New Titles
Spring
From the Netherlands
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2 Seas Literary Agency Inc. 1129 Maricopa Hwy, Suite 175 Ojai, California 93023, USA
Marleen Seegers, Owner marleen.seegers@2seasagency.com (based in California)
Chrysothemis Armefti, Senior Agent chrysothemis.armefti@2seasagency.com (based in Cyprus)
Nikoleta Koukmisi, Rights & Contracts Associate nikoleta.koukmisi@2seasagency.com (based in North Carolina)
@2seasagency @2seasagency @2seasagency https://2seasagency.com/tag/podcast/
W W W. 2 S E ASAG E N C Y. COM
The information in this catalog is accurate as of February 28, 2022.
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Index OVERAMSTEL PUBLISHERS 5
Annejet van der Zijl | Fortune’s Children
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Susan Smit | The Last Witch Hunt
MEULENHOFF & BOEKERIJ 8
Mira Sys | The Protégé
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Erik Rozing | State of Denial
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Hendrik Groen | Peace and Joy
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Arthur Brand | The Art Detective
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Overamstel Uitgevers has offices in Amsterdam and Antwerp. We house the imprints Carrera Culinair, Hollands Diep, Horizon, Inside, Lebowski Publishers, Moon and The House of Books. Overamstel is the place for fiction, non-fiction, cookery books, sport biographies, history, children’s books and YA. First impressions on walking through the doors are our high palm trees gently swaying in the air-conditioning’s draft. This is followed by the hard to ignore multi-storey bookchest. Instantly clear is the open, spacious, character of the building. Sales, marketing and PR dominating the middle ground, flanked by the imprints on all sides. We have an opendoor policy in an office – fittingly - without doors. In spite of working from a distance during COVID, this has symbolically remained our set up: a strong central organization serving the finer, specialist imprints. Every book is made by editing teams each with its own specialisation. This is how the imprints can properly embrace their authors, giving their books all the attention they deserve. Meanwhile, these imprints don’t need to operate as independent islands. What [else] do we stand for at Overamstel? We like to innovate. eBooks and audiobooks have become commonplace; we were the early adopters of these new publishing practices. In the field of pr, sales, marketing and rights we deliver tailor made creative solutions. Our editors look after authors across the whole spectrum, from debutants to household names! We’re constantly on the lookout for new voices, investing time and resources in fresh talent. With major clout and an eye for detail, that’s how we get to work.
WWW.OVER A MS T ELU ITGEVER S .CO M
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LITERARY NONFICTION
Fortune’s Children A transatlantic family chronicle.
In 1875, would anyone in San Francisco have realized that the genteel, wealthy Mrs. de Fremery was born a slave? And that as a child she had been smuggled to the Netherlands by her father because he was unsure of her life in her native America?
The latest ‘big’ book by Annejet van der Zijl is arguably her most ambitious ever. This true story begins with adventurer Leon Herckenrath, who lost his heart to the Orig. Title: Fortuna’s kinderen Orig. Language: Dutch Orig. Publisher: Hollands Diep 288 pp. | September 2021 Territory: World excl. Dutch
young enslaved girl Juliette in 1818, and follows their eldest daughter and her Dutch husband during their adventures in California during the Gold Rush. And what about their descendants, with their unusual legacy of enormous wealth and a mixed-race bloodline?
M AT ERI A L AVA I L A B LE Dutch MS English translation
Fortune’s Children is a two centuries old, surprisingly topical family saga about people
# O F CO P I E S S O LD 100,000+
who did not allow their lives to be limited by risks and their loves by skin color.
Annejet van der Zijl Annejet van der Zijl is a Dutch writer. Born in 1962, she studied mass communication at the UVA in Amsterdam and did a MA International Journalism at City University in London. She worked in magazine journalism until 2000, meanwhile publishing her first book, Jagtlust, about a ramshackle villa that was a meeting place for many artists and poets in the sixties. Annejet van der Zijl lives in Amsterdam with her husband, a journalist. Annejet’s previous books The Boy Between Worlds and An American Princess have been very successful in the USA.
