Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...

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Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Literary fiction
 Spring 2020

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Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Gyldendal Denmark
318 pages
Literary fiction

Nominated for DRs NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2019
Sample English available

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Rights sold:
Mare Verlag, Germany
Solum Bokvennen, Norway

Eva Tind
Origins                                                                 Eva Tind
The 18 year old Sui decides to moves away from home.                    Eva Tind is based in Denmark. She
She was brought up by her father Kai, because her mother                was born in 1974 in Pusan, Korea. At
                                                                        the age of one, she was separated
Miriam, a world famous artist, left them when Sui was a
                                                                        from her biological family and
toddler. When she moves out, Kai is driven into a deep,                 adopted by a Danish couple. Today
personal crisis. He leaves his architect studio in the hands            she has a mother in both countries.
of his colleague for an undefined period of time, and goes              Based on her education from ‘The
                                                                        Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
to an alternative community in India to regain his strength.            School of Architecture’ known
After he leaves Denmark, Sui discovers a cyst in her                    objects, space and places are an
tummy, and since her father is away she decides to pay a                integrated part of her writing and
visit to her mother. The last time they met Sui was 7 years             work. She often manifests her
                                                                        novels, literary portraits and
old, Miriam is now 70. She has turned her back on society               collections of poetry in the related
and lives isolated in the deep, Swedish woods building her              fields of film and fine art.
final artwork: A circular wall that seals the area around the           Eva Tind often explores the whole
                                                                        concept of origin in relation to her
world’s oldest tree leaving this piece of land untouched by             own story. She reflects on the nature
humanity for hundreds of years.                                         of belonging and the way we forge
After an unresolved meeting with her mother, Sui decides to             our own identity – How much of it is
look for her father´s roots in South Korea. She ends up on              shaped by our environment and what
                                                                        is internal, highlighting how the world
the Island of Marado; a matriarchal society where women                 can seem very different depending
make a living of diving for pearls.                                     on who is looking at it and from
ORIGINS is a story about a family of three that separates               where. Both fictional and non-
                                                                        fictional characters, themes and
and travels into the world to find peace with themselves and
                                                                        matter unfold in her storytelling and
each other. An adventurous tale of the love and pain that               new connections appear releasing
separates, but also connects a family. About the feeling of             the fixed ideas of what is possible
not belonging, and the search for a meaningful life.                    and what is not.
Eva Tind’s Origins is written with humour, wisdom, warmth
and a touch of magic.

                             «I feel with Eva Tind's work, like I do with Siri Hustvedt and Josefine Klougart: No
                             matter what they write about - they do it so aesthetically that it by definition becomes
                             a pleasure reading»
                             Litteratursiden.dk, Denmark

                             «Origins is a liberating, atypical, strongly outgoing and engaging humanistic, feminist
                             and idealistic novel on abandonment traumas, family communities and other forms of
                             community, love, cynicism, reconciliation and chronology of death. Eva Tind
                             accelerates her narrative story in soft jerks and confirms herself as a wild, discreet
                             and unique author»
                             Weekendavisen, Denmark

                             «Eva Tind writes with energy, humor and cheekiness (...)
                             Refined, intelligent, elegant (...)
                             Such a beautiful novel»
                             5/6, Politiken, Denmark
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Pelikanen Forlag
111 pages
Literary
English translation available

Winner of the Tarjei Vesaas debut award

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Kenneth Moe
Restless                                                                   Kenneth Moe
A young man writes a letter to the woman who rejected him.                 Kenneth Moe (born 1987) grew up
Driven by doubt and unbridled desire, he tries to write                    near Larvik, a small town outside
                                                                           Oslo in Norway. He currently lives in
himself to a new understanding of his loneliness.
                                                                           Oslo.
At the same time, he suspects literature is to blame for all               He has studied creative writing in
of this.                                                                   Bø, Bergen and Lillehammer,
He therefore dreams of literature that cures the need for                  Norway.
                                                                           Moes debut novel Restless won the
literature, literature where life has precedence.                          Tarjei Vesaas debut award.
Restless is a disobedient short novel, narrated by
aphorisms and small episodes of everyday life, conveyed
by a presence and an intensity that never folds back to a
                                                                           Rights sold:
personal darkness.
                                                                           Residenz Verlag, German
Restless also contains remains of an almost extinct classic                Nordisk Books, World English
ideal. At least hope: Books can make us better people.                     Poklonka, Argentina & Colombia

“I only have one book in me, after all. It’s called “How I
Learned to Love,” and I hope to write it over and over
again, with little variations until I die. “

                                «I admire this book a lot (...) The overwhelming majority of the work I see feels to me
                                as if it were written in the mid-19th century. The best work, from any era, always feels
                                shockingly contemporary. This is true of RESTLESS. There is, for me, no higher
                                praise»
                                David Shields, author

                                «Kenneth Moe is a clear literary talent – it was obvious to us that we were dealing
                                with an author right from the start. I needed only to read a few sentences of his
                                manuscript to understand that this was something I wanted to work with and
                                eventually publish.Kenneth has a strong awareness of form; he’s also stubborn and
                                possesses a completely original literary voice. We’re sure that Restless will be the
                                first of many books in a promising career»
                                Karl Ove Knausgård, author

                                «A rare example of what intelligence, irony, tenderness do to a man and his novel!
                                „Restless“ shows us the contemporary way to tell a love story.»
                                Jessica Beer, editor, Residenz Verlag
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Bjartur,Iceland 111 pages
Original language: Icelandic

Literary fiction
English translation available

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Bergsveinn Birgisson
Reply to a Letter from Helga                                               Bergsveinn Birgisson
                                                                           Bergsveinn Birgisson holds a
Bjarni has long held onto a letter from former lover Helga,
                                                                           doctorate in Norse philology and has
with whom he shared an illicit, impassioned love and whom                  an expansive background in folklore,
invited him to leave his wife and his farm and follow her to               oral histories, and lyrical poetry.
the city. Years later, as he reflects on a long and simple life            Birgisson is also happy having learnt
                                                                           about the cultural institution a sheep
shepherding in the Icelandic hillsides, he finally finds                   farm represents.
himself ready to explain why. With retrospective clarity and               A true researcher at heart, Birgisson
poetic affection, Bjarni pens his Reply to a Letter from                   has spent his life studying language
Helga, weaving a life of longing for Helga’s sensual                       and how it represents the truth of the
                                                                           human condition. He currently
presence and the visceral pleasures of daily exposure to                   resides in Bergen, Norway, where he
the elements. He has knowingly avoided the glamorous                       continues to write classical tales.
choices of modern living and taken comfort in the measured                 Birgisson’s work has been widely
                                                                           recognized through prestigious
cadence of nature’s cycles—and thus he reduces the                         awards and nominations.
human condition to a series of mating seasons, passed on
the land toiled by his forefathers.                                        Rights sold:
                                                                           Pelikanen Forlag, Norway
                                                                           Lumen, Spain
Awards:                                                                    Poklonka editores, Columbia
The Icelandic Bookseller ́s Award                                          Zulma, France
                                                                           C&K, Denmark
Prix des lecteurs Nantais                                                  Palto, Turkey
Prix Amphi, France                                                         Bompiani, Italy
Prix du Cercle de l'Union Interalliée                                      Bazar Förlag, Sweden
                                                                           Bazar Kustannus Oy; Finland
Nominations:                                                               Al Arabi, Egypt
Dublin Literary Award:                                                     Lesa Press, Israel
                                                                           Film rights:
Nordic Council Literary Award                                              ZikZak film
The Icelandic Literary Award                                               Theatre rights:
                                                                           Norway
                                                                           Iceland
                       «Beautiful and erotic»                              France
                       Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark

