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Gyldendal Agency Foreign Rights Guide Autumn 2017

Gyldendal Agency Autumn 2017

ANNE CATHRINE ENG FOREIGN RIGHTS DIRECTOR ANNE.CATHRINE.ENG@GYLDENDAL.NO

BJARNE BUSET FOREIGN RIGHTS MANAGER BJARNE.BUSET@GYLDENDAL.NO

ANNE LOUISE MORSETH-NORDBRYHN FOREIGN RIGHTS ASSISTANT ANNE.MORSETH@GYLDENDAL.NO

GYLDENDAL AGENCY IS AN IN-HOUSE LITERARY AGENCY

Gyldendal Agency Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS P.O. Box 6860 St. Olavs plass 0130 Oslo, Norway Tel: +47 22034100 http://eng.gyldendal.no/ foreignrights@gyldendal.no

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FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Breathe for Me Cecilie Enger

‘Her light, pleasant style deepens the existential thematic depth, which makes the novel almost impossible to read and just as impossible to put down. This is just amazingly pensive, thorough and well-written.’ DAGBLADET

‘Well-written, hearty prose.’ VG

‘Enger’s book feels fresh, almost surprisingly original. /…/ In a quiet way it manages to wake the reader to new reflections on the inevitable pain of life.’ AFTENPOSTEN

Can you forgive yourself for the pain you inflict on others? Almost-sixty-one-year-old anesthesiologist Carla Ruud drives from Oslo to her hometown to visit her mother at the nursing home. With her in the car is a young woman, Synne, who is heading in the same direction. On the icy road, Carla loses control of the car and they end up driving off a cliff. Despite all her medical experience, Carla cannot save Synne’s life. Breathe for Me is a novel about three generations of women – Carla’s mother, aged 90, Carla herself, and Carla’s daughter, Ingrid, aged 31 – about the vulnerability of being dependent on those closest to you and about losing control over your own life. One can withstand pain as long as it has a purpose, but what about when it does not have any? And the day you no longer feel like anybody needs you, who are you then? Previous titles Mother’s Gifts (2013) The Chamber Maid (2011) Storming Heaven (2007), Look in Mercy (2003), The Henriksen Brothers (2000), Extremity (1996), Necessity (1994)

About the author Cecilie Enger (b. 1963) is a critically acclaimed and prize-winning Norwegian author. She has studied history, literature and journalism, and also works as a feature journalist. Her big break came with Mother’s Gifts in 2013, which sold internationally and earned her the Booksellers’ Prize that year. She is perhaps best known for biographical and historically-inspired novels and strong portraits of female characters. NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: PUST FOR MEG // 254 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // DENMARK

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Mother’s Gifts Cecilie Enger Winner of the Booksellers’ Prize 2013. 70,000 copies sold in hardback. When Cecilie Enger’s mother is admitted to a nursing home, with severe Alzheimer, the house Cecilie grew up in is emptied and sold in the space of one weekend. Whilst clearing out the house Cecilie comes across her mother’s meticulous records of the family’s Christmas gifts over four decades. Gifts given and gifts received, to and from people with very different lives. With the lists as a starting point Enger writes the history of her family from the late 19th century until today. Parallel to this story runs another story. In the course of the two years it has taken Cecilie Enger to write Mother’s Gifts, we see the gradual eradication of her mother’s memory and personality. This is a novel about gifts, memory and our yearning to hold on to time.

‘Both an insightful piece of cultural history and a wonderfully beautiful portrait of a mother ... the most beautiful book this autumn?’ AFTENPOSTEN

‘A powerful, gripping story. It is one of the most beautiful books I have read in a long time.’ DAGENS NÆRINGSLIV

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: MORS GAVER // 272 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // CHECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK, GERMANY, HUNGARY, NETHERLANDS, ROMANIA, SERBIA

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FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

The One Who Sees Herbjørg Wassmo A new, independent instalment in the large, epic account of Dina and her family

‘Wassmo at her finest. She exceeds herself in The One Who Sees. This is nothing less than outstanding literature.’ NRK

‘We are facing a mature writer at her best.’ VG

‘It is most likely that Wassmo accomplishes to win both this falls book sale and half the kingdom, or perhaps I should say queendom...’ ADRESSEAVISEN

In 1989 Wassmo published the first novel in the Dina Triogy – Dina’s Book – a widescreen novel from the Northern coastline of Norway in the middle of the 19th century. The book about the willful female figure Dina has fascinated readers world over, and has, followed by Dina’s Son and Karna’s Legacy, sold widely abroad. 20 years later the trilogy has become a quartet. The year is 1890, and Dina Grønelv is to be buried. In the crowded church her grandchild Karna stands in front of the congregation, and testifies to what was on Dina’s mind before she died: the two men she killed. After having confessed her grandmother’s sins, Karna falls silent, and shuts out the outside world. Neither her father Benjamin nor her stepmother Anna are able to get through to her, and the silence soon also engulfs the relationship between them. When Karna tries to end her life, Anna makes a decision: she will take Karna with her to her home city of Copenhagen, to a hospital where the mentally ill are treated.

About the author Herbjørg Wassmo (born 1942) has earned her position and popularity in Norway and abroad through her ability as a powerful storyteller. She got her breakthrough with The House with the Blind Glass Windows in 1981, followed by two volumes forming the famous Tora trilogy. The voice of Mrs. Wassmo has a poetic and evocative power, taking the reader very close to the disintegration of the small human being and her fight for dignity. Her books have been translated into 31 languages. NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: DEN SOM SER // 480 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // DENMARK, FRANCE, LITHUANIA, POLAND

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

In doing so, she places a distance between herself and Benjamin, and while following the developments in Karna’s fragile mind, she has the time to think about who she is and what to do with her life. And she also meets the doctor treating Karna: Joakim. The One Who Sees is both an independent novel about guilt, reconciliation and forgiveness and a continuation of the powerful story about Dina Grønelv and her descendants. The story of the wilful female figure of Dina has, since the publication of Dina’s Book in 1989, fascinated several generations of readers. As in the trilogy, the action unfolds in the tension between North Norwegian nature and Copenhagen city life.

The Dina trilogy

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Here Among the Living Levi Henriksen

‘Levi Henriksen is a marvellous story teller. His writing is easy and straightforward, and he can easily be recommended to those who normally do not read books.’ AFTENPOSTEN

Hermann Henriksen built a house with his own hands. Now someone has bought it, and it is about to be demolished. Hermann, who has worked in the forest all his adult life, the man who could jump further than everyone else on skis. And who, as a kid, planned to kill his step-father. Who was he, when it came to it? Hermann’s son has reached a watershed in his life. He has broken off contact with those nearest to him, and has entered the old, abandoned house that his father built. He knows little about his father’s early years and murky past. With two old landscape paintings and a surviving almanac, he attempts to paste together the fragments of his father’s life. And save the pieces of his own. In Here Among the Living Levi Henriksen weaves his own father’s story into a novel about borrowed jumping skis, stolen fishing rods and healing hands, about following one’s own path and finding the way home. This has resulted in a book that touches on what is deepest within, and tells us something fundamental about what being alive means. With the story of his father’s life as the background for his latest novel, Levi Henriksen comes up with his most personal account ever.

About the author Levi Henriksen (b. 1964) is an award-winning author of short stories and novels, with a wide and loyal readership. His break-through came in 2004 with his novel Snow Will Fall on Fallen Snow. This soon became a best seller and was awarded The Booksellers’ Prize as well as being selected for recommendation by one of Norway’s major book clubs, BNB. Henriksen’s trademark is a capacity for combining a strong, at times aggressive, masculine voice with vulnerability. NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: HER HOS DE LEVENDE // 304 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Said about Here Among the Living: ‘Here Among the Living has a language that sparkles. Henriksen’s writing is straightforward, but melodic, and reminds about Per Petterson. (…) Here Among the Living is a great novel because it has found an almost perfect form for asking scrutinizing questions, such as what lies in us that are good or bad. Where comes the light from, and how much darkness can a human bare before the light has gone out.’

