Singel Publishers fiction autumn 2014

Rights Guide Frankfurt 2014

Singel Publishers • De Arbeiderspers • Athenaeum – Polak & Van Gennep Frankfurt 2014

• Nijgh & Van Ditmar • Querido

Anna Enquist Quartet

• Selected for Ten Books from the Netherlands 2014 • 40,000 copies sold • Enchanting novel about grief, fear and the power of music Anna Enquist’s newest book, a literary novel with thrillerish aspects, is set in the near future: a future which robs us of our last remaining cultural and social illusions. The principle setting is the area around the IJ-river in Amsterdam. Four members of a string quartet who regularly work together are well aware of the consolations of music. All four of them have been damaged by life in different ways, but they find diversion, comfort and sometimes even a kind of greatness, in music.

An already precarious situation takes a turn for the worse when a rehearsal on a houseboat is disturbed by a dangerous intruder.

‘This unconventional thriller works so successfully because of the sublime game the author plays.’ – Elsevier ‘Anna Enquist’s writing about four troubled musicians is rock solid. The experience of music-making is rarely portrayed with such thoroughness.’ – HP/De Tijd

Original title Kwartet Novel | 272 pages De Arbeiderspers | www.arbeiderspers.nl Literary fiction

Rights sold: Actes Sud (France), Luchterhand (Germany), Sifriat Poalim (Israel) Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

Anna Enquist (1945), psychoanalyst and a classically-trained pianist, is one of Holland’s best-loved writers. She is the author of the bestselling novels The Secret, The Masterpiece, The Homecoming, The Anaethesists and Counterpoint. Enquist has been published in 18 languages.

© Bert Nienhuis

Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer La Superba

• Winner of the Libris Literature Prize 2014 • Shortlisted for the AKO Literature Prize 2013, the Gouden Boekenuil 2014 and De Inktaap 2015 • 45,000 copies sold An astonishing literary novel that pays homage to a city like no other: Genoa, La Superba. An ex-pat poet is the reader’s charming and sometimes not so charming guide to the labyrinthine city and its inhabitants, a man who stumbles across a leg in the dark and will find its owner by the end of the book. He is chasing a fantasy femme fatale who in a bizarre twist becomes more than just a figment of his imagination. But the love story is doomed to end tragically. La Superba investigates, explains and unravels the illusion of a better life elsewhere, and shows how people get lost in their search for love and happiness.

Will Evans (Deep Vellum): ‘The most emblematic novel of modern Europe, an irresistible combination of migrant novel, perverse travel guide, and postmodern ode to the imagination.’

‘An important novel with universal appeal.’

– Jury report Libris Literature Prize ‘His enthusiasm about the wonders of the imagination is infectious and boundless.’ – de Volkskrant Original title La Superba Novel | 346 pages De Arbeiderspers | www.arbeiderspers.nl Literary fiction

Rights sold: Deep Vellum (World English), Aufbau (Germany), Antolog (Macedonia) English and Italian sample translations available Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (1968) writes novels, stories, poems, columns, essays, theatre plays and lyrics. He has lived and worked in Genoa for the past five years.

His novel Rupert was translated into English and published by Open Letter in 2009. © Gelya Bogatischeva

Marion Bloem Lust & Love

• Honest and raw literary novel for female readers • Female lust inside and outside of a long-lasting marriage At the beginning of their relationship, Eve and Adam promised to grow old together. Through trial and error, they discover what that promise actually means. They try to find a way to deal with the temptations and threats of the outside world, but love and lust are not always synchronous.

The eroticism, ecstasy, temptations, forbidden desires and pain that Eve and Adam have to deal with in their relationship keep the reader’s curiosity aroused until the last page. What made sharing so many years with each other worthwhile? Bloem pierces through the deepest layers of female sensuality, with respect for and knowledge of the inner workings of the male psyche.

About her previous novel, A Hundred-year-old Girl: ‘Bloem knows how to compose a captivating story. She revives a bygone past in all its gory details.’ – HDC Media ‘Fiction about our colonial history, with a surprising plotline, suited to a broad (female) readership.’ – NBD Biblion

Literary fiction

Original title Lust & liefde Novel | 300 pages De Arbeiderspers | www.arbeiderspers.nl Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

Marion Bloem is a Dutch author, filmmaker and psychologist of Eurasian descent, best known as the author of the acclaimed book Geen gewoon Indisch meisje (No Ordinary Indo Girl). She is married to the Dutch author and physician, Ivan Wolffers. © Ivan Wolffers

Arnon Grunberg The Man Without Illness

• Spectacular Grunberg exhibition in Amsterdam this autumn, celebrating 25 years of writing Arnon Grunberg’s provocative and witty books have won almost all the major Dutch awards and have been translated into more than 20 languages.

His 11 novels so far, and numerous essays, columns and stories have changed the Dutch literary landscape.

His latest novel The Man Without Illness, deals with the Western illusion of comfort and security.