                       «More erotic than 50 shades»   4
                       Dagbladet, Norway

                       «Touching and deeply sensual»
                       VG Norway, 5/6

                       «One of the stories that makes the reader hurt with nostalgia for a world and a time never lived in
                       (...)
                       Birgisson's novel becomes a song, with the capacity to turn the love of a woman into love for a
                       landscape - and that manages to melt the inner glaciers to the one who chooses to live with love,
                       not against love»
                       La Stampa, Italy
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Bjartur, 2019
230 pages
Original language: Icelandic
Literary fiction
English translation available

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Bergsveinn Birgisson
VITALITY BROOK                                                               Bergsveinn Birgisson
Nominated for the Icelandic Literary Award 2019                              Bergsveinn Birgisson holds a
                                                                             doctorate in Norse philology and has
                                                                             an expansive background in folklore,
On the far northern, most thinly populated shores of the                     oral histories, and lyrical poetry.
Westfjords in Iceland flows a little brook that the inhabitants              Birgisson is also happy having learnt
believe to have great healing power. It is said that anyone                  about the cultural institution a sheep
                                                                             farm represents.
who drinks one cup of the brook’s water per day, cannot die                  A true researcher at heart, Birgisson
— which in turn gives the body the opportunity to heal itself.               has spent his life studying language
Even now, the brook is still called Vitality Brook.                          and how it represents the truth of the
This was in the days when the life of the Icelandic nation                   human condition. He currently
                                                                             resides in Bergen, Norway, where he
hung by a thread. The greatest volcanic eruption in the                      continues to write classical tales.
history of Iceland began in 1783, with the earth spewing fire                Birgisson’s work has been widely
and toxic gases for nearly an entire year. Men and beasts                    recognized through prestigious
                                                                             awards and nominations.
were decimated, grass could no longer grow, the sea froze
and hindered fishing.                                                        Rights sold:
A plan was proposed by the Danish authorities, then the                      Vigmostad & Bjørke Norway
colonial lords of Norway and Iceland, to relocate all able-                  Residenz Verlag, Germany
bodied Icelanders to Denmark and Finnmark in Norway.                         Corvina, Hungary
                                                                             Iperborea, Italy
This historical fact forms the framework of this novel.                      Lesa Press, Israel
The Danish authorities´representative sent to Iceland, a
scientist, falls in love with a local woman; he gets severely
injured one one of his expeditions, and his beloved goes
looking for the healing water which she strongly believes
will cure him. Birgisson elegantly tells a lovestory while
discussing science, faith, and colonialism.

                                «5/5 stars; Vitality Brook will find its way to many readers; this adventorous and well
                                                      5
                                written story deserves it (...) masterfully and powerfully written (...) Incredibly funny!»
                                Morgunbladid, Iceland

                                «Extraordinarily well written and interesting story with a stunning final chapter
                                Fréttablaðið, Iceland
                                Beautifully done (...) a fantastic novel (...) will give you goosebumps»
                                Þorgeir Tryggvason, Kiljan, Iceland

                                «Particularly well written (...) hits the right spot for the lover of historical novels»
                                Víðsjá/RÚV, Iceland

                                «This is the best Birgisson has done so far (...) a grand novelty (...) Warmly
                                recommended»
                                Egill Helgason, Kiljan, Iceland
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Pelikanen Forlag
316 pages
Literary
English sample available

Nominated for the Tarjei Vesaas debut award 2019

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Ragnhild Eskeland
Insulated
Insulated is a moving and plain-spoken novel about living with
                                                                          Ragnhild Eskeland
a chronic disease that affects all the aspects of life we usually         Ragnhild Eskeland (b. 1986) trained
take for granted and never think about. It explores what it               in literary studies and writing at
                                                                          Gothenburg and has also studied
feels like to be ill, what it means when the body attacks itself          creative writing at the Nansen
and how illness has always been viewed judgementally with                 Academy in Lillehammer. She has a
moral overtones.                                                          master’s degree in French literature
                                                                          from the University of Oslo. Insulated
‘Diabetes is a feeling of squandering ones desires. It is the
                                                                          is her first novel.
disease of greed. It is lack of restraint. The disease strikes
those who are governed only by their feelings, those who lack
common sense and self-control. The blood sugar level affects
how you feel. Hypoglycaemia (‘a hypo’) can make you feel
very odd. Diabetes is the punishment for displaying your
feelings, wearing them on your sleeve, lack of restraint. The
punishment for a big appetite for food and a big appetite for
life. The shame of having too many feelings, too many
desires.
Diabetes is a vulgar disease.
If tuberculosis is a love poem, diabetes is porno.
If minimalism is fear of ones body, diabetes is maximalism.
Diabetes is flesh. Diabetes is food and urine. It is blood and
pee.
It is sugar in blood and urine.
It is shame.’
Insulated is a novel about diabetes, a novel about growing
up, about being young and struggling to accept oneself.

                             «A powerful portrait of living with a chronical disease, through adolescence and as a
                             young adult.
                             The novel also explores, in an open and intellectual manner, the disgraceful aspects
                             of a so-called lifestyle disease, which to a greater extent than many other disorders
                             can be self-inflicted, and which imposes a kind of moral guiding on the sick's way of
                             life, entails an extra responsibility that can be heavy carry. INSULATED gives insight
                             into a life situation that is more rarely illuminated in the literature, depicted with both
                             great intellect and physicality»
                             Jury, Tarjei Vesaas debut award

                             «A page-turner! (...) INSULATED is a debut novel that places itself at the forefront in
                             the field of important pathographies. But regardless of that INSULATED is an
                             excellent novel»
                             Aftenposten, Norway

                             «This is a language-driven novel. Eskeland´s debut is brilliantly written. The «now»
                             form in the book creates proximity and her style is scarce, almost laconic»
                             Klassekampen, Norway
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Cappelen Damm
 234 pages