‘It is painful to read. But it’s also good.’ HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD

‘It is something so pure and iconic over the premises in Levi Henriksen’s Here Among the Living.’ DAGENS NÆRINGSLIV

VÅRT LAND

Said about Harp Song (2014): ‘Permanent goosebumps ... an absolutely wonderful novel.’ HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD

‘Powerful.’  VG

‘The beginning of this book is the most captivating piece I’ve read by Levi Henriksen since his first short story collections. He mythologizes the seediest parts of the Kongsvinger area, making them as mysteriously alluring as his dirty realist American heroes has done with their own places of origin ... Harp Song is a story of identity and unites environments Henriksen knows well ... he writes well about all of them.’

‘Great art and big problems can be the result when a disillusioned record producer meets three singer in their 80s ... he generously shares his knowledge of the music business, rock history and religious environments. A combination which seldom fails and in this case is just perfect.’

ADRESSEAVISEN

 MOSS AVIS

‘Harp Song is the best thing Levi Henriksen has written ever. The story is one of the oldest we have, a kind of story of creation ... This to me is the oasis of this literary autumn, an irresistible, good read.’

‘If you are interested in music, reading Levi Henriksen is even more fun ... I had a great time reading the book, it has a beautiful timbre.’ VARDEN

GLÅMDALEN

‘Down-to-earth and authentic ... you believe in the characters. Not because they reflect their way through layer upon layer of unconscious mentality, but because they are real.’

‘The strength and character of this novel are the portraits of life and people, the careful descriptions of unrequitted emotions and lost joy of life. Henriksen is a master in describing disillusioned people’s fumbling search for something solid to cling to.’

VÅRT LAND

AFTENPOSTEN NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: HARPESANG // 328 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, POLAND

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Numbered Days Heidi Linde

Heidi Linde describes everyday human lives with bittersweet humour and inquisitive warmth.

Liv Karin loses her temper with her teenagedaughter Kaja, without realising that the angry words exchanged between them will be their last. With great warmth and insight into human emotions, Heidi Linde portrays Kaja’s four last days via a tapestry of stories and human destinies: the young doctor, Jonas, who tried to move on in life after a fatal diagnosis while on call; Ivan, who went one step too far; the student, Ingeborg, who researches into the lives of inmates behind prison walls; and the young girl Lykke, who has finally found her unknown father, but who has to realise that he has no wish to be found. All of these, in their separate ways, come to influence how things go for Kaja. With such writers as Jonathan Franzen and Nick Hornby as her literary predecessors, Heidi Linde describes everyday human lives with bittersweet humour and inquisitive warmth. Numbered Days is a book about the kindness and callousness in the relations on which we build our lives, and about how small things can have unforeseeable consequences. Before one knows, it can be too late to say I’m sorry.

About the author Heidi Linde (b. 1973) writes a warm, yet vivid prose about characters that will touch your heart. Her breakthrough came with her third novel, Yes, We Can! (2011), which had fantastic reviews and sold more than 25 000 copies in Norway. Her last novel, This is Norway (2015), also received amazing reviews. She is one of few plot driven women writers to traverse the gender gap; the reviewers obviously see her as a writer for both men and women. NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: TALTE DAGER // 260 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Praise for Heidi Linde’s previous novels: Agnes in Bed (2012): ‘Heidi Linde is Norway’s best feelgood writer.’

This is Norway (2016): ‘Heidi Linde has succeeded in creating an entertaining and riveting novel without losing its seriousness …’ 

HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD

‘Humour and snappy dialogues in a commercial easy-read novel.’

GLÅMDALEN

‘ ... remarkably accurate, as well as an entertaining read.’ 

AFTENPOSTEN

‘A Norwegian Bridget Jones, and just as funny, but way darker…’

ADRESSEAVISEN

‘Raw, apt and well written.’

TARA

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MOSS AVIS

‘Norway’s Queen of Feelgood.’ KK

‘An elegant mosaics of intersecting lives.’ 

Yes, We Can! (2011): ‘Heidi Linde resembles Jonathan Franzen and Nick Hornby. She will sell in buckets.’

STAVANGER AFTENBLAD

‘Linde’s literary qualities can hardly be questioned ... an original story with a smooth, easy flow.’

DAGSAVISEN

‘This is a great novel about small town life. Yes We Can! has everything it takes to become a bestseller’

‘Funny scenes followed by touching moments.’

AFTENPOSTEN

‘This is Norway may very well be one of the literary winners this fall’

‘When you have finished the reading there is no doubt, you have read one of the best novels published this spring.’

HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD

DAGSAVISEN

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Knots Gunnhild Øyehaug

‘A Norwegian master of the short story.’ JAMES WOOD, THE NEW YORKER

‘From my first reading of Knots in the original Nynorsk, I have been captivated by Gunnhild Øyehaug’s wit, imagination, ironic social commentary, and fearless embrace of any and every form of story-telling. These are stories to be relished, inspiring in their art and humanity both.’

Gunnhild Øyehaug was called a Norwegian master of the short story by the influential critic James Wood in a lengthy piece in The New Yorker in 2017. Her collection of short stories, Knots (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), was recently published in USA, and brought her universal acclaim by the critics. Kirkus Review described it as ‘a near-perfect collection about the knots we tie ourselves into and the countless ways we intertwine in the pursuit of sex, love, compassion, and family.’ In Knots we meet a displeased deer, a man tied to his mother by an un-severable umbilical cord, a young woman who is secretly in love with her terminally ill best friend, a slightly peculiar UFO: Gunnhild Øyehaug’s acclaimed short stories balance between the sensuous, the surre-alistic and the comic.

LYDIA DAVIS, AUTHOR

About the author Gunnhild Øyehaug (b. 1975) is a highly awarded author, essayist and literary critic. She made her debut with the poetry collection Slave of the Blueberry in 1998, but got her major breakthrough with Wait, Blink (2008). She has received several awards through her authorship, such as the Dobloug Prize (2009), the Hunger Prize (2009) and Prins Eugenes Cultur Prize (2010).

SHORT STORIES // KOLON FORLAG // ORIGINAL TITLE: ORIGINAL TITLE: KNOTS // 108 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // KNOTS: DENMARK, NETHERLANDS, USA / WAIT, BLINK: DENMARK, GERMANY, SWEDEN, USA / UNDIS BREKKE: DENMARK

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Wait, Blink Wait, Blink (2008) is a novel where several stories intertwine and it became Gunnhild Øyehaug’s national breakthrough. The novel is both wide-ranging and complex, and paint warm and hearty portraits of fragile and at times desperate characters. It is a humorous and profound novel about desire and dreams, women and men, love and what it means to dare to be yourself. The novel and was later published to great acclaim in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, and a film version premiered in 2015 to great success.

Dream Writer Dream Writer (2016) is another critically acclaimed collection of short stories form Øyehaug, where she juggles elegantly between different styles, narrative voices and plots, all with elegance, playfulness and a profound understanding for literary conventions. In the stories it is just as brief glimpses of life perhaps reveals itself in its purest form, either in dreams or when awake, but who can understand it and who can relate it?

Mini Readings Mini Readings (2017) are 19 short essays about short excerpts from text by authors such as Anne Carson, Gustave Flaubert, Lydia Davis, J.M. Coetzee, among others. Through these mini readings, questions are made: ‘what is literature?’, and how can a short poem resonance within the deepest of your heart. The essays received great reviews, and Øyehaug proves herself to be a remarkable inspiring and sensible reader of literature.

NOVEL/SHORT STORIES/ESSAYS // ORIGINAL TITLES: VENTE, BLINKE/DRAUMSKRIVAR/MINIATYRLESNINGAR 272/120/108 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Our Street Zeshan Shakar

NEW WRITER

A profoundly literary and authentic voice, describing second generation immigrants’ position as both insider and outsider in Norwegian society.

