A public library’s books are opened to the sunlight on the banks of Germany’s Lake Constance at Uberlingen, one of the resort towns on the Obersee or upper lake. A new report says the German market saw its international rights sales in 2024 rise for the first time in three years. Image – Getty: Yulia Brunner
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Germany Sees a Rise in Rights Sales
As we open our July Rights Edition today (July 11), we have the annual book publishing industry report from the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, Germany’s publishers’ and booksellers’ association.
We’ll follow on Monday (July 14) with a full rendition of what it tells us.
But we’ve jumped in to look at the report’s figures on this important market’s rights activity last year, to get a sense for how last year went for a key European nation that had been experiencing something of a lag in these numbers previously. And the news is good. License sales rose by 2.2 percent in 2024, the data has it, after two years of decline.
“German publishers sold 6,669 book rights abroad last year, compared to 6,527 contracts in 2023,” per the report’s authors. “The key buyers were China, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Books for children and teens remain the most important product group in the book content licensing business, accounting for 38.9 percent of all contracts—followed by fiction with 23.2 percent.
“The number of translations into German,” the report goes on to say, “remained stable at the previous year’s level at 8,756,” having stood at 8,760 in 2023. “The share of translated titles in all new publications grew slightly from 14.5 percent to 15 percent.”
Join us in Monday’s edition of Publishing Perspectives as we offer you a much broader picture of the German market in 2024, and have a good weekend until then.
As in each roundup, we use some of the sales copy supplied to us by agents and rights directors, editing that copy to give you an idea about a book’s nature and tone, but limiting the promotional elements. If you’d like to submit a deal to Publishing Perspectives, see the instructions at the end of this article.
As the Andes Disappeared
By Caroline Dawson
- Publisher: Éditions du remue-ménage, Montreal
- Rights contact: Sarah Barracco, Le monte-charge culturel
- Book info: Read more here
Reported rights sales:
- Newest – Italy: L’Orma Editore
- North America: Book*Hug Press
- World Spanish: Editorial minúscula
- France: Editions de l’Olivier
- Brazil: Editora Âyiné
- Arabic: Jadal Publishing
- Albania: Shkupi
The late Caroline Dawson (1979-2024) was a sociology teacher and her As the Andes Disappeared was her debut publication. More than 90,000 copies are said to have been sold to date, the book being fiercely popular in Québéc. Dawson also wrote a poetry collection, Ce qui est tu (Tryptique,2023).
In As the Andes Disappeared, “7-year-old Caroline flees Pinochet’s Chile with her family on Christmas Eve 1986 and arrives in Canada.
“In Montreal, she watches her parents clean banks, faces racism at school, and discovers Québécois culture and the French language.
“A gap grows between her identity and theirs. This sociological memoir explores, with humor and clarity, how to embrace a new culture without betraying one’s roots.”
La scimmietta nuda
(The Naked Monkey)
By Desmond Morris
Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier
- Publisher: Bompiani, Milan
- Rights contact: LeeAnn Bortolussi
- Book info: Read more here
Reported rights sales:
- Newest – Germany: Jacoby & Stuart
- Country: South Korea: Book 21 via the Amo Agency
Desmond Morris, left, and Sergio Ruzzier
This is a book that will be interesting to those who know Desmond Morris’ 1967 The Naked Ape, sometimes called in contemporary editions, “the controversial classic of man’s origins.”
Published ahead of Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year, The Naked Monkey is a book for young readers created by Bompiani with the approval of Morris on all points of topics, ethnology and zoology, and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier (released on March 26).
As Morris writes in a brief foreword:
“This is the version dedicated to girls and boys who don’t just look for fairy tales, animal stories, or fantastic adventures in a book: what’s written here is the history of our ancestors, told simply and quickly—when you grow up, you can read the longer version, and many other interesting texts on the same topic.
“In the meantime, here’s this book, which is designed for you naked monkeys, which is why it’s called that, The Naked Monkey. It’s an invitation to understand who we are and where we come from. Which is important for understanding where we’re going.”