 Literary fiction

 Contact:
 trude@immaterial.no
 www.immaterial.no

Gert Nygårdshaug
The Rainmaker
The globe is in deep crisis. There are blazes, large forest
                                                                      Gert Nygårdshaug
fires raging, and there is not a drop of rain from the sky.             Gert Nygårdshaug was born in
Everywhere there are desperate people on the run, who are               Tynset, the mountains of Norway.
                                                                        Since his literary debut in 1966, he is
kept at a distance up by barbed wire fences, sticks and                 the author of nearly 40 books, both
rifles.                                                                 novels for children, poetry and
Only one place remains idyllic. It is a nameless little village         fairytales- together with literary
                                                                        works, thrillers and crime novels.
that, strangely enough, is blessed with adequate doses of
                                                                        The trilogy of Mino (Mengele Zoo,
rain. There the 800 inhabitants live in peace and tolerance,            The Heaven ́ s Flower Tree and The
until a great danger threatens.                                         Basin of Aphrodite) earned him
The agency, the state, the hierarchy and the mighty ally are            immense recognition from critics and
                                                                        the public. Nearly 400,000 copies
looking for this village. They want to find the cause of the            sold in Norway, and elected Norway
strange weather phenomenon. The methods they use are                  ́ s favorite novel in the Norwegian
relentless.                                                             international literature festival in
                                                                        Lillehammer in 2007.
This title adds to the narrative tradition Nygårdshaug is best
                                                                        His crime novels where the main
known for, and is often associated with names in Southern               character is the chef and cryptologist
European or Latin American literature, where the form of                Fredric Drum, also make
the fable contains social criticism and philosophical issues.           Nygårdshaug appear regularly on
                                                                        the bestseller lists in Norway.
                                                                        Concerned about the environmental
                                                                        cause, Gert Nygårdshaug fights for
                                                                        the preservation of rainforests,
                                                                        especially the Amazon, where he
                                                                        has spent much time.
                                                                        .

                             «Nature and human nature are intimately connected and constitute a kind of
                             collective organic consciousness in the service of potential good (...)
                             stimulating perspectives»
                             Aftenposten, Norway

                                                  7
                             «A political novel and a fairytale (...) Nygårdshaug has created a playful, quirky
                             and engaging book»
                             5/6, Hamar Arbeiderblad, Norway

                             «The author has created a fable, a kind of unreal story, which in its naive
                             language points to the simple and a child’s world. This is the strength. Lurking
                             under this surface a darker reality unfolds (...) Nature and the environment are
                             the main issues in this book as in many of his other works. Reading him is
                             pure joy»
                             Kulturspeilet, Norway

                             «Well done, witty and subtle»
                             Dagbladet, Norway

                             «Another energetic fable»
                             Lierposten, Norway
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
Idunn, Iceland
 166 pages
 Literary

 Rights sold:
 Rowholt, Germany
 Rosinante, Denmark
 Vega, Sweden
 China International Radio Press, China
 Contact:
 trude@immaterial.no
 www.immaterial.no

 Steinunn Sigurdardottir
  The love of fish
                                                                           Steinunn Sigurdardottir
"The love of fish is as cold as they themselves are."
Baron Cuvier
Samanta is reasonable, well behaved and a confident single.                  Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is one of
Her secret passion though are Sanskrit poems which she                       Iceland´s most highly acclaimed
                                                                             novelists and poets.
translates. But then, vacationing in Ireland, she meets her                  She has sustained a writing career
real live darling, a young fellow Icelander called Hans                      since 1969, as well as a
Örlyggson.                                                                   distinguished career in journalism.
                                                                             In France, she made a name for
They swim around each other for years, like the fish do.
                                                                             herself with the best-selling novel
It’s very late until Samanta finally learns to accept the power              Voleur de vie. It was adapted to the
of this love.                                                                screen, starring Emmanuelle Béart
Too late?                                                                    and Sandrine Bonnaire. In 2017 the
                                                                             same novel was adapted to the
                                                                             stage by The National Theatre of
                                                                             Iceland, to high critical acclaim.

                               «Fish are slippery and sluggish against each other and apart. Perhaps, therefore, the
                               title "The love of the fishes"; It is also with us people, which is why this book may be
                               relevant at any time. It is based on existential and philosophical issues, but also
                               psychological, including In terms of how we meet people, go apart and communicate
                               as well as we can with the tools we have»
                               Bogrummet, Denmark

                               «Light as a feather and yet meaningful. This is the short and also cheerful love story
                               of the Icelander, a reading suitable for men and women alike. It is about the "passion
                               against all reason", which happens to the independent editor Samanta when meeting
                               the married manager Hans. The impossibility of the relationship turns around and
                               becomes a stimulating and intensifying moment. Since the first-person narrator
                               reports from memory, her grief still seems to be locationless, the event remains
                               unresolved until a new love finds itself and the pain flows into the elemental Icelandic
                               soul landscape. Steinunn Sigurdardottir, also in her other novels, added to the insular
                               writing a self-assured note that, away from the purely epic, combines irony with
                               melancholy, the unfathomable with the neurotic, and yet does not lose sight of the
                               Icelandic forces of nature, and leaves me such a happy reviewer!!»
                               Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Germany
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
EINAUDI, Italy
136 pages
Literary fiction

English sample available
Nordic Rights
Contact:
trude@immaterial.no

 Valeria Parrella
 ALMARINA
Can a prison free the people who enter it?
Is there an island in the Mediterranean from which you can
never reach the sea?                                                     Valeria Parrella
It happens at Nisida, just beyond the promontory of Posillipo.
Nisida, moored like a boat, is a small island nestled between
Capri and Bagnoli. This is where Elisabetta Maiorano does        VALERIA PARRELLA was born in
                                                                 1974; she lives in Naples. She
sums at the blackboard with a mixed group of young               debuted with the collection of short
inmates.                                                         stories Mosca piú balena (minimum
She is fifty years old; she lives alone; every morning she       fax 2003). She has published with
                                                                 Einaudi: Lo spazio bianco (2008,
crosses the city with all its contradictions.                    2010, and 2018), on which
But one day, Almarina shows up in her classroom. The             Francesca Comencini based the
prospects change, the earth becomes the sea and its              same-titled film; Tre terzi (2009, with
opposite, and those stairs always leading downward – ener-       Diego De Silva and Antonio
                                                                 Pascale); Lettera di dimissioni
vating bureaucracy, unexpected deaths, sleepless nights –        (2011); Antigone (2012); Tempo di
reveal the other possibility: an opportunity to ascend them.     imparare (2014); Ma quale amore
In a dry writing style, warm, intimate, and political, Valeria   (2014); Troppa importanza all’amore
                                                                 (2015); and Enciclopedia della
Parrella precisely touch- es our emotions, giving voice to two
                                                                 donna. Aggiornamento (2017).
forms of loneliness whose power will move us. “The hardest       For years she has written the book
thing is to see them go away, because of where will they go.     column for Grazia and collaborates
They are still so young, and they will go back to where they     with la Repubblica.
came from, and where they came from is the reason they are
here”.
“For years, I entered the Nisida juvenile detention center
without ever being able to really recount it. It was the same
thing with Naples: I always found it elusive, so I would talk
about it without ever naming it (and then: I was too afraid of
reducing it to a label). In this book, I tried to go the extra
mile. To name Naples and talk about Nisida: to conjugate the
world with our intimate solitude. And since it wasn’t an easy
project, I decided to use an easy, un- derstandable
language: a way to write respectfully”.

