Cappelen Damm Agency FICTION
Cappelen Damm Agency FICTION
Fall 2026 Representing some of Norway’s leading contemporary authors.
INGVILD HAUGLAND BLATT Foreign Rights Director ingvild.haugland@cappelendamm.no Phone +47 414 10 647
ANETTE SLETTBAKK GARPESTAD Literary Agent anette.garpestad@cappelendamm.no Phone +47 984 82 087
IDA AMALIE SVENSSON Literary Agent ida.svensson@cappelendamm.no Phone +47 977 50 106
SUNNIVA MIDTSKOGEN Rights Consultant sunniva.midtskogen@cappelendamm.no Phone +47 984 64 940
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and our webpage www.cappelendammagency.no. Do you want to receive our newsletters? Send an email to Sunniva Midtskogen.
CAPPELEN DAMM AGENCY Cappelen Damm Agency is the in-house agency of Norway's largest publishing house. Cappelen Damm publishes approximately 1000 titles a year within the genres of fiction, non-fiction, educational books and children's books. Cappelen Damm is owned by Egmont. Cappelen Damm Agency represents the rights of all of the authors in this catalogue, in addition to a rich backlist. This includes titles from Flamme forlag, an imprint of Cappelen Damm. The agency is responsible for all foreign book rights, as well as rights for TV, film, radio, anthologies, electronic media, etc. We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our authors and the sales of foreign rights.
FICT IO N
Roy Jacobsen
DELIRIUM Posthumous novel by one of Norway's greatest contemporary writers. What really goes on in a human mind? And what remains when those around you disappear? Two men are walking on familiar paths in Oslo. They are the last remnants of a group of eight friends who grew up under a maple tree in a courtyard in Eastern Oslo. Now they are trying to clean up their own stories. But a long life has left inexorable traces. Delirium 130 x 205 mm / 189 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Lindhardt & Ringhof) Ŭ Sweden (Norstedts)
Delirium is a story about friendship and loneliness, love and loss, the forgotten and the remembered. I look around in the sea of people and taste a polemical urge to ask if anyone here feels at home in their own time, in the present, who is truly present in this second that has become history before the next one takes place and not a soul has time to pull the string, or if they see the cosmic flow so smooth that it borders on stagnant, as I do, because that is the way of life and we have long since forgotten that the clocks have destroyed us. «A wonderful farewell speech on old age, grief and loneliness. ... one of the country's superior writers.» NETTAVISEN,
OTHER TITLES AVAILABLE:
4
Photo: Agnete Brun (Aller)
Roy Jacobsen (1954–2025) is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary authors in Norway, and has since his sensational debut in 1982, with the short story collection Prison Life, which won him the prestigious Tarjei Vesaas’ Debutant Prize, developed into an original and daring author with a special interest in the underlying psychological interplay in human relationships. He was nominated three times for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and twice for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. In 2017 he was shortlisted for both the Man Booker International Prize, as the first Norwegian author ever, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, for The Unseen. In 2013 Jacobsen’s authorship reached a new milestone with the publication of The Unseen, book one in his now completed Barrøy trilogy. It is set in the first half of the 20th century on an island on the North-Western coast of Norway, and is a monument over human courage and life-saving practical and social knowledge. White Shadow followed in 2015, The Eyes of Rigel in 2017 and Just a Mother in 2020. The Barrøy quartet became an immediate critically acclaimed sales success, it has been translated into 28 languages, and has sold nearly 500.000 copies in Norway alone. In total, Jacobsen has been translated into 36 languages.
FICT IO N
Lars Saabye Christensen
KITCHEN
Kjøkken 130 x 205 mm / 480 pages Ŭ Instant bestseller and critically acclaimed Ŭ New masterpiece by one of Norway's most prominent authors Ŭ Chronicles the loneliness and longing in the small cracks of everyday life Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Lindhardt & Ringhof) Ŭ Poland (Wydawnictwo Marginesy)
Kitchen is a warm, wistful and piercing MA JOR novel about the Minde family in BESTSELLER Vika in the 1970s – a district where Oslo's slums are still close to everyday life. When her son Kaj moves out, Gerd Minde is left in a home where silence reveals more than words ever did. Life goes on as before, but something has moved in between the walls: the question of who we are when the roles around us fall away. With precise humor, dark undertones and an eye for the small cracks in the ordinary, Saabye Christensen writes a story about loneliness, about who we are and everything that happens when the dice are rolled – and no one quite dares to see where it lands. Saabye at his best! «The author’s new novel Kitchen includes one of the very finest portraits of a woman I have read in a very long time.» VG, «When Saabye Christensen is at his best (…) he is in my opinion in a class of his own.» NETTAVISEN, «Christensen manages to create an atmosphere that fills the reader to the brim, time and time again.» NRK, Saabye is a superb storyteller «Lars Saabye Christensen is a wonderful storyteller, with a particual ability to portray the unique in ordinary lives and the tragic in the trivial.» DAGBLADET, «Kitchen is a novel where the dramatist Lars Saabye Christensen truly gets to show off his talent, through scenes, situations, and dialogue that are exceptionally well-crafted and believable.» STAVANGER AFTENBLAD
Photo: Lina Hindrum
Lars Saabye Christensen is one of Norway’s most beloved and prolific authors. Despite being known for his long novels, his debut book was the poetry collection History of Gly (1976), for which he was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas prize. His first novel, The Amateur, was published in 1977 and Saabye Christensen often says all his novels could’ve had this title. Humans who struggle with inner insecurities and lack of a directory of their own lives, who are not professionally well-prepared in all of life’s situations, but instead make wrong choices and appear clumsy – these are the people he has an ever-recurring love for in his books. His big breakthrough novel was Beatles (1984), which is one of the bestselling literary titles in Norway ever and which new generations of youth keep falling in love with. In 2001 his epic major work The Half Brother was published, an extraordinarily generous and moving novel, which follows a family over a period of many years and through all stages of life. The Half Brother became an international success and won the Nordic Council Literature Prize. Between 2017 and 2021 the series Echoes of the City was published, which was met with exceptional criticism and reached a large readership. Saabye Christensen has written over 70 titles, won numerous prizes and awards, and has been translated into 36 languages.
FICT IO N
Ida Fjeldbraaten
KOSTER
Koster 130 x 205 mm Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
Oda Bråthen loses her job as a copywriter in the advertising industry, and is contacted by a former client who wants to give her an assignment: to write a biography of Lina Fjeldbrinken, multi-millionaire and founder of the natural cosmetics brand "Linné AS". Oda accepts the assignment and travels to Koster, the Swedish archipelago where the old lady lives, to write the book. But the assignment will prove more difficult than Oda first thought, as the old lady mixes the story of herself as a young sickly girl at the sanatorium at Ekenäs and a as botanist who developed the cosmetic products at Koster, with outrageous tales and macabre stories. What is true and what is not? And what is a truth? Does something have to be credible to be true? Throughout the story, the Koster archipelago serves as a backdrop. At first glance, Koster offers the perfect Swedish summer idyll, but as the holiday guests return home, the restaurants close, and we learn more about the history of both the island and the old woman, an uncomfortable underworld of pig births, experimentation on humans, female sex hormones extracted from urine, and jealous husbands creeps in.
OTHER TITLES AVAILABLE:
8
Photo: Anna-Julia Granberg/BLUNDERBUSS
Ida Fjeldbraaten (b. 1984) works as a copywriter in the advertising industry and runs the small press publishing house Teori & Praksis. Her literary debut Wolverine came in 2020 to critical acclaim, and was nominated to the P2 Listener's Prize. Ida Fjeldbraaten received The Bookseller Stipend in 2021.
FICT IO N
Linn Strømsborg
NO ONE IS LOOKING OUT FOR US It's New Year's Eve and Iris is celebrating with her boyfriend and old friends. The mood is good, midnight is approaching and the sky has already started to pop a little. Then she receives a message from her ex. He was once her very first boyfriend. An ex she hasn't seen in years. Iris doesn't want to open it, but she opens it. The message is only one sentence long: "Do you remember if I was ever violent towards you?"
Det er ingen som passer på oss 130 x 205 mm / 228 pages Flamme forlag Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Germany (DuMont) Ŭ Poland (ArtRage Sp.)
No One is Looking Out for Us is a novel about physical as well as psychological abuse in close relationships. About the absolute insecurity that women live with. Because they don't know. Because they can't know. If they're really with him, safe in their own home, safe in their own bed. Strømsborg also shows us how the responsibility for the truth is all too easily relaxed from the abuser to the victim, when he asks if she can remember what it was like, and if he really did something wrong. It's harrowing and everyday, and harrowing because it's so everyday.
OTHER TITLES AVAILABLE:
10
Photo: Heidi Furre
Linn Strømsborg (b. 1986) made her debut 2009 with the novel Roskilde, the story of a group of young people at a music festival, and followed up with the chap book The Øya Festival in the same year. She has since written two novels about the main character Eva; Furuset in 2012 and You're not gonna die in 2016. She is one of the most interesting young voices in contemporary Norwegian fiction today.
Vigdis Hjorth FICT IO N
THE GOOD PERSON IN SANDVIKA The Good Person in Sandvika is a tragic and comic novel about economy, gambling, beer, fate, and class.
Det gode mennesket i Sandvika 130 x 205 mm / 160 pages Ŭ Hjorth is one of Norway's most significant contemporary writers Ŭ Continues Hjorth’s fearless exploration of human relationships Ŭ Balancing comedy and tragedy in contemporary Norway'' Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Rights sold to: Ŭ UK & US (Verso Books) Ŭ Germany (S. Fischer) Ŭ Sweden (Natur & Kultur) Ŭ Denmark (Lindhardt og Ringhof)
She brings her laptop and sits down at the local pub in Sandvika. She orders a beer, lets the dog sleep under the table, and writes. It's quiet enough to work, but not empty. Over time she begins to recognise the regulars: the young woman who comes in with a lottery ticket every Saturday, the elderly couple who never exchange a word, the quarrelsome man with a handlebar moustache, the world-weary drunkard who ends up crying by the bar. Many of them are waiting for their monthly social security payment. The pub fills up the day the money arrives and empties again when it is all spent. But one evening something happens that turns everything upside down. The Good Person in Sandvika is a novel about differences that aren't always visible from the outside. About drinking alone, yet in fellowship with others. About economic margins and social exclusion, and about a gradual tenderness that grows in silence. Vigdis Hjorth writes personally about life as it is lived, with a precision and nerve that makes the ordinary extraordinary. The pub becomes a place where life stories intersect, dignity is negotiated, and the question of who people can be for each other is asked with greater importance than first assumed. «A beautiful little novel (…) It is a thought-provoking book by Hjorth, one that is deeply moving.» VG, «The Good Person of Sandvika demands so much of me and touches upon so many sensitive spots. I am shaken and happy to be struck by this novel. It feels good to realize how powerfully literature can impact one, at its best.» BOK365,
12
Photo: Agnete Brun
Vigdis Hjorth (b. 1959) has over several decades been one of Norway’s most important authors. She published her debut in 1983 in form of the children’s book Pelle-Ragnar and the Yellow Building, for which she received the Norwegian Cultural Council’s Debut Prize. Since then, she has had a prolific and award-winning authorship, writing for both children and adults. She has won several awards in Norway, was longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize for Is Mother Dead, and has been nominated twice for the Nordic Council Literature Prize so far, for Will and Testament (2016) and Is Mother Dead (2020). Hjorth writes existential books about human conditions and life choices, and throws a sharp gaze at current topics in the contemporary time. With novels such as Long Live the Post Horn! (2012) she has made her mark as a fearless political author. Her big breakthrough came in 2016 with Will and Testament, which became an instant favourite among literature critics as well as a huge sales success. In this novel Hjorth writes about complicated family relationships, about violation and liberation in close relationships, and the right to own one’s own story. Will and Testament was nominated for the National Book Award and Millions Best Translated Book Award when it was published in the US and the UK in 2019. Hjorth’s novels have been translated into 30 languages.
FICT IO N
Vigdis Hjorth
REPETITION Will and Testament meets Fifteen Years in this new novel by Vigdis Hjorth.
Gjentakelsen 130 x 205 mm / 144 pages Material in English Ŭ Full translation Ŭ Synopsis
She is a grown woman going for a walk in the dark woods, with her dog. She’s also a sixteen-year-old. The view the grown woman offers her younger self, is tender and beautiful. It’s about being kissed for the first time, the incredibly clumsy, funny, and painful act of doing it for the first time, it’s about feeling the intoxication spread throughout your body at a party with some boys in a terraced house, about running through the woods to prepare for a marathon, about feeling a huge hunger and thirst in your young life. All while her mother watches over the young girl like a hawk, her father keeps away and holds a low profile. The father’s distance is notable, the mother’s close watch involves control that is normally unheard of. Aabig and dangerous secret resides in their house. Vigdis Hjorth
IF ONLY The playwright Ida Heier has met the love of her life: the professor Arnold Busk, who is ten years her senior. Both are married and have children. For several years she pines for him to let go of his family for her. But when he does their relationship moves toward the extreme, an obsession that borders on madness. «It was one of the best reading experiences I’ve had.» SHEILA HETI
Om bare 130 x 205 mm / 320 pages Material in English Ŭ Full translation Ŭ Synopsis
«An absorbing study of inner turmoil ... gripping» GUARDIAN «It's an enthralling tale of passion gone to rot.» PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW
Vigdis Hjorth (b. 1959) is one of Norway's most outstanding, contemporary writers. She has won a number of Norwegian and international prizes and awards, including multiple Critics Award, The Honorary Brage Award (2014), and the Dobloug Prize (2018). She was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023 for Is mother dead, and shortlisted for the National Book Award for Will and Testament in 2019. Her work is published in over 30 countries. 14
IS MOTHER DEAD
FICT IO N
Vigdis Hjorth LONG LISTED FOR THE INTERN ATION A L BOOKER PRIZE 2023
The protagonist of Is Mother Dead is an acclaimed artist, Johanna, who has spent three decades in the US with her husband and child. When her husband dies, she returns to Norway, where she is invited to put on a major retrospective.