Steady position in the Top 10 of the Dutch Bestseller 60 for several months.
PRESS & QUOTES Van der Zijl, author of the bestseller Sonny Boy..., understands like no other the art of making small things big. Fortune’s Children is a family chronicle and a history of the United States all in one.
— NR C HA NDELS BL A D (S TA RRE D RE V IE W )
Fortune’s Children is a loving story about human resilience without denying the cruelty of history. An ode to freedom. — DE VO LKS KR A NT (S TA RRE D RE V IE W )
Annejet van der Zijl has a pleasant, fluent way of telling her story, in which she skillfully zooms in on the key scenes that have determined the lives of her main characters. — HP/DE T IJ D
Spring 2022 Rights List | www.2seasagency.com | marleen.seegers@2seasagency.com | chrysothemis.armefti@2seasagency.com
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HISTORICAL FICTION
The Last Witch Hunt A tribute to an indomitable woman. Women who are unafraid to stand up for themselves and others often get the epithet ‘witch’ hurled at them. In online discourse, you see it all the time in reference to strong women like Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris. In her novel The Last Witch Hunt, based on historical research, Susan Smit shows how this kind of nasty talk can have serious consequences. In July 1674, soldiers raid the home of 74-year-old Entgen Luijten. She is taken to the castle in Limbricht, a town in the southernmost part of the Netherlands, and locked in a dungeon where she is told that, based on a number of incidents, she is
Orig. Title: De heks van Limbricht Orig. Language: Dutch Orig. Publisher: Lebowksi 256 pp. | May 2021 Territory: World excl. Dutch
being accused of witchcraft or black magic.
Smit portrays Entgen Luijten as an emblem of female indomitability. During the cross-
M AT ERI A L AVA I L A B LE Dutch MS English translation
examinations, Entgen doesn’t mention the names of any other women, because she knows all too well what would happen to them. Despite being locked in a cold, dark
RIG H T S S O LD France | Leduc (auction)
prison cell and being starved and tortured, she doesn’t yield. In a society where women are considered the ‘weaker sex’ by the church and the authorities, susceptible to Satan’s
# O F CO P I E S S O LD 60,000+
temptations, Entgen stands out as wholly individual, a wise and autonomous human being.
Susan Smit Susan Smit (b. 1974) is a writer and columnist. She made her debut in 2001 with Heks (Witch). To date she has nineteen successful novels to her name, including the bestsellers Flood (Vloed), Bride of the Tropics (Tropenbruid) and Gisèle. She spent some time studying the history of witchcraft, which Smit considers to be a spiritual practice and an ancient nature religion.
PRESS & QUOTES Smit’s empathy is her great strength. She doesn’t sugarcoat or romanticize; she sweeps the fairytale off the table. — NR C HAN DE L S BL AD
This novel gives important insight into how the judiciary, the church and the powers-that-be were able to silence outspoken women. — Z IN
Smit has written down the gripping story as a thriller. A tribute to a indomitable woman. — DE T E L E G RAAF
With great sensitivity and vivid details, Smit manages to bring to life a world of four centuries ago. Entgen’s fate, and that of fighting women like her, will no longer remain unseen. — MENSJ E VAN K E UL E N
Spring 2022 Rights List | www.2seasagency.com | marleen.seegers@2seasagency.com | chrysothemis.armefti@2seasagency.com
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Meulenhoff Boekerij publishes both commercial and literary titles. We publish upmarket and genre books and have married the marketing sales power of a commercial fiction publisher to the quality controls and good taste of a literary house. We have published many titles that have sold over 100,000 copies, no mean feat in a language area of 20 million. Meulenhoff has a great tradition in publishing translated literature from all over the world. Our list features more Nobel Prize laureates than any other Dutch publisher. Boekerij is especially strong in quality commercial fiction and is the market leader in translated fiction. The women’s fiction and thriller list features international bestselling authors.