‘I’ts not gonna happen. I don’t like writing. At least not writing a journal, man. That’s for cunts, man. I prefer talking, you know. But ok, yeah man, I’m Jamaal. Black, Muslim, from Stovner, T.U.V. – Tante Ulrikkes vei, you know, always representing.’ ‘It is tradition to name your firstborn Mohammed, and the Prophet is the Role model for all Muslims, but like, when it is so important to them that I go out there and get a nice job and all that, I really don’t get it, why they gave me that name.’ It is Norway in the 2000s. Two boys grow up on the street Tante Ulrikkes Street in Stovner, the north-east part of Oslo. Their parents had hope. They themselves are in the middle of the transition between suburb and wider society, between car wash and student canteen, exam grades and keef.

About the author Zeshan Shakar (b. 1982 in Oslo) grew up in Stovner. He is a qualified political scientist and has also studied economics at the Norwegian Business School (BI). Shakar has worked in various ministries and directorates, and now works at Oslo City Hall. He makes his debut in autumn 2017 with the novel Our Street.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: TANTE ULRIKKES VEI // 432 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

James Franco Spits When He Talks Erik Eikehaug A critically acclaimed debut novel about family, sexuality, being yourself, the need to write, and the importance of making yourself heard. Erik Eikehaug’s debut novel launched in Norway to excellent reviews. The novel follows young Kenneth who, growing up in small town Norway in the ‘90s, struggles with his dysfunctional family and his sexual identity. Twenty years later, he is studying creative writing in New York City. James Franco Spits When He Talks portrays the struggle of the outsider – whether this be as an artist, a gay man or both – who does not feel at home in his family or in society. As a reader, regardless of age, orientation or gender, you can identify with this existential struggle. It is the confrontation between how others perceive you and how you want to see yourself. With chapters that unfold like short stories and a text driven by dialogue, James Franco Spits When He Talks is a sharp-witted coming of age story that both captures a millennial zeitgeist with its pop culture references, American slang and ‘90s lyrics while also exploring what it means to be yourself in these times.

NEW WRITER

‘Magnificent debut.’ VG

‘… A welcoming, Disney-sparkling language, contrived and unpolished all at once. It is both young and bittersweet in a riveting way, and a touching portrayal of a fragile and queer childhood in the 1990s.’ KLASSEKAMPEN

‘A well-composed, well-written, complex novel about growing up, formation and recognition, about saying goodbye, about coming out of the closet and finding yourself .’ 

STAVANGER AFTENBLAD

About the author Erik Eikehaug (b. 1982) grew up in Kragerø on the southern coast of Norway. He has a bachelor’s degree in Nordic Literature from Oslo University, a master’s in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University in London, and is also a graduate in creative writing from the Norwegian Institute for Children’s Books. James Franco Spits When He Talks is his debut novel. NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: JAMES FRANCO SPYTTER NÅR HAN SNAKKER // 418 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Cougar Cough Bjørnar Bergem You’re not likely to have read a debut like this. You’re not likely to have read anything like this.

NEW WRITER

the power struggle between young people, whether it’s to do with creeping and fawning, or brutality and savagery.’

‘Revolting six dots ... Gauphosta (Gauposta = Cougar Cough) al is so far out of the envelope that I didn’t at first know how to react. After reading it twice, I love it.’

AFTENPOSTEN

 HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD

‘The novel fits into a tradition where exaggerations are used for literary effect, characterised in this case by dark, black humour and the cultivation of the evil and ugly. In a Norwegian context, it is natural to think that Bergem has gained from reading Stig Sæterbakken. Like the maestro from Lillehammer, Bergem is a linguistically solid writer who, in the midst of – or perhaps thanks to – the pitch-black existence he depicts, dishes up several memorable sentences.’

‘Great debut novel about the rawness of youth written in a heathen Hedmark dialect. An original ‘generation’ novel about the sadness and bloody mindedness of a society that is creaking under the strain. One helluva a realistic talent!’ 

ADRESSEAVISEN

‘Bergem’s novel is rabid and ugly, but it is also simple and well-told. The author has a keen eye for

About the author Bjørnar Bergem was born in the densest pine forests of Rena in 1988. Cougar Cough is his first book.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: GAUPHOSTA // 144 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

The Gospel According to Jannike Marjam Idriss Jannike has given up. She moves in under grandma’s bed at the old people’s home and disappears into something completely her own, where no one except the talkshow hosts that inhabit her life can reach her. Layla falls in love with abother woman at the refugee reception centre where she lives, but the condemnation is impossible to live with. She is alone once more in a new land where Friday primetime TV, social security and loneliness are the most important codes to decipher. When Layla starts to work at the hospital and discovers the illegal refugee Jannike, it becomes clear that they have run into each other before. The Gospel According to Jannike is a spirited and warm tale about love, isolation, soap operas and tinned tomatoes.

NEW WRITER

About the author Marjam Idriss, born in 1992, grew up in the Western part of Norway, in Rogaland. She studied literature at Cambridge University and lives in London, where she works in a bookshop, alongside translating and writing. The Gospel According to Jannike is her first novel.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: JANNIKEEVANGELIET // 200 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Free the Wild Cats Julie T. Stangebye

NEW WRITER

‘Julie T. Stangebye makes her debut with a strong novel about young people quivering with unexpressed and suppressed pain [...] this linguistically solid and stylistically sure debut novel’ 

A young woman moves into her boyfriend’s lodgings. He teaches her to use his clothes hangers and gives her her own tea-tray in the kitchen. When he’s at work, she lies in bed listening for the postman and the neighbour’s cat while she thinks of the time when she and her girlfriend were so close that they almost escaped the feeling of being completely alone. What happens when one only sees oneself through other people’s eyes? When one places too much importance in what is said and done, when one becomes non-independent to the point of nonidentity? Free the Wild Cats investigates belonging, longing and unrest, and the power we allow others to acquire over us.

FÆDRELANDSVENNEN

‘Perhaps not the type of literature we want to have, but the one we deserve.’ DAGENS NÆRINGSLIV

‘Stangbye writes well about young people without direction and will, with a kind of refusal to become grown-up individuals.’ ADRESSEAVISA

About the author Julie T. Stangebye grew up in Kristiansand in Southern Norway. She attended the author line at the University College of Southeast Norway and presently lives in Arendal.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: LUFTE GAUPENE // PAGES 208

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

A Predictable Story Truls Hagbarth Grimstad Via the diagrammatical – Per is convinced about this – the endless regularity of the world reveals itself, and if he can only maintain focus, and glimpse the transcendental loopholes of the moment and the bending potential of the regularity, both the possible and impossible necessities will become clear to him. If only other people understood this – dear Ada especially... In a different everyday reality, Roy Bast returns as a police detective after a personal blow. He has no ambitions, no drive and no conceptions of anything except his own sad, slow progress towards death. Furthermore, the case he has been assigned to is hopeless – the disappearance of a young woman. Roy does a ‘wait and see’, hopes that the disappearance case will disappear of its own accord while he potters around.

About the author Truls Hagbarth Grimstad (f.1981) has a Master’s Degree in Architecture from AHO, and lives and works in Oslo. A Predictable Story is his first novel.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: EN FORUTSIGBAR HISTORIE // XXX PAGES

NEW WRITER

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Without Material Errors or Omissions Linda Skomakerstuen

‘Bridget Jones meets Miss Marple… Here is a good plot, rustic storytelling and a willingness to entertain. A good start.’ FÆDRELANDSVENNEN

‘Delightful anti-crime’ ADRESSEAVISEN

‘…a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining book.’ DAGSAVISEN

‘a warm, funny and entertaining book.’