The young Swiss architect Samarendra travels to Baghdad to work on a design for a new opera house. He is convinced that the duty of the architect is to make people’s lives easier and more beautiful. Sharply and sometimes sardonically, Grunberg depicts a world in which nothing is as it seems and human beings are playthings of powers that they cannot control.

‘The issue has long been not whether Grunberg writes great and beautiful literature but how deeply and painfully he drills into our humanist platitudes. After The Man Without Illness, I am inclined to say: more deeply than ever.’

– Rob Schouten in Trouw

Original title De man zonder ziekte Novel | 224 pages Nijgh & Van Ditmar | www.nijghenvanditmar.nl

Literary fiction

Rights sold: Kiwi (Germany), Heloïse d’Ormesson (France), Alef (Turkey), Gondolat (Hungary) and Hakibbutz (Israel) English sample translation available Arnon Grunberg is represented by the Arnon Grunberg Agency. Contact Oscar van Gelderen or Elik Lettinga at: info@arnongrunbergagency.com

Arnon Grunberg (1971) is one of the most widely-read European writers today. He lives and works in New York.

Robbert Welagen Robbert’s Disappearance

• Shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize • A sophisticated literary game by a new Dutch voice Following the publication of Lipari, his debut novella, twenty-five-year-old author Robbert Welagen decides to make himself scarce. He stops writing, disposes of his belongings, and silently disappears. He hopes that people will forget about him. But where do you go when you want to vanish? What practical matters do you need to think about? And can he forget Chloe, the woman who did not return his love and married another man?

Robbert’s Disappearance is a tragicomic story about love and friendship, about leaving and not wanting to arrive.

‘Crystal clear and confusing at the same time. Welagen has added a wonderfully beautiful novel to his oeuvre.’

– Jury report Libris Literature Prize ‘Welagen writes beautiful and memorable sentences.’

– Noord-Hollands Dagblad ‘His prose is precise in style and powerful in imagery.’

– Leeuwarder Courant

Literary fiction

Original title Het verdwijnen van Robbert Novel | 192 pages Nijgh & Van Ditmar | www.nijghenvanditmar.nl Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

Robbert Welagen (1981) went to art school, studied art history in Utrecht and published three novels. He has won a number of prestigious awards, such as the Selexyz Debut Prize for Lipari, and the Charlotte Köhler Stipendium for the most talented young writer.

© Marc Brester

Britta Bolt

The Posthumus Trilogy • A character-driven detective series, set in the city of Amsterdam • Written in English by Amsterdam-based authors • Part 2 of the trilogy just published, after the success of part 1 Lonely Graves: In Amsterdam, the Lonely Funerals team exists to make sure that no one goes to the grave un-mourned. Pieter Posthumus works hard to find out all he can about the anonymous dead entrusted to his care. So when a young Moroccan immigrant is found in the Prinsengracht canal in suspicious circumstances, he cannot let it go.

Lives Lost: Marloes, the owner of a well-known guesthouse in the ‘Wallen’, the red light district, is accused of murder. Anna de Vries is the only person convinced of her innocence. Of course she needs Pieter Posthumus to help her investigate and to do this he needs to immerse himself in the shady world of prostitution.

Project Phoenix: The third part of the Posthumus trilogy will be delivered in spring 2015 and zooms in on the multi-national organizations and major world players based in Amsterdam.

‘A page-turner full of suspense and surprising twists and turns.’

– Ayaan Hirsi Ali ‘An atmospheric and glorious Amsterdam crime story.’ – JAN

Commercial fiction

Original titles Heldhaftig, Vastberaden Commercial fiction | 290 pages De Arbeiderspers | www.arbeiderspers.nl Rights sold: Mulholland Books (UK), Hoffmann und Campe (Germany), TV rights sold to Endor Productions Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

Britta Bolt is the pen name of writing duo Britta Böhler and Rodney Bolt. Britta Böhler (Germany, 1960) is a criminal lawyer, she became wellknown by defending Abdullah Öcalan. Rodney Bolt (South Africa, 1957) writes regularly for the international press (The Daily Telegraph). His book, Lorenzo da Ponte, the librettist of Mozart’s life, was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

Lonely Graves

Lives Lost

Anna Levander Morten

• The Morten trilogy is the Dutch answer to Borgen and House of Cards • Written by two Dutch political journalists and spin doctors • Parts 2 and 3 will be published within the next year Morten is the first part in a political trilogy with thrillerish elements. Morten Mathijs, an ambitious politician, is aiming for absolute power and will let nothing and nobody stand in his way. However, a shady matter from his past seems to be damaging his reputation. With the help of his brilliant spin doctor, he tries to get things under control: his past, his marriage, his political party and his opponents. But although the polls continue to climb, things start to get more and more out of hand.

The first part depicts what you need to gain power and hold onto it in politics. There are already early plans for a theatre version and a TV series.