WWW.MEULENHO FFBO EKER IJ.NL
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DEBUT NOVEL
The Protégé An exciting and layered debut about family ties and the question of whether our memories can be trusted.
For Linda, the memorial service is the moment when everything comes back. She sees the images again and they hurt her more after all these years than she could have imagined. Her boyfriend Frank’s patience is gradually running out. Why is she pushing him so far away? Orig. Title: De beschermelinge Orig. Language: Dutch Orig. Publisher: Meulenhoff 224 pp. | April 2022 Territory: World excl. Dutch
She hasn’t told anyone about what really happened, the days when she wandered aimlessly in the woods with her brothers. About the cold, the friendship, or the salty tears. When she was a child, she could hardly foresee the consequences. But now, as
M AT ERI A L AVA I L A B LE Dutch MS English sample
a grown woman, it becomes painfully clear that in order to move forward, she must face the past.
The Protégé is a riveting psychological drama that surprisingly unfolds across several timelines. In the past, Sys follows a group of siblings who do not want to let go of their childhood. In the present, through the eyes of Linda and one of her brothers, it slowly
Mira Sys Mira Sys (1995) is a Flemish writer and investigative journalist. After finishing her Bachelor’s in Dutch Language and Communication, she went on to complete a Master’s degree in Journalism and Media at the University of Amsterdam. She wrote articles for de Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, and De Correspondent and now works for Follow the Money, while also writing fiction. The Protégé is her debut novel.
becomes clear how their youth has shaped their lives. Mira Sys provides an oppressive insight into how echoes from the past can resound and asks an important question: how reliable are memories?
Spring 2022 Rights List | www.2seasagency.com | marleen.seegers@2seasagency.com | chrysothemis.armefti@2seasagency.com
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LITERARY FICTION
State of Denial Sea levels are rising rapidly, causing major damage to the coastline and dividing the population. Failing climate policies cause desperation amongst the younger generation as they decide to take matters into their own hands. Astrid Franken must step up to turn the tide after a minister is killed in a terrorist attack. As deputy prime minister, she is trying to keep the country and her family together. Her husband Victor, a brilliant and controversial scientist, has a secret that is weighing on their marriage. And her teenage son, Adam, seems to know more about the terrorist Orig. Title: Staat van ontkenning Orig. Language: Dutch Orig. Publisher: Meulenhoff 416 pp. | January 2022 Territory: World excl. Dutch M AT ER I A L AVA I L A B LE Dutch MS English sample
attack than he is letting on. As the threat of the sea increases, Astrid must do whatever she can to save a country that is in danger of falling apart, just like her unusual family.
Erik Rozing Erik Rozing studied medicine at the University of Maastricht and specialized in psychiatry at Leiden University. He has been living in Amsterdam for the last few years. As a psychiatrist, his focus is on patients, trauma, and personality disorders. His debut novel, The Psychiatrist and the Girl, was shortlisted for the Hebban Debut prize.
ALSO AVAIL ABLE AT MEULENHOFF
Orig. Title: De psychiater en het meisje 448 pp. | 2016 # O F CO P I E S S O LD 15,000+ AWA RD S Hebban Debut Prize for Fiction (shortlisted)
The Psychiatrist and the Girl
The Best for Everyone
The Rosie Project meets Girl, Interrupted meets The
Stella is a clever, lively, sharp-witted young
Shock of the Fall, set in the psychiatric department of
woman, but she also suffers from Borderline
a general hospital.
