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Gyldendal Agency HIGHLIGHTS AUTUMN 2020

Gyldendal Agency represents foreign rights for Gyldendal Litteratur and the imprint Kolon and Tiden.

ANNE CATHRINE ENG

FOREIGN RIGHTS DIRECTOR anne.cathrine.eng@gyldendal.no

NINA PEDERSEN

LITERARY AGENT nina.pedersen@gyldendal.no

FICTION

Zeshan Shakar Yellow Book A new novel from from the bestselling author of «Our Street». Mani is a recent economics graduate and has just got a job at the Ministry of Childhood and Adolescence. He’s a young man who lives with his father in an apartment in Haugenstua, a 1960s tower-block development in north-eastern Oslo, and he has a girlfriend he thinks he’s going to marry. He would have preferred to put his skills to use in the private business sector, where prestige and money count, since he is painfully aware that both his girlfriend and the environment around him only see the “public sector” with disdain. It doesn’t pay well either. His new working life implies adjusting to a new set of values in which an old apartment in the city’s old town is coveted more than Mani’s new, expensive apartment in Skillebekk, and in which Mani’s regular kebab shop is “genuine” and ranks higher than the Theater Café. At the same time, Mani becomes a proud contributor to the great common project called The State. Yellow Book is a novel about class and belonging, about the lives we live and what frames them. It is also a tale about where we come from and where we’re going. It’s a long way from Haugenstua to the heart of government.

PRAISE “Read it in a single sitting! […] Zeshan Shakar reveals himself to be that rarest of writers: He takes an abundance of material from disparate cultures, fixes a keen eye on his surroundings, and writes with humour, sincerity and warmth. […] Yellow Book appears to be meticulously and inspiringly written, and Shakar exhibits clear literary talent.”

★★★★★★

An exceptional storytelling talent. […] With Yellow Book, Shakar proves that Our Street was by no means a fluke, but rather the beginning of a writing career that grows ever more promising.”

★★★★★★

Bergens Tidende

“One theme radiates throughout Yellow Book. Its most heart-rending thread, about the consequences of growing up as an outsider, puts politicians’ fine words about diversity and equal opportunity to shame.” Vårt Land

“With simple ironies and an absence of grand gestures, Zeshan Shakar writes powerfully about self-awareness, ambition and disillusion.” Klassekampen

NOVEL Original title: Gul bok 288 pages

Zeshan Shakar (born 1982) was born and raised in Stovner. For his first novel, Our Street (2017), he was presented the Tarjei Vesaas debutant award. Our Street has sold more than 150. 000 copies and received rave reviews. Zeshan Shakar has a profoundly literary and authentic voice, describing second generation immigrants’ position as both insider and outsider in Norwegian society.

FICTION

Heidi Linde What she’s complaining about when she’s complaining about the housework About trust and betrayal, motherhood and sexuality. Vigdis’s marriage has lasted for twenty-two years, but she desires nothing more than to escape it. But how can she justify leaving a husband who isn’t violent, doesn’t drink and doesn’t sleep around, a man who is a good father? Maybe it’s just a matter of expectations and lowering the bar. But how low can the bar go before self-loathing takes the upper hand, before you start to suffocate, before you’re dying? Linn has always been the pretty girl. Now she’s discovering that she no longer turns men’s heads on the street. If her power of attraction is gone, who is she supposed to be now? Coincidence weaves the tales of Vigdis and Linn into one another. By necessity, both end up in places quite different to where they started.

PRAISE “Heidi Linde writes wonderfully about family, children and the difficult choices at life’s mid–way point.”

★★★★★★

“Here is a literary lifebuoy to those of you spending a little too much quality time with your families this summer […] Heidi Linde writes keenly and identifiably on relationships between modern couples […] it’s joyous reading.”

“Besides having chosen a fantastic title, I can already conclude that Heidi Linde has managed it once again: Capturing entrenched adulthood by depicting all the complexity that dwells within the banality of daily life.” NRK

“[…] The author has a free and easy pen, and writes with a charmingly unfussy common language that suits the subject.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Stavanger Aftenblad “This is an exceptionally entertaining book that hits the nail right on the head.” Tara

Dagens Næringsliv

Heidi Linde (born 1973) is a genuinely talented writer, and writes a warm, yet vivid prose about characters that will touch your heart. She has been a rising star since her debut n ovel Under the Table (2002) made it to the main selection in N orway’s major book club, but her big breakthrough came with her third novel, Yes, We Can! (2011).