                           RIGHTS SOLD:

                           John Murray, World English
                           Hanser, Germany
Literary fiction Spring 2020 - Immaterial ...
The Ohio State University Press
Literary

Nordic & Dutch rights
Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

David Shields

The Trouble with Men:
                                                                        David Shields
Reflections on Sex, Love,                                               David Shields is the internationally
Marriage, Porn, and Power                                               bestselling author of twenty-two
                                                                        books,
David Shields’s The Trouble with Men: Reflections on Sex,               including Reality Hunger (named one
                                                                        of the best books of 2010 by more
Love, Marriage, Porn, and Power is an immersion into the
                                                                        than
perils, limits, and possibilities of human intimacy. All at once        thirty publications), The Thing About
a love letter to his wife, a nervy reckoning with his own               Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead
fallibility, a meditation on the impact of porn on American             (New York Times bestseller), Black
                                                                        Planet (finalist for the National Book
culture, and an attempt to understand marriage (one                     Critics Circle Award), and Other
marriage, the idea of marriage, all marriages), The Trouble             People: Takes & Mistakes (NYTBR
with Men is exquisitely balanced between the personal and               Editors’
the anthropological, nakedness and restraint. While                     Choice). .

unashamedly intellectual, it’s also irresistibly readable and
extremely moving. Over five increasingly intimate chapters,
Shields probes the contours of his own psyche and
marriage, marshalling a chorus of other voices that leaven,
deepen, and universalize his experience; his goal is nothing
less than a deconstruction of eros and conventional
masculinity. Masterfully woven throughout is an
unmistakable and surprisingly tender cri de coeur to his
wife.
The risk and vulnerability on display are in the service of
radical candor, acerbic wit, real emotion, and profound
insight—exactly what we’ve come to expect from Shields,
who, in an open invitation to the reader, leaves everything
on the page.

                                  «A fearless consideration of sex and power that is also a moving meditation on
                                  the possibility of love»
                                  Amy Fusselman

                                  «His honesty would be startling if we didn’t already expect just this from David
                                  Shields: a willingness to ask what no one wants to ask (but everyone longs to
                                  know) and say what no one will say (but everyone longs to hear)»
                                  Sallie Tisdale

                                  «David Shields is the most honest writer alive»
                                  John Scoyles
Gloria Forlag
166 pages
Literary

English sample available
Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Mari Ann Augestad
Three Women
Maria has started looking back. She studies the choices she
made, wondering about small and big events in her life and            Mari Ann Augestad
their consequences.                                                   Mari Ann Augestad was born in
Especially when it comes to love, Maria ponders and reflects          1963.
                                                                      She grew up in Ski outside Oslo; and
around why she chose and acted as she did. Her beloved                currently lives there with her family.
one, that was never only hers, the replacement she took               Augestad studied pedagogy and has
instead of him, and the student she finally settled with, who         worked as a teacher for many years.
                                                                      Three Women is her debut novel.
became the father of her child.
Maria discovers how events in her life are connected. She
sees how the footprint of her strict grandmother and well
meaning mother has influenced her, and the reader gets a
small insight of the dramatic life both Marias mother and
grandmother had as a result of a mystical grandfather
described as a charlatan.
We follow Maria through her not so streamlined maneuvers
and choices, always sensing the presence of her beloved
one, Marias grandmother; the mothers sometimes
demanding softness and Marias daughter Rakel.
With wit, humor, sharp observations, warmth and honesty,
Mari Ann Augestad gives the reader a taste of a universe
somewhere between Sally Rooney and Elena Ferrante, set
in Norway.

                            «The well-studied and stylish study of an uncompromising but, after all, quite ordinary
                            life»
                            Adresseavisa, Norway

                            «How can Three Women be compared to Anna Gavalda and her books? To me
                            because of the direct and naked language, the credible feelings described without
                            excessive patos and the openness Augestad has given to her main character. I can
                            cite directly what I wrote about Gavaldas book Someone I loved - feeling the same
                            the same about Three Women: "It's a beautiful story of love, honesty and loss,
                            showing clearly human doubts and weaknesses when it comes to big choices in life. "
                            This is also what Augestad expresses in her book Three Women.
                            I simply loved the language, the frequent stage shifts and the evolution of the story -
                            and will definitely read Augestad again if she decides to publish a new title. This
                            really gave me a taste for more»
                            Marianne Søiland, Ebokbloggen, Norway

                            «So elegant and delightfully written about three women who loves and hates men,
                            and loves and hates each other! Finely tuned, with vulnerability, and a great
                            atmosphere. Great stuff!!»
                            Unni Lindell, author, Norway
Non-fiction
Spring 2020

     12
Bjartur, 2019
390 pages
Non-fiction
Sample in English available

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

  Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir
  I AM REAL

  I AM REAL recounts in a very heartfelt manner how deep a
  mother ́s love for her offspring is and it shows that no power
                                                                           Margret Dagmar
  on earth is a match for the determination and strong                     Ericsdottir
  headedness rooted in the care of a mother. After the first
  few years that brought the family to the brink of destruction,           Margret is born and raised in
  there is finally a let up and things start to move in the right          Reykjavik, Iceland. She is the
  direction. We learn how Margret is able to turn an adverse               second youngest of five siblings. She
                                                                           went to college and studied business
  situation to her advantage and completely change the
                                                                           administration with emphasis on
  outlook and quality of life for her son. It is a book about              marketing. She graduated with her
  triumph, determination and love. It is about how you deal                marketing degree as well as an MBA
  with challenges that life throws your way, both the sweet                from Florida Institute of Technology
                                                                           in the US.
  and the sour and so it appeals to everyone, since we all                 Her first role after graduation was for
  have our share of the hard knocks of life. It demonstrates               advertising agency McCann in
  the importance of having the right attitude to make the best             Reykjavik and from there she went
  out of every situation. It shows that with determination and             into management for well-known
                                                                           Icelandic companies both as
  positive attitude of never giving up and to refuse defeat, you           marketing manager, executive VP
  can turn any situation around and make that ‘mission                     and COO.
  impossible’, possible. This is a very strong and empowering              She was active during her career in
                                                                           non-profit professional management
  story that speaks to any reader.
                                                                           organizations, being on the board of
                                                                           the Icelandic Quality Management
                                                                           Organization for a number of years.