Personality Disorder. At twenty-seven, she turns
Life could have been easier for young doctor Edgar
to Ender, an organisation that would help her
Simons at the moment. His girlfriend has broken
obtain deadly drugs.
up him and after making a fatal judgment error, he’s been put under heavy scrutiny in the hospital where he works as an intern. Edgar himself is not free of mental issues either. Then he gets to treat a new patient: Stella. She utterly fascinates him. He’s getting obsessed and knows he should keep her at
Orig. Title: Het beste voor There, she meets Milou, a young filmmaker who iedereen 352 pp. | 2019 wants to make a documentary about Stella’s English sample available
decision to end her life. In the weeks leading up to Stella’s planned suicide, Milou encourages her to tell her story.
arm’s length, but how?
Spring 2022 Rights List | www.2seasagency.com | marleen.seegers@2seasagency.com | chrysothemis.armefti@2seasagency.com
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FICTION
Peace and Joy When Emma Quaadvliegh is clearing away some old papers after her husband has passed away, she stumbles upon a long-forgotten application for a small house on the allotment complex ‘Peace and Joy.’ Eleven years on the waiting list have gone by unnoticed, and she can now have any house that becomes available. When Emma views a cozy, somewhat messy little house with a messy little garden, it’s love at first sight. On a whim she decides: I could do with some distraction, I’ll take this one! She knows nothing about gardening, but that shouldn’t be a problem, because all the friendly neighbors immediately offer their help.
Orig. Title: Rust en Vreugd Orig. Language: Dutch Orig. Publisher: Meulenhoff 280 pp. | November 2021 Territory: World excl. Dutch
It soon turns out not to be all ‘peace and joy’ among Emma’s fellow gardeners. Nevertheless, she is determined to make the best of it and create her own little piece of paradise. But then again, that’s all Adam and Eve wanted as well…
M AT ERI A L AVA I L A B LE Dutch MS
UNDER OP TI ON Germany, Italy, Poland, Estonia, USA, Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia
RIG H T S S O LD Czech Republic | Albatros Media / XYZ
Hendrik Groen Hendrik Groen published his first diary in 2014. The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/⁄4 Years Old was an enormous success: there is an actual Hendrik Groen fan club, foreign rights were sold to more than 36 countries, a television series was produced, it was adapted into a play by Bos Theater Productions, and it received the NS Public Prize 2016. His second diary, On the Bright Side, has been a bestseller since its publication. His diaries have sold over 900,000+ copies in the Netherlands and Flanders. Hendrik Groen is a pseudonym.
ALSO AVAIL ABLE AT MEULENHOFF
Hendrik Groen’s secret diaries #1 and #2: Attempts to Make Something of Life and As Long As There Is Life The life-affirming, hilarious, and heart-warming fictional diaries from the beloved octogenarian and internationally bestselling author. Three years in the life of an elderly man Hendrik Groen and his beloved companions of the OldBut-Not-Dead club writing an exposé from an retirement’s home in Amsterdam. Both diaries were adapted into a Dutch TV series, attracting an average of 2 million viewers per week. Stage adaptations have also been numerous and very successful! Orig. Title: Pogingen iets van het leven te maken 328 pp. | 2014
Orig. Title: Zolang er leven is 375 pp. | 2016
RI GHTS S OLD Diary 1: 37 territories Diary 2: 17 territories
# OF COPIES SOL D Diary 1: 700,000+ Diary 2: 300,000+
AWARDS : NS Reader’s Prize, Hebban Best Novel Prize , Earphones Award (US) ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS AVAILABLE
Hendrik Groen’s 3rd and last secret diary: Cheerfully on to the Finish Line The very last diary of Hendrik Groen, one of the world’s most beloved seniors. An unexpected pleasure for everyone who craves to know how Hendrik Groen is doing after his previous diaries. Orig. Title: Opgewekt naar de eindstreep 208 pp. | 2020
Even as a ninety-year-old, Hendrik is trying to live his best life, despite missing Eefje, Evert, and his other close friends, but he finds himself confronted with increasing memory loss. RI GHTS S OLD Estonia, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland
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TRUE CRIME
The Art Detective A Deal with the Mafia: the spinechilling quest for an ancient mosaic and Oscar Wilde’s ring Art detective Arthur Brand meets an alleged mobster in London who is wanted by several police departments. His name is Tamas and he claims to be innocent. He makes Brand an offer he can’t refuse. They form a secret alliance and set out on a quest to retrieve two worldfamous stolen art treasures - the Saint Mark mosaic and
Orig. Title: De Kunst Detective Orig. Language: Dutch Orig. Publisher: Boekerij 320 pp. | April 2022 Territory: World excl. Dutch
Oscar Wilde’s ring. They soon realize they are not only up against police forces. Members of the feared Turkish Grey Wolves and the renowned jewel thieves Pink Panthers cross their path. Along the way, Brand begins
M AT ERI A L AVA I L A B LE Dutch MS English sample
to question Tamas’ innocence. Is he, as Interpol claims,
UNDER O P T I O N English (UK & BC excl Can), World Spanish, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Korea, Finland, Denmark
In this case in the form of Brand’s worst enemy, the
RIG H T S S O LD France | Dunod
once again hits the headlines worldwide.
