Singel Publishers non fiction spring 2014

non fiction

Sunny Bergman

The Importance of Being Sexy • Women, their bodies and sex

Sunny Bergman’s approach involves a quest that is personal, but also with a philosophical edge, with no easy answers and with questions that prove even more difficult. Her journey takes her from “sex aunties” in Uganda to a course for sluts in America, and from a Botox clinic to an erotic lifestyle fair. The main question is: why are women so concerned about looking sexy when sex is such a minefield?

While a glamorous image and porn-type sex easily find a platform, real women’s bodies and the trickier and more vulnerable aspects of sex are crying out for attention and not receiving it.

In this lively and intimate account, Sunny reveals how she went about making her documentaries and explores the subject in greater depth.

• ‘The Importance of Being Sexy nags and gnaws away at things and certainly opens up discussions – all the way into the bedroom.’ – Trouw • ‘An intriguing and sometimes refreshing book that certainly leads us to reflect on the ever so intriguing and oh so complex relationship between men and women.’

– Leeskost.nl

Original title Sletvrees Paperback | 304 pages First published: October 2013, Nijgh & Van Ditmar www.nijghenvanditmar.nl rights@singel262.nl Nijgh & Van Ditmar Spring 2014

Sunny Bergman is a documentary-maker and author. She has filmed a major threepart documentary package for vpro about image, sex and culture: Beperkt houdbaar (Limited Shelf Life), the series Sunny Side of Sex and Sletvrees (The Importance of Being Sexy).

© Merlijn Doomernik

non fiction

Martin Bossenbroek The Boer War

• Rights sold to South Africa (Jacana) • 40,000 copies sold • Exciting portrait of Winston Churchill as a young war reporter Originator of the Apartheid. The first media war.

An appetizer for the First and Second World War. The (Anglo) Boer War (1899-1902) is one of the most intriguing conflicts in modern history.

The difference in status between the superpower of Great-Britain and the two tiny Boer republics, inhabited by descendants of Dutch colonists, was bizarre. However, the Brits ended up having to go to extremes to win the war, including the systematic terrorizing of civilians.

The Boers seemed to go down, like tragic heroes from a bygone era. But after their defeat they won peace. They recreated South Africa in a country of white masters and black servants. At the end of the Apartheid the roles were reversed.

Once again the Boers seem to be going down, now fulfilling the role of the tragic bad guys.

• Winner of the Libris History Prize 2013 • Shortlist AKO-Literature Prize 2013 • ‘Original, excellently-written and compelling’ – Jury report, Libris History Prize.

• ‘Bossenbroek has put in a formidable performance’ ★ ★ ★ ★ – Het Parool

Original title De boerenoorlog Paperback | 613 pages First published: November 2012, Athenaeum–Polak & Van Gennep www.uitgeverijathenaeum.nl rights@singel262.nl Athenaeum–Polak & Van Gennep Spring 2014

Martin Bossenbroek gives you the full story on the Boer War. He puts himself in the shows of all the parties involved, and follows three colorful main characters: the Dutch lawyer Willem Leyds; the British warreporter Winston © Jos Uljee Churchill; and the Boercommando Deneys Reitz. Never before was the Boer War described in such a vivid and complete manner.

non fiction

Guus Kuijer

The Bible for Atheists • 25,000 copies sold • In 2012, Guus Kuijer was awarded the ALMA, the ‘Nobel Prize for children’s literature’ Guus Kuijer is busy with an ambitious project – translating the Bible for atheists. To do this he always picks an underdog as a narrator: a woman, a slave, a child, a failure. The Bible stories are lent a new dimension through their eyes, becoming more human and distressing. Kuijer is ironic and humorous: ‘Something is missing, he thought. There is an empty space inside me.

The animals were busy doing their own thing and not paying any attention to God. He had no one to talk to, because the vocabulary of the animals was so limited.

They just said “moo”, “squeak” or “oink” and they had no sense of higher things.

I’m longing for a good conversation, thought God. What I really need is an animal that can talk and is aware of my existence. What should such a creature look like though? More or less like me, thought God, but unfortunately I have no appearance.’

‘Kuijer’s retelling is merciless, his knowledge of the stories superior, no biblical detail goes unnoticed.’

– NRC Handelsblad Original title De Bijbel voor ongelovigen. Het begin.

Genesis; De Bijbel voor ongelovigen 2. De uittocht en de intocht; De Bijbel voor ongelovigen 3. Saul, David, Samuel en Ruth. A fourth part, on the governments of David and Solomon, is planned for 2016.