What remains of the life she left behind in Norway several decades ago? What does she expect to find when she returns? How will she manage to build a bridge between past and present? We follow Johanna’s self-examination as well as her attempts to understand and come closer to her mother. In this novel, Vigdis Hjorth digs deeper into the mother-daughter issue, once again writing compellingly and profoundly about a timeless theme.
Er mor død 130 x 205 mm / 368 pages Ŭ Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023 Material in English Ŭ Full translation Ŭ Synopsis
Vigdis Hjorth
WILL AND TESTAMENT A classic story of inheritance, centred on two summer cabins on Hvaler.
LONG LISTED FOR THE N ATION A L BOOK AWA RD 2019
Two children have been looking after the place and their parents for many years. They are due to inherit the cabins. But there are two other children, who have partly broken away from the family. How do they fit into the inheritance dispute? During the inheritance discussions another story emerges which brings violent forces into play. It's all about family history.
Arv og miljø 130 x 205 mm / 352 pages
Rights sold to: Azerbaijan (Qanun Publishing House), Bulgaria (Aviana), Croatia (Ljevak), Denmark (Turbine), Estonia (Eesti Raamat), Faroe Islands (Sprotin Forlag), Finland (Schildts & Söderströms), France (Actes Sud), Hungary (Polar Egyesület), Italy (Fazi Editore), Lithuania (Alma Littera), Netherlands (Ambo Anthos), Norway (Den Nationale Scene), Poland (Glowbook), Russia (EKSMO), Spain (Nórdica Libros), Sweden (Natur & Kultur), Turkey (Siren Yayinlari), United Kingdom (Verso Books), United States (Verso Books), Brazil (Harper Collins), Egypt (Al-Karma), Greece (Habibbutz Publishers), Portugal (Porto Editora), Romania (Grupul Editorial Art), Serbia (STRIK Publishing House), South Korea (GU-FIC), Germany (S. Fischer Verlag), Greece (Potamos Publishers), Sweden (Yellowbird Entertainment), Iceland (Forlagi∂), Georgia (Sulakauri Publishing), Czech Republic (Argo), Albania (Muza Botime), Latvia (Satori) 15
FICT IO N
Peter Franziskus Strassegger
PIG On one side of the river lives the tomato farmer, whose family has been condemned and humiliated ever since his grandfather was branded a traitor. On the other side of the river lives the big farmer Mauland, with many pigs in the barn.
Gris 115 x 185 mm / 127 pages
The tomato farmer's wife thought that everything was too small and the farming was old-fashioned, and asked her husband to switch to conventional and modern farming, the way most farmers in Jæren operate today. When she couldn't get him to turn her back, she crossed the river and had children with the big farmer. In the middle of this, their son Patrik grows up, and some call him stupid and mentally weak. Patrik goes through puberty this summer. He walks across the bridge and opens the door to the pigpen in the middle of a bright summer night. Patrik's father is developing a new plant this season that he believes will revolutionise agriculture. Patrik's mother tries to get her boy to accept her, and in the end she makes a maneuver that turns everything upside down. Or: Tragedy was inevitable, what she does is perhaps just the final drop. Pig is a Greek drama set to the Western coast of present Norway, about humiliation, betrayal, love, fall and revenge. The language is dense and poetic, the thoughts can go to the darkest stories from the Old Testament, inspired by the style of Agota Kristof and John Steinbeck.
Peter Franziskus Strassegger (b. 1984) was born in Austria but has lived in Norway since he was 12 years old. He was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas' debut award for his novel Stasia.
16
FICT IO N
Nikoline Riis Lindahl
IF I WERE AGNES Astrid is 12 years old when her mother walks out the door, never to return. Astrid lives with a father who can be violent. Some weekends she gets to stay with her grandmother and the dog Buster, other weekends she has to stay with her father's friend Frank, who doesn't treat her the way an adult man should treat a young girl. Astrid finds ways to survive; she studies nature and ants to see how they manage. If I Were Agnes is at times a somber and bleak story, but also one of hope. «If I were Agnes is not a book you finish, put down, and forget. It's the opposite.» FRAMTIDA, «Nikoline Riis Lindahl (30) makes a smash debut as an author with a tender and strong portrait of a childhood in an environment which lets you down.» DAGBLADET,
Hvis jeg var Agnes 130 x 205 mm / 256 pages Ŭ A raw exploration of violence, abuse, and resilience Ŭ A powerful, incisive debut Ŭ Critically-acclaimed Comparative titles: Ŭ On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Nikoline Riis Lindahl (b. 1996) is journalist and writer. She has spoken openly about coercion and anorexia in the Norwegian public sphere, and is an ambassador for Mental Helse Ungdom (Mental Health for Youth). She holds talks across Norway on mental health, coercion and how to help youths in vulnerable situations. In 2025 she received the Prize for Promotion of Freedom of Expression. If I were Agnes (2026) is her fiction debut.
17
FICT IO N
Sigbjørn Skåden
BACKWOODS FABLE When the old drunkard Nilsen dies in the Norwegianized Sámi village Planterhaug, once known as Lántdievvá, no one suspects anything criminal. Yet, the following autumn Inspector Huuva from the Oslo Criminal Police arrives in the village to investigate the death.
NOMIN ATED TO THE BR AG E PRIZE 2025
NOMINATED
Planterhaug 130 x 205 mm / 192 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to Ŭ Bulgaria (Prozoretz) Ŭ Italy (Elliot Edizioni) Ŭ Sweden (Bokförlaget Faethon) Ŭ Germany (Kröner Verlag)
TO THE NORDIC Huuva is determined to uncover the COUNCIL truth about the village and find out LITERATURE about his father's fractured family AWARD 2026 history. Through his investigation, Huuva discovers that something Evil is haunting in the village, and the case propels him deep into the soul of Planterhaug. But is he truly uncovering new truths, or is he merely treading water in a place where secrets have long been silenced?
Backwoods Fable is a novel about identity, about what it means to be Sámi, and about the search to find home – whatever that may be. It is both a deeply serious and deeply humorous novel about nature, culture and belonging. «Skåden is a poet, and it shows. The novel is full of fine, delicate and atmospheric descriptions. ... a creepy, subtle and remarkable novel with many layers and connections, which perhaps only reveal themselves to the reader after the book is closed.» STAVANGER AFTENBLAD Blood, betrayal and chess in Sápmi «Backwoods Fable mixes dark Nordic crime and Sami folklore into a meaty and original story with a lot of mystery and even more guts.» DAGSAVISEN Twin Peaks, Troms «The burlesque and the sorrowful come together into something unlike anything else I've read.» KLASSEKAMPEN «Written with force and drive and humour.» DAG OG TID
18
Photo: Knut Åserud
Sigbjørn Skåden (b. 1976) is a Sámi author who lives in Tromsø. He debuted in 2004 in the Sámi language with King of the Shadows, for which he was nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize. Watch Over Those Who Sleep was his first novel in Norwegian, published in 2014.
FICT IO N
Ida Hegazi Høyer
THE SECOND HEART The Second Heart is a warm and honest story about being someone's next of kin – about alienation and longing for freedom. Ever since she was a child, she has been preparing for her father's weak heart to stop. She doesn't want to be there when it happens, but she's also afraid every time he leaves the house, or the country. Ever since she was a child, she has thought: don't go don't go don't go. Her Egyptian father almost dies, time and time again. And when she has become an adult, he needs her in new ways. Det nye hjertet 130 x 205 mm / 268 pages Ŭ Explores father-daughter bonds across cultures Ŭ A warm, honest and intimate novel of kinship and freedom Ŭ Critically acclaimed and original voice in contemporary Norwegian fiction Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
What responsibility do you have as a child, as offspring? Father and daughter travel between different countries, and swivel between closeness and distance. Does it have to do with their cultures, Egyptian and Norwegian, or is it who they are?
«Unlike many books based on the author's own life, The Second Heart actually has something important to say. The result is a reflective and moving story about a father-daughter relationship (...) Analytical and inquisitive, the author creates a nuanced portrait of a complicated man (...) Precisely this dual movement – between closeness and distance, tenderness and resistance – elevates the book from an ordinary portrait to a work of insightful prose, drawing its threads together towards the end. With The Second Heart, Ida Hegazi Høyer has written a moving account of responsibility, belonging, and loving an imperfect human being. It's damn well done!» VG , «[...] a powerful, brave, and reflective narrative about the relationship between a father and a daughter. [...] Sometimes, narratives can emerge that both illuminate and surprise us about these complicated and difficult relationships we call family.» DAGSAVISEN
20
Photo: Oda Lina Berby Hindrum
Ida Hegazi Høyer (b. 1981) has written a number of critically acclaimed novels. She was named one of Norway's ten best young authors (Morgenbladet, 2015) and has received the Bjørnson Scholarship and the EU Prize for Literature.
FICT IO N
Mari Andreassen
OH, WHAT JOY! Oh, what joy! is a luminous novel about youth, friendship and first love set in a small coastal town near Tromsø in the 1990s. Do you remember? The fumbling hands, the smell of cheap perfume and bad breath. Slow dances. Notes passed across the classroom. Vodka and orange juice. The first kiss, the first heartbreak. The friends who carried you through it and the ones who didn’t.
Tenk for en jubel 130 x 205 mm / 237 pages Ŭ A tender, nostalgic comingof-age novel set in 1990s Northern Norway Ŭ Captures the raw emotions of first love, friendship and loss Ŭ A warm, beautifully written story for fans of literary upmarket fiction Comparative titles: Ŭ One Day by David Nicholls Ŭ The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
This is the story of a circle of friends growing up in the north: Ajjo with a scar from a fishing hook, Krissa with the gap-toothed grin, Ørjan in his army cap and June and Petter, whose love burns brightest of all. Now, decades later, Petter is forty-five, divorced, and struggling to connect with his teenage son. When he attends the funeral of his old teacher, memories surge back with disarming force – of friendship, desire, shame and the moment everything changed. Told with tenderness, warmth and piercing honesty, this is a radiant portrait of adolescence, that fleeting time when we feel everything for the first time, and think it will last forever. «By infusing the energy of youth into the language, it becomes not only a novel about that old, youthful love, but the novel itself seems as if it is in love (...) It is infectious, and while reading I feel like tossing the book aside and running out to find someone who makes me tremble.» VÅRT LAND «... a tiny miracle.» KLASSEKAMPEN «A solid novel about being stuck in the past, about loneliness in adulthood, about first love and a teenage body that howls with longing.» DAGBLADET
Mari Andreassen (b. 1983) is from Tromsø. She works with drama and the performing arts, and has studied creative writing. Her author debut came in 2019 with the short story collection How Long Will We Last, which was nominated to the Brage Prize, the Youth Critics Prize and the Subjekt Prize.
FICT IO N
Agnes Nordvik
KISS MARK Ella washes until her skin burns, runs every night, doesn't dare to go to the bathroom. She loses track of the days and doesn't understand why her body is on constant alert. Something is about to unravel. Ella's grief runs deep; she lost her mother to cancer when she was a child. But there is also something else that is pushing its way forward – something she has long kept hidden, also for herself. Through glimpses of a childhood marked by loss and an adolescence where trust was betrayed, a story of abuse, shame and a body that remembers what the mind tries to repress, is revealed. Kiss Mark is an in-depth account of what happens when repressed memories break the surface, and of the path towards understanding oneself in order to become whole again.
Kyssemerket 130 x 205 mm / 198 pages
Agnes Nordvik (b. 2002) is from Oslo. She studied international relations in Lisbon and literary composition in Gothenburg. Kiss Mark is her first book.
23
FICT IO N
Simon Stranger
YOU MUST CHOOSE Every single day, we have to make thousands of choices, both big and small. Many of them are simple and mundane, while others can have major, unexpected consequences.
Du må velge Flamme forlag 130 x 205 mm / 384 pages Ŭ Choose your own adventure Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
If you choose to read this book, you will be drawn into stories from all over the world, spanning thousands of years, and you must choose the path yourself. Every choice leads to new ones in a branching web of small and large events that turn out to be interconnected: You could, for example, be a submarine captain during the Cold War, or the female translator for the Spaniards in 15th-century Mexico, helping to topple the Aztec Empire. You could be a zookeeper in Libya or a con artist in Vietnam, a Senegalese musician or a young Norwegian man about to do something he will regret for the rest of his life. You Must Choose is an ambitious yet highly readable young adult novel that actively engages the reader in a captivating way. The book features black-and-white illustrations by Eivind Gulliksen.
Photo: André Løyning
Simon Stranger (b. 1976) made his literary début as a children’s author in 2005. In 2006 he was awarded Riksmålsprisen for the book The Ghost. Stranger has written number of critically acclaimed novels for adults, as well as his equally acclaimed young adult fiction trilogy Barsakh, The World Liberators and Those Who do not Exist.
FICT IO N / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Sigbjørn Mostue
THE MIGRATION History remembers Rome. History remembers the Vikings. But time in between was so dark and merciless that the world chose to forget it.