                                         «My darling, wonderful Margret...
                                         I don’t know where to begin. Thank you.
                                         You have changed my life... There are
                                         many things we experience as human
                                         beings that empower and change us - if
                                         we let ourselves change. Your story
                                         empowers me as a mom and as a
                                         human being. Thank you for letting me
                                         change. You are the magical one. You
                                         are the best mother in the world... I learn
                                         from you, every day. In so many ways.
                                         I love you. Now, lets keep on going!»

                                         Academy awarded actor Kate Winslet
Opera forlag, autumn 2020
300 pages
Non-fiction
Sample in English available
Sample in German
Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

  Ingeborg Solbrekken
  Voice of the Century

  The biography of Kirsten Flagstad, The Voice of the
  Century, is a story of triumph and tragedy. The shy and
                                                                  Ingeborg Solbrekken
  stubborn Norwegian singer who became world famous               Ingeborg Solbrekken is a Norwegian
  overnight, cultivated in the United States as the world’s       author and playwright with a number
  greatest voice and in Europe for her vocal art, Flagstad        of publications behind her. Her three
  rescued the New York Metropolitan from bankruptcy in the        books about the legendary Kirsten
                                                                  Flagstad makes her the world’s
  1930s and revitalized interest in Richard Wagner’s operas       leading researcher on Flagstad’s
  in the United States. In music history, she is considered one   biography. Two of the books have
  of the foremost Wagner interpreters ever. She was also a        been seized by filmmakers, and the
                                                                  book concerning the persecution of
  big draw at Covent Garden in London, at the festivals in
                                                                  the world star was designated by the
  Zurich and at La Scala in Milan. During and after the war,      newspaper Fædrelandsvennen as
  she was unjustly accused of having had Nazi sympathies,         one of the best books of the year.
  of singing to Hitler and of profiting greatly from the war.     Her research on non-judicial aspects
                                                                  of the post-war settlement has
  These rumors are traced to leading officials in the             received much publicity. Fall 2018,
  Norwegian Foreign Ministry. A campaign was launched             Ingeborg published a comprehensive
  against her, resulting in major demonstrations around her       account of the communist-led
  performances in the United States. Her fortune was seized       resistance movement in Norway
                                                                  during the war.
  and she had to live under police protection.
  The biography looks into the darkest corners of Norwegian
  intelligence history, scandals that jeopardized both the
  police and the prosecution’s credibility. The thoroughly
  documented account of how a foreign ministry organized a
  years-long persecution of a world-renowned female artist is
  as creepy as the most well-composed thriller.
Aschehoug forlag 2020

216 pages
Non-fiction

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Magnus Helgerud
Cabin Crazy-in search of the
Norwegian happiness
Norwegians are cabin crazy! A population of 5 million
people with 500 000 cabins to their names, and 5000 new
                                                                 Magnus Helgerud
ones being built every, single year. The average Norwegian       Magnus Helgerud (born 1983) is a
spends 50 days per annum at his house in the mountains           graduate in history of ideas from the
                                                                 University of Oslo.
or by the sea. But why on earth do these people spend their
Easter holiday stumbling their way up snowy hilltops on          History of ideas linked to traveling is
slippery skiis? And why do they spend the long awaited,          his field of expertise.
nordic summer days, doing maintenance work on their
                                                                 Helgerud has written about tourism
cabins? Were they born that way, or have they become like        and travels for many Norwegian
that? In short: How did they contract this cabin fever?          newspapers and magazines, among
Norwegian journalist and historian, Magnus Helgerud, take        others Aftenposten, Klassekampen,
                                                                 Vagabond and Harvest.
us along on an entertaining journey from the fjords to the
mountains, through the curiosities of the Norwegian              Tell me where you travel and I tell
cabintopia, and on a parallel hike through the history of life   you who you are is his first book.
at the cottage. Our point of departure is his families cabin
chronicles, dating back to the 1940s, which takes us back
to the time when discarded railway carriages were hauled
out to the coast and used as cabins.
Along the way we are joined by a colorful cast of
characters. A cabin owner poisoning her brother-in-law
because he acts like the cabin is his own, billionaires
blowing up rocks to build illegal tennis courts, a brother
cheating at dice games, seaside doctors prescribing
jellyfish stings for back pains, and the author’s own
grandmother who misses her paradise on earth.
Picador, Australia
    374 pages
    English

    Nordic Rights:trude@immaterial.no
    www.immaterial.no

Behrouz Boochani
NO FRIEND BUT THE MOUNTAINS                                Behrouz Boochani

Where have I come from? From the land of rivers, the       Behrouz Boochani holds a Masters
                                                           degree in political geography and
land of waterfalls, the land of ancient chants, the land
                                                           geopolitics. He is a Kurdish-Iranian
of mountains…                                              journalist, scholar, cultural advocate,
In 2013, Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani was           writer and filmmaker, founder of the
                                                           Kurdish language magazine Weya,
illegally detained on Manus Island. He has been there      an Honorary Member of PEN
ever since.                                                International. In 2013, he fled Iran
People would run to the mountains to escape the            and became a political prisoner of
                                                           the Australian Government
warplanes and found asylum within their chestnut           incarcerated in the Manus Regional
forests…                                                   Processing Centre (Papua New
This book is the result. Laboriously tapped out on a       Guinea).

mobile phone and translated from the Farsi. It is a
voice of witness, an act of survival. A lyric first-hand
account. A cry of resistance. A vivid portrait through
five years of incarceration and exile.
Do Kurds have any friends other than the mountains?

                                  Winner of 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature
                                  Winner of the Australian National Biography award
                                  Winner of New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award

                                  Rights sold:

                                  Picador UK
                                  Hugo & Cie, France
                                  Penguin Random House, Germany
                                  House of Anansi, US/Canada
                                  Add Editore, Italy
                                  Homeward, Taiwan
                                  Jurgen Maas Uitgeverij, The Netherlands
                                  Leya, Portugal
                                  Rayo Verde, Spain
                                  Gyldendal, Denmark
                                  Screen rights: Aurora Australia
Vigmostad & Bjørke 2013
303 pages
Original language: Norwegian
Non-fiction
English translation available