a real capo di tutti capi of the Cosa Nostra? There seems to be no way out, but help comes in an unexpected way.
Arthur Brand Arthur Brand studied Spanish and history before specializing in art and antiquities. Nowadays, he is the Netherlands’ most prominent art detective. Some of his findings made the worldwide news, including Hitler’s horses, a Dali painting, a Picasso painting, Oscar Wilde’s stolen ring and five paintings from the Westfries Museum. The total value of the cases solved by Brand are estimated at more that 220 million euros.
notorious Van Gogh robber Octave ‘Okkie’ Durham, who offers him a helping hand. Eventually Brand manages to recover the Saint Mark mosaic and Oscar Wilde’s ring. With these discoveries, the famous art detective Brand
ALSO AVAIL ABLE AT BOEKERIJ TRUE CRIME
Hitler’s Horses How an art detective made his biggest and most sensational discovery – and became a worldwide news item! During a visit to his former teacher, art detective Arthur Brand comes across a photograph of Hitler’s horses, twometer high statues that Hitler once ordered to put in front of the Grand Chancellery. It appears they are being sold on the black market. Brand is puzzled: weren’t those statues destroyed in the Battle of Berlin? The ones on sale must be fakes. We read news stories about stolen art but know nothing of the bewildering criminal networks behind these thefts. Arthur Brand, known for the Omroep Max miniseries about his work as an art detective, knows this shady, Orig. Title: De paarden van Hitler 288 pp. | 2019 RIG H T S S O LD 14 territories, Film rights sold # O F CO P I E S S O LD 10,000+
surprising, and dangerous world like no other, and his engaging storytelling makes it come alive. Hitler’s Horses is an action-packed true crime story featuring secret services, former Nazis, neo-Nazis, and huge amounts of money. ENGLISH TRANSLATION AVAILABLE P RES S & Q UOT ES The most astonishing find in years. — T H E WA L L S T R E E T J O U R N AL
Spring 2022 Rights List | www.2seasagency.com | marleen.seegers@2seasagency.com | chrysothemis.armefti@2seasagency.com
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Latest Rights Deals Cheng Thom, Kai, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars. A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir: France (Editions Massot) Nightingale, Steven, Granada. A Pomegranate in the Hand of God: Malayalam (IPB Books) Peters, Maria, The Conductor: Czech (Grada) Purnell, Derecka, Becoming Abolitionists. Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom: France (Éditions Syllepse) Samatar, Sofia, The White Mosque. A Memoir: UK & BC excl CAN (Hurst, at auction) Smit, Susan, The Last Witch Hunt: France (Leduc.s Éditions, at auction) Andrea, Jean-Baptiste, Devils and Saints: Denmark (Holgers Forlag) Aeschmann, Mathieu, How to Live Like Roger Federer: Romania (Niculescu, 3-book deal) Beard, Susanna, The Perfect Neighbour, The Perfect Life, The Lost Brother & What Happened That Night: Denmark (Jentas A/S, 4-book deal) Busson, François, How to Live Like a Zen Master: Italy (Odoya, 2-book deal), Romania (Niculescu, 3-book deal) De Brabandere, Luc, Mikolajczak, Anne, Rif, Vincent, Plato