Vandringen 130 x 205 mm / 542 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation
Europe, early 5th century. The Roman Empire is crumbling under the inept Emperor Honorius. Ioannes Claudius, son of a Roman general, is sent to the edge of the empire, to a Britannia where loyalty is bought with blood and the name of the emperor no longer provides protection. Meanwhile, in what will one day become Norway, the young woman Vivja survives the massacre of her people. She carries visions of the wolf age, endless winter, and a migration that will draw entire peoples south. When their paths cross, the two are bound together by necessity and fate. Together, Vivja and Ioannes flee to Italy, unaware that furious Gothic forces are marching on Rome. Ahead of them lies a journey through the wolf age and the shield age – where one world dies and a new one is born. The Migration is the first volume in the series The Shield Age – an epic historical drama from the migration period, the 'dark centuries'. It is from this time that the heroic legends of Beowulf, King Arthur, Sigurd Fåvnesbane and King Atle arise. A climate catastrophe awaits – the Fimbul Winter – as well as a cruel pandemic, merciless ethnic cleansing and an impressive civilization that crumbles. But in the ruins of the Roman Empire the foundation for a new Europe is laid.
26
Photo: Agnete Brun
Sigbjørn Mostue (b. 1969) has a degree in the History of Ideas and has worked as an editor. He is now a full time writer, having authored a number of bestselling books for young readers, including the trilogies The Elf Sign and The Last Magician. He also writes crime novels for adults. He has been both nominated for and won the UPRISEN award, won the ARK-Children's book prize, and been nominated for the Brage Prize and the Riverton Prize.
NOMINATED TO THE
FICT IO N / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Ingeborg Arvola
THE KNIFE IN THE FIRE The Knife in the Fire is a riveting historical novel about work and love, strong communities, carefree erotica, the individual and the community.
BOOKSELLERS AWARD 2022 WINNER OF THE
BRAGE PRIZE 2022
NOMINATED TO THE
CRITIC’S AWARD 2022
NOMINATED TO THE NORDIC
COUNCIL LITERATURE AWARD 2023
The year is 1859. Brita Caisa Seipajærvi straps on her skis and takes the long road from Finland to Norway with her two children. Brita Caisa has been disciplined by the church for having an affair with a married man. She can heal animals and humans. The destination for their journey is Bugøynes, where the sea is said to be brimming with cod. Kniven i ilden – Sanger fra Ishavet 130 x 205 mm / 448 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
67.200 IN PRINT
Rights sold to: Denmark (Gutkind), Sweden (Albert Bonnier), Germany (btb Luchterhand), Romania (Editura Univers), The Netherlands (Bezige Bij), The Faroe Islands (Sprotin), France (Paulsen), Finland (Gummerus), Croatia (Naklada Iris Illyrica), Estonia (Eesti Raamat)
«Oh my, The Knife in the Fire is a good book ... All in all, Arvola writes really, really well. Insanely well, in fact. Like a dream you didn't know you were walking around with.» BERLINGSKE (DENMARK)
Ingeborg Arvola
VESTERSAND What use is shame when he’s in it with me? The year is 1862. Brita Caisa is released from prison in Pykeijä. Heavily pregnant, she trudges through the driving snow, unsure of where to go. Mikko is still serving time for their scandalous cohabitation. He still doesn’t know that Brita Caisa is carrying their child. She dreams of a tømmerpirtti, a log cabin, where they can live as a family, but there will be many obstacles on the road to making this home a reality.
Vestersand 130 x 205 mm / 528 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
28
Vestersand takes us to Neiden and Pykeijä, to whaling and log-cabin building, to snow and saunas, to fatal jealousy and deep love. It is an epic and dramatic tale from a unique environment that is rarely described in other literature – the surprisingly diverse Northern Norway of the nineteenth century, where Sámi, Kvens and Norwegians lived side by side with their languages and customs.
FICT IO N / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Ingeborg Arvola
WOLF TRACKS Is it better to be free and starving or fed but restrained? In the 1860s, famine ravages Finland. Brita Caisa Seipajærvi and Mikkel Aska have fled across the border and settled in a turf hut by Lake Iijærvi with their daughters Marja and Annie. Mikko is skilled in many things, but surviving in the wilderness is not one of them. He fails to set the snares properly. Brita Caisa has to reset them. She cuts bark and bakes bread. The family has barely enough to eat. Hunger does something to the heart, head and body. Mikko wants to return to the coast, where he knows how to fish. But Brita Caisa wants to stay in the forest, where they are free to be a family. Wolf Tracks is a raw and tender story about facing hardship, hunger and predators. It is the riveting end to Ingeborg Arvola’s epic historical series Ruijan rannalla / Songs from the Arctic Ocean. «The sensual and precise language of Ingeborg Arvola shows a life right on the edge of livability.» DAGSAVISEN «The last volume about Arvola's Kven trilogy is a strong testimony of living in borderline conditions.» DAG OG TID
Ulvespor 130 x 205 mm / 336 pages Ŭ Final instalment of the awardwinning and internationally bestselling Songs from the Arctic Ocean trilogy Ŭ A raw and tender portrait of love, hunger and survival Ŭ Blends historical realism with timeless, descriptive storytelling Comparative titles: Ŭ Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Right sold: Ŭ Denmark (Gutkind) Ŭ Germany (btb Luchterhand) Ŭ The Netherlands (Bezige Bij) Ŭ France (Paulsen) Ŭ Finland (Gummerus) Ŭ Estonia (Eesti Raamat)
Ingeborg Arvola (b. 1974) grew up in Pasvikdalen and Tromsø in the far north of Norway. She made her debut with the novel The Korell House, published in 1999. She has since written a number of novels for children and adults. She has received the Cappelen Prize in 2004 and Havmannprisen in 2008. In 2019 she was awarded The Ministry of Culture Prize for Children´s Books for her novel Buffy By is Talented, a book she was also nominated to the Brage Prize for. After being a critic's favourite for decades, Arvola's big breakthrough came in 2022 with The Knife in the Fire, the first book in her trilogy Songs from the Arctic Ocean. The novel was published to great acclaim and it reigned on the bestseller list for months. It won Best Fiction Novel at the Brage Prize, and was nominated for several more prizes: The Critic's Award, The Youth Critic's Award, The Booksellers Award and the Nordic Council Literature Award 2023. Language rights have sold to eleven countries.
29
FICT IO N / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Tor Bomann-Larsen
THE ROYAL PALACE The Royal Palace is a captivating novel that draws the reader into a historical universe where power, faith, beauty and ideology collide.
Slottet 130 x 205 mm / 336 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
The enigmatic monk Iliodor arrives in Kristiania in 1916 with a leather bag. Inside are hidden documents that contain the fate of the Russian Tsarist family and which can change the course of world history. A wealth of characters and environments revolve around Iliodor: in the court of the Norwegian Royal Palace, a revolutionary environment in Vaterland, a fanatical congregation in Hammersborg and a German princely residence above Slemdal. Author Tor Bomann-Larsen offers unique historical material, transformed into personal poetry.
Tor Bomann-Larsen (b. 1951) is one of Norway’s leading biographers. He writes with a rare elegance and with great scope and insight. He has published a number of books across different genres. In 2004 he received the prestigious Brage Prize for Non-Fiction for his book The People. He has also written a critically acclaimed eight volume biography about King Haakon and Queen Maaud. Rights to his books have been sold to Germany, Russia and The UK.
30
Impatiently, court maid Meyer stood up – she was small in stature but was standing upright – straightened out the golden pink outfit and tiptoed across the parquet floors, which swayed slightly and gave off the sound of a few small predictable creaks. By the window she cast a glance out towards the deciduous trees, which were already standing completely bare behind the fence’s brick pillars and metal railings. The guardsman had put on his winter coat, although there was not any snow behind the spire of Uranienborg Church. The console clock rang twelve. Near and far versions of the chime of the bells were audible. Time passed, even though the halls stood empty, even from the cabinet room in the floor below one could hear first a ding, then a dong. The court maid strode resolutely back to the sofa, sat down, stared into space, right thumb fidgeting with an emerald ring she wore on her left pinky finger, and which always was sweaty inside. She remained sat like this and listened. Not one sound, neither from clinker tiles, hinges, or parquet flooring. Not even as much as a delayed chime from a clock far away. Yet, the door opened.
FICT IO N / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Torgrim Eggen
BLOOD What makes two teenage brothers from Ringebu, a small village in Norway, enlist in Waffen-SS? Oddmund and Sigurd grow up in the small Norwegian village Ringebu in the 1930s, surrounded by competing ideologies and political tensions. Dark clouds loom over the valley. Europe is on the brink of war, and soon everyone must choose a side. The brothers align themselves with the Germans in the fateful struggle against Stalin. Blodet 130 x 205 mm / 544 pages Ŭ Eggen has one of Norway's sharpest pens Ŭ Based on true events from the author's own family history Ŭ Explores the legacy of family and war through generations Ŭ A story of moral gravity and unsettling parallels to our own time Comparative titles: Ŭ Keep Saying Their Names by Simon Stranger Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
At just seventeen years old, they both become soldiers in Waffen-SS. While Oddmund fights at Leningrad, Sigurd is sent to Finland. They survive the war, but when they return to a liberated Norway, they must face the consequences of their choices. How will their lives unfold? And what marks do they leave on their descendants and family? In the novel’s final part, the author himself steps forward—as their nephew and descendant—in an attempt to understand the legacy of Sigurd and Oddmund. The result is a novel of moral gravity, linguistic precision, and emotional force. Blood is a story about heroes and traitors, the dream of honour and the nightmares that follow, and it portrays a time that bears an unsettling resemblance to our own. «Eggen’s most ambitious, most personal, and certainly his best novel (...) Eggen’s prose is razorsharp, full of historical detail and fascinating observations.» ADRESSEAVISEN, «Eggen delivers a gripping story.» DAG OG TID «Well-written nightmare» AFTENPOSTEN
32
Photo: Maria Kleppe Vihovde
Torgrim Eggen (b. 1958) is a jouranlist, musician and author. His debut novel Debt was published in 1992. In 2019, he received the Brage Prize in non-fiction for Axel. He has since written trendsetting and critically acclaimed contemporary novels, and been awarded the prestigious Gullpennen award. Eggen also writes regularly for the major newspapers Klassekampen and Dagens Næringsliv.
FICT IO N
Hilde Rød-Larsen
IN THE HOUSE OF PANTALOON In The House of Pantaloon is a novel about the destructive power of shame and how the silence that follows in its wake can ripple through generations.
I Pantalones Hus 130 x 205 mm / 288 pages Ŭ A powerful story of female friendship amidst loss and loneliness in Oslo Ŭ Blends satire and existential depth in a story of vulnerability, liberation, and breaking free from the chains of the past Ŭ A feelgood story with literary elements Comparative titles: Ŭ Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Gutkind) Ŭ Poland (Czarna Owca)
The novel is set in Oslo, over the course of a few months. We follow Eva and Cornelia in alternate chapters, as Eva is dealing with widowhood, and Cornelia with a broken relationship and single parenthood. Through chance, Eva and Cornelia’s paths keep crossing. A tender and unexpected affinity develops between the two women, who at first seem to have little in common, and who find themselves in vastly different circumstances. The story has a plot-driven narrative, with an existential nerve, slight satirical elements, and much warmth. By the end, the reader will realize how these two women‘s lives are intertwined through secrets of the past and “the sins of the fathers”, with Henrik Ibsen‘s Ghosts as a hinted-at backdrop.
«The community, the warmth and the compassion make Hilde Rød-Larsen’s novel a terrific example of a feminine shift in a traditionally male-dominated world.» KLASSEKAMPEN «A character-driven drama which engages and entertains. […] Rød-Larsen has a good grip on the text with dialogue that flows well.» ADRESSEAVISA
Hilde Rød-Larsen (b. 1974) made her literary debut in 2019 with the novel Summer Time, and in 2022 Diamond Nights came out to critical acclaim in Norway, Denmark and Germany. In 2023 she was awarded the Bookseller's Author Stipend for her authorship. Hilde Rød-Larsen is also known as the Norwegian translator of authors such as Thomas Korsgaard, Elizabeth Strout and Sally Rooney. In the House of Pantaloon, the first book in a planned trilogy, came out in 2024. She has a Bachelor and a Master's Degree from The London School of Economics and lives in Oslo.
34
FICT IO N
Hilde Rød-Larsen
IN THE BELLY OF THE WHALE Summer 2025. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing. Donald Trump's trade war is shaking global markets. In Gaza, children are being starved to death. In Europe, forests are burning. In Norway, autumn's parliamentary elections are approaching. In the blank white spaces at the edges of print, Norwegians live their lives. In mid-July, newly divorced Jonas Sverdrup travels from Bergen to his hometown of Oslo, after his ex-wife has gone on holiday with their son. For three weeks, Jonas is borrowing a friend's flat, and he wants to spend the time following the impulse method. But the impulses fail to materialise, in a city abandoned by family and friends. Maud Elvebakken has no need to travel from her hometown of Oslo. She likes change of atmosphere that July offers, the opportunities it provides. She wants to gather friends and acquaintances who are left in the city around a long table in her backyard, and see what happens. Also Jonas, whom she hasn't seen since they were children in the teeming garden of her father.
I Hvalens Buk 130 x 205 mm / 272 pages Ŭ A story where a personal, problematic past is contrasted with the current turmoil of wars, politics and climate change Ŭ A feelgood story with literary elements Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Gutkind)
These summer weeks will open up to new human connections, but also to a past that Jonas and Maud in their adult lives have tried to shield against. In the Belly of the Whale is a standalone sequel to In the House of Pantaloon. «Like the previous novel pointed to the meaning of solidarity between individuals, the message from Rød-Larsen seems to be that it’s only when we, with our small lives, join forces, that the larger history can be challenged. The new generation represented by the passive Jonas and the obstinate Maud, has a golden opportunity to cry out on behalf of the victims of their forefathers’ cruelty.» VÅRT LAND
35
FICT IO N
Erlend Loe
COCKS A short novel about losing your manhood by Norway's funniest writer
NOMINATED TO THE
BOOKSELLERS AWARD 2025
One morning, while taking a shower, Tander's penis simply falls off. It’s awkward. It’s inconvenient. It’s quite a problem, to say the least.