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Bergsveinn Birgisson
The Black Viking                                                           Bergsveinn Birgisson
Nominated for Brage award 2013                                             Bergsveinn Birgisson holds a
                                                                           doctorate in Norse philology and has
                                                                           an expansive background in folklore,
This story begins in Rogaland year 846 AD. One day a very                  oral histories, and lyrical poetry.
special royal son is born- Geirmund Heljarskinn. But we                    Birgisson is also happy having learnt
know almost nothing about this personality, there is no saga               about the cultural institution a sheep
                                                                           farm represents.
about him, and posterity has done it´s best to forget him.                 A true researcher at heart, Birgisson
Why?                                                                       has spent his life studying language
We know that his mother was from Siberia, therefore, he                    and how it represents the truth of the
was born with Asian features. Geirmund Heljarskinn                         human condition. He currently
                                                                           resides in Bergen, Norway, where he
becomes the “Black Viking” – the most powerful settler on                  continues to write classical tales.
Iceland through times. Dark-skinned and with Mongolian                     Birgisson’s work has been widely
facial features he was a pioneer in international hunting                  recognized through prestigious
                                                                           awards and nominations.
economy. Heljarskinn had hundreds of slaves; Christians
from Scotland and Ireland.                                                 Rights sold:
1100 years later a distant relative of Geirmund, author                    Paramount Pictures and Anonymous Content
                                                                           (screen rights)
Bergsveinn Birgisson, addresses the question of Geirmund                   Gyldendal Denmark
Heljarskinn´s life, and why he is forgotten. Old fragments,                Lira, Hungary
modern genetics and information collected on trips to                      Bazar Finland
                                                                           Bazar Sweden
faraway places is put together, creating a fascinating and                 Albatros Media Czech Republic
shocking portrayal of a raw and poetic past.                               Varrak Estonia
                                                                           Bjartur, Iceland, 2016
Rarely, if ever, has the Viking Age been introduced to us in               Globo, Brazil, 2018
this way.                                                                  Iperborea, Italy, 2018
                                                                           Al Arabi Publishing, Egypt
                                                                           Vigmostad & Bjørke, Norway

                                «Birgisson is a fine combination of a poet and an exciting and
                                original academic author. «The Black Viking» is a sensational
                                work, nothing but a newly written Icelandic saga from the
                                early settlers on Iceland. It differs from the classical sagas,
                                                    17
                                this is an alloy of academic historical and philological scrutiny
                                and impressive penmanship. Fascinating and innovative in its
                                own well documented saga with personal notes»
                                Jan Askelund, Stavanger Aftenblad

                                «A masterpiece! I have never been interested in Siberia. Not
                                until now. Maybe not really the Viking period either. Not until
                                now. This book presents priceless knowledge at a time when
                                humanities tales supposedly not are worth publishing
                                anymore. Thank goodness then for professional defiance and
                                the stubborn need to tell, and for publishers' efforts to keep
                                the stories alive. This book's wealth and excitement deserves
                                respect. It should get a lot of readers. They will be surprised
                                how history still has so much new to say. So many
                                undiscovered coasts»
                                Mona Ringvej, Aftenposten
Cappelen Damm, Norway
224 pages
Non-fiction

NTNU Literary award 2018
Norwegian Language Council Award 2018

Sample in English available

Contact: trude@immaterial.no
WWW.immaterial/no

Maria Berg Reinertsen
The Journey to Bretton Woods                                     Maria Berg
Early one summer’s day of 1944 John Maynard Keynes,              Reinertsen
together with a small group of economists, set sail across       Maria Berg Reinertsen (b. 1980) is
the Atlantic on the former luxury ocean liner Queen Mary.        an economist and journalist for the
The members of this group had various agendas- some of           Norwegian weekly newspaper
                                                                 Morgenbladet. There, among other
them wanted to create a better world. It was just 10 days        things, she writes about economical
after the D-Day landings in Normandy. In their wake,             topics for people who normally
London was getting over the first attack performed with the      wouldn’t be interested in economics.
                                                                 She’s published three critically
VI – the flying bomb – Hitler’s new super weapon. Under
                                                                 acclaimed books. In 2010, she
the deck of the ship, 2000 German prisoners of war from          published The Equation for
the landing at Normandy were kept. Ahead of them were            Happiness. The Numbers, Thoughts
seven days at sea, journeying to the Bretton Woods               and Accidents Behind the Prevailing
                                                                 Economic Sense. For the biography
conference that was to shape the economic order of the           Henriette Schønberg Erken. A
postwar world. This book tells the story of the boat trip that   History of Norway Seen From the
laid the foundation for the world economy as we know it          Kitchen Counter, she received the
today, 70 years later- and the fascinating characters on         Booksellers’ Prize for Best Non-
                                                                 Fiction Book in 2014. In 2017, she
board, the people behind this agreement. During the              published The Journey to Bretton
crossing to the Bretton Woods conference, the travelers          Woods, and for this she received the
wrote a draft of the organization of the World Bank and the      Norwegian University of Science and
                                                                 Technology’s Book Prize as well as
IMF (The International Monetary Fund) while the ship             The Language Prize from the
Queen Mary sailed in zigzags to avoid German                     Language Council of Norway.
submarines- none of the passengers knew which route they
were sailing.

                                The mixture of solid academic content, reflected social
                                analyzes and a sophisticated literary form makes the
                                Journey to Bretton Woods an admirable piece of prose
                                Jury, NTNU literary award
                                               18
                                Acquiring professional knowledge is only the beginning of
                                transmitting. The next step is to find a language that
                                communicates with people who lack prior knowledge and do
                                not know the jargon (...) Maria Berg Reinertsen conveys
                                extraordinarily
                                Jury, Norwegian language council literary award
Bjartur, Iceland
316 pages
Non-fiction

Rights sold:
Hanser Verlag Germany
Gloria Forlag Norway
Mondadori, Italy
Kobiece, Poland
John Murray, UK
Harper Collins, Holland
LIKE, Finland
CLIO, Serbia
Capitan Swing, Spain
Forlaget KLIM, Denmark

Steinunn Sigurdardottir
Heida: A Shepherd at the Edge
of the World                                                           Steinunn Sigurdardottir

A seasonal portrait of an Icelandic superheroine                        Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is one of
                                                                        Iceland´s most highly acclaimed
Heiða, named after the one-and-only Heidi of literary fame,             novelists and poets.
is a solitary farmer, with a flock of five-hundred sheep on             She has sustained a writing career
the farm Ljótarstaðir in a remorseless area bordering                   since 1969, as well as a
                                                                        distinguished career in journalism.
Iceland’s highlands. One of Heiða’s nearest neighbors is                In France, she made a name for
Iceland’s most notorious volcano, Katla, which has                      herself with the best-selling novel
repeatedly driven away the inhabitants of Ljótarstaðir ever             Voleur de vie. It was adapted to the
since people first started farming there in the twelfth                 screen, starring Emmanuelle Béart
                                                                        and Sandrine Bonnaire. In 2017 the
century.                                                                same novel was adapted to the
The heroic tale of this charismatic young woman, who had                stage by The National Theatre of
a chance to work as a model in New York, is divided                     Iceland, to high critical acclaim.
                                                                        Amongst Steinunn Sigurdardottir’s
according to the four seasons. Heiða tells of her struggles
                                                                        other titles in French translation are
with herself and the powers of nature with deep feeling,                La Place du Coeur, Le Cheval Soleil,
keen wit and humor, weaving the narrative with anecdotes                and the recently published
of her animals and farm work. Heiða’s energetic narrative is            Maitresses Femmes.          Apart from
                                                                        France, Steinunn Sigurdardottir’s
interspersed with her deftly-composed quatrains, as well as             books have been extensively
her insightful reflections on Icelandic nature.                         translated, notably in Germany and
                                                                        the Nordic countries.

