The Antique Dealer, now in Germany!

A few days after the news of the sale of El Anticuario in The Netherlands (to publishing house Q), we are happy to inform about a new sale of this fine crafted novel by Julián Sánchez: It will be published in Germany by Limes Verlag, an imprint of Random House.

El anticuario is a novel about a secret, a murder, a search, a love and an adventure all over the streets of a mysterious Barcelona. A story of intrigue, suspense and search of the truth.

When the antique dealer and ancient books seller Artur Aiguader is found dead in his shop in Barcelona, his step-son and writer Enrique Alonso flies to the city to take charge of Artur’s things. 

Only a few days before the crime, as if it were an omen, Artur wrote a letter to Enrique telling that if something happened to him, Enrique should look for a manuscript hidden among the volumes in his library, a text from the 15th C. written in Latin and yet to be translated. The manuscript seems to have been written by Casadevall, one of the architects of the Cathedral of Barcelona.

Now, Artur has been killed and Enrique, conscious that the police should be allowed to do its job, is the only one who knows about the connexion between this death and the old manuscript. He can’t help trying to find his father’s killer on his own, while at the same time uncover the secrets that the Casadevall manuscript seems to hide.

The investigation reveals that Artur wasn’t only a good, educated and caring father, but also someone who acted as an intermediary between rich collectors of antique art and art traffickers. Besides, the translation of the manuscript offers him a journey to a past time in which Christians, Jews and scholars of the Kabbalah were trying to find ‘The Stone of God’: a big emerald on which the true name of God would be engraved…

Magic? Superstition? Much more than that, it is all about a fight that is lasting more than 2.500 years: the quest for earthly and spiritual power. As the manuscript is being translated, everybody who has access to it feels taken by the evil of ambition: the ambition to discover, to possess. Is it possible that this stone is nowadays hidden somewhere in Barcelona? Enrique and the mysterious killer think so… who will be the first one to find out?

Playing with past an present, Julian Sánchez has written a fascinating novel of mystery and adventures in which the reader is literally swept away by the plot. The building of the Cathedral of Barcelona, a cold and ambitous killer, the kabbalistic tradition and the many secrets hidden in 15th C. Barcelona’s Jewish quarter will take the reader’s breath away to the very last page. 

Translation rights have already been sold to: The Netherlands (Q), Germany (Limes Verlag).

The Antique Dealer sold in Holland!

Just before leaving for our summer break, we are happy about the first international sale of 'El anticuario' (The Antique Dealer) by Julián Sánchez, which has just been pre-empted in The Netherlands by 'Uitgeverij Q' (an imprint of Querido).

'The Antique Dealer' is a novel of adventures, mystery and crimes first pubished in Spanish by Roca Editorial and set in nowadays and 15th century Barcelona. The first print run, 7.000 copies was sold out in only two months! Being a debut novel it is very good news.

A few weeks ago we received a very positive review about 'El Anticuario' from Library Journal (US). Below please see it:

****************

El Anticuario (The Antique Dealer) - Starred review
Sánchez, Julián
Roca Editorial

Sánchez prefaces this compelling novel with the assertion that some of the events described are real, which, combined with Sánchez’s fine writing, lends this book a delicious plausibility.

Antiquarian Artur Aiguader’s confidential connections enable him to corner the market on superb acquisitions in Barcelona, but now is the time of reckoning. Artur is murdered, but shortly beforehand he had sent a letter to his adopted son, the acclaimed writer Enrique Alonso, directing him to a certain book in the event of his death. 

Determined to find both the murderer and the secret of the book for which Artur gave his life, Enrique soon finds himself caught up in a race to solve a perilous historical mystery before other forces do.

This latest addition to the Da Vinci Code readalikes is in many ways superior to it. While the ambit here is literary rather than artistic, the theology is far less controversial (kabbalistic rather than Gnostic), and the hint of magic is a delight. 

Sánchez respects the reader’s intelligence, reveals the necessary bits and plot twists at precisely the right intervals, and maintains perfect pace with multidimensional characters, which he wisely limits in number. Highly recommended for general interest bookstores and public libraries.—Carolyn Kost, Stevenson Sch. Lib., Pebble Beach, CA

Good reading, good drinks and... good music!

This is Trago amargo's soundtrack... prepare your favourite cocktail, switch on your speakers, click (here) and enjoy!

Below you have a first taste... 

Trago amargo (Bitter Drink), by F.G. Haghenbeck, will be published in Spain on June 15. Rights have also been sold to Denoël (France). 

More info about the novel (here). 

And the beginning of the novel in Spanish (here).