Kukene/kukane 120 x 180 mm / 256 pages Ŭ Investigation into modern masculinity Ŭ One of Norway's funniest writers Ŭ Cheeky and absurd, with undertones of extensialism and warmth Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Gyldendal) Ŭ Sweden (Piratförlaget) Ŭ Turkey (Yapi Kredi) Ŭ Hungary (Scolar)
He places it carefully in a box marked "Raspberries" and stores it in the freezer before cycling to the emergency room. Surely, someone must be able to reattach it? The doctors are fascinated, but unable to help. One even offers to buy it. Tander declines. He returns home without answers — and with some difficult questions. Should he tell his wife? Can he keep his job at the motor magazine? Has this happened to other men? Cocks is a sharply funny story about loss, identity, and modern masculinity. With Erlend Loe’s signature absurdism and satire, it explores what it really means to be a man — and to be whole. «When did a novel last make me laugh out loud? I mean, outright hooting with laughter? […] it's the outrageously original connections Erlend Loe makes between the important and the unimportant that make the laughter burst forth.» NRK,
OTHER TITLES AVAILABLE:
36
Photo: Åsmund Holien Mo
Erlend Loe (b. 1969) is one of Norway's bestselling authors. His work has been published in 41 territories so far. He made his literary debut with Frankly, my dear in 1993. His breakthrough both in Norway and internationally came with the publication of his second novel Naiv. Super. in 1996. His 2004 novel Doppler was critically acclaimed for its depiction of the modern man and has become an international success. Erlend Loe also writes books for children and has had great success with the Kurt series.
FICT IO N
Hilde Charlotte Blomberg
I LONG FOR SHIPWRECKS AND SUDDEN DEATH The journalist, film critic, author, researcher, and left-wing radical activist Wenche Blomberg left many imprints on Norwegian society. She also left her mark on her only child, her daughter Hilde Charlotte. This is a novel about what it was like to grow up as a so-called "ml-kid" (child of Maoist-Leninist activists) in the 70s. The author tells, both poetically and realistically, about a dominant mother and an unusual and difficult childhood and youth. Jeg lengter etter skipskatastrofer og plutselig død 130 x 205 mm / 186 pages Ŭ Raw and unflinching memoir Ŭ Unique Historical Lens Ŭ Complex Mother-Daughter Dynamic Comparative titles: Ŭ I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jenette McCurdy Ŭ Educated by Tara Westover Ŭ Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel Material in English Ŭ Sample translation
After her mother's death, Hilde Charlotte seeks out Wenche's private archive at the National Library. There she finds, among other things, her mother's diaries dating back to 1963. The weeks she spends going through the archival material give Hilde Charlotte new insight. Her mother emerges with her whole self and her entire background. I long for shipwrecks and sudden death is a shocking, yet also a reconciling novel about a different kind of mother/daughter relationship. «A crass and poetic piece of luterature concerning a mother-daughter relationship. ... The biggest strenght of the book is its language.» DAGBLADET «Hilde Charlotte Blomberg moves you when she writes about her mother Wenche Blomberg.» KLASSEKAMPEN Neglect under red banners «We need this book.» MORGENBLADET «A sharp and poetic piece of literature about a mother-daughter relationship.» DAGSAVISEN
Hilde Charlotte Blomberg (b. 1970 in Oslo, lives in Ørje) is a cand. mag. and social worker – and has studied writing in Tromsø. Blomberg also works as a photographer. My Dotted Sister (2023) was her literary debut.
38
FICT IO N
Bruno Jovanović
NIKOLA OF TUZLA Nikola has disappeared from Oslo. The only trace that remains is a newly recorded porn movie. Tarik decides to do whatever it takes to find his friend. When he learns that Nikola's father is deceased and to be buried, he buys a one-way ticket to Bosnia, the motherland he has never called his own. In the streets of Tuzla, the hunt for Nikola begins. Meeting his family and people who knew him, Tarik is drawn into a past that Nikola never shared with him. Simultaneously, a story unfolds about the two young men, connected by their outsider status and loyalty. Together, they are drawn into an underworld where boundaries are constantly moving, and the price at last becomes inhumanely high. Nikola of Tuzla is a novel about loss, and about belonging, identity and an all-consuming friendship.
Nikola fra Tuzla 130 x 205 mm / 208 pages Material in English Ŭ Synopsis Ŭ Sample translation
Bruno Jovanović debuted with Eventually the Eyes will get used to the Darkness in 2020. For his debut, he was nominated for the Tarjei Vesaas' Debutant Prize, awarded the Saabye Grant, and won the Sørlandet Literature Prize in 2021.
39
FICT IO N
Frederik Svindland
PORSGRUNN PORCELAIN
Porsgrunn porselen 130 x 205 mm / 265 pages
It's all done, the last book about me, Vito from Porsgrunn, the boy whose life turned out so wrong. It started with Damned Kid and the time at Heistad (I hated that time so much), and then Kaja 2000 and the time at Kjølnes (I loved that time so much), and now I'm in high school and have lost Kaja because I was a stupid idiot. Plus Suttegutten has died. We owed that guy a lot of money, or Alvarez owed him, but he just lied and made things worse, so the rest of us had to step up, Felix arranged for some hay bales he got cheap from his father, and then things got going. But then Suttegutten suddenly put on his wooden coat, and here we are, the golden boys in The Commission with a lot of money to spend on unreasonable things. Frederik Svindland (b. 1985) grew up in Porsgrunn. He has studied at the School of Creative Writing in Bø. He made his debut with the novel Pelargonia in 2016, for which he was nominated to the Tarjei Vesaas Debutant Prize. In 2017 he was awarded the Saabye Christensen Grant, and in 2024 he was awarded the Bjørg Vik Prize.
Mats Michael Sandstad
VILLA HOLZINGER Villa Holzinger is currently used as a party venue and the house is run by a lonely man and a drug addicted mink. In the garden there is a gardener, and in the kitchen there are two industrious Turks, a pair of brothers who together constitute a two-headed troll of culinary expertise. With the exception of the noise from the mink's attic room, everything is going smoothly at Villa Holzinger. Until the day a double booking occurs.
Villa Holzinger 130 x 205 mm / 137 pages
Villa Holzinger is a thought-provoking farce about living a life in a civilised world. This is a wild and captivating novel told in seductive language. It's a novel that probes deeply, but is also astonishingly entertaining. Mats Michael Sandstad's third novel is a funny book with the potential to excite both literary snobs and casual readers.
Mats Michael Sandstad (b. 1989) is a movie director and has studied Literature. His debut novel, The Gallerist, came out in 2023.
40
FICT IO N
Victoria Durnak
THE LEADING ROLE In The Leading Role by Victoria Durnak, a woman who is not pregnant creates a picture of some baby clothes meant to delicately suggest that she is. She spends a long time editing the photo. Just to feel what it would be like. If it were true. If she had something to reveal. Then, by mistake, she shares the photo anyway. And the world starts to react. And what does she do – this woman who is not pregnant – now that the congratulations are pouring in? Now that she finally has the leading role? Hovedrollen 130 x 205 mm Flamme forlag
Victoria Durnak (b. 1989) made her debut in 2010 with the poetry collection Stockholm Says. She has since released several poetry collections and novels. In 2023 she received the Bonnier Norsk Forlag literature prize for her authorship.
Kristian Klausen
ULYSSES II The Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani was killed in a bomb attack in Beirut in 1972. Israeli intelligence claimed responsibility; they had placed an explosive device under his car, which detonated when Kanafani turned the key in the ignition. This novel imagines a universe in which Kanafani escapes, flees to Norway and rents a dormitory with the Alsaker couple in Drammen. Living with them, and wandering around the small town, he gets the idea for an epic novel about his Palestinian people. Ulysses II is an ambitious literary experiment, which examines what would happen if the Jewish protagonist in James Joyce's Ulysses were rewritten as a Palestinian.
Ulysses II 130 x 205 mm / 224 pages
Kristian Klausen (b. 1971) is a freelance writer and art instructor. He made his literary début in 2008 with his critically acclaimed short story collection The meal in Emmaus. In 2014 he was awarded The Norwegian Booksellers grant, and the same year he was also nominated to The NRK P2-listeners Novel Award for the novel My Life was a Hot Library.
41
FICT IO N
Leonard Karahoda
WHITE DRIN The narrator in White Drin is a history graduate student who has just been abandoned by his partner. When he unexpectedly receives word that his Uncle Mon has died, he leaves Oslo for his family's homeland, Kosovo – not just to escape, but to understand.
Hvite Drin 130 x 205 mm / 200 pages
Through meetings with relatives, strangers and stories that have long been buried, a family history marked by division, ideology and war is uncovered. The choices made by one generation – between Hoxha's Albania and Tito's Yugoslavia – cast long shadows over the next. At the same time, the landscape opens up: the White Drin river, the villages, the people, the memories – everything and everyone carries stories that refuse to be silent.
Leonard Karahoda is born in 1996, and White Drin (2026) is his debut novel.
Eskil Skjeldal
BROTHERHOOD Gabriel is a monk of the Dominican Order. He lives in a monastery in Bergen and lives a routine life in the name of God. He prays Lauds every morning, knits socks for his fellow brothers, gives lectures in theology, but also plays Playstation, falls in love and has a beer every now and then. The brotherhood in the monastery is tight knit, and Gabriel feels he has cracked the code to a deeply religious life.
Brødrene 130 x 205 mm / 254 pages
Yet, outside the monastery walls is the person who is closest to him: his little brother Jonas. They share a traumatic event in their childhood, a trauma that led them on very different paths in life. Their contact is turbulent and sporadic, and when Jonas suddenly appears in Bergen after a year of silence, Gabriel is pulled out of his blissful existence. The questions soon begin to spin. Why did he retreat to the monastery? Who is God and Jonas in his life? And can devotion turn into addiction? Eskil Skjeldal (b. 1974) is a theologian and author. He has a master’s in non-fiction writing from Høgskolen i Vestfold and works as a literary critic and journalist.
42
FICT IO N
Heidi Sævareid
FLICKER Spouses Lucy and Martin go on one of their many camping trips to Dartmoor National Park in England. At night they experience an intense and inexplicable light phenomenon, which in different ways will affect both them and their relationship. What actually happened? Can it be explained rationally, or did they experience something supernatural? And why do they have such different perceptions of the incident? Not least – why has the light phenomenon apparently made Martin acutely ill, with strange marks on his body? Over the spring and summer, it is as if a sinister, paranormal infection spreads through both their relationship and their surroundings, where ordinary logic ceases and uncertainty and suspicion prevail.
Flimmer 130 x 205 mm Flamme forlag
Heidi Sævareid (b. 1984) is an acclaimed and award-winning author, translator and literary critic. She was awarded The Ministry of Culture’s First Book Prize 2013 and has multiple Brage nominations.
Eivind Sudmann
BOY Mikael is 17 years old and shouldn't be here. He knows this. That is, he shouldn't be here, in a general sense, as the coincidence he is, and he shouldn't be here specifically, in this garden in the west of Oslo, standing and waiting on an early November morning. Who or what he is waiting for, the reader doesn't immediately know, but already in the first sentence the sense of something unsettling is evident. Mikael is simply on his way off the cliff, and slowly but surely the novel counts down to an event that shouldn't happen. With clear nerve and stylistically assured writing, the novel closes in on Mikael. Through his gaze, we see a world that most people will perceive as both alien and hostile, where the dark corners of the internet have the power to define. Define what it means to be a man and a woman, what a good life is, and when it's time to end it.
Gutt 130 x 205 mm / 98 pages
Eivind Sudmann (b. 1984) is from Lillehammer and lives in Bergen. He made his literary debut in 2014, and has since written critically acclaimed novels and poems.
43
FICT IO N
Charlotte Glaser Munch
BATTERY In Battery we follow Regine from the moment she meets her husband as a student and they settle down. He is a musician, she is a writer. They have children and life unfolds. Until Regine's legs – literally - give out and she falls. At first she laughs it off, but when it happens again she sees her GP who sends her for neurological tests. The diagnosis is as shocking as it is life-changing. She has multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that for Regine comes in attacks followed by periods of improvement. Batteri 130 x 205 mm / 279 pages
Charlotte Glaser Munch (b. 1972) studied at the Writers’ Academy in Bø and has an MA in Comparative Literature, Film and Media Studies, and the History of Theatre.
Ellen Mari Thelle
FAREWELL It is April 2019 in Modum. Elise Falck has lived here for almost three years, together with Lars. In a few weeks, her children will come for their very first weekend visit. A room on the second floor of the house is cleaned, a bunk bed is bought. But the certainty of the impending visit sets everything in motion again. or how to live, when one often hurts those one loves, and F why live, if it might be better to die? With Farewell, Ellen Mari Thelle concludes a novel of nine books about memory, recollections, life and death. Ha det bra 130 x 205 mm / 254 pages Flamme forlag
Ellen Mari Thelle (b. 1977) lives in Oslo. She has published several books and won the Norwegian Youth Critics’ Prize in 2019 for her novel Bernard Comes Knocking (2018).
44
FICT IO N
Aksel Selmer
HOUSE AND CAR Willy has just buried his father. Now he is an orphan. He misses his mother intensely, but feels relieved that his father is dead. Now Willy imagines a future with Aud, his father's fiancée, whom he is very fond of, in the house he is going to inherit, but Aud has sick parents to take care of. Furthermore, she thinks Willy is behaving too familiar with her. Consequently, Willy lives mostly alone in the big house. He isolates himself more and more, even though he and his friend Stein occasionally go on trips in his father's Mercedes. Willy visits his mother's grave to talk to her, he makes himself drinks and shows up drunk at school. He locks himself in the bathroom and continues drinking and self-harming and tries to figure out how to die. He is sure that it is his turn now, as long as he has lived with death by his side, how familiar they have become.