A deceased small-town midwife. A disappeared tenant. And a dog that is a nuisance. Hygge crime from a picturesque small town in Southern Norway. Elvira doesn’t really get other people and prefers to keep them at a safe distance with calculations, spreadsheets and crass remarks. And life would have continued in this vein, if it hadn’t been for the strange occurrence of that day. The retired midwife who lived next door dies and the woman who rented rooms up the hill suddenly and mysteriously disappears. Elvira is convinced that someone in the small southern town is hiding a dark secret. With the sharp mind of an auditor and the midwife’s pesky dog in tow, she takes the matter into her own hands. Reluctantly, she is forced to talk to the people around her. And so she discovers that most people, and perhaps even the wealthy man who lives out on the island Engholmen, are not as bad as she would have liked them to be.

‘THE WEEK’S BOOK’ IN KK

‘The novel is written with bounds of energy, the language flows like champagne.’ DAG & TID

About the author Linda Holdø Skomakerstuen (b. 1971) lives in Risør, a small town on the southern coast of Norway. She has a degree in economics and is a stateauthorised auditor. Uten vesentlige feil og mangler [Without Material Errors or Omissions] is published by Gyldendal, Norway.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: UTEN VESENTLIGE FEIL ELLER MANGLER // 320 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Hannah’s Letters Sissel Værøyvik The lives of two women, separated by time, united by their histories. Billie flees from a failed marriage and an unmentionable sorrow, and moves into her childhood apartment in New York. Here she gets to know the inquisitive 12-year-old girl who lives next door. In the apartment she finds the casket of letters she hid when she left home almost twenty years ago. Back then, love seemed uncomplicated and the future lay rosy and inviting ahead of her. When Billie opens the casket with the letters, she discovers that something else is also in it, something that does not belong to her. Unwittingly, Billie is drawn into the life-story of another woman in another country and another age: a young girl’s flight from the Nazis, and her later life in an artistic environment of the strictly controlled state of Czechoslovakia in the 1960s. Hannah’s Letters is a journey back to a dramatic period in European history and a gripping account of the lives of two women. A new, colourful novel from the author of Rachel’s Book.

Praise for Rachel’s Book: ‘ This book is perfect for a female readership … interesting characters and a very moving plot of historical significance that makes it different from the usual commercial women’s fiction.’ HEIDE KLOTH, ACQUIRING EDITOR AT ULLSTEIN, GERMANY

‘ … a novel which will appeal to those who enjoyed Sarah’s Key and The Book Thief.’ ADRESSEAVISEN

About the author Sissel Værøyvik (b. 1959) grew up on the island of Værlandet in Sunnfjord. She now lives in Bergen. Rachel’s Book is her first novel.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: HANNAHS BREV // 352 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // RACHEL’S BOOK: CHEZ REPUBLIC, GERMANY, POLAND

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Penelope is Ill Ole Robert Sunde Thereses gate is a city street like many others in the capital. Here there are blocks of rented flats from roughly the beginning of the previous century, here the tram thunders past on its way down to the city centre or up towards Adamstuen, and rain water is sprayed up from passing cars. Here there are flats with various types of residents. In one of them a writer lives with his wife. She is ill, seriously ill, and the writer has gone of to Adamstuen to the sushi shop there to buy dinner for them. But his journey is full of interruptions and disturbances: He meets the Oslo cyclops, who tries to stop him, and another cyclops also appears on the scene. Someone calls enticingly from a balcony, acquaintances and colleagues are out and about, walking or jogging. While the writer is still thinking about his wife and her state of health, his gaze is pulled in many different directions, there is a flood of impressions, teeming associations and he loses his concentration. And what should have been a short walk with a single goal turns into an apparently endless odyssey up and down Thereses gate, while Penelope is ill and waiting for him back home.

About the author Ole Robert Sunde (b. 1952) lives in Oslo. He made his literary debut in 1982 with the poetry collection On the Heels. He has published a number of novels and essay collections and has received the Gyldendal Prize as well as the Aschehoug Prize for his oeuvre.

NOVELâ€‚ // ORIGINAL TITLE: PENELOPE ER SYK // 220 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Common Sense Wencke Mühleisen About the longing to be able to think clearly, with emotions, not only reason For centuries, people have shared their thoughts, emotions, longings by letter. The letters in this book are such an approach, driven by desperation and a smouldering desire for change. Away from rationality and goal-directedness, in an urge towards freedom and the basic relations of which life consists. With the ageing woman’s hardly visible position in our culture as the point of departure, the sender writes letters to a life-companion, to a female friend and to an unknown you. She is constantly driven by a wish to think clear thoughts, to listen to the intensity and seriousness of everything and to make good decisions. Even if this runs contrary to all available common sense. Throughout her whole life, Wencke Mühleisen has stood out as an active contributor to the social debate, both as a performance artist and as a researcher into gender and media. She is an intrepid advocate of human fellowship, personal development and the freedom to shape one’s own roles.

‘Wencke Mühleisen reveals herself – vulnerable and deep-thinking.’  DAGBLADET

‘… a compelling personal and socially critical novel.’ STAVANGER AFTENBLAD

‘Mühleisen has a distinctive ability to combine a self-critical and a culturecritical view of things, with a rare degree of sincerity – and this always makes her interesting to read.’ KLASSEKAMPEN

About the author Wencke Mühleisen (b. 1953) is a researcher in gender and media at the University of Stavanger. As a performance artist, writer and researcher she has worked with our cultural and media-formed understanding of sex and sexuality.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: ALL GJELDENDE FORNUFT // 160 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Just Say Something Pål Gerhard Olsen

‘Elegantly performed.’  STAVANGER AFTENBLAD

Landscape gardener Vidar Skauge is midway through life. He has lost his wife to cancer, and is also tormented by the feeling of not having achieved what he ought to at a personal level. During a visit to the National Gallery he notices a teenage boy who is looking with utter absorption at a relatively unassuming landscape painting. It turns out that the boy is an Armenian refugee from Iran, and has chosen muteness as a strategy when faced with the Norwegian caring society. The meeting with the silent boy and the psychiatrists who is treating him is the beginning of a process that in the course of a few autumn months leads to an upheaval in Vidar’s inner landscape. Just Say Something is a sensitive portrait of a man, about the light and dark of the past and the joys of reading and physical work.

About the author Pål Gerhard Olsen (b. 1959) made his literary debut in 1985 and is a prolific writer who has published novels, plays and crime fiction. Two of his crime novels have been published by Rowohlt Verlag.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: SI BARE ETT ORD // PAGES 256

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

People I Remember Joakim Kjørsvik People I Remember consists of a series of portraits of people who play supporting roles in the life of a man who is himself a supporting role. The I of the novel recalls people who in some way or other have taken part in his life, either as ex-girlfriends, friends, family, teachers, fellow soldiers, colleagues or completely random persons. A keen capacity for observation and a language full of wit and energy characterize the portraits. Together they make up important parts of the story of a life. About Last Year Was a Long Night (2013): ‘This is Friends in hell. Or at least in Oslo … The story works well within its quirky, twisted frames.’ DAGENS NÆRINGSLIV

About the author Joakim Kjørsvik (b. 1978) lives in Oslo. His first work of fiction, a collection of short stories titled Obviously No Neighbour, published in 2007, and the novel Last Year Was a Long Night (2015) were very favourably received by the critics.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: FOLK JEG HUSKER // PAGES 200

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

The Difference Between Flowers and Weed Runar K. Dahle One February morning, while it is still dark, a tall man from the district northwest of Bergen gets into a Volvo V70 and drives to Flesland airport, where he boards a morning plane to Manchester. On the same plane, a couple of rows further back, sits a woman of the same age, around fifty, born and bred in south Bergen. All the ten registered addresses she has called home at various times in her life lie, as the crow flies, within a radius of five kilometres. Both of them have a windswept English westcoast town as their destination. But beneath the drifting clouds there is something amiss, and soon the two Norwegians find out why the sleepy seaside resort is known as devil’s beach. The Difference Between Flowers and Weeds is a story about small-time life in the great wide world, about mud flats and oil, and about human destinies that cross each other like birds in flight.