'Darling Jim', Spanish rights sold to Planeta

Editorial Planeta has recently acquired world Spanish rights of Christian Moerk's 'Darling Jim'

This novel, originally a Danish bestseller (Politikens Förlag) has recently been published in the USA by Henry Holt and in Germany by Piper Verlag. The Spanish rights deal was made by SalmaiaLit on behalf of Joakim Hansson at Nordin Agency (Sweden).

By accident, a young mailmain in a Dublin suburb finds a slain woman’s diary in the dead letter bin. From beyond the grave, she reveals the secrets of the most tragic love story he’s ever heard. But that’s not the end of the tale. It’s only just begun.

Now young Niall is enveloped by the mystery about the itinerant storyteller Jim, who travelled around Ireland, enrapturing audiences with his macabre tales. Horrific murders were being committed wherever he went. The victims were young women, who bore an all too frightening similarity to the victims in Jim’s own fictional plots.

Three young sisters in a small town were the only ones who begun to suspect that these were more than mere coincidences. They began to investigate Jim’s past. But they should never have tried to peer behind the storyteller’s mask. For behind the polished charm lurked something else much better suited for dark fiction than the light of present day.

As Niall finds another sister’s diary, he now understands what happened to two of the three sisters. But the third has vanished, and hides somewhere in the wilds of western Ireland. He must now find her while there’s still time. Or they’re both forsaken.

And in the woods, the wolves from Jim’s stories begin to gather...

Darling Jim is a modern, gothic thriller with elements drawn from classic mythology.

Darling Jim is also on facebook! (here)

Rights sold:

USA, Henry Holt (lead title, publication May 2009), Denmark, Politiken (lead title, already published in 2007), Germany, Piper (lead title, publication March 2009), Netherlands, De Geus, Sweden, Lind & Co (lead title, publication spring 2009), Italy, Marsilio, Russia, Mir Knigi, Spanish, Planeta, Croatia, Fraktura, Poland, Rzeczpospolita, Norway, Schibsted, Romania RAO, France, Éditions du Rocher and China, Sun Color

'The Book of God and Physics' sold in Brazil

A new international publisher, Editora Record (Brazil), has to be added to the list of those who will translate Enrique Joven's "El castillo de las estrellas", originally published in Spain by RocaEditorial and to be released in May 2009 in the USA by William Morrow/Harper Collins under the title: 'The Book of God and Physics. A Novel of the Voynich Mystery'.

Now, the list goes as follows: Harper Collins/William Morrow (USA), Il punto d’incontro (Italy), Livanis (Greece), Editora Record (Brazil), AST (Russia) and Hainaim Publishing (Korea).

Here you can check our previous post about this novel, in which we informed about a good review in Publishers Weekly (USA): 

http://salmaialit.blogspot.com/2009/04/book-of-god-and-physics-starred-review.html

Illustrations travel to Korea!

SalmaiaLit is very happy that the illustrated editions of 'The Marvellous History of Peter Schlemihl', by Adelbert von Chamisso illustraded by Agustín Comotto; ‘Bartleby’, by Herman Melville, illustrated by Javier Zabala; ‘Babette’s Feast’, by Isak Dinesen, and ‘The Cloak’ (Shinel), by Nikolay Gógol, both illustrated by Noemí Villamuza, will soon travel to Korea, where Munhakdongne Publishing has acquired reproduction rights.

The sale has been made on behalf of Nórdica Libros (Spain), 

the original publisher of the books.

Below you can see  a few illustrations from ''The Marvellous History of Peter Schlemihl'' (Agustín Comotto) and some vids with the illustrations of ''Bartleby'' (Javier Zabala); ''Babette's Fest'' and 'The Cloak (Shinel)'' (Noemí Villamuza).

  

The Book of God and Physics - Starred review in PW!

Shortly before its publication in the US by William Morrow, Publishers Weekly gave a starred review to Enrique Joven's ''The Book of God and Physics'' (originally entitled 'El castillo de las estrellas').
Below you have the full review:

(c) Publishers Weekly, April 2009

★ The Book of God and Physics: A Novel of the Voynich Mystery
Enrique Joven, trans. from the Spanish by Dolores M. Koch.
William Morrow Publishers,
368p
ISBN - 978-0-06-145686-2

Joven’s remarkable debut, while bearing obvious similarities to 'The Da Vinci Code', is much more than another pale imitation. Father Hector, a science teacher in a Spanish Jesuit community, finds relief from indifferent students in an online group devoted to the real-life Voynich Manuscript. Written in an unknown language, the 500-year-old document has defied the best efforts of cryptographers and scholars to decipher it.

Hector’s research into an actual recent book, Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder’s 'Heavenly Intrigue', which accuses Johannes Kepler of poisoning his mentor and fellow astronomer, Tycho Brahe, eventually ties in with the mystery surrounding the Voynich Manuscript. Local politicians’ efforts to evict the order from the monastery where Hector works complicate the plot.