Hus og bil 130 x 205 mm / 189 pages
Aksel Selmer (b. 1958) made his literary début with a poetry collection called More people should have come here in 1992. Since then he has had another collection of poetry published, as well as several novels for adults and young readers.
Andreas Tharaldsen
ULTIMA THULE Capitalism has eaten up the Nordics. At the far end lies Ultima Thule, a city created by greedy dollar eyes. It is not a place, but a tourist destination, a Disneyland created by communication agencies, politicians and dubious research communities in geomatics. The main character himself sits on a mountain outside the city with an impossible project in front of him, in the form of a red book. He is to continue the work of the political writer Ellisif Wessel and translate Das Kapital into Sámi. A long time has passed since he presented the project to the capital's foundations and scholarship committees, and they are now demanding their money back. His nerves are fraying. He simply has no choice but to look for Ellisif Wessel's translation in progress.
Ultima Thule 130 x 205 mm
Andreas Tharaldsen (b. 1994) is from Jarfjord/Ruovdevuonna and lives in Oslo. He has studied writing in Tromsø, is a trained waiter and has previously published the non-fiction book Who Killed the Waiter? A Dying Skill (2024). Ultima Thule is his fiction debut.
45
FICT IO N / N O R W EG I A N CL ASSIC
Bjørg Vik
SMALL KEYS, BIG ROOMS Elsi Lund is four years old when the war breaks out in Norway. She grows up in Oslo in a tenement building that is poor and overcrowded, yet rich in stories. With an unparalleled ability to capture scents, moods and small moments, Bjørg Vik portrays an environment and an era unlike any other writer. Here there is both toil and struggle, but also dreams, secrets and longings that shape people's lives.
Små nøkler, store rom 130 x 205 mm / 224 pages Ŭ A Norwegian classic from a pioneering feminist voice Ŭ Unpretentious, accessible prose with enduring relevance Ŭ A mirror of women’s changing roles in society Ŭ Vik writes in a feminist tradition that includes authors like Cora Sandel, Nini Roll Anker and Torborg Nedreaas, and more recently Vigdis Hjorth and Hanne Ørstavik Comparative titles: Ŭ Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante Ŭ Lillelord trilogy by Johan Borgen
Small Keys, Big Rooms is the first volume in the critically acclaimed Elsi Lund trilogy, which together offers a uniquely powerful portrait of post-war Oslo as seen through the eyes of a young girl. «Bjørg Vik was a pioneering woman; it is impossible to imagine Norwegian literature today without her crucial role in breaking boundaries. And because she writes so accessibly, so unpretentiously, she has not only influenced Norwegian literature, but the entire Norwegian people when it comes to openness about gender roles, love and sexuality in all their nuances, about longing and hope in the face of a harsh reality.» VIGDIS HJORTH
Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
Bjørg Vik (1935–2018) made her mark on Norwegian literature over a period of more than 30 years. She published 25 books, including novels, short stories, plays, and radio-plays. Her work has been translated into a number of languages. During the 60’s and 70’s, Bjørg Vik’s writings presented an unusual and provocative image of the erotically active woman, including Tales of Freedom (1975), and Two Acts for Five Women (1974). At the end of the 80s she published the Elsi Lund trilogy, which made her work popular among readers of a new generation. In many ways, Bjørg Vik’s literary career is a mirror-image of the developing debate on women’s issues in Norwegian society. The work of Bjørg Vik is a true record of love and its various conditions.
46
FICT IO N / N O R W EG I A N CL ASSIC
Bjørg Vik
THE POPLARS ON ST. HANSHAUGEN In the years after the war, Elsi Lund is a young girl facing confirmation, friendships, infatuations, and the first tentative steps toward adulthood. She moves between new environments and crossroads — from the cramped tenement building on St. Hanshaugen to secondary school and gymnasium and experiences both the freedom and the limitations that come with them. Through Elsi, post-war Oslo is reflected: a city in transition, marked by class divisions, dreams, and the emergence of a new era. With her distinctive eye for detail, and with warmth, humour, and precision, Bjørg Vik portrays how small events can have big ripple effects in a young person’s life. The Poplars on St. Hanshaugen is both a historical portrait and a gripping coming-of-age novel — a story about longings, coincidences, and the struggle to find one’s own way.
Poplene på St.Hanshaugen 130 x 205 mm / 288 pages
The Poplars on St. Hanshaugen is the standalone continuation of Small Keys, Big Rooms, and the second volume in Bjørg Vik’s unforgettable trilogy about Elsi Lund. Bjørg Vik
ELSI LUND In the third book in the series about Elsi Lund, she has reached womanhood. We follow Elsi through the mid1950s: from graduation and domestic science college to engagement, break-up, and mental collapse, before she finds the key to her own life and her own voice at the Journalism Academy. With warmth, precision, and sensuality, Vik portrays the transition from youth to adulthood in a time marked by conventions and narrow frameworks for how women were expected to live their lives. The Elsi Lund trilogy today stands as a major work of Norwegian post-war literature and demonstrates why Bjørg Vik is considered one of our most central authors.
Elsi lund 130 x 205 mm / 320 pages
47
U PLI RO MA T N CE / RO M A N T IC COM EDY
Victoria Larsen Stø
THE DATING DIARY After yet another bad Tinder date, Ingrid deletes the app and decides it's time to try something new…
Datingdagboken 130 x 205 mm / 368 pages Ŭ A witty and relatable rom-com about modern love and selfdiscovery Ŭ A Bridget Jones for the next generation Ŭ Perfect for fans of romantic comedies and feelgood fiction Comparative titles: Ŭ Happy Ending by Anne Louise Morseth Ŭ How to lose a guy in 10 days Ŭ First Time Caller by B. K. Borison Ŭ Modern Love Series by Alisha Rai Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
Ingrid is single, obsessed with romantic comedies and works with digital marketing for a lifestyle magazine in Oslo. She dreams of finding love like in the movies, to meet the Tom Hanks to her Meg Ryan. But after numerous disastrous dates, she decides such a man is not to be found on the apps. Why can't it work like in the films, being swept off her feet with the perfect meet cute? With her colleague and best friend Solveig, they come up with the idea to create a dating diary on social media for the magazine. A Bridget Jones’s Diary for the digital generation – with Ingrid in the lead role. The concept is simple: To put herself in situations with meet cute potential, where she can meet men out in the wild. This means Ingrid's calendar is suddenly filled up with speed dates, running club, and Pitch a friend events. The implemation, however, is not as simple. Is Ingrid ready to be the main character of her own life? Will all the awkward conversations, confused feelings, unwanted dickpics and absolute misunderstandings lead to Ingrid finally meeting her Hugh Grant? The Dating Diary is a witty, relatable modern rom-com about love, friendships and the search for something real.
Victoria Larsen Stø (b. 1994) is has studied literature, creative writing and publishing in the UK. She worked for several years in the publishing industry before starting freelance translating and subtitling series and films. The Dating Diary (2026) is her first book. 48
[...] the elevator doors open, and inside stands a man with his eyes closed, singing enthusiastically and swaying from side to side. Insanely loud music is pouring out of his AirPods, and for a moment I consider, for both of our sakes, just letting the doors close and waiting for the next elevator. As he hasn’t noticed me yet. Instead, I stand frozen, observing him, looking at the dark, curly hair, the closed eyes behind thick glasses, the light blue shirt with dress pants, the sleeves rolled up and the top buttons undone, a wool coat thrown over his arm. The doors begin to close, and in a Sliding Doors moment I have to make a decision. On instinct, I reach a hand forward to stop the doors. The movement makes him jump, open his eyes – dark blue, sparkling – and stare at me in shock and embarrassment. I smile kindly. «Shit,» he mutters and pulls out one of his AirPods, fumbling with it. «Sorry,» I say and step into the elevator, «I didn’t mean to startle you.» «No, no,» he says, “it’s just that there’s usually no one else here this late, you just…» «Scared you?» I’m about to press the button for the first floor but see that he’s going there too. Of course. «Surprised me,» he says and smiles. «Sorry you had to see… and hear that…» He gestures at himself as he says it, a hint of blush in his cheeks. «What? I neither saw nor heard anything,» I say, glancing sideways at him with a conspiratorial smile. He laughs, still clearly embarrassed. «Thanks.» I shrug. «Good taste, though. Shania Twain, right? I also find it hard not to scream along to most of her songs, so I totally get it.» He laughs again and runs a hand through his hair. «Yeah, she’s good. And definitely scream-worthy.» I can’t help but notice that he’s quite attractive. Okay, that’s a lie, he’s insanely attractive. Does he really work here? Where has he been hiding for the last four years? «Ingrid,» I say, extending my hand toward him. «I work in marketing.» He smiles at me and takes my hand. «I know who you are, Ingrid,» he says, looking me straight in the eye before clearing his throat and looking away, «I mean, I’ve seen you around the office. Erm. Henrik. I officially work in IT, but I'm responsible for a little bit of everything, if I'm being honest. Started six months ago..» I nod. «And you often listen to loud music in the elevator at night and give intimate concerts to other employees?» He laughs again. «I have to admit that this is the first time anyone has caught me.» We arrive on the first floor and he looks at me, smiles. «But I'd be happy to do it again.» I feel a twinge in the pit of my stomach, like a butterfly fluttering its wings in preparation to start flying around in there. Is he flirting with me, or is he just really, really nice? I've unfortunately fallen for the former only to discover that the latter was the case a little too often for me to trust my own judgment now. [...] That’s when I see it. The ring on his left hand. It glints in gold, a thick ring, as he puts one of the AirPods back in his ear. Fuck.
U PLI RO MA T N CE / SM A LL TOW N RO M A N CE
Elin Brend Bjørhei
THE SURVIVAL PLAN Village gossip. Stubborn dogs. And a man I should never fall for again… There’s a special place in hell for men who dump their fiancée the day before the wedding. That’s where my ex, Jonas, should have been. But no, he’s still walking around unharmed in the streets of Oslo, far from hellfire and torment. You’d think it couldn’t get any worse, but yes, he also made sure I lost my job.
Overlevelsesplanen 130 x 205 mm / 304 pages Ŭ Small-town country romance Ŭ Second chance Ŭ First in a series Comparative titles: Ŭ Chestnut springs series by Elsie Silver Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
So what do you do when you’re dumped, broke, and desperate? I’ve chosen to move to the countryside. To Feheim, the small village I swore I’d never return to. There, I’m going to run a dog boarding kennel, even though I have no clue about dogs, but how hard can it be? I honestly only start regretting it the moment I meet Nikolai again – the boy I had a crush on as a teenager. But he’s not much of a boy anymore. He has become a man. A strikingly handsome and unapproachable man whom I should stay far away from. It’s just a shame my heart refuses to listen, especially when he looks at me like that… The Survival Plan is a romantic and spicy novel for everyone who has headbanged to Metallica and Googled “how to get over an ex” – and still ended up crying to Taylor Swift and eating candy for dinner. A story about losing yourself and finding your way back – one calf birth, one good book, and one orgasm at a time.
Elin Brend Bjørhei is a journalist and author. She works as a book reviewer and is a prolific writer of books for both children and adults in various genres. She has published everything from historical novel series to crime novels for children – and now she has now started a romance series with the exuberantly funny series sett in small-town country Norway with the Feheim series. Elin is passionate about spreading the joy of reading, and her heart beats a little extra for young readers. 50
SECOND BOOK IN SERIES PLANNED FOR JANUARY 2027: THE LOVE PLAN
Enemiesto-lovers
Authentic Norwegian romance
Moderate spice! Small-town farm setting
Reality TV!
U PLI FA N TASY T
Kaja Kvernbakken
RAVEN'S NIGHT What happens when one of the Kingdom's most promising young reporters fails to find out why her own mother was killed? The planet has suffered ecological collapse, and a fragile world is trying to get back on its feet. The young reporter Raven is on a relentless search for information about her mother, and about the circumstances around her death.
Ravnas natt 130 x 205 mm / 368 pages Comparative titles: Ŭ Wool by Hugh Howey Ŭ 1984 by George Orwell Ŭ The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
Raven's life takes a dramatic turn when an unexpected encounter with a terrorist triggers a traumatic memory in her. This becomes the start of an intense and personal search for the truth. She begins to unearth information that powerful people have long tried to keep hidden – not just from her, but from all society. Raven is forced into a dangerous existence marked by terrorism and difficult family relationships, where the big question constantly hangs over her: Who really owns the truth? Raven's Night is not a typical fantasy novel, but a powerful achievement that mixes future dystopia with magical realism. Kaja Kvernbakken has created a fireworks display of a story with her own twist, which will send you on an emotional rollercoaster of anger, love, and fear.
Kaja Kvernbakken (b. 1982) was born in Bergen. Kvernbakken has worked as an editor and translator, is a former member of the editorial team of Utflukt magazine, and studied creative writing in Bø. 52
SCI - FI H O RRO R
Vegard Vinsjansen
THE WITCH CAVE Welcome to Balnesvik, a place in Western Norway. It's a small village, a small town so strangely familiar that it could have been where you grew up. But there's more to Balnesvik than meets the eye. Sondre is 16 years old and about to finish middle school. His big dream is to work in film, and he hopes to get into a sought-after media study programme in the city. He can't wait to get away from «the fucked-up farming country», but before he gets that far, a mysterious illness begins to spread in the village. It starts with the family cat Pelle, who has a nasty wound that smells bad and is behaving strange. And then there's Sondre's younger brother, Robert, who gets a flock of ants to commit collective suicide in a puddle. And who is the mysterious Julia, who appears everywhere?
Heksehula 130 x 205 mm / 400 pages
Together with his friends Lasse and Maryam, Sondre must navigate through various threats to unravel a conspiracy that stretches back through the village's history and is linked to the legendary closed mine – often called The Witch Cave – and where Sondre's family find themselves at the center of something that could affect the entire world.