Paperback | 288 pages First published: October 2012; August 2013 and May 2014, Athenaeum–Polak & Van Gennep www.uitgeverijathenaeum.nl Kuijer’s books have been translated into seventeen languages. English translation available. rights@singel262.nl Athenaeum–Polak & Van Gennep Spring 2014

Guus Kuijer has now reached volume 3. The books from Genesis to 2 Samuel 6 (when David danced before the Ark of the Covenant) have been retold. A fourth part, on the governments of David and Solomon, is planned for 2016. © Jaco Klamer

non fiction

Tijs Goldschmidt A Fish in the Bath

• Do animals have leisure time? What do a hibernating beer, a fasting Christian and an atheist feeling sluggish in winter have in common? And other important questions…

How could Darwin, with his mediocre performance at school and his lack of talent in maths, music and classical languages, make one brilliant discovery after another? And why is it that Dutch cleanliness, as seen in the paintings from the Golden Age, is so famous? Biologist and acclaimed writer, Thijs Goldschmidt asks himself these and many more questions in his astonishing essay collection, A Fish in the Bath. Goldschmidts’ wide-ranging interests and his associative thinking burst from every page of this unusual book.

Goldschmidt hopes to bridge the gap between the arts, sciences and the humanities with his reflections. ‘I hope to connect things, to be a missing link. I enjoy stealthily having people, who might shy away from the name of a gene, understand something that they think isn’t for them.’

Original essays, also suitable for weeklies and magazines, the rights can be acquired separately.

Original title Vis in bad Paperback | 360 pages First published: March 2014, Athenaeum –Polak & Van Gennep www.uitgeverijathenaeum.nl Rights: rights@singel262.nl Athenaeum–Polak & Van Gennep Spring 2014

In autumn 2014, Tijs Goldschmidts’ (1953) major book on Papua New Guinea will be published. His earlier book, Darwin’s Dreampond, has been translated into English (MIT), German (Beck), French (Seuil), Italian (Einaudi), Polish, Japanese and Chinese.

non fiction

Annejet van der Zijl

Gerard Heineken: the Man, the City and the Beer • A short history of Amsterdam, but also a compelling family drama • 25,000 copies sold in the first month of publication!

A top ten bestseller Every day, millions of people around the world drink Heineken beer. And it all began with one man: Gerard Heineken. Born in 1841, he set up the company that was to become an imperium as a twenty-two-yearold Amsterdam entrepreneur. Back in those days, Amsterdam was a stinking, desolate city. Heineken was one of the frontrunners of the industrial revolution in the Netherlands, and the driving force behind the Rijksmuseum and other landmark buildings and residences in the city.

But a success story isn’t complete without drama and Gerard’s drama began with his marriage to the impoverished Lady Mary Tindal. He married far above his station. When, after fifteen years of marriage, their son Henry was born, it was clear to everyone that a family friend was the father and not Heineken.

He died at just 51 years old and left the company to his bastard son, who, like a true Heineken, turned the company into the successful imperium that would later be expanded by his son, Freddy Heineken. The history of Amsterdam, the history of the company and family history run seamlessly together in a thrilling and fascinating non-fiction book that reads like a novel.

‘Delightful and clear… a real page-turner.’ – NRC Handelsblad ‘Every businessman should read this book!’ – Tros Nieuwsshow Original title Gerard Heineken. De man, de stad en het bier Paperback | 224 pages | illustrated First published: March 2014 Querido www.querido.nl Film rights under negotiation rights@singel262.nl Querido Spring 2014

According to NRC Handelsblad, Annejet van der Zijl is ‘the uncrowned queen of literary non-fiction’.

Her previous book Sonny Boy was translated into German, Italian, Turkish, Swedish and Czech. Sonny Boy sold over half a million copies in the Netherlands.

The author also wrote a very successful biography of Bernhard, the former queen’s husband.

© Brenda van Leeuwen

non fiction

Bobbi Eden

The Candid story of Holland’s Most Successful Porn Star • A unique look into the secret world of the international porn star

In this autobiography, Bobbi Eden candidly recounts her experiences, from her childhood in The Hague to her life today in Los Angeles. She offers us a revealing glimpse of the million-dollar industry with the worst reputation in the world; at the same time though, an industry in which woman earn more than men.

‘This book is the story of my life and how I experienced things. It is not a discussion of the so-called ‘good porn’ and the shadowy world of exploited girls. I cannot speak for women who experienced things differently, about human trafficking and forced prostitution, because I was never part of that.’

‘Read this book!’ – de Volkskrant

Original title Het openhartige verhaal van Nederlands meest succesvolle pornoster Paperback | 240 pages | illustrated First published: February 2014, Nijgh & Van Ditmar www.nijghenvanditmar.nl rights@singel262.nl Nijgh & Van Ditmar Spring 2014

Bobbi Eden grew up with her family in The Hague, a stutterer. She wanted to become a journalist but became a glamour model at the age of eighteen. She featured on the covers of Playboy and Penthouse and was twenty-two when she made her first porno film.

© Marq Laurenz