NOVEL Original title: Hva hun klager over når hun klager over husarbeidet 320 pages

FICTION

Helene Uri My Catalogue of Men A novel about a woman with a strong will and a weak heart. We live our lives surrounded by others. We may believe we know who we are, but will never find out how others see us and what role we play in their lives. The following facts are true about Margrete Ecker: She is 52 and still beautiful. She has a son. She has inherited an apartment and been wise enough with her money that she’s now financially independent. She has a strong will, but a weak heart: she’s going to need a new one. But who is Margrete Ecker? My Catalogue of Men is her story told by some of the men who – with joy, sorrow, or bitterness, voluntarily or otherwise, consciously or unwittingly – have been a part of her life. What have they understood about her, and what has Margrete understood about herself and the life she lives? They have all known Margrete Ecker, but none see the same woman.

NOVEL Original title: Katalog over mine menn 256 pages

Helene Uri holds a PhD in linguistics and worked for twelve years at the University of Oslo as an Associate Professor before she left to become a full time w riter. Helene Uri’s books have been translated into 14 languages.

FICTION

Jørgen Brekke Now the Night has it All A psychological thriller about a murder riddle and its after-effects. On 23 October 2012, 15-year-old Liv Hassel is murdered in a copse in sleepy Horten while her parents are in Mexico. Vegar Johnsen, three years her senior, is found guilty of the killing.

Seven years later, Liv’s sister, Mia Hassel, unexpectedly meets a former witness in the case. This encounter raises upsetting questions. Was Johnsen really guilty? Can Mia trust the explanations of those closest to her? Mia makes contact with Helene Paus, a famous author of true crime books. For her part, Paus has lost a daughter to cot death and has come to the decision to stop writing about murder cases. But she can’t leave the case alone – there’s just too much about it that’s not quite right. Will Paus be able to write her way out of her own grief, or will the work on the book about the tragic killing simply lead her deeper into the darkness in which she finds herself? Now the Night has it All is a psychological thriller about a murder riddle and its after-effects.

PRAISE “…A solid crime novel with a well- structured plot and interesting c haracters.”

★★★★★★

Stavanger Aftenblad

“All in all, this is a solid thriller that will sit near the top of the pile when the year’s crime novels and thrillers come to be weighed up, judged and ranked.”

★★★★★★

“Author Jørgen Brekke is a rare species in Norwegian crime writing. In contrast to the main bunch, he is not only capable of locking himself into crime series, but also of coming up with new angles, new characters, and new plots.”

★★★★★★

Tønsberg Blad

Bok365

“This time, with a book emphatically set in our own time, it’s practically a whole new ball game, a cross between a private-eye story and a classic whodunnit in the spirit of Agatha Christie. Although both genres can feel as though they have been done to death, Jørgen Brekke maintains the reader’s attention the whole way through. […] Readable and well told.” NRK

Jørgen Brekke (b.1968) has a background as a literary critic and has worked as a freelance journalist for some years. Brekke made his literary debut with the acclaimed crime novel Where Monsters Dwell in 2011, and it was sold to 14 territories.

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER Original title: Nå har natten alt 384 pages

FICTION

Gunnhild Øyehaug Evil Flowers Evil Flowers is about love, death and rebellion, about shifting shapes or staying the same, about the tangles involved in what is known as understanding.

Impossible metamorphoses, great tits, midges and p eople with great longings, great sorrow, small problems and big and small thoughts are to be found in the short story collection Evil Flowers. For example, what should you do when you pick evil flowers? What should you say in your opening speech when the brand new museum has sunk into the ground? What do you do when every thing you touch turns to mucus? And what can you do when you have longed to see the White Cliffs of Dover, but now you are dead?

PRAISE “Every so often a book appears that is so strikingly different it makes other books all seem the same. The short story collection Evil Flowers is one of those books. It makes most of what is written these days, under the banner of reality literature, feel like nothing more than anemic realism [...] Evil Flowers is a unique collection that will enrich the biodiversity of the literary world.”