Vegard Vinsjansen (b. 1993) writes books for young adults. Vinsjansen grew up in Bjørnafjorden, is a history lecturer and currently works as a teacher. The Witch Cave is the first book in the planned sci-fi horror series Maur.
53
FEELGOO D CRI M E
Gunn Helene Arsky
MURDER IN THE BOOKSHOP When Minna Gabler is found dead at the bottom of the stairs in her alternative bookshop, everyone assumes it was a tragic fall. For Angel it means suddenly inheriting the bookshop. But, was Minna's death really an accident? Angel decides to move to the charming town of Halden to start over, with Luna, her Siamese cat. The bookshop needs more than just a little love and good marketing. Angel soon discovers that Minna has left behind an unsolved mystery that leads her into a world of secret documents, old love stories and the town’s eccentric personalities. Mord i bokhandelen 130 x 205 mm / 368 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Lindhard & Ringhof)
With help from bubbly cupcake maker Camilla, who is convinced that baking reveals the truth, and the irresistible Adam, who makes her heart pound, Angel embarks on a nerve-racking search for answers. Can she find out who killed Minna, and why? What is hiding between the pages in the old bookshop?
Gunn Helene Arsky
MURDER AT THE LIBRARY During Angel's six months in Halden, the library has become one of her favourite places. It proved invaluable when she was searching for clues in the murder that took place at her bookshop. The library also hosts a reading circle, which Angel joins in an effort to get to know more people in her new town. At one of the reading circle meetings, the head librarian suddenly falls ill – and a few hours later, she is dead.
Mord på biblioteket 130 x 205 mm / 400 pages Material in English Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Lindhard & Ringhof)
Several members of the reading circle know that Angel previously solved the mystery of her Aunt Milla's death, and they turn to her for help. Although Angel by no means considers herself a professional detective, she quickly decides to investigate the case. She is joined by her trusted new crew: Luna the cat, Camilla the confectioner, Adam the journalist, and her sister Isa-Linn. This time, Angel not only wants to find the murderer – she also needs to clear her own name...
54
FEELGOO D CRI M E
Gunn Helene Arsky
MURDER AT WRITING CLASS In the deep January darkness, Engel is running a writing course in her offbeat bookshop in the small town of Halden. The local bestselling author, Fabian Svartskog, is leading the class. But on the second evening, the tutor fails to show up under mysterious circumstances – just as an icy winter settles over town. What happened to Fabian? Has he had an accident? Fled his responsibilities? Or has someone brought his story to an end? Before long, Engel realises she must solve the mystery and find Fabian – dead or alive. Drawn into a world of technology, literary ethics, love and betrayal, she sets out to uncover the truth. With help from her wise cat Luna, an overenthusiastic cupcake baker, her journalist boyfriend and a sister who hacks her way to answers, Engel follows the clues to the bitter end.
Mord på skrivekurset 130 x 205 mm / 383 pages Material in English Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Lindhard & Ringhof)
Gunn Helene Arsky
MURDER BETWEEN THE LINES Book 4 in the Angel & Luna series! Angel is contacted by a small, alternative publishing house and invited to Hessdalen in Trøndelag. The area is known for its mysterious and unexplained light phenomena, and in addition to Angel there will be editors, authors and other speakers at the event. While she's away, her boyfriend Adam will cat sit Luna for her. Soon after arriving in Hessdalen, a suspicious death occurs. Angel is no stranger to a murder case, but this time it's different: no one has phone coverage and everyone is casting suspicious glances in all directions. Angel is caught in a web she cannot seem to untangle. To solve this mystery, there is only one thing to do: Read between the lines.
Mord mellom linjene 130 x 205 mm / 368 pages
Gunn Helene Arsky (b. 1968) is a qualified nutritional physiologist and has a Master of Science from the University of Oslo. She has published several books about health and nutrition and is the nutrition expert in Bedre Helse, a Norwegian health magazine. Her literary debut came in 2025 with Murder in the Bookshop, the first book in a series of feelgood crime set in idyllic Halden – where Arsky also lives. 55
«En fascinerende og stemningsfull pageturner.» SUNDAY EXPRESS
U PLI T
Kjersti Herland Johnsen & Arnt Steffensen
EN JULEROMAN
THE LONELY HEARTS BAR
ing
r
82-02-87542-8
elendamm.no
Welcome to The Lonely Hearts Bar – a place for old secrets, new beginnings, and the perfect drink for every occasion! Kjersti Herland Johnsen
Kjersti Herland Johnsen Arnt Steffensen
fargerike digvis byr tails som ns julen ig ønsker
DE ENSOMME
t kapittel dag!
HJERTERS BAR
ULEENDER
On the 1st of December, Lisa's boyfriend Martin gets down on one knee and proposes. He’s a baron and heir to a grand estate in England, and Lisa quickly realises that marrying into his family will come with strict rules and heavy expectations. Is that really what she wants? When she’s passed over for a long-anticipated promotion at work, she decides to take a break and travels to Oslo to deal with a surprising inheritance. There, she discovers she has inherited an old apartment building and with it, a charming cocktail bar with deep roots in the bohemian heyday of 19th-century Kristiania.
er forfatter av flere populære feelgoodromaner, blant annet Jul på Himmelfjell hotell og Sommer på Himmelfjell. Arnt Steffensen har skrevet en
rekke bøker om mat og drikke, blant dem er suksessene Fredagscocktail og Fredagsmocktail.
Cocktails og kjærlighet julemagien serveres her!
Cocktails og kjærlighet – julemagien serveres her!
Arnt Steffensen Kjersti Herland Johnsen
Sammen har de skrevet den varme
julefortellingen De ensomme hjerters bar – en historie om vennskap, kjærlighet og veivalg, der hver desemberdag har sin egen cocktail.
18/08/2025 11:53
Ensomme hjerters bar 130 x 205 mm / 416 pages Ŭ A festive novel about abandoning the corporate ladder for new beginnings and a genuine community Ŭ Can be read as a Christmas calendar Ŭ Each day gives the recipe for a drink recipe, crafted by chef and drink expert Arnt Steffensen Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Bulgaria (EMAS Publishers)
At The Lonely Hearts Bar, Lisa meets a warm and eccentric community: the wise bartender Henri, the quirky lawyer Brenden, the fiery Astrid, and the passionate chef Trond. The bar is under threat of closure, but Lisa and the gang set out to save it – with PR stunts, cultural events, and Christmas festivities. At first, she keeps running into problems with Trond but is there more to him than she first realised? Lisa is also relentlessly approached by the gruff businessman Erik Rud, who wants to buy up the entire apartment building. But Lisa is discovering that her own history is more intertwined with Oslo and the bar than she realised. In the midst of the pre-Christmas snow, gingerbread, concert plans and the threath of losing her job, Lisa finds something she didn't know she needed in the bar. It will be a December filled with old family secrets, risky decisions, warm drinks – and perhaps love. Told as a Christmas calendar, the novel unfolds one chapter for each day of December, and every chapter includes a drink recipe from The Lonely Hearts Bar.
Kjersti Herland Johnsen has a degree in History from the University of Bergen and has worked in the Norwegian publishing industry since 1998. She lives in Oslo with her family. Arnt Steffensen (b. 1968) is a celebrated professional chef and acclaimed author of culinary books. He is known for his expertise in spirits and food culture through several successful titles such as Fridays Cocktails.
56
Excerpt from 3rd of December: «But I don't even know if I want to marry Martin,» Lisa shouts in frustration, taking a deep sip of the champagne glass Vanessa hands her. «And certainly not as a white bride in a blasted cathedral,» she snorts. She puts the glass down on the table and puts her face in her hands. «I don't know what to do!» she sighs desperately. «Take a few more days off work, then,» Vanessa suggests, pouring champagne into her own glass. «Didn't you say you have several weeks of holiday left? Treat yourself to a couple of days in Paris, or a week in Tenerife. A little sun and warmth can't possibly hurt in December. Or... go to Oslo and find out what this lawyer really wants!» Lisa realises that Vanessa is right. She is stressed, desperate, furious and exhausted, and needs to get away from everything. She simply can't bear the thought of meeting Martin in the office now, and certainly not of going to Bretley. Oslo? Why not? A decision takes shape.
U PLI T
Kjersti Herland Johnsen
CHRISTMAS AT GLITTER PEAK LODGE An old mystery. A tragic accident. Secrets. Confessions. A new beginning.
Jul på Himmelfjell hotell 130 x 205 mm / 336 pages Ŭ Recommended by Oprah Daily Ŭ Classic feelgood set against a traditional Scandinavian Christmas Ŭ Can be read as a Christmas calendar Material in English Ŭ Full English translation available Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ United States (HarperVia) Ŭ Denmark (Turbine) Ŭ Germany (Hoffmann und Campe) Ŭ Sweden (Saga Lindhardt & Ringhof)
After a traumatic climbing accident, well-known Alpinist Ingrid Berg has returned to the small Norwegian village that her family has called home for generations to take over the management of the Glitter Peak Lodge from her aging grandmother, who's no longer up to the task. With Christmas rapidly approaching, the Glitter Peak Lodge staff are busy baking kransekakeand saffron buns, decorating an enormous tree with tinsel, and enlisting guests to participate in their Santa Lucia celebration. But within short order of Ingrid’s return, complications arise that seem out of the ordinary. Unexpected cancellations. An outspoken American guest who seems to unsettle Ingrid’s beloved grandmother. Leaking pipes that may imply sabotage. And then one day, Ingrid discovers a yellowed, decades-old newspaper clipping about an unsolved local mystery… Will Ingrid be able to figure out what’s going on in time to save the inn—and her family’s legacy—from ruin? «A breath of lovely mountain air of a book: so delightful and charming!» JENNY COLGAN, AUTHOR OF MEET ME AT THE CUPCAKE CAFÉ AND LITTLE BEACH STREET BAKERY «Johnsen’s novel provides plenty of character development along with details of fresh spruce branches, fireplaces filled with birch logs, and hearty meals featuring local sausage and saffron buns.» OPRAH DAILY «This gentle romantic mystery, set amid the incomparable beauty of Norway, makes for a delightful literary vacation.» SHELF AWARENESS
58
U PLI T
Kjersti Herland Johnsen
SUMMER AT GLITTER PEAK LODGE In Summer at Glitter Peak Lodge we are reunited with Ingrid, a mountain climber who has taken over management of the family-run hotel. She has got together with her boyfriend Tor, a handsome sheep farmer, and finally rediscovered her passion for mountain climbing. Now she plans to run climbing courses at the hotel. This summer also brings a special wedding celebration, as Vegard, her best friend, is marrying his beloved David. The Oslo couple, both friends of Ingrid, have decided on Glitter Peak Lodge as the setting for their grand wedding festivities. No wedding is without complications, however, and some uninvited guests will make an appearance…
Sommer på Himmelfjell Hotell 130 x 205 mm / 336 pages Ŭ An entertaining uplifting read perfect for summer vacation reading Ŭ Classic feelgood set against a stunning Norwegian mountain wedding Ŭ Breathtaking scenery meets heartwarming relationships and unexpected drama Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Germany (Hoffmann und Campe)
Kjersti Herland Johnsen has a degree in History from the University of Bergen and has worked in the Norwegian publishing industry since 1998. She lives in Oslo with her family.
59
U PLI T
Siri Østli
THE CHRISTMAS CALENDAR During breakfast on a totally ordinary Tuesday, Fie's husband abruptly tells her that he wants a divorce and asks her to move out. He is a dentist, and for years Fie has, as well as being his wife, been his faithful assistant - without pay. Now she is banished to an impractical and uncharming attic apartment on the other side of the city. Dazed and in despair that her life has been turned up-side down, Fie tries to soften the blow with sedatives. Her grown-up son is embarrassed about his mother break's down and does not answer his phone. Adventskalenderen 130 x 205 mm / 352 pages Ŭ Charming Christmas story from Norway's Queen of feelgood Ŭ International bestseller Ŭ Written with wit and humour about getting back on your feet after hitting rock bottom Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
Fie's sister Sara is the one who takes charge in the situation and demand that Fie get a grip. To speed things up, she gives Fie a challenging Christmas Calendar with new tasks every day leading up to Christmas. And with this, despair turns into an adventurous, at times overwhelming, but in the end pretty nice advent after all! The Christmas Calendar is a charming and touching Christmas book from the Norwegian queen of feelgood!
Rights sold to: Ŭ Germany (Bastei Lübbe) Ŭ Italy (Garzanti, Srl.) Ŭ Denmark (Turbine) Ŭ Spain (Duomo) Ŭ Finland (Bazar) Ŭ The Netherlands (Saga Lindhardt & Ringhof)
Siri Østli is married with five daughters and a university degree in French, Russian and psychology. She debuted with Across Grønland in High Heels in 2009, and has since then received excellent reviews on a number of feelgood novels. She has been translated into five languages.
60
U PLI T
Siri Østli
LAST CHRISTMAS A Christmas full of secret, surprises and – hopefully – a miracle Christmas is drawing near, but the idyll and calm Kirsti longs for during the holiday season seems completely out of reach this year. This autumn the complications in Kirsti’s life is piling higher than gifts under the tree. Her teenage daughter Iben is having mood swings, Kirsti's mother and sister has decided to spend Christmas on the Canary Islands without them, and her new boyfriend Tobias is spending all his time as a climate activist. Then, Kirsti gets a phone from her doctor. Breast cancer. Suddenly, she must face the possibility of Iben having to grow up without her. Which means she also has to face the fact that Iben has a father, who doesn't know about his daughter. As Kirsti grapples with everything, her neighbourhood rallies around her while Tobias practically evaporates from her life, blaming his absence on a phobia of diseases. Is this Kirsti’s last Christmas? Or can a Christmas miracle happen?