Anna Levander is the penname of Annet de Jong, journalist at De Telegraaf, and Dominique van der Heyde, the most important political commentator on television.

‘The Dutch Borgen at last. Wonderful!’

– Alexander Pechtold, politician and leader of the opposition in parliament.

‘A page-turning political thriller. Part 1 makes me hungry for more.’ – Rik van de Westelaken, news-reader

Commercial fiction

Original title Morten Thriller | 256 pages Q | www.uitgeverijq.nl Rights sold: theatre and TV rights under negotiation Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

© Frank de Ruiter

Marente de Moor The Dutch Maiden

• Winner AKO Literature Prize 2011 and shortlisted for De Inktaap 2013 • 70,000 copies sold • ‘Great narrative talent’– FAZ Marente de Moor combines an inimitable style – sharp, quick-witted and richly detailed – with an exceptional investigative mind and a curious eye.

Summer 1936. Janna’s father sends her away to train with his old friend, fencing master Egon von Bötticher. Egon, a hussar who returned wounded and bitter from the First World War, spends his days on a deserted country estate near Aachen, where he teaches two handsome twin brothers and organises bloody fencing duels for students.

Janna, hopelessly in love with her unresponsive teacher, goes in search of answers in this strange environment. What happened between Egon and her father twenty years ago and who should settle the score?

‘An impressive gallop along the fine line between Ernst Jünger and Leo Tolstoy.

Her nature metaphors have an animalistic power, her reflections are as intelligent as they are original, and the way she evokes the sultry, stormy atmosphere on the eve of World War ii reveals her great narrative talent.’ – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Original title De Nederlandse maagd Novel | 300 pages Querido | www.querido.nl Literary fiction

Rights sold: Suhrkamp (Germany) English and French sample translations available Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

Marente de Moor (1972) lived in Russia in the 1990s, where she worked as a correspondent. Her highly praised debut novel De overtreder came out in 2007. Her third novel, Roundhay, tuinscène, was shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize 2014.

© Eddo Hartmann

Bart Moeyaert

© Leo van der Noort

• Artistic Director for Netherlands and Flanders as Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2016 • Rights sold in more than 20 countries

Bart Moeyaert (1964) is an internationally-acclaimed writer and poet with a substantial network in many countries and translations into 21 languages. His work has won many national and international prizes. Aside from books for children and adults, he also writes filmscripts, plays and translates from German, English and French.

He is artistic director for the Dutch and Flemish Guest of Honour exhibition at Frankfurt book fair 2016.

It’s Love We Don’t Understand A novel about love written in a sensitive and surprising style. Through the eyes of a girl of around fifteen, we look into a broken family. Moeyaert is capable of both demystifying love and leaving its enigmas intact.

‘Nothing is explained, feelings are rarely named, there is only suggestion and portrayal. Which makes it all the more soul-wrenching.’ – Het Parool Brothers: the oldest, the quietest, the most real, the most faraway, the sweetest, the fastest, and me A novel in stories about a young boy who is lucky enough to grow up with six older brothers. A very loving and precious family portrait. ‘Moeyaert convincingly proves that a happy childhood can be a goldmine for a writer. Skilled at observation, imagination, and style, it whistles a happy tune.’

– de Volkskrant

Literary fiction

Original titles Het is de liefde die we niet begrijpen (96 pages) / Broere (128 pages) Querido | www.querido.nl Available in German, French and English translations Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl

Toon Tellegen • Winner of Constantijn Huygens Prize • Rights sold in more than 20 countries • Philosophical stories as literary self-help

© Keke Keukelaar

Toon Tellegen (1941), a retired family doctor, is a much read and acclaimed writer of poetry and prose. He first wrote animal stories for children, then animal novels for adults. All of life’s major themes are broached in the moving and amusing encounters between animals, which also can be read as philosophical musings on the human condition.

The Cricket’s Healing was awarded the Gouden Uil Prize, and for his entire oeuvre, Tellegen received the Hendrik de Vries Prize and the Constantijn Huygens Prize.

On depresssion

On voices in your head

On obsessive compulsiveness

On being self-effacing

On egocentricity

‘Tellegen writes in a moving and entertaining manner. As much as he twists, exaggerates, shrinks and fools around, he never hides his subject matter: recognizable human behaviour and recognizable human emotions.’ – de Volkskrant ‘Throw all the self-help books and misery memoirs in the bin. [...]

Rarely has there been better writing on what it’s like to be overcome by depression.’ – Psy, mental health magazine Querido | www.querido.nl Literary fiction

Rights sold: The Cricket’s Healing: Cruilla (Catalaans), Zahkariv (Rusland), Apropo (Servië), Siruela (Spanje) Toon Tellegen’s books have been translated into 20 languages Foreign rights: Patricia de Groot » p.de.groot@singel262.nl Maria Vlaar » mg.vlaar@xs4all.nl