by Moritz Heger

Our spring debut From the Depth of the Lake by Moritz Heger continues to be lavishly praised by the press – even half a year after publication:

»Wonderful; in its thinking, its language, its emotion.« 
Ulla Müller / Bayern 1, Munich

»A quiet, calmly powerful story.«
Jan Draeger / Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, Heidelberg

»A fate is unfurled carefully and with a gentle narrative rhythm.«
Münchner Merkur, Munich
 

Praised by the press: Beat Sterchi's Capricho

Capricho, Beat Sterchi's novel about a journey to a simple little house in a rundown Spanish village, is enthusiastically praised by the press:

»In order to perceive the nuances of his new book, you have to let it carry you away.«
Maria Frisé / Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt

»This is by no means sentimental; it’s highly precise, and at times painful, because nature’s whims are certainly not always friendly.«
Roman Bucheli / Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich

»A little book to pause with, to slow down for a moment.« 
Christine Westermann / WDR5, Cologne

»This much slow living is infectious.«
Michael Wurmitzer / Der Standard, Vienna

»Together with the first person narrator, the reader once again comes closer to a centuries-old but disappearing Mediterranean way of life.«
Alexander Sury / Tages-Anzeiger, Zurich

»Capricho is a novel to immerse yourself in – a book that grounds you, because it motivates you to reflect on everyday things.«
Gabi von Waden / WDR 2 Lesen, Cologne

»This is a classic example of how seemingly unspectacular literature doesn’t explicitly describe major topics like alienation, criticism of civilisation, and historical traumas, but instead illuminates and makes them visible.«
Hansruedi Kugler / Schweiz am Wochenende, Aarau

Just published in translation: Italian edition of Flix by Tomi Ungerer 

Italian edition by Camelozampa, Monselice