Et lys i desember 130 x 205 mm / 320 pages Ŭ Can a Christmas miracle heal a fractured life? Ŭ Explores disease and single parenthood during a holiday where everything should be idyllic Ŭ Classic Scandinavian Christmas feelgood from Norway's feelgood expert Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Turbine)) Ŭ Finland (Bazar) Ŭ Italy (Garzanti)
61
U PLI T / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Elisabeth Hammer
THE CHRISTMAS PROMISE Alone in the world, she has nothing but a flimsy promise to cling to. The falling snow is creating a peaceful blanket over the charming southern town of Christiansand. The year is 1810, and Christmas preparations are in full swing. Runners hurry through the streets so that slush splashes, maids rush from one errand to the next, and the turf traders try to outdo each other in a cacophony of sales pitches. The city is buzzing with expectations for the holiday season. Juleløftet 130 x 205 mm / 352 pages Ŭ From the Promises in Sand universe Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark: Straarup & co
In the midst of the chaos, a little girl cautiously pushes forward through the crowd. She is cold and wet, and hunger gnaws at her stomach. Her father left her with a promise to return soon, but Ella has not seen him again. She carries with her homemade Christmas wreaths through the narrow streets, desperately trying to sell them for a few coins to buy food and firewood. But no one seems to see her. She is completely alone in the world. On a ship sailing to Christiansand, a young woman loses her hat on deck. Julia wanted to feel the cold kiss of the snowflakes on her face, but she shouldn't be out there alone. It is not appropriate for a woman of her class. But her father's money is new and unexpected, and Julia isn't yet accustomed to being and behaving as one of the wealthy. So when a tall stranger retrieves her hat from across the deck, Julia forgets to guard her honour. As their gazes meet, time and place disappear – and the only thing she feels is a new and strange trembling feeling. The Christmas Promise is a historical novel about heartbreaking fates, heartfelt love and fragile hope during a time when Christmas highlighted the difference between poor and rich. The novel is a standalone, but set in the universe of Promises in Sand.
Elisabeth Hammer (b. 1970) wrote her way into the hearts of many a reader with the series Maria av Svaneberg in 2011. Hammer is an extremely prolific author, and she has written multiple romance series and sold hundreds of thousands of books.
62
Julia went over to the man, who straightened up and made eye contact with her. A slight shudder went through Julia. He was nice to look at. Upright and broad shouldered, with golden-brown, slant eyes – and full, blond hair visible under the brim of his top hat, moving with the winter air. A dark, short beard covered his jaws. The black coat was plain, but tailored in good quality fabric, and he had a thick, blue silk scarf around his neck. After Julia’s family had come into money, she had noticed that were differences between the newly rich and the ones born into wealth. The first group dressed flashy to show themselves off, while the others had a more subtle way of dressing. But it was still possible to see that they were rich, by looking at the tailoring and the quality of the fabrics. Therefore, Julia knew that this gentleman belonged to the second category. «Is this yours, Miss?» he asked and held the hat towards her. His voice was deep and melodic, with a hint of an accent from the south. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment it was as if everything around her went silent. His eyes were warm, with a color almost like liquid gold. Julia had never seen anything like it, and she forgot herself completely. «Miss?» he asked, puzzled, and it dawned on her that she had been staring shamelessly at him. She quickly lowered her gaze.
U PLI T / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Elisabeth Hammer
THE FAMILY SECRET A new series from Norway's answer to Tracy Rees! The Family Secret is the first book in the gripping drama series Promises in Sand. The setting is the idyllic southern Norway in 1806, a historic turning point – with elegant dresses and romantic promises – where ships sailed the Seven Seas, and the consequences of the Napoleon wars were felt by rich and poor alike.
Familiehemmeligheten 130 x 205 mm / 336 pages Material in English Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark: Straarup & co
Amalie grows up poor, but she appreciates the little she has, and her heart beats for those with even less. In secret, she takes of her family’s limited stock of food to feed children who starve. She is living with her parents in a cosy, but draughty, shipper's room. Her father got badly injured as a seaman at a young age, and is struggling to get work that pays. Her mother grew up in a well-to-do family, and she wants better for Amalie. In secret, she tries to get Amalie into the upper-class circles, so her daughter can find a rich husband. Blissfully unaware of her mother's scheming, Amalie keeps running into the town's finer gentlemen and ladies. As the clerk at a posh hat-maker’s shop, Amalie is all too familiar with how arrogant and superior they can be. When a beautiful comb disappears, Amalie gets the blame. Amalie is certain she knows who took it, but when she confronts the woman a Mr. Wickfall comes to the woman's defense. Amalie and Mr. Wickfall end up in a hefty fight. Although she cannot risk losing her small, but essential, income, he has nothing to lose. As their roads continue to cross, Amalie quickly understands that he has the power to ruin her future – and no scruples in doing just that. All the while, dark secrets lay hidden in the past, and soon Amalie's life will take a drastic turn. What are her dear parents keeping from her? Who is she really?
Elisabeth Hammer (b. 1970) wrote her way into the hearts of many a reader with the series Maria av Svaneberg in 2011. Hammer is an extremely prolific author, and has written multiple romance series and has sold hundreds of thousands of books.
64
U PLI T / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Ann-Christin Gjersøe
THE GIRL IN THE SNOW The Girl in the Snow is first novel in the series Sommersholm, set around a Norwegian manor in the 1860s, where love defies the boundaries of class and a well-kept family secret can change everything.
Piken i Snøen 130 x 205 mm / 272 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark: Straarup & co Ŭ Sweden (Polaris)
Sommersholm is a venerable manor that has belonged to the Adler family for generations. Two young women with very different lives live there: the landowner's daughter, Rose, and Alise, a maid. Alise's grandmother got to know the Adler family's darkest secrets as a young chambermaid at Sommersholm. Until the day she died, she never revealed to anyone what she saw and heard. But the secrets did not follow her to the grave. After three years in Australia, the heir of Sommersholm, Birkthorn Adler, returns home to Norway. He went there against his father's will, and three years of separation have not dampened the strife between father and son. When he left, Alise was a young girl, but she has not forgotten the landowner's son who saved her life on a freezing cold winter night many years ago.
Ann-Christin Gjersøe (b. 1975) runs a 350-year-old farm in with her husband. She has written books for decades, and Sommersholm is her latest series.
66
A Norwegian mansion in the 1860s. Love that defies the boundaries of class. A well-kept family secret.
GR A N D A N D CA PTI VATING A BOU T A RISTOCR ACY A N D SERVA NTS
U PLI T / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Jorid Mathiassen
WHERE WHITE LILIES GROW After a devastating break-up, Linnea is aching to get out of Oslo and start over someplace else. When Linnea’s best friend offers to let her stay in an old house in Northern Norway, set on a small island, Linnea finds herself packing her bags. The big house with a beautiful garden belonged to her friend’s great-aunt Marie, who lived there in solitude until her recent death.
Der hvite liljer vokser 130 x 205 mm / 288 pages
Linnea has no idea what awaits her when she arrives on the windy little island in the pitch-black of a stormy winter evening. But one day, she stumbles upon a small clock that leads her to discover a dramatic story. It has to do with Marie’s past, and why she lived all by herself for so many years.
Ŭ Inspired by the Blood Road in Northern Norway from WW2 Ŭ Classic feelgood with strong female characters, intertwining destinies and multiple timelines
The storyline plays out across two periods of time, but as Linnea discovers more about Marie's dramatic past, her own life will also take a new turn.
Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis
Where White Lilies Grow is a beautiful, breathtaking story about the brutality of war and the power of lifelong love.
Rights sold to: Ŭ Germany (Insel verlag) Ŭ Denmark (Alpha forlag) Ŭ The Netherlands (De Fortein)
Jorid Mathiassen (b. 1965) grew up on the coast in Northern Norway, and now lives in Oslo. She has a major in Nordic language and literature from the University of Oslo, and is a senior acquiring editor at Bonnier Norsk Forlag. She made her author debut in 2022 with Where White Lilies Grow.
68
U PLI T / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Jorid Mathiassen
ANEMONE BLUE Three women, two countries, one hidden past – a novel about love, legacy, and resistance. What happens when the past surfaces and casts new light on everything you thought you knew? On a warm day at the end of August, TV photographer Birthe Johannessen travels to Hjartøy, a weather-beaten island off the coast of Northern Norway. She’s there on assignment – but also in search of answers about her own origins. An old letter has revealed an unexpected family connection, and living on the island is a woman who has kept the truth buried for decades: Erle Christensen. For Erle, Birthe’s arrival forces long-suppressed memories into the open. She came to Norway alone, a child refugee from Latvia after the Second World War, and has never dared to look back. Now she must face what she left behind. Could family still remain in Riga? Who was she before she arrived? And what really happened in Latvia, spring 1939? We meet young Agate, living a privileged life in Riga’s cultural bourgeoisie. She falls in love with the idealistic architecture student Andris, but as war approaches and the Soviet grip on the Baltics tightens, both love and liberty are under threat. The decisions she makes will reverberate across borders and generations.
Blå som anemonen 130 x 205 mm / 320 pages Ŭ Classic feelgood with a story spanning across several generations Ŭ Inspired by the true events of refugee children from Latvia coming to Norway Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Alpha forlag) Ŭ The Netherlands (De Fontein)
Anemone Blue is a sweeping and emotionally charged drama of fate, silence, and rediscovery – a story of women’s lives, lost histories, and the long echoes of war and migration. With scenes set on Norway’s wild and beautiful coastline, in a haunting rural community, and in the shadowed streets of an occupied Latvia, the novel spans decades – from the trauma of war to the present day.
69
U PLI T
Merete Lien
VILLA LUPIN Childhood friends Johanna and Kristine once shared secrets in their playhouse, Villa Lupin, but drifted apart. Years later, Johanna returns home to care for her ailing sister, only to find Kristine brutally murdered, the case unsolved, and their playhouse demolished. Johanna possesses knowledge the police overlooked, yet she hides her suspicions, instead channeling her theories into a private novel that she knows can never be published. She also dedicates herself to documenting the destruction of old gardens and historic villas by developers, preserving memories and nature. Villa Lupin 130 x 205 mm Ŭ Compelling, flawed protagonist Ŭ Dual cold case myster Ŭ Atmospheric and nostalgic setting Material in English Ŭ Sample translation
However, everything changes when Kristine's son, Lukas, is also found dead, an apparent accident at the family's country estate. Fearing for Lukas's sister, Elise, and feeling a deep sense of responsibility, Johanna realizes it's time to stop merely playing with a manuscript and actively unravel the past. Kristine's talent for making enemies provides many leads: the mysterious women at Lukas's funeral, the enigmatic Anna with her black dog, and the secrets hidden at the desolate country house.
Merete Lien (b. 1952) is from Bergen, and is a teacher with a History MA. Her first novel came out in 1996, and since then she has had a long and prolific writing career. She is most known for the popular series The Rose Garden, which has also been published in Poland.
70
THE ORANGE TREES GARDEN
STRE A MING FAVOU RITE ON AU DIO
U PLI T / H ISTO RICA L FICT ION
Merete Lien
Spring 2015: Agnes travels to Rome to find her friend Alexandra, who has disappeared. She is soon entangled in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse where she is fed lies disguised as truths – and doesn’t know who is friend and who is foe… Summer 1953: The young upper-class woman Francesca meets the American photographer Chris Henley. She falls head over heels in love – but her parents write him off as a simple fortune hunter…
Appelsinparken 130 x 205 mm / 336 pages
Merete Lien
WISTERIA Because of the deal with Alexandra, Agnes can stay in Alexandra's apartment by The Orange Trees Garden for free. Agnes gets to know Gabriele, a handsome and kind Roman. He is quick to offer his help and gives her lots of attention, but Agnes is hesitant to let him all the way into her heart. She hasn't forgotten Stefan, and she doesn't know Gabriele's motives. But another man frequently seeks Agnes out, and his motives she both knows and fears ... Blåregn 130 x 205 mm / 320 pages
Merete Lien
ALEXANDRA Rome, June 2014: During a fashion show where Alexandra is showing her own work, something happens that changes everything. An older man reaches out to her – and what he has to say shakes her to the core. If what he claims is true, Alexandra must see her entire life in a new light. And, if she chooses to trust him, he can offer her priceless help in the final settlement with her husband, Wilhelm. Alexandra is the final book in Follow the Wind trilogy.
Alexandra 130 x 205 mm / 320 pages
Rights sold to: Denmark (Fioranello Books), Sweden (Fioranello Books)
71
CRI M E / T H RI LLER
Karin Fossum
MOST BELOVED The sixth book about Chief Inspector Eddie Feber. A young boy on a bicycle is hit by a car in the roundabout at Borgestad Church. He does not survive. His three friends believe the car was a gray Audi and that the driver was a woman. The clues lead investigator Eddie Feber and his team to the house where designer Bella Lundin lives with her German Shepherd Jon. But the story is not so simple, it is like a game of dominoes where the fall of one piece constantly leads to new falls in the lives of more and more people.
Aller kjæreste 130 x 205 mm / 185 pages Ŭ New thriller by Norway's Queen of Crime Ŭ Sixth book in the series about Eddie Feber Ŭ Fossum's most thrilling book to date Material in English Ŭ Synopsis
Most Beloved is an obsessive book about the fight for the inalienable, the most precious. «It is like a game of dominoes where the fall of one tile constantly leads to new falls in more and more people's lives. And with Fossum as a confident guide, Most Beloved becomes a psychological thriller that captivates, and where towards the end, the author ties the threads together as expertly as she does elegantly.» BOK 365 «(...) extremely powerful and unforgettable scenes» NRK «(...) In Most Beloved , Karin Fossum shows that she belongs in the master class.» DAGSAVISEN
72
Photo: Pia Sønstrød
Karin Fossum (b. 1954) made her literary debut in 1974 with the poetry collection Maybe Tomorrow, for which she won the Vesaas First Writer's Award. She has published books in several genres, but is best known for her crime fiction series about Inspector Konrad Sejer. Several of her books have been filmed for the screen and TV. She has received a number of prestigious awards, including an LA Times Book Award and The Brage Prize for her novel The Indian Bride (2000). In 2017 The Riverton Club named her Best Norwegian Crime Writer through the times. Karin Fossum's books are translated into 34 languages.