                             I consumed the book at speed and on the few
                             occasions I had to put it down, one or other
                             members of my household were quick to pick it
                             up: the cover alone excited a wish to read it…I
                             had the feeling while reading it that Heida was in
                             MY kitchen, idly chatting to ME and that I was
                             getting to know her really well, as a close friend.
                             My overall feeling is gratitude for its transparent
                             honesty. So much biography sets out to paint a
                             picture of someone with at least some of the
                             flaws/facts removed or altered. It causes a huge
                             sigh of relief to read one where we are given a
                             rounded picture of a real person doing a real job. I
                             find any work about a farmer irresistible but am
                             often disappointed; not so this time… It was a
                             privilege to be 'talked to' as a friend and allowed
                             to share a fine farmer's life for a few hours.’
                             ROSAMUND YOUNG, author of Secret life of
                             cows
Res Publica, 2019

165 pages

Non-fiction

Selected title by NORLA autumn 2019

English sample available

Contact: trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Øystein Skjælaaen
Getting high and why-                                          Øystein Skjælaaen
the meaning of alterring consciousness                         Øystein Skjælaaen (b. 1977) holds a
                                                               doctorate degree in sociology. He
                                                               has worked in alcohol and drug
Some people visit a pub in the morning, others shoot heroin    research for many years, and his
in a park. Some go on a wine trip to Tuscany, others take      thesis "Beer for breakfast. Identity
                                                               and community in the pub in the
mdma and dance in the woods. Why is it that in our culture,    morning" received academic praise
some forms of intoxication are accepted, while others are      and attention from the general press
forbidden?                                                     when published in 2018.
                                                               Øystein has published in numerous
Through all times and all over the world, people have
                                                               academic journals with articles about
sought to get high. Today it is part of most people’s lives.   drugs, alcohol and intoxication.
Getting high gives a break from work and routines and can      “Getting high, and why”. is his first
give us freedom and community – it helps us. But everyone      book. Skjælaaen is also a musician,
                                                               and plays in the band Real Ones,
knows someone for whom alcohol and drugs no longer             among others.
gives pleasure, only pain, shame and sadness.The use of        .
substances has become a means of coping with everyday
life.
Øystein Skjælaaen has researched and worked with
intoxicants, but also shares his own experiences. Through
meetings with people and their stories, Getting high and
why challenges our perceptions of the importance of getting
high in society and for individuals.

                                  «An author’s virtues such as simplicity,
                                  clarity and precision makes "Getting high
                                  and why" a text that caters to an
                                  audience20 far beyond the universities»
                                  Morgenbladet, Norway

                                  «...elegantly formulated and thought
                                  provoking about getting high»
                                  5/6, Aftenbladet, Norway
Res Publica
  166 pages
  Non-fiction

  English sample available

  RIGHTS SOLD/ Forlaget FILO, Dnmark

  Contact:
  trude@immaterial.no

 Wegard Harsvik & Ingvar Skjerve
 HOMO SOLIDARICUS

                                                                          Wegard Harsvik & Ingvar Skjerve
New insights from biology, behavioral science and
economics have, over the last 50 years, turned ideas about                     Wegard Harsvik (b. 1967) is head of
human beings upside down.                                                      public relations and strategy in LO.
                                                                               He has long political experience,
Especially the notion of Homo Economicus – the idea that                       including as state secretary at the
we all have narrow self-interest as a goal in everything we do                 Ministry of Health and Care Services
– has been changed.                                                            and the Ministry of Culture, political
In this book, Wegard Harsvik and Ingvar Skjerve introduce                      adviser at the Ministry of Education
                                                                               and the Storting representative (AP).
us to an opposite to Homo Economicus: Homo Solidaricus.                        Harsvik holds a Master’s degree in
The book shows that selfishness and self-gain must be                          Social Economics, Sociology and
prevailing as an idea is wrong.                                                History from University of Oslo, and
                                                                               has written several books, including
It puts together new knowledge that shows cooperation is
                                                                               “Blåkopi” (2013) and “Word is
fundamental to us as a species. The authors let us see how                     power”, with Sara Gunnerud, (2015).
this must also have consequences for how we discuss                            Ingvar Skjerve (b. 1978) is a nurse
politics and create good societies. Solidarity and community                   with a master ’s degree in
                                                                               professional ethics and diakonia. He
is not a fight against human nature. It is deeply rooted in us.                works as a political advisor.
                                                                               Ingvar has co-written the book
                                                                               “Participants. A journey in the future
                                                                               of democracy ”(Manifesto, 2009).

                               «Homo solidaricus will kill the notion of the selfish […] All in all, this is a fine summary
                               of why Homo Solidaricus should be recognized as the opposite of the selfish person
                               Finansavisen, Norway
                               a thought-provoking and good book»
                               Vårt Land, Norway

                               «An excellent ideological tool for progressive forces fighting for a more just world»
                               Radikal Portal, Norway

                               «Solidarity and social behaviour is not learnt, it is found in our genetic material.
                               Therefore, we have the potential to create a more just world. We can become Homo
                               solidaricus, if we organize society so that it stimulates our empathic sides. It is not at
                               all a bad New Year's message. […] There are worse things to do in 2019 than
                               reading Homo Solidaricus»
                               Klassekampen, Norway
EINAUDI; Italy
166 pages
Non-fiction
Nordic rights through Immaterial Agents

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no

Michela Murgia
INSTRUCTIONS FOR                                                          Michela Murgia
BECOMING A FASCIST
The incisive voice of an intellectual who puts a long silence       MICHELA MURGIA was born in
                                                                    Cabras in 1972. In 2006, she
to rights, reminding us that when we talk about fascism,
                                                                    published with Isbn Il mondo deve
nothing is a given forever.                                         sapere, the tragicomic diary of a
Fascism is a herpes which can resist for entire decades in          month’s work, which inspired the
the marrow of a democracy; it makes us think it has                 movie by Paolo Virzì Tutta la vita
                                                                    davanti. With Einaudi,
disappeared only to reappear more viral than ever at the first      in 2008 she published Viaggio in
sign that the host’s immune system is weakening.                    Sardegna. Undici percorsi nell'isola
It takes an enormous effort to be democratic.                       che non si vede; in 2009, the novel
It means coming to terms with complexity, supplying the             Accabadora, which won the 2010
                                                                    Campiello Prize; in 2011, Ave Mary
greatest number of people with the instruments to decode            (re-published in the Super ET series
and interpret the present times, guaranteeing areas and             in 2012 and 2018); in 2012, Presente
meth- ods of participation to all those who want to exploit         (with Andrea Bajani, Paolo Nori,
                                                                    and Giorgio Vasta), and L'incontro.
them to improve collective life. More- over, not everyone is
                                                                    With Einaudi, he has also published
interested in being democratic. And actually, if we take a look     the novel Chirù (2015) and the essay
at pre- sent-day Italy, it seems that no one is interested in it    Futuro interiore (2016).
anymore, least of all Italian politics. So then, why do we
continue to waste our time with democracy when we can
take a fast- er and more certain shortcut? Isn’t fascism a
well-oiled system for guaranteeing that the state is run
better, for less money, faster and more efficiently?