About the author Runar Dahle (b. 1981) grew up in Austrheim. He has an MA in English and works freelance at present. He lives at present in Bergen. In 2010 he made his debut with the collection of short stories So There You Are Then.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: FORSKJELLEN PÅ BLOMSTER OG UGRAS // 220 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Ozenfant, Ozenfant Lars Mørch Finborud Ozenfant, Ozenfant is a new, critically acclaimed novel by one of contemporary Norwegian litera ture’s most original young voices. The novel is based on Rocambole Pedersen’s novel Den for svundne pølsemaker (The Vanished Sausagemaker) from 1919. Here a man scratches messages on the same skin that holds him captive. He wants to tell his story, one last time, before the sticky mass takes over his body. At the same time, Ambrosius Fjord, dressed only in black garbage bags, minutely examines the shady sides of the capital in his search for Ozenfant. In the heart of the metro polis, dark forces conspire and plan the great coup. With consummate ease, Lars Mørch Finborud mixes surrealism and pop-culture references with the high suspense and drive of the detective novel. What we end up with, is a completely crazy and highly original novel.

‘It is tempting to call this book an instant cult novel.’ DAGBLADET

‘A more light-footed and audacious book than Ozenfant, Ozenfant I haven’t read in a long time.’ MORGENBLADET

‘It is a parody, of our time and our intense self-obsession... It is well-written, inventively done, and extremely original.’ NRK P2

About the author Lars Mørch Finborud was born i Oslo in 1980. He has a degree in art history and works as a curator and musical director at Henie Onstad Art Centre. Finborud runs the record companies Plastic Strip Press and Prisma Records, and in recent years, he has written on a regular basis for the literary magazine Vinduet and Morgenbladet, a weekly newspaper. In addition, he hosts an NRK radio show. NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: OZENFANT, OZENFANT // PAGES 304

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Where the Savannah Ends Gunnar Kopperud

‘… a thriller. But at the same time a dark, unsentimental but to a certain extent also loving acknowledgment to the continent.’ DAGENS NÆRINGSLIV

‘A tough, coarse-grained portrait, the drive of a thriller.’ ADRESSEAVISEN

A Norwegian family driving through South Sudan are suddenly in the middle of the modern nightmare: All of them are taken hostage by armed men and reduced to pawns in a merciless game. Where the Savannah Ends paints a bleak picture of present-day South Sudan, a country where the land that can be cultivated is leased out to foreign nations, while the civil population is driven out and starves, a country where war lords and aid organisations both keep alive a bloody competition for money, power and position, a country where all idealism has long since been ground into dust. As a result of several decades of travelling on the African continent, Gunnar Kopperud has built up an exceptional insight into the mechanisms that govern post-colonial developments. In this novel he approaches unwieldy problem issues with brutal honesty, surprising humour and a profound understanding of the people he is writing about.

About the author Gunnar Kopperud (b. 1946) worked as a foreign correspondent for many years. He has a Master’s Degree in philosophy from the University of Oslo and actor’s training from London and Strasbourg. His books have been translated into English, German and Greek.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: DER SAVANNEN ENDER // 352 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Crater Marlen Ferrer Bo wakes up one Wednesday in Oslo, next to him lies a young woman whom he met in a bar the previous evening. He goes out to buy coffee and expects her to have left while he is away. When he comes back, the flat has been blown to smithereens. This act of terror has been committed by young Aldin from the floor below – Aldin with the warm body, the soft skin and the angry eyes. Bo’s sudden homelessness sends floods of thoughts through his mind. This is a story about people, about the distance that always exists between us. About how little we can possibly know about each other. About shame and writing. And about the whole atmosphere of Oslo in November, of a feeling that the most important thing is over, or perhaps was never there, of ruin and a grain of hope.

‘Suspensful and well-written (…) Ferrer has written a truly readable novel with a theme that is highly relevant.’  ADRESSEAVISEN

‘A wise novel that shows how a good brother and lover, out of the blue, transforms into a terrorist.’ DAGBLADET

About the author Marlen Ferrer (b. 1973 in Barcelona) has a PhD in history from the University of Oslo. She has previously published a number of non-fictional works and is a regular panel member in Big Bang on NRK (the Norwegian state radio). Crater is her second novel.

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: KRATER // 336 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

What I’m Looking for Isn’t Here Mari Tveita Stagrim

About All the Shades of Anger (2015) ‘Mari Tveita Stagrim writes rhythmically and precise about human beings in All the Shades of Anger.’ KLASSEKAMPEN

‘A strong and promising debut.’ FÆDRELANDSVENNEN

Two young girls roam around restlessly, along the beach, in the forest, along the street pavements. The clouds move across the sky, the stones scrape against the skin, in the caravan at the centre one can get a free burger for flashing one’s tits, Sjur’s father places his hands on the girls’ shoulders and says: Does that feel nice? Pimples throb in the skin, under the arms dark sweat stains spread. What I’m Looking for Isn’t Here is a book about friendship and loss, an attempt to understand what actually happened when two teenage girls found each other in a brutal encounter with adult life and lost each other in the time afterwards. In short, episodic glimpses the narrative glides between memories and longing, painful experiences are unravelled, stories are drawn out and placed together into a book about what it means to remember someone.

‘[The title story] explores what anger does to us and how we lose our empathy when we let contempt control our behavior.’ LITTKRITIKK.NO

About the author Mari Tveita Stagrim (b. 1989) lives in Oslo. She is one of the initiators behind the writer’s collective A.K.RO.N.Y.M. She made her debut as a novelist in 2015 with All the Shades of Anger (Alle nyanser av sinne).

NOVEL // KOLON FORLAG // ORIGINAL TITLE: : DET JEG LETER ETTER, FINNES IKKE HER PAGES 96

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Earth Assignment Simen Hagerup A road movie, a modern picaresque novel – both well written and amusing. Earth Assignment is Simen B. Hagerup’s debut novel, a fantasy novel for adults and the first part of a trilogy. Mysterious forces drag the pensioner Tatjana into a weird, alien world where people live in a pact with unpredictable spirits and try to survive in the shadow of a fallen empire. Tatjana joins up with a local fisherman and sets out on a journey across continents.

About the author Simen B. Hagerup works as a writer, critic and translator. Since his debut book Absolutely Everything (2004) he has become known as a particularly experimental and inventive writer, with such publications as Cruel Voids (2009) and Swarm (2012). He has studied in Bø, Copenhagen, Paris and Stockholm, and at present lives in Berlin.

NOVEL // KOLON FORLAG // ORIGINAL TITLE: JORDVERV // 192 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

A Family in the Autumn Jan Chr. Næss

‘A book you don’t want to put down, especially the second part is a page turner rarely seen in novels like (…) Recommendable.’  HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD

‘I will remember this novel for quite a while.’ FÆDRELANDSVENNEN

Tonje, Henrik and their teenage daughter Pernille go on vacation to the Red Sea, where they have plans to dive and hope to catch a glimpse of the rare yellow moray eel. But more than anything else, they hope that shared experiences far from home can repair the small nuclear family that is coming apart at the seams. All relationships are based on trust, especially close ones. A Family in the Autumn is a closely written drama in two acts which deals with what happens when trust breaks down and the clouds come rolling in. Jan Christopher Næss’ novels for adults range widely: he is just as happy writing about Oslo in the 1970s as he is about the Rome of Antiquity or present-day countryside of Norway, and his characters are extremely diverse. But there is also something that binds things together: a humour that is always balanced by a deep seriousness, the unusually well-crafted language, the ability to sense and remember things, and the portrayal of some underlying, highly flawed parent-child relationships that mark the characters in the novel.

About the author Jan Chr. Næss (b. 1964 in England) lives in Oslo. He has worked as a high school teacher and translator and published his first work of fiction in 1999. In addition to novels he has written a number of childrens’ books. He was awarded Riksmålsforbundet’s Literary Prize for his novel It Starts with Sex and Ends with Death (2007).