CRI M E
Gert Nygårdshaug
THE JACK OF SPADES After Fredric Drum has given a lecture in London on some strange symbols from an unknown culture, these symbols start appearing on several murder victims across the country. There appears to be no motive or pattern to the killings. Skarphedin Olsen is back at Kripos as an investigator, following his time away in Røros, and this case offers him a difficult challenge upon his return. What do these symbols mean, and who is behind these murders?
Sparknekt 130 x 205 mm / 300 pages
The Jack of Spades is Gert Nygårdshaug’s 14th book in the series featuring Fredric Drum and Skarphedin Olsen. The Drum series belongs to the classic crime fiction tradition, where the mystery is gradually unravelled. Each novel can be read as a standalone. Gert Nygårdshaug strikes again «It's become a day of joy for anyone who loves intelligent crime, good food and wine. [...] Leaves you wanting more.» DAGSAVISEN
Gert Nygårdshaug (b. 1946) has had a fascinating and original literary career. Since his debut in 1966 his broad knowledge and vivid imagination have found expression over 30, including Mengele Zoo (1989) and Priest Gotvin's Geometry (1998). When the latter was released in Denmark in 1999, a united press placed Nygårdshaug in the same league as literary giants like Umberto Eco and Peter Høeg and the Norwegians Jan Kjærstad and Erik Fosnes Hansen. In 2007 Mengele Zoo was voted Norway's best book throughout time by Norwegian readers.
74
Praise for the Fredric Drum series: «Nobody OTHER writes thrillers like Gert Nygårdshaug. ... TITLES AVAILABLE: He fills his books with knowledge, something actual, something fantastic - and finally builds an exciting intrigue around his knowledge. ... This is invaluable reading. And those who think that thrillers have become stereotypical and somewhat boring are guaranteed a fresh and colourful experience here. Quite simply, a celebration.» DAGBLADET ABOUT THE MOTHER OF ALL HURRICANES «Nygårdshaug gloriously distinguishes himself from the rest of the autumn's literary blood donors: but above all, because he doesn't write bad prose, and also because he saunters confidently through the literary areas that most thriller writers don't have access to.» VG ABOUT LILIES FROM JERUSALEM «... unparalleled in today's crime fiction.» AFTENPOSTEN ABOUT THE EMBALMED WOLF «Through the talented, knowledgeable and eloquent Nygårdshaug, Norwegian detective literature is about to gain in stature.» TØNSBERG BLAD ABOUT THE NINTH PRINCIPAL «It is actually a pleasure to read Gert Nygårdshaug's latest thriller.» VG ABOUT COFFIN NUMBER FIVE
CRI M E
Ellen Gustavsen
THE LIVING GRAVE Ellen Gustavsen's new thriller continues the story of teacher Johanna Brekke and police officer Lars Lukassen. Johanna investigates the discovery of a dead woman in the fjord, unearthing secrets tied to the disappearance of a boy, Benjamin, more than two decades ago. Meanwhile, the local community faces a dry summer, environmental disputes over a unique bog, and deep-seated family feuds, creating a backdrop of tension and suspicion.
Tålegrensen 130 x 205 mm / 317 pages
As Johanna digs deeper, she exposes a web of lies and hidden motives, where some are determined to keep the past buried. The novel blends climate change, social inequality, and village life into a psychological thriller, reminiscent of Liza Marklund's work. The Living Grave is a suspenseful psychological thriller with climate change, social inequality, and village life as a bleak backdrop, where the Western Norwegian village becomes a character in itself.
Ellen Gustavsen (b. 1975) works as a lecturer at the master's programme of career counselling at the University of Southern Norway. In 2019 she attended Cappelen Damm’s witer’s school for crime fiction, resulting in her debut Believe Me When I Lie. Gustavsen has hosted the crime podcast Helt kriminelt, and she has also held several creative writing courses for young people.
76
OTHER TITLES AVAILABLE:
ALSO IN THE SERIES
CRI M E / T H RI LLER
Per Arne Totland
IRON CURTAIN A novel from the Cold War In a war-torn Germany in 1948, Henri Wenner is the intelligence officer in the Norwegian German Brigade. Henri is deeply affected by his war experiences, his marriage has broken up and he fears that World War III will break out right where the Norwegian soldiers are.
Jernteppe 130 x 205 mm / 332 pages
At the same time that Joseph Stalin imposes the Berlin Blockade, Henri's closest associate is found shot. While Henri tries to solve the murder, a Soviet intelligence officer appears. He has a mysterious relationship with the murdered Norwegian. The Russian offers to become a Norwegian mole in Moscow, and tells Henri that the KGB has a spy with the code name RYBAK high up in the Norwegian government apparatus. He knows no more. Thus begins Henri and the Russian's hunt for RYBAK. While it takes Henri to Moscow and later to London, RYBAK carries out his espionage at Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen's office. A lonely and nervous spy sends messages to Moscow about the inner workings of the government and Norway's path towards NATO membership. And he receives instructions from Moscow on how to influence government policy. As a former musician, Henri treats his PTSD and his longing with pills and jazz. Eventually, none of these things work, and in a winter-cold Moscow, Henri must try to save both himself and the Norwegian mole at the KGB headquarters. Iron Curtain is a story about a soldier destroyed by war, about dreams that are crushed, about a cold war that descends on Europe, the cynicism it brings with it and the drama that befalls those who fight it. It is the first novel in a planned series about the Norwegian intelligence agent Henri Wenner.
Per Arne Totland (b. 1958) has been a newspaper reporter, a reporter with Norwegian Broadcasting, director of a global construction company and manager of a consultancy agency. He is now an independent adviser to top business managers.
78
CRI M E
Gro Furrevik
THE BLACKBIRD’S SONG When two women with ties to a rising political star disappear, the case leads back to the war-torn Balkans and to the secrets that refuse to die. In The Blackbird’s Song, war trauma and psychological suspense intertwine on Norway’s dark and rainsoaked west coast. Psychiatrist Carmen Wiese, a newly appointed profiler in the Bergen police, is drawn into an investigation that challenges both her professional integrity and her sense of self. At the same time, Victoria Valkendorf, a privileged mother hiding a secret from her time as a soldier in Kosovo, feels her carefully built life begin to unravel. As the investigation unfolds, disturbing connections emerge between Norway and the chaos of postwar Kosovo, where crime and power fed on human suffering. For Carmen and Victoria, confronting the past becomes a question of survival and of how far we will go for truth, justice, and forgiveness.
Svarttrostens sang 130 x 205 mm / 335 pages
Rich in atmosphere and psychological depth, The Blackbird’s Song explores guilt, responsibility and moral courage across generations and borders. It’s a haunting, character-driven thriller about how the shadows of history still shape the present and how silence can be the most dangerous form of complicity. The title refers to Kosovo’s name, which means blackbird in Serbian, an echo from the medieval “Field of the Blackbird,” where history and myth still haunt Europe’s collective memory.
Gro Furrevik has a background as a journalist in TV, newspapers and magazines, and works as a communications advisor in the Armed Forces. She attended Cappelen Damm's Crime Writing School, and makes her debut with the crime novel The Blackbird's Song, where war trauma and a gloomy western atmosphere set the framework.
79
CRI M E / T H RI LLER
Gard Sveen
YOU'RE GOING TO DIE Winter 2019: The first weekend of December, Camilla Lund goes on a girl’s trip to Sweden. At least, that’s what she tells her husband. She never comes back home to Setesdal. Her husband’s suspicion that his wife is a completely different person than he believed grows stronger. Camilla didn’t have any old friends, no living parents – seemingly, she had no past at all.
En dag skal du dø 130 x 205 mm / 368 pages Material in English Ŭ Sample translation Ŭ Synopsis Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Klim)
In Oslo the leader of Kripos (NCIS), Agnete Ness, is ordered by the Attorney General to start a secret investigation of Camilla Lund’s disappearance. The Attorney General wants Agnete’s best detective, Ulf Sommer, on the case. With strict orders to not reveal its contents to anyone except Ulf, Agnete is given a folder of secret documents. In the folder is a photograph of a young girl. Twenty years ago, everyone in Norway knew her face. Three neo-Nazis, including a fifteen-year-old girl, were sentenced for the murder of two immigrant boys in Oslo. It was the most shocking murder case the country had ever experienced. To Agnete Ness, it’s personal. Gard Sveen
MASS FOR A MURDERER A hot morning in August, Tom Schrøder is granted his first leave from prison. He will be be back in the Kongsvinger prison by eleven o’clock. But Schrøder never comes back. He kills one of the prison officers and leaves town with the other. The most dangerous man in the country is on the lam.
Messe for en morder 130 x 205 mm / 400 pages Rights sold to: Ŭ Denmark (Klim)
80
Tom Schrøder was convicted of a brutal double homicide twelve years ago. In recent years, however, he has earned a transfer to a low-security prison. In two years, he could have been a free man. He is fifty-two years old. If he’s caught now, he’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars. Why run now? In Sandefjord, Schrøder’s lawyer is on his summer holidays when he receives news of his most infamous client’s escape. By then, several hours have passed since the incident – Tom Schrøder could be anywhere. The lawyer’s greatest fear is that someone in the prison may have told Tom his big secret.
THE SCALP HUNTER October 2022. Ulf Sommer is contacted by the popular crime author Jan Inge Farstad. Farstad runs the podcast Unknown Murderer, which in recent weeks has focused on the unsolved 2013 murder of student Linda Tollefsrud. Ulf led the original investigation, and the case has haunted him ever since. Now, Farstad has received a message from an anonymous source claiming to possess a key piece of information about Linda’s murder: she was scalped. Ulf knows that only the killer, and the police officers involved in the investigation, could know this. Has the murderer reached out to Farstad? Just days later, the inevitable happens: a Ukrainian refugee, Irina Melnik, and her daughter are found murdered. Both have been scalped. The hunt for the Scalp Hunter pulls Ulf and Agnete into a labyrinth of lies, in a small town where secrets are guarded with eerie determination in a setting reminiscent of Twin Peaks.
FR A FORFAT TEREN AV DRØMMENES GUD,
BJØRNEN OG EN DAG SKAL DU DØ
CRI M E / T H RI LLER
Gard Sveen
GARD
SVEEN S K ALPJ EG E R E N S O M M E R
O G
N E S S
3
Skalpjegeren 130 x 205 mm Ŭ Atmospheric Nordic noir set in western Norway Ŭ A thriller with envorinomental elements Material in English Ŭ Synopsis Comparative titles: Ŭ Polar Circle series by Liza Marklund
Gard Sveen (b. 1969) made his debut in 2013 with the book The Last Pilgrim. For the debut he won the Riverton Prize, the Glass Key, The Maurits Hansen Best Crime Debut Prize, and the Danish Palle Rosenkranz Prize in 2015. Since then he has written several books. The Bear (2018), the fourth book in the series about police officer Tommy Bergmann, was also nominated for the Riverton Prize.
81
CRI M E
Hans Olav Lahlum
THE ELIMINATION MYSTERY On a spring day in 1974, private investigator Kolbjørn "K2" Kristiansen receives a visit at his Oslo office from the widow of his former police colleague, Einar Knutsen. Ten days earlier, his colleague was found shot dead in Nordmarka, with a pistol lying beside him. The police have written the case off as a suicide, but the widow suspects murder.
Eliminasjonsmysteriet 130 x 205 mm / 400 pages Ŭ Book 14 in the K2 and Patricia series
The Elimination Mystery is novel number 14 in the crime series about Kolbjørn "K2" Kristiansen and Patricia Borchmann, a classic crime series from Norway in the 1960's and 70's. The first book in the series, The Human Flies, published in 2010 and was Hans Olav Lahlums fiction debut. «For anyone who enjoys classic crime, it's entertaining to read Lahlum's books. It's nostalgic, safe and good, and it reminds us of how different everything was, 50 years back.» STAVANGER AFTENBLAD
Hans Olav Lahlum (b. 1973) is a writer and historian. He made his literary debut with the critically acclaimed biography Oscar Torp in 2007. He has since published a number of crime novels and non-fiction books. His crime novels have become bestsellers in Norway, and are available in English, Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian, Danish, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Russian, Slovakian and Korean.
82
CRI M E
Hans Olav Lahlum
THE PACT “Closed on account of celebration!” reads a sign in a shop window in Oslo on Liberation Day, May 8, 1945. At Youngstorget, four young idealists with ties to the labour movement gather. Josef, Kristine and Martin are children of the working class and share a background in the Labour Youth Party, while Maud, from an upperclass family, has thrown herself into communist activism. The four are relieved that the war is finally over and full of hope for a new and better life. Only weeks after the liberation, the four survive a lifethreatening event together, which forces them to keep a dark secret. The pact they make that summer will shadow their lives for decades to come, even as each of them follows different political and personal paths in a rapidly changing Norway. The Pact is the first installment in a gripping trilogy that follows Josef, Kristine, Martin and Maud into adulthood and through the post-war decades. Combining drama, social realism and elements of crime, it portrays both the turbulent private lives of its characters and the wider story of Norway’s political development in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Pakten 130 x 205 mm / 464 pages Ŭ Historical, political thriller Ŭ New trilogy that blends sosial realism and crime Comparative titles: Ŭ Polar Circle series by Liza Marklund
83