★★★★★★

“The short stories in Evil Flowers play on the theme of longing for someone to come, longing for connection, with a literary mien is both appealing and confident – precisely because it is never self-righteous.” Morgenbladet

Vårt Land

Bergens Tidende

SHORT STORIES Original title: Vonde blomar 112 pages

Gunnhild Øyehaug (b. 1975) lives in Bergen. She teaches at the Academy of Creative Writing in Hordaland and has been an editor of the literary journals Kraftsentrum and Vagant, and a literary critic in Morgenbladet and Klassekampen. Gunnhild Øyehaugs’ books have been translated into 9 Languages. «Norwegian Master of the short story.» James Wood, The New Yorker

“Reading Øyehaug is a singular experience that I enjoy over and over again. Because I believe that I will find wonder in her texts in new and different places over and over again.”

SELECTED BACKLIST

Trude Marstein Conscience Trude Marstein (b. 1973) was awarded the Critics’ Prize as well as the PO Enquist Prize for Doing Good (2006), which confirmed her prominent position among younger Norwegian authors. Monika is 13 years old and knows that all her e xperiences will soon belong to a time past. She’s 27, and an older professor’s mistress. She’s 37 years old and lives with Geir; they’ve just had Maiken, who rhythmically sucks upon her pacifier, a strip of bare skin at the back of her head. She’s 46, with a shedfull of quarrelsome chickens, thinking to herself that life is a series of failed attempts at fusing things together. She’s 52, and in the mirror above the fruit and vegetables in the grocery store, she sees her mother’s face. Conscience is a novel of the restless yearning after a life filled with passion, purpose and a sense of belonging – but also about the sense that everything slips, that nothing can be held in place, that perhaps people neither wish to nor can bear the thought of actually belonging to someone.

PRAISE Swedish praise “Conscience is an impressively dense, sharp-eyed and intense novel about contemporary women’s lives in a well-oiled middle-class Norway, a life that Marstein sees in all its aspects, typical and drab.” Aftonbladet

“In each chapter, the narrator lands at a point in the main character Monika’s life: Monika at 13 years old, Monika at 20, at 27, 37, 46, 50, 54, soon to be 60. The sense of presence is total at every age,

her temperament changing as the years go by, and the translator, Lotta Eklund, has succeeded in conveying the proper intensity.” Dagens Nyheter

Norwegian praise ”Conscience is probably Marstein’s most accessible novel to date, an intense, riveting family drama over almost five decades. It has become an immersive reading experience that does not shy away from difficult, shocking questions, with a

Trude Marstein (b. 1973) was awarded the Critics’ Prize as well as the PO Enquist Prize for Doing Good (2006), which confirmed her prominent position among younger Norwegian authors. Trude Marstein (b.1973) is a prize winning and critically acclaimed author. She received the Tarjei Vesaas’ Debutant Prize for Strong Hunger, Sudden Nausea (1998) and has written several novels. She has a prominent position among Norwegian Authors, and Trude Marstein’s precise observation and unpretentious narrative voice are particular qualities in her writing.

protagonist who provokes both sympathy and irritation.”

★★★★★★

”... you rarely get such a strong sense of actually seeing another person’s life in distilled and undiluted form as in Trude Marstein’s latest novel.” Dagens Næringsliv

NOVEL Original title: Så mye hadde jeg 432 pages

SELECTED BACKLIST

Bjørn Andreas Bull-Hansen

Jomsviking

Vinland

The first book in a series which follows the life of Torstein Tormodson.

The second book in the Jomsviking series.

The year is 1007. Torstein Knarresmed is the ruler of Vingulmork, the rich coastal area to the east of Viken. He has become one of the most powerful men in Scandinavia, and his upbring ing as a slave is a distant memory.

PRAISE “Jomsviking – A comprehensive and fascinating epic novel! Anyone who wants excitement, drama, rich descriptions of the environment, and reflected description on characters, gets it in Bull-Hansen’s magnificent novel Jomsviking.”