NOVEL // ORIGINAL TITLE: EN FAMILIE OM HØSTEN // 176 PAGES

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Working Hands Jan Chr. Dahle The short stories in Working Hands are about the ones who have fallen by the wayside, who did not manage to get through school, and dropped out. The unskilled. Those who never left home. Those who never found anyone to settle down with, and those who were abandoned. Trygve is soon about to become a father and has an insecure and heavy warehouse job. Frank lives at home with his mother and has recently taken a fancy to the new woman at the pub. And a young unmarried man, André, has to take a look at his life. The short stories all take place in the same environment and deal with ordinary people’s lives and work. All of them are toiling away with their own problems: love, economy and themselves. Some are trapped in situations they cannot extricate themselves from, while others have to choose who they want to be and how they want to live.

Winner of the Tarjei Vesaas Debutant Prize Winner of the Literature Prize of Southern Norway ‘The narrative style feels relaxed and the entire collection comes through as warm and credible portraits of completely ordinary lives.’ FÆDRELANDSVENNEN

About the author Jan Kristoffer Dale (b. 1984) grew up in Froland, and now lives in Grimstad. He has worked at a brewery and is a former student at the Writer Academy in Bergen. He has published several short stories. Working Hands is his first book.

SHORT STORIES // KOLON FORLAG // ORIGINAL TITLE: ARBEIDSNEVER // 96 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // DENMARK

FICTION NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

Copper Beech Summer Vidar Kvalshaug Summer cabins are inherited, shared after a divorce, they decay, are repaired, are returned to after many years. Vidar Kvalhaug’s short stories open creaking doors on figures, fates and life stories that did not turn out as expected, on reconciliations and conflicts. We meet the musician who returns after a turbulent life, and the two brothers who start to talk again as they repair a dilapidated barn. A boy and a girl who try to find the meeting places that once bound them together. The short stories are low-key and cautious in their approach to where people are most vulnerable, and Kvalshaug portrays the smouldering experiences with great intensity.

About the author Vidar Kvalshaug (b. 1970) is a writer, literary critic and journalist. He has previously published short stories, novels and children’s books. He is also a regular radio causeur for NRK.

SHORT STORIES // ORIGINAL TITLE: BLODBØKSOMMER // 220 PAGES

FICTION CRIME

Vannmannen Merete Junker Kattis lives on the seamier side of life in Porsgrunn, her days spent procuring pills and alcohol and finding forgotten places where she can keep warm and sleep off the effects of her addiction. One night she witnesses a shopping cart being dumped in the lake close to her hiding place, and in it there lies something which turns out to be a body. But Kattis is not the only one who sees this – they are more eyes keeping track than just hers in the old industrial town. At the same time, the journalist Sigmund Boye comes across some disturbing photos of his own mother. To find out what secrets she is hiding, he decides to shadow her through Berlin, where she studied as a young woman. Before he knows it, he has violated the law in a way that can jeopardise his relationship to the person he lives with, police investigator Eline Torp. Eline, for her part, is trying to solve the murder mystery – but the most important witness, the drug-abuser Kattis, has disappeared without trace. Grenland’s queen of crime, Merete Junker, is back with a gripping crime novel about ruthless greed and vulnerable individuals.

Praise for previous titles: ‘The interplay between everyday ordinariness and savage outbreaks that can turn a life upside down makes The Twin an enjoyable read.’ POLITIKEN

‘… great entertainment, a wonderfully spine-chilling dose of madness and murder devoid of any remorse whatsoever.’ METROEXPRESS

About the author Merete Junker (b. 1959) is a prize winning author of crime and suspense, acknowledged for her ability to build psychological drama. Her first book, the crime story The Girl With the Balloon (2008) was chosen as the main book in the book club Crime & Supense, and it also won her the crime debut prize Nytt Blod /New Blood. She is a former journalist and college teacher. CRIME // ORIGINAL TITLE: VANNMANNEN // 220 PAGES

Books for children and young adults

CHILDREN PICTURE BOOKS

Ida Jackson and Jens A. Larsen Aas Bo Bear is a popular character on the National Children’s TV station. He lives together with his mothers in a real wooden house. He loves to leap around and play with his friends, and he gets up to an awful lot of strange things. Also in the series: Goodnight, Bo bear and Bo Bear Goes Shopping.

Bo Bear on a Trip Bo bear and his mums are off for a trip in the forest. But while mum is jogging, Bo bear and his mother light a fire to grill some sausages. But why is mother allowed to use matches when Bo bear isn’t?

Bo Bear Does Some Baking

Bo bear and his best friend Bo are to bake saffron buns for the nursery school. Baking is great fun. The dough looks ready, but the adults are so slow. Fortunately, Brillebjørn knows how to go about it.

About the author and illustrator Ida Jackson has published books for children, young adults and adults. She has been nominated for the Brage Prize, the Critics’ prize and the Book Blogger’s Award for her previous titles. Jens A. Larsen Aas has a degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and made his debut as an illustrator of children’s books in 2016. PICTURE BOOKS // ORIGINAL TITLE: BRILLEBJØRN I SKOGEN/ BRILLEBJØRN BAKER // PAGES 24

CHILDREN PICTURE BOOKS

ABC Mari Kanstad Johnsen

Anna and her grandma are on the way home from nursery school when Anna is hit on the head by a ring. Where can it have come from? They ring doors at the nearest high-rise building to inquire, but neither the Architect, Baker or Cellist have lost one. And outside door D there is a smell of smoke... but it can hardly be a fire-belching Dragon that lives there? Or can it? A magnificent ABC book from one of the most original and critical acclaimed picture book authors in Norway. A book where the kids can really explore the letters of the alphabet!

‘This is one of the most beautiful picture book of the year (…) the perfect combination of learning and fun, with quality from A to Z.’  DAGBLADET

About the author Mari Kanstad Johnsen works as an illustrator and artist. She made her debut as a children book’s illustrator with Barbiedoll and the Pistol Problem in 2011. Her debut as an author came with Scary Holiday in 2013. She received a Special Mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2017 for I’m Out of Here. Her books are translated into French, Spanish and Swedish.

PICTURE BOOKS // ORIGINAL TITLE: ABC // PAGES 96

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Brown Håkon Øvreås and Øyvind Torseter (ill.) Nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2017 Winner of the Dutch Zilveren Griffel (Silver Pen) 2015 Selected as Top 10 Teacher’s Choice by China Education Newspaper 2015 Nordic Council Literature Prize 2014 Ministry of Culture’s Children’s Book Prize 2013 Trollkrittet Debut Prize 2013 Shortlisted for the Brage Prize 2013 ‘In this enourmously charming book we meet three little superheroes, each equipped with a bucket of paint … Torseter’s beautiful drawings show us what it’s like to feel small and out of place in a big world. They also evoke the warmth of the friendship between the children … Warmly recommended!’ AFTENPOSTEN

As long as the sun is up, Rune is merely Rune, but come night he transforms himself into Brown - a totally fearless super hero. Armed to the hilt with brushes and brown paint he sneaks out of the house. Rune can hardly be blamed if Brown chooses to paint the big bullies’ bikes brown, can he? Brown is a book about friendship, courage and retaliation. It is also a book about missing one’s grandfather and just how wrong things can go when your super hero powers run out. Brown is the first book of a trilogy.

Rights sold to 30 countries About the author Håkon Øvreås had published three books of poetry before publishing his first children’s book, Brown, in 2013, for which he has received numerous prizes, among them the Nordic Council Literature Prize for Children and Young Adults.