La libreria dei gatti neri
(The Black Cats Bookshop)
By Piergiorgio Pulixi
- Publisher: Marsilio Editore, Venice
- Rights contact: Emanuele Malpezzi | Piergiorgio Nicolazzini Literary Agency (PNLA)
- Book info: Read more here
Reported rights sales:
- Newest – World English: Flatiron Books / Pine & Cedar Books, New York
- France: Gallmeister
- Germany: Kampa
- Spain: Maeva
- Portugal: Clube do Autor
- Greece: Metaichmio
- Hungary: Elikon
- Romania: Corint
- Indonesia: Baca
- Russia: Mann, Ivanov & Ferber
Piergiorgio Pulixi
“At Les Chats Noirs, a bookshop specializing in mystery novels in the center of Cagliari, Sardinia, every Tuesday the grumpy owner Marzio Montecristo hosts a book club of crime aficionados. The name of the shop, Les Chats Noirs, pays homage to the two black cats that showed up in the shop one day and never left. They are nicknamed by Montecristo Miss Marple and Poirot.
“Despite the owner’s bad temper, the shop is very popular, and it’s Patricia, Montecristo’s young assistant of Eritrean origin, who saves customers from the owner’s outbursts.
“When a serial killer impossible to catch starts to spread terror in town, the police are forced to ask this group of amateur sleuths for help.”
Of Flame and Fury
By Mikayla Bridge
- Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books / First Ink, London
- Rights contact: Lauren Robertson
- Book info: Read more here
Reported rights sales:
- Newest – Portuguese/Portugal: Alma Dos Livros
- Portuguese/Brazil: Alta Books
- France: Nathan
- Italy: Mondadori
- Ukraine: KM Books
- Germany: Fischer
Mikayla Bridge
“Fourth Wing meets The Fast and the Furious in Of Flame and Fury, the YA fantasy by debut author Mikayla Bridge.
“With deadly phoenixes, action, and an enemies-to-lovers romance,” the book is described in highly promotional terms as a “hot fantasy” for young adults.
“On an island built from ash and shrouded in fire, phoenix racing is the most profitable—and deadly—work you can find. No one knows that better than Kelyn Varra and her crew, the Crimson Howlers.”
Summer at Villa Hilda
By Michaela von Kügelgen
- Publisher: Schildts & Söderströms, Helsinki
- Rights contact: Elina Ahlback at Ahlback Agency
- Book info: Read more here
Reported rights sales:
- Newest – Film and television: Good Hand Film & TV
- Estonia: Hea Lugu
- Denmark: Lindhardt og Ringhof Forlag (three books)
- Germany: Aufbau Verlage (three books)
- Hungary: Athenaeum
- Netherlands: Singel Uitgevers (three books)
- Norway: Aschehoug (three books)
- Sweden: Schildts & Söderströms (three books)
Michaela von Kügelgen
“Mamma Mia meets Seaside Hotel in the lush summer nights of the archipelago between Sweden and Finland.
“There, former celebrity chef Louise and world-weary journalist Thomas arrive to revive a rundown, romantic wooden villa to its former glory as a fabulous restaurant and bed & breakfast retreat. One day Louise stumbles across a collection of old love letters. Who wrote them, and what stories does Villa Hilda hide in its dusty attic?
“And how will Thomas manage to take care of his dementia-stricken mother while setting up an archipelago guesthouse?
“With colorful characters, a summer of love, acceptance, mixed emotions, and discoveries is about to begin.”
The Butterfly Season:
What 64 Butterflies Taught Me About Nature’s Greatest Mystery
By Lea Korsgaard
- Publisher: Zetland, Copenhagen
- Rights contact: Anna Richter, Nordin Ringhof Agency
- Book info: Read more here
Reported rights sales:
- Newest – English / United Kingdom and Commonwealth: Penguin Press UK
- English / North America: Alfred Knopf
- The Netherlands: De Arbeiderspers
- Norway: Forlaget Press
- Sweden: Polaris
- Germany: Ullstein
- Italy: Aboca
Lea Korsgaard
“In the darkness of winter on the first day of the year, Lea Korsgaard is making a list. She has set out to see all Danish butterfly species in a single year.
“She knows nothing about butterflies. She doesn’t know why she wants to see them.
“She just knows that something is calling her. It’s like a pull.
“The list of butterflies takes her to landscapes she never knew existed, shaped by the wind and the sea. She walks on ancient seabeds and hills made of algae shells. She’s led to secret places by people who offer their help.
“The quest also leads into the world of books, philosophy, and mythology. Because ever since humans started thinking about the meaning of life and death, the butterfly has symbolized the hope of rebirth—and confronted us with the biggest questions of existence: Why do we live? And what are we living for?”
Submitting Rights Deals to Publishing Perspectives
Do you have rights deals to report? Agents and publishing-house rights directors can use our rights deal submission form to send us the information we need. If you have questions, please send them to Porter@PublishingPerspectives.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
More of Publishing Perspectives‘ rights roundups are here, and more from us on international rights trading is here.