★★★★★★

Tønsbergs blad

Torstein and his family flee west to escape the retaliation from Olav Tryggvason’s men following the Battle of Svolder. He has become the chief of a group of jomsvikings and is looking for the legendary larch forests on the other side of the ocean.

“Impressive, trustworthy and well- written!”

★★★★★★

“Magnificent new series about our warrior ancestors! Bjørn Andreas Bull-Hansen’s new Viking novel is a real pageturner.”

The Army of the Danes The third book in the Jomsviking series. The year is 1007. Torstein Knarresmed is the ruler of V ingulmork, the rich coastal area to the east of Viken. He has become one of the most powerful men in Scandinavia, and his upbring ing as a slave is a distant memory. His love, Sigrid, has given birth to two children, and a place of worship has been erected in the ruling farm. “He’s done it again: Given us a marvelous brick of a Viking thriller. So intense that you can smell the stench of blood from the pages, and realistic to the point that you need to get a second rug to read of the Vinland winters.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Bok365

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Dagbladet

NOVEL Original title: Jomsviking/Vinland/ Danehæren 576/560/416 pages

Bjørn Andreas Bull-Hansen (1972) debuted with his short story collection Seven Stories From the Western Forest in 1996. Since then, he has written a number of books across a variety of genres. He had his inter national breakthrough with his novel Jomsviking (2017), which is the first in a sweeping historical series from the Viking Age. Throughout his authorship, Bull Hansen has become known for his gripping stories and powerful tales of human destiny. The Jomsviking books are sold to 9 countries so far.

SELECTED BACKLIST

Johan Harstad Max, Mischa and the Tet Offensive Friendship, exile, love, war and art: Johan Harstad’s breathtaking new epic has it all. Max Hansen is a theatre director on tour across the US. He can’t sleep. It’s possible that he has turned into an American. He hasn’t been home for over 20 years. If it was up to him he would never have left the place he was born, a suburb to Stavanger on the west coast of Norway, where kids made as much noise as they wanted while their fathers were away, working on the oil rigs in the North Sea, and where a heavy silence descended on the houses when they returned. But no one gets what they want. In the summer of 1990, just before Max turns 13, he reluctantly migrates to USA with his family, as his father has a new job at American Airlines waiting for him. On Long Island, NY, Max is forced to find new streets and make them his own while his family slowly falls apart around him. It is in these new surroundings he befriends Mordecai and through him, Mischa, a Canadian girl seven years older than them, already an up-and-coming visual artist who spends her summers on Fire Island. PRAISE German praise for the novel ‘It’s entertaining and smart, compassionate and cheeky, sharp and rousing – simply a great novel.’ Deutschlandrundfunk Kultur

Dutch praise for the novel Chosen as ”best Book of the Month of all seasons” The Book Panel on DWDD

“The literary event of the year.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Het Niuwsblad Norwegian praise for the novel “Open your eyes wide! This is a novel which aims high, overflowing with the joy of storytelling, sharp reflections and a deep knowledge of the human being (...) Brutally clever!

★★★★★★

“A literary tome by Johan Harstad that you simply have to read.” Bart Moeyaert

Danish praise for the novel “This year’s Great American Novel is

Johan Harstad offers a wholly original voice and is one of the most obvious talents published by Gyldendal for many years. He sees human fates in modern reality in a way that is both urgent and refined, offering a complete involvement and a particular sense of absurd humor. His characters often stand slightly to one side, at a distance to the major pulse of society. They are vulnerable, lonely, different.

written by a Norwegian. Johan Harstad takes on the best of the best in his behemoth work on art, love and war. (…) The novel contains all the elements that characterize a classic, and then some, for the author and playwright Johan Harstad is a rarely generous person. The novel stretches over a mere 1,100 pages and a half a century, and it’s not a page or a paragraph too much. (…) Remember the name Johan Harstad. He is the next big name in Scandinavian literature.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Jyllands-posten

NOVEL Original title: Max, Mischa og Tetoffensiven 1104 pages

NON-FICTION

Joachim Førsund The Book of Koth

"I had never really imagined I would tell the whole story. A lot of what I’m going to say is embarrassing, and I feel a terrible sense of shame. Some of it is secret. Secrets our family has never spoken about. But now I think: What the hell. My f açade has fallen. If there is to be any point in this book at all, now, after everything I’ve been through and while I’m still here, I might as well say it all. Everything I’ve been afraid of, everything I’ve been ashamed of, every regret, everything I have wanted to hide from others – all of it becomes trivial in the face of death.”