versus Aristotle: Greece (Kaktos, at auction) Delalande, Arnaud, Bidot, Laurent, Weisman, Joseph, After the Round. The true story of a survivor of the Vel’d’Hiv round-up: WEL (Indiana University Press) Dhilly, Olivier, Philosophy According to Squid Game: Korea (CheongSongJae) Dupuis-Déri, Francis, Anarchy Explained to My Father: Turkey (Say Yayın Dağıtım) Ega, Françoise, Letters to a Black Woman: Spain & Chile (Txalaparta) Godefroy, Aurélie, How to Live Like Coco Chanel: Slovakia (Citadella) Garnier, Stéphane, How to Live Like the Little Prince: Slovakia (Motyl, at auction) Garrett (Ed.), Natalie Eve, The Lonely Stories. 22 Celebrated Writers on the Joys & Struggles of Being Alone: China (Shanghai Translation) Jorgenson, Eric, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness: Sweden (Zetterberg & Winberg), Indonesia (Baca), Mongolia (Monsudar), France (Valor) Lacroix, Alexandre, How Can We Avoid Being Slaves to the System: Korea (Ecolivres) Marmion, Jean-François, Psychology according to Squid Game: Korea (OrangeD, at auction) Mathieu, Nicolas, Connemara: WEL (Other Press) Özlü, Tezer, Cold Nights of Childhood: NA (Transit Books) Patou-Mathis, Marylène, Prehistoric Men Were Women Too. A Story of the Invisibility of Women: Portugal (Editora Exclamacao) Peters, Tom, Excellence Now: Extreme Humanism: Poland (ICAN) Pozzi, Antonia, Cognetti, Paolo, Antonia: the Netherlands (Bezige Bij) Ricordeau, Gwenola, For Them All. Women Against Prison: Italy (Armando) Schiappa Burdet, Carla, How to Live Like Harry Potter: Italy (Odoya, 2-book deal), Romania (Niculescu, 3-book deal) Wilk, Elvia, Death by Landscape: Italy (Add Editore)
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Clients & Co-Agents Worldwide Representation Selected titles presented in our Spring 2022 Rights Lists
FRANCE & QUÉBEC Allary Editions | HarperCollins France (excluding Harlequin titles) | Agence Hyphen VMK | Le Livre de Poche (paperback originals only) + Préludes Editions | Lux Editeur | Editions de la Martinière Littérature | Massot Editions | Editions des Sciences Humaines | Editions de l’Opportun
THE NETHERLANDS Overamstel (Hollands Diep + Lebowski) | Meulenhoff Boekerij
THE UNITED STATES Astra House | Counterpoint, Soft Skull Press and Catapult | Ideapress Publishing | Harpeth Road Press | Networlding | Row House Publishing | The Watermark Agency
AUTHORS (IN OUR SPRING 2022 RIGHTS LISTS) Denis Thériault | Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi | Eric Jorgenson | Mark Schaefer
Exclusive Co-Agents For our world rights titles
Brazil: Villas-Boas & Moss Agency | Baltic States, Central Europe (excl Poland), Balkan & Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe (excl. Russia, Belarus, Ukraine): Livia Stoia Agency | China: CA-Link (English titles) | China: The Artemis Agency (French & Dutch titles) | Greece: Ersilia Agency | Israel: The Deborah Harris Agency | Japan: Tuttle-Mori Agency | Poland: Graal Agency | Russia, Belarus, Ukraine: Anastasia Lester Agency | Spain & Latin America: SalmaiaLit | Taiwan: The Artemis Agency | Turkey: AnatoliaLit Agency | UK & BC excl. Can: Abner Stein (select US clients only)