READ ALOUD 6-9 YEARS // ORIGINAL TITLE: BRUNE // 136 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // AZERBAIJAN, BRAZIL, BULGARIA, CHINA, DENMARK, ESTONIA, FAROE ISLANDS, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, HUNGARY, ICELAND, IRAN, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAPAN, KOREA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, MACEDONIA, THE NETHERLANDS, PALESTINA, SLOVENIA, SLOVAKIA, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TURKEY, USA

CHILDREN READ ALOUD

Black Håkon Øvreås and Øyvind Torseter (ill.) A new girl has moved into the old bakery. Atle finds her exciting. He thinks that if only he borrows the mayor’s prize-winning hen and then pretends that he has found it, he is sure to get into the news paper, and the new girl will be impressed and like him. It is worth a try. But when the attempt does not go completely according to plan, everything suddenly becomes a bit tricky. Atle needs help from the super hero Black, and his faithful companions Brown and Blue. Brown and Blue do not completely understand what has happened, or what they are involved in, but neither does Atle, really. Get ready for action and all sorts of complications. Black is the second book of a trilogy. The third and final book, Blue, will be published in 2018.

‘Playful, but serious, with room for both foolhardy escapades and quiet reflections. In Black the children can be untruthful, scatter-brained, creative and vain. Their relations and fantasyworlds come alive. And most important of all, the children are respected as readers.’ SVENSKA DAGBLADET, SWEDEN

About the illustrator Øyvind Torseter made his debut as an illustrator in 1999 and illustrates his own texts as well as other authors’ texts. He has received The Ministry of Education’s Prize several times and has also been awarded the international children’s book prize Bologna Ragazzi.

READ ALOUD 6-9 YEARS // ORIGINAL TITLE: SVARTLE // 200 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // AZERBAIJAN, BULGARIA, CHINA, DENMARK, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, HUNGARY, KOREA, LITHUANIA, THE NETHERLANDS, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TURKEY, USA

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CHILDREN PICTURE BOOKS

The Tree That Whispered Thore Hansen Leonard Holm has lived a long time and on his own. There is no one left, and his memories are fading. Then he goes to the forest of his childhood, where everything once started. Leonard sheds his old age and started to climb a tree that takes him off on a different journey than just back in time. To the beginnings of the earth and the human race. A beautiful picture book about an unusual journey.

About the author Thore Hansen (b. 1942) is one of Norway’s most prominent illustrators. His books are highly awarded, and he has received particular recognition for his collaboration with Tor Åge Bringsværd.

PICTURE BOOKS // ORIGINAL TITLE: TREET SOM HVISKET // PAGES 48

CHILDREN READ ALONE

Kissing Catastrophes Line’s World 5 Anneli Klepp and Sandra Steffensen (ill.) Line is wildly looking forward to spending the night at Alex’s house. They’re going to have a real fun pyjamas party. But then Line makes a complete fool of herself, twice. As if that wasn’t enough, but Jeff Bjeff is dead irritating and someone’s making secret plans. What’s going on? Will the evening end up a nightmare? This is the fifth book in the series about Line, where Anneli Klepp writes with warmth and humour about things that are easily recognizable. Previously published: New Boy Commotion; Down Jacket Lies; Summer Surprises; Exposes Secrets.

About the author and the illustrator Anneli Klepp made her debut in 2006 with Rotten Complications and Hot Blueberry Pie, and has since written many books for children. Sandra Steffensen is a qualified illustrator from Kristiania University College in Trondheim and the University of Hertfordshire. READ ALONE 6–9 YEARS // ORIGINAL TITLE: KYSSE-KATASTROFER 96 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // EXPOSED SECRETS/ SUMMER SURPRISES: DENMARK

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Benny-Bob’s Best Mischief-Makers Arne Svingen Benny-Bob realises it’s a bit stupid to be a teacher when he doesn’t like children. But when the town’s annual drama competition comes up, and the school wants to enter one of the classes, BennyBob is sure that with HIM as their stage director, not even the world’ worst mischief-makers can lose. The only problem is that Squinter-Marit, who teaches the parallel class, insists on sabotaging the performance because she is dead jealous of his fantastic abilities. And of course none of the small mischief-makers can act. The only solution is for Benny-Bob to take the main role himself. And, of course, to sabotage Squinter-Marit’s performance in return. This is the second book in a wild and amusing series from Arne Svingen and Flu Hartberg!

About the author and the illustrator Arne Svingen is one of Norway’s most popular authors. His books have received several awards and been translated into twelve languages. Flu Hartberg (b. 1979) is a cartoonist, illustrator, and member of the community of cartoonists, Dongery. READ ALONE 8 YEARS // ORIGINAL TITLE: BENNY-BOBS BESTE BRÅKEBØLLER // PAGES 102

CHILDREN READ ALONE

When Lise Had to Fart Arne Svingen Spending time with her best friends is the best thing Line knows. Except she doesn’t feel that way right now. For right now her insides are bubbling. Deep down in her intestines a huge fart is trying to get out. And Lise doesn’t feel it’s particularly stylish to let out a juicy fart while everyone can hear it. They’ll hold their noses. Ask her if there are skid tracks in her panties. Call her Lise the Squeezer. She’s got to get away. This is the fourth book in a whacky and wonderfully absurd series from Arne Svingen for young kids at primary school: ‘Svingen’s Mad World’ – a parallel humorous series to the already well-established thriller series ‘Svingen’s Dark World’. Previous titles: Espen Askeladd and the King of South; The Impossible Bike; When Fred Lost his Head.

About the author and the illustrator Arne Svingen is one of Norway’s most popular authors. His books have received several awards and been translated into twelve languages.

READ ALONE 8 YEARS // ORIGINAL TITLES: DA LISE MÅTTE FISE // PAGES 48

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Magical stories without words

In 2016 we added a new genre to the book palette! WORD-FREE books. These are books that can be read by proficient and poor readers alike, but that give those less proficient in the 6-9 target group that special feeling of finally having read a whole book. On their own!

You Lene Ask You is about arriving a new place where the woods smell different and the birds sing songs that you do not know. Even the sun is cooler than at home. But you cannot go home, because what used to be your home does not exist anymore. Who are you when almost nobody knows your language nor your name?

Loose Screw Rune Markhus Deep in the woods lives an itty bitty man on mushrooms that he finds on the ground. One day he finds a strange, shiny object. It does actually look a little like a mushroom so the man decides to bring it home with him. But what if this object belongs to somebody? An owner that will come back to look for it?

About the authors Lene Ask is a writer and illustrator. She received the Sproing Award in 2007 and made her literary debut in 2008 with the picture books about the Rotle Family. Rune Markhus has a degree from Westerdals School of Communication and works as an illustrator. He has received several prizes for his book illustrations. WORD-FREE BOOKS // ORIGINAL TITLES: DU / EN SKRUE LĂ˜S // 40 PAGES

MIDDLE GRADE

Icarus Olsen’s Fight to Get to the Top 3: The Grandfather War Bjørn Ingvaldsen Follow Icarus Olsen to the top – the final book in the way to a new life It’s still a long way to the top, but Icarus Olsen isn’t on the bottom rung any longer. What awaits him up there? A mysterious person appears, someone goes off and Gravedigger wants to build a hotel. While grandfather wants a new boat. Perhaps a red balloon is the start to a new life? The third and final book about Icarus’ journey to the top. Previously published: The Pixie War and The TV-War.

About the author Bjørn Ingvaldsen made his debut in 1995 with a collection of short stories for adults. Since then he has written several books for children and adults. His books for children have been translated into Danish, French, German and Italian.

MIDDLE GRADE 9-13 YEARS // ORIGINAL TITLE: IKAROS OLSENS KAMP FOR Å NÅ TOPPEN: BESTEFARKRIGEN // PAGES 140

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CHILDREN MIDDLE GRADE

Marius Molaug and Kristoffer Kjølberg (ill.) The World’s Worst Friend Kent and Ruben have been best friends for AGES. And that how it will always be, Ruben thinks. But what does he do when he gets competition from the new boy in the class, who is oh SO funny, according to Kent? He hatches a plan! A brilliant one that involves a bat, a tough guy and a disappearance act! It MUST succeed! Or?