PRAISE “We are left with a profound sympathy and a genuine love for this extremely gene rous, warm, boundlessly funny, intelligent and fragile human who, by way of an uncommon spirit in recent years, has shown what cancer and powerful medicine do to us. This is my book of the year.”

“…amidst the maelstrom, this is a book of remembrance, plaintive and beautiful.” VG

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Dagbladet

NON-FICTION Original title: Koths bok 264 pages

Joachim Førsund (b. 1971) is an author and journalist. He has a background as feature journalist at Dagbladet and Dagens Næringliv, in addition to being involved in a series of TV productions as a script writer and TV director. In recent years he has been behind a number of podcasts for NRK, among them «Familiene på Orderud», «Det svarte flagget», and «Tobias». The podcast «Koht vil leve», created for Aftenposten, won Best Radio Documentary at Prix Radio, the Norwegian radio awards.

NON-FICTION

Bjørk Matheasdatter The Art of Elevation Illustrated by Lisa Aisato Your spark is your zest for life, your passion to create and your drive to deliver. It is the fire within us all, that thing that others can sense. The spark is in us and between us. How can we keep it glowing throughout our lifetimes? How can we elevate ourselves and others? Through inspiring and thought-provoking texts, Bjørk Matheasdatter provides shrewd tips you can use and enjoy whether you are at work, with family, your partner or friends. In plain and appealing language, she writes about both the challenges and the golden moments of daily life. In chapters such as “Off is the new on”, “Spark thieves” and “Life’s too short to be cool”, she writes about elevating the good things, about motivation and mastery, choices and values, life’s sorrows and joys, relationships, communication and love. Where do we find our spark, and what might steal it from us? How can we foster the spark in ourselves and in others? The texts are accompanied by a selection of poems and Lisa Aisato’s beautiful illustrations. The book is a gift to all those you for whom you wish a good life.

Bjørk Matheasdatter is a couples therapist, relationship coach and public speaker, and is also known for her column in Dagbladet Magasinet. In her first book, The Art of Loving, which comes out in ever-new editions, she writes about how we can foster love in our relationships. The Art of Elevation offers inspiration and insight you can take with you through every stage of life and every relationship you find yourself in.

ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION Original title: Å løfte og bli løftet 312 pages

C H I L D R E N & Y O U N G A D U LT S

Åshild Kanstad Johnsen Block’s perfect Christmas Block loves Christmas! But why isn’t Spruce in the Christmas mood? Block loves Christmas, and at last December has come! There’s just one problem: Spruce doesn’t want to do Christmassy things. He doesn’t want to listen to Christmas music and he doesn’t want to make paper chains! He doesn’t even want to decorate the gingerbread house! Block comes up with a plan for Spruce to get his Christmas feeling back again.

PICTURE BOOKS 3–6 years Original title: Kubbe lager verdens beste jul 44 pages

Åshild Kanstad Johnsen (born 1978) has had great success with her children’s books both at home and abroad. The books have become especially popular in China and Japan, where you’ll also find Block stage shows, a Block café, soft toys and much more besides.

C H I L D R E N & Y O U N G A D U LT S

Anette Saugestad Helland How to tame a cousin? How do you tame a cousin gone wild?

Jane isn’t allowed to decorate the cake with her big sisters. She’s too small, they say – but soon her cousin is coming to visit and then at last she’ll have someone to play with. But what has happened to her cute little cousin? He’s gone completely wild! How to tame a cousin? is a playful picture book, rich in colour.

«Nei, du er altfor liten», svarer søstrene. «Kanskje neste år.» Storesøstrene er størst. Det er de som bestemmer.

I kveld er det fest. Jane gleder seg. Det blir perfekt!

spør hun storesøstrene.

Annette Saugestad Helland (born 1975) is a visual artist, illustrator and animator. She was trained at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design and Konstfack in Stockholm. How to tame a cousin? is her debut release.