Joven manages to cleverly blend fact and fiction as well as make the scientific debates of the 16th century relevant and compelling.
***

The novel, as we said above, was originally published in Spanish by RocaEditorial under the title of El castillo de las estrellas (Castle of the Stars)

Translation rights have been already sold to: Harper Collins/William Morrow (USA), Il punto d’incontro (Italy), Livanis (Greece), AST (Russia) and Hainaim Publishing (Korea).

A post about literary agents in The Guardian Books Blog (UK)

Patricia Rodriguez, author of '19 pulgadas' (19 Inches) has sent me a link to this post by Jean Hannah Edelstein. As I've found it very interesting I decided to link it to SalmaiaLit's blog (also see the comments it has generated). The post has been published in The Guardian Books Blog (UK)

This is how it begins:

"Don't reject literary agents: 

Too often presented as mean-spirited parasites, they actually provide a vital support to authors.

Literary agents: so often regarded as the villains of the publishing world, they were skewered by scores of disgruntled writers this week in response to the Twitter gigglefest which was #queryfail, in which agents posted some of the worst pitches they'd received. No, #queryfail did not give a view into the most gallant side of agenting. But the vitriolic response is not, contrary to popular belief, evidence that agents are failing writers across the board. Rather, it demonstrates how little most people know about what literary agents actually do."

And you can read it all here: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/apr/08/literary-agents-use

(Thanks, Patricia -and Jean-!)

Trago amargo (Bitter Drink), new cover!

This is RocaEditorial's cover of 'Trago amargo' (to be published in June 2009). It plays with the original poster of the movie 'The Night of the Iguana', by John Huston, wich was based on the homonimous play by Tennessee Willams. The action of 'Trago amargo' takes us to the time where the film was being shot.

We love it!!

http://salmaialit.blogspot.com/2009/01/trago-amargo-bitter-drink-to-be.html

Ley Garrote, by Joaquín Guerrero Casasola, sold in Germany!

We are very happy to announce the deal for German rights of 'Ley garrote', by Joaquín Guerrero-Casasola, to DTV (Germany), on behalf of RocaEditorial. The novel was awarded the 2007 LH Confidential Award to the Best Crime Novel.

‘Ley garrote’ offers us an accurate, violent and bitter portrait of Mexico City, a fluid story and memorable characters that grip the reader from the very beginning. It also offers a vivid description of the way express kidnappings work, a current issue in Mexico with more than 300 cases per year and that some have no doubts in calling the new industry of crime.

You have more information about the plot below. First, however, allow us to write a few words about the meaning of the title, very difficult to translate into other languages. The word 'garrote' means ''a thick and strong stick that can be used both to walk and to hit''. The compound 'garrote law' refers to a common practise of revenge or punishment amongst outlaw bands and criminal organisations. It literally means to infrige pain on a victim, usually a man, using the garrote-stick and itroducing in into the victim's anus. Most times this painful torture ends up with the victim's death.

Casasola's novel is not just a story of violence and crime, but also a tale of survival and hopes. I hope the translation into German will encourage other international publishers to offer it to their readerships.

The novel's main character, Gil Baleares, was once an officer of Mexico City Police, but now he’s justa rather unsuccessful Private Investigator, haunted by the memories of his ex-wife and without money, whose main goal is to get enough cash to buy a new car, a wonderful Japanese Nissan Tsuru, and get rid of his own old-fashioned model.

Having this goal in mind he accepts to take care of the case of the kidnape of the girl Alicia del Moral, the daughter of the owner of a candy factory. The kidnappers are asking for an enormous amount of money to free the girl. A fact that (added to the violent images that they have sent to the girl’s parents) makes clear that this won’t be an easy case.

However, Gil keeps finding hints until all his investigation is endangered by the intervention of the Police. On the one hand there are corrupt officers involved in the kidnapping, and on the other , those who want to take advantage of Gil’s findings and solve the case in their benefit, lead by the young, unscrupulous and rude Marcial Oviedo.

In between this delicate and dangerous situation Gil will also have to cope with his father, Ángel ‘The Dog’ Baleares, also an ex-police and a living legend from the murky 70s. He is now ill of Alzheimer, a character that moves from nonsense to lucidity. What dangers await the old Dog when Gil is away?

Gil’s world is falling apart, but something inside pushes him forward to cross the line to a territory where there’s no boundaries between corruption and justice, even if this means putting his life into risk...

Rights sold to: DTV (Germany). 

Joaquín Guerrero-Casasola (1962) is a Mexican narrator and script-writer now living in Spain. With ‘Ley Garrote’ he was awarded the LH Confidencial 2007 Crime Novel Award and will be translated into German by DTV. His second novel ‘El pecado de Mama Bayou’ has been published by Lengua de Trapo and recently sold to Kein & Aber (Switzerland).