                                   RIGHTS SOLD:

                                   Brazil (Editora Ayiné)
                                   Catalan language (Grup62)
                                   Galician (Rinoceronte Editora)
                                   Germany (Wagenbach)
                                   World English rights (Pushkin Press)
                                   World Spanish rights (Seix Barral)
Bjartur, Iceland
341 pages
Non-fiction
Sample English available

TV rights sold to Palomar Pictures

Contact:
trude@immaterial.no
www.immaterial.no

Ásdís Halla Bragadóttir
Blood Ties                                                              Ásdís Halla Bragadóttir
In 2011, Ásdís Halla Bragadóttir got a phone call from a                Asdis Halla Bragadottir is a Harvard
man she’d never met who said his father thought she might               graduate, and has worked as a
                                                                        journalist for the largest daily
be his daughter. At the time, Ásdís Halla was a 43-year-old,
                                                                        newspaper in Iceland. She was an
nationally known woman who had variously worked as a                    assistant to a government minister,
journalist for the largest daily newspaper in the country, an           the mayor of a conservative
assistant to a government minister, the mayor of a                      municipality, and was the CEO of a
                                                                        large home improvement company.
conservative municipality, the CEO of a large home                      She has also founded a private
improvement company, and was now founding a private                     health clinic.
health clinic. Given that she had no reason to think she had
any connection with the stranger, Ásdís Halla took the call
with a grain of salt. She had been raised by a man who she
looked upon as her father; she thought she knew who her
biological father was, but didn’t have any contact with him.
When Ásdís Halla asked her mom about the man who the
stranger suggested could be her father, it turned out that
her mother did know him, and little by little, Ásdís Halla
began to uncover a family saga that was more dramatic
than she’d ever anticipated. As she did so, she was forced
to relive her own childhood, which was no walk in the park.

                             «A well-wrought, well-written, and truly effecting story that plays on all of the reader’s
                             emotions»
                             Fréttablaðið (Daily Paper), Iceland

                             «One of the most poignant family sagas this reviewer has ever read»
                             Morgunblaðið (Daily Paper), Iceland

                             «Ásdís Halla’s family story is a tragic one, and her mother and grandmother’s story is
                             heartbreaking. The book is written with considerable confidence, as if Ásdís Halla
                             was already a seasoned author. Great book»
                             Kiljan (TV show about literature), Iceland
Tiden Forlag 2019

180 pages

Non-fiction

Sample in English available

Rights sold:
Wielka Litera, Poland
EC Edition, Denmark

Siw Aduvill
The Value of Rest – and what we                                Siw Aduvill
gain from refrain                                              Siw Aduvill has a background from
                                                               contemporary circus arts where she
We live in a society where stress is a public disease and      worked as a performer, teacher, and
where action, work and constant activity is supposed to        director.
                                                               She holds certifications in several
solve everything for us. The Value of Rest – and what we       different styles of yoga, bodywork
gain from refrain – is a personal and multifaceted book        and meditation. Her main interest is
about NOT doing anything in the best possible way.             in exploring in the intersection
Research shows that when we learn to step out of the           between movement, art, philosophy,
                                                               personal practice and social change.
hustle and bustle, the grass will become greener, the          Siw is a sought after workshop
quality of the wine improves and the orgasm can be             faciliator and teaches on these
enjoyed more deeply.                                           subjects at teacher training programs
                                                               in Norway and internationally.
Not to mention that we become more generous, more
                                                               .
productive and more intelligent when we rest, so there is no
doubt that rest is worthwhile.
So why don’t we manage to stop?
Siw Aduvill takes us through brain research and floating
thoughts, everyday life and refugee camps, yoga, sex and
wine tasting in this entertaining, educational and wise book
about the simplest and most difficult of all: doing nothing.

                                «An important and universal message»
                                Fevennen, Norway

                                «Aduvill conveys old and new knowledge
                                           24
                                from physiology,  biology and biochemistry
                                and thoroughly examines how our
                                nervous system works (...) The strength of
                                this book is the self-help it offers in a fair,
                                green light»
                                Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway
Non-fiction
Nordic rights through Immaterial Agents
RIGHTS SOLD:
UK – Head of Zeus
US – Forge
Holland – HarperCollins
Italy – Mauri Spagnol
Portugal – ASA;
Brazil - Autentica;
Sweden – Nordstedts
Contact:
trude@immaterial.no

Louise Callaghan
FATHER OF LIONS                                                     Louise Callaghan

Between 2014 and 2017, the 'Islamic State' ruled the city of        At the age of 26, Louise moved to
                                                                    Istanbul as Turkey correspondent for
Mosul, in northern Iraq, killing 'traitors', destroying books and
                                                                    The Sunday Times (one of the
oppressing women. But miraculously, in a park on the                youngest foreign correspondents
eastern edge of the Tigris, a zoo was kept open.                    ever hired by the paper) and with the
Father of Lions is the story of Mosul Zoo. It survived under        following year, won young reporter of
                                                                    the year at the 2016 British Press
the stern hand of Abu Laith, the zookeeper, a man with an           Awards and the 2017 British
interesting past and a lifelong animal lover. His real name         Journalism Awards, as well as being
was Imad, but for as long as he could remember everyone             highly commended for Foreign
had called him by his nickname, Abu Laith 'Father of Lions'.        Reporter of the Year. After two years
                                                                    of reporting on the ground on the
And the lions and bears survived not only two years of Isis         failed coup in Turkey and the sieges
occupation, but starvation and bombardment by liberating            of Raqqa and Mosul, in 2017 she
forces.                                                             realised her current position as
                                                                    Middle East correspondent for The
As the animals began to starve, Abu Laith and his family and
                                                                    Sunday Times. This year, she was
helpers went hungry to keep them alive. They risked their           named as one of Forbes Europe 30
lives to pick through bins for leftovers in Isis-occupied           under 30 in media and shortlisted for
neighbourhoods. In a final heroic effort, the surviving animals     Foreign Correspondent of the year in
                                                                    the British Journalism Awards.
were smuggled out of Iraq in a daring rescue operation.
This is a story of human decency in the midst of barbarism.

                                  ’An unexpectedly funny and moving book. You
                                  might not expect to laugh when reading about
                                  ISIS-held Mosul, but through the story of a
                                  man who loves both lions and life, Louise
                                  Callaghan shows how humour and defiance
                                  can counter cruelty, and why both humans and
                                  animals crave freedom'

                                  Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News
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