PICTURE BOOKS 3–6 years Original title: Hvordan temme en fetter? 48 pages

C H I L D R E N & Y O U N G A D U LT S

Hans Jørgen Sandnes Crypto The Hurricane Book 2 in the thrilling Crypto series! Summer is over and Krako the sea monster is still being held captive by the boss of the aquarium…but when the aquarium is forced to close due to a hurricane warning, Ophelia and Bernard spot their chance to break in. They are going to rescue Krako and reunite her with Little Krako, who is still out there swimming in the open. But even though they get help from Synne and Philip, it d oesn’t quite go according to plan – there are powerful p eople willing to go a long way to keep Krako under lock and as a new sea monster heads for Salt Cove, things are not going to get any easier. The Hurricane is the second book in the Crypto series. The book is written and illustrated by Hans Jørgen Sandnes, who was also behind the illustrations for the popular Detective Agency No. 2 books.

PRAISE Into the Deep ”A magical underwater world...The graphic novel’s design is consummate and professional.” Kristine Isaksen, VG

“This is a project I’m looking forward to following. The subject matter is inexhaus tible and the charming main characters inspire confidence. Taken together with the fine line of the illustration, there is everyt hing to indicate that this is going to push most people’s buttons.” Barnebokbloggen.no

MIDDLE GRADE / GRAPHIC NOVELS Original title: Krypto Orkanen 96 pages

Hans Jørgen Sandnes (born 1979) is a Norwegian illustrator and animator. He won the Amandus Award at the age of 16 at the National Youth Festival for the Under-20s. He has made several animated films based on the children’s songs by Alf Prøysen, all of which have been shown regularly by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He has also worked with illustration and animation in a number of other projects focusing on the promotion of culture to children.

C H I L D R E N & Y O U N G A D U LT S

Kristine Rui Slettebakk This Just Happened A book brimming with energy and sparkling language!

Even though the others in her year have started hanging a round in cliques in the schoolyard, Frida prefers to practise her sprinting during breaktime – because Frida loves sprinting…and she can run like lightning! But when Joe joins her class, it’s her heart that starts sprinting. It’s something in the way he says hi, the gap between his front teeth, and his reeeally long scarf. AND he’s eager to get to know Frida! Though why does Joe also want to hang out with Martha, a gym-girl in a pink parka? She’s everything that Frida isn’t – and doesn’t want to be. Kristine Rui Slettebakken debuts as an author with a book brimming with energy and sparkling language. It tackles the transition from childhood to teendom, from friendship to love, from wanting to be different – to wanting to fit in.

Kristine Rui Slettebakken (b. 1977) has worked as an actor and audiobook narrator for many years. She also teaches theatre and, among other things, has worked as a drama teacher in upper-secondary schools. Slettebakken has taken a two-year course in Author Studies at the Norwegian Institute for Children’s Books. This Just Happend is her debut release.

MIDDLE GRADE 9-13 YEARS Original title: Jo har skjedd 224 pages

C H I L D R E N & Y O U N G A D U LT S

Øystein Stene The Law of Breathing First book in a new dystopia series for Young Adults. I don’t remember there being much crying, that sort of thing. No one made a fuss. It was as though we knew that we had put a brave face on it. Because, like the grown-ups said, we’re the ones who are going to have to save the world. A highly contagious virus has been ravaging the planet for years; the remaining survivors live in a handful of hermetically sealed cities. One of them is Fjordbyen, a few built-up city blocks deep into the Oslo fjord. This is where Alm is growing up, oblivious to who her parents are, to what’s really out there, and to who she actually is. Once she’s old enough to be put on active duty, she’s allowed to leave the settlement for a few hours for the very first time. What Alm discovers out there changes everything. Øystein Stene has written a dystopic youth novel, perfect for our age. Overpopulation, climate disasters, global pandemics – none of this feels alien to us anymore. The Law of Breathing is the first book in a trilogy about Alm.

YOUNG ADULTS / FANTASY Original title: Alm 1: Pustens lov 352 pages

Øystein Stene (b. 1969) is a writer, playwright and director. He made his fiction debut with Master of Patience in 2003, which was followed up with The Bearer of Shame (2006) and The Necromancer (2011). In 2014 he published the acclaimed Zombie Nation.