The World’s Worst Birthday A new, riotous book in the popular ‘World’s Worst’ series, with Kent and Ruben in the main roles. This time it’s the world’s worst birthday that’s about to happen. Ruben is to organise his birthday party, but how does one actually make sure that people turn up? And especially the girls in the class? Ruben and Kent have to get popular in no time at all, but, as usual, things do not exactly go as planned.

About the author and the illustrator Marius Molaug works as editor of the N orwegian edition of Donald Duck. He is a member of the creative community Dongery. Kristoffer Kjølberg is a prize-winning illustrator and graphic designer. He is a member of the creative community Dongery. MIDDLE GRADE // ORIGINAL TITLE: VERDENS VERSTE VENN/ VERDENS VERSTE BURSDAG // 98/112 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // DENMARK, GERMANY, SWEDEN

CHILDREN MIDDLE GRADE

The World’s Worst Holiday Ruben and Kent can’t wait for the summer holidays. Kent’s father has won three tickets to somewhere warm. But the trip does not go as planned. Already on the first day, Kent’s father drifts out to sea, asleep on an air bed. How is this all going to end?

The World’s Worst Christmas It is time for the annual Christmas play. Ruben has been cast as Virgin Mary, while Kent will play baby Jesus. The headmaster has snatched the role as God. But the snow-covered roof collapses and the actors are trapped with the headmaster. The stage is set for the world’s worst Christmas.

The World’s Worst Headmaster It is time for the annual swimming day at school, and this is Ruben’s final chance to earn his swimming achievement mark. There is only one problem: He can’t swim. Laugh-out-loud-books for readers of Jeff Kinney and Andy Griffiths! MIDDLE GRADE // ORIGINAL TITLES: VERDENS VERSTE FERIE / VERDENS VERSTE JUL / VERDENS VERSTE REKTOR // 96 PAGES / 124 PAGES / 104 PAGES FOREIGN SALES // DENMARK, GERMANY, POLAND, SWEDEN

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YOUNG ADULTS FANTASY

The Night Mirror Ørjan N. Karlsson

First book in a new, suspenseful fantasy series for middle grade readers.

Mathias is in the hospital, he has cancer and is afraid that he is not going to survive. One night a strange, barefooted girl suddenly appears in his room wearing an old shirt and dirty jeans. «My name is Tara’ , she whispers in a hoarse voice. «And I need your help’ . She grabs Mathias’ arm and tries to drag him out of bed. Mathias gets scared and pushes her away. Tara disappears, but a paper is left behind on the floor. A strange recipe for something called ‘moon water’. The Night Mirror is a story of darkness and hope. Of friendship and courage. And about being thrown into a strange world. It is the first book in what will become a new fantasy series of four stand-alone novels for middle grade readers. Every story gives new insights to the secrets of the magical world of Bifrost; animals and people, friends and foes, mythology and magic, and each book takes the reader to an unique geographical area of Bifrost and contains a map of that area. Lay all four maps together to view a complete map of the world of Bifrost.

About the author Ørjan Nordhus Karlsson (b. 1970) has published several thrillers, science fiction and crime novels for adults, as well as The Lance Trilogy for young adults. The Night Mirror is his first middle grade novel..

MIDDLE GRADE // ORIGINAL TITLE: NATTSPEILET // 208 PAGES

YOUNG ADULTS FANTASY

In a greenbelt area on the outskirts of Oslo, there’s a cluster of buildings and tower blocks. Smoke rises up from shiny metal pipes and cars, bikes and mopeds are constantly moving between the buildings. From above, the area looks like an ordinary suburb, so it seems a bit odd that someone has painted an enormous H on the roof of one of the buildings. But other than that, it all looks pretty normal. House 18 is a dirty white building, with identical curtains in all the windows, and like all the other buildings in the area, it is a part of Oslo University Hospital – Norway’s largest hospital. But if you look closer you’ll notice that the curtains in House 18 are in fact not all identical. In the third window from the left on the sixth floor, they’re red. And the boy in the bed behind the red curtains is scared that he’s going to die soon.

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YOUNG ADULTS CONTEMPORARY

As Long As No One Can See Us Anders Totland

About Angel in the Snow: ‘Totland’s writing is short, simple and a little naive, with much to be read between the lines ... A quick read that will stay with you for a long time.’  DAGBLADET

No one will see us here, says Ole, Jon’s new stepfather. Jon has had quite a few of them. But Ole is different. He makes pancakes, puts out gym clothes and makes sure there’s always enough food in the house. He even volunteers to be a trainer for the boys’ football team they’ve just started! And he is quite tidy and orderly – he even stays behind in the locker rooms to make sure that everyone takes a shower after training. Ole’s really great. One day he asks Jon if he’d like to join him on a camping trip. Just the two of them! Jon gets so excited. Of course he will! It’s just that Ole turns into someone else one the trip, someone quite different. And afterword, Jon isn’t the same either. But who will believe Jon when he finally tells the truth? A book for young adults that makes an impact, from the author of the critically acclaimed novel Angel in the Snow.

About the authors Anders Totland is a chef, organ player and journalist. In 2016 his YA novel, Angel in the Snow, was published to great reviews. The novel sold to Denmark.

CONTEMPORARY // ORIGINAL TITLE: SÅ LENGE INGEN SER OSS // 128 PAGES

YOUNG ADULTS CONTEMPORARY

Arc Radiation Helene Guåker People usually had an unlucky number that they tried to avoid. I had an entire multiplication table. Things happened every four years. As if the four times table was to blame. It started with mum dying when I was four. Then grandma had a stroke when I was eight. She died when I was twelve. Birger disappeared into his own world when I was sixteen. What would happen in two years?

‘Helene Guåker has written a novel that is close to a love story. And it is skillfully performed. Because her rough style creates room for quite a few emotions. And the intensity between what can’t be said and what’s pressing on has never been better accomplished.’  HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD

About the author Helene Guåker has studied creative writing at Telemark University College as well as Nordic Literature at the University of Agder. She has written several books for adults and young adults.

CONTEMPORARY // ORIGINAL TITLE: SVEISEBLINK // 180 PAGES

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YOUNG ADULTS CONTEMPORARY

When the Moon Went Out Sissel Chipman Why did I do it? Because the attention was always on Lena, my sister, and I was so fed up with it. I just wanted to live my own life. So I invented something I could dream about, something I so dreadfully wanted to have. Håkon’s horse, Máni, which he hardly ever rode himself. And when I got to know Håkon better, I understood that he had something else I also needed, but which was very difficult to get ... and then ... then Lena got in the way again! When the moon went out deals with having to put oneself on one side, about trust and the longing to be free. A suspenseful story about family relationships and a horse unlike any other.

About the author Sissel Chipman (b. 1965) is one of few Norwegian female writers writing in the fairy tale segment of the fantasy genre. She gathers inspiration from folklore, legends and folk tales, and she is a great storyteller. Her novels have sold to Denmark and Germany.

CONTEMPORARY // ORIGINAL TITLE: DA MÅNEN SLUKNET // 176 PAGES

CHILDREN CONTEMPORARY

What You’re Not Saying, Is True Lene Ask He didn’t mean to lie. It’s just that Kamran can’t explain why he sat in the car with strangers. What’s more, he’s plenty to keep tabs on with his sick elder sister who can’t put up with arguments and his young sister who loves to argue. Mum and Dad have already plenty on their plate as it is. What You’re Not Saying, Is True is an intense novel for young adults about how difficult it is to find personal space in the midst of a flock of siblings. And how a story can start to live its own life, quite independently of what is actually true. This is Lene Ask’s second novel for young adults. Her previous book, Blinking Doesn’t Help, received great reviews from the critics.

About the author Lene Ask (b. 1974) is a versatile writer for children and young adults. She is a photographer, illustrator, cartoonist and writer. Apart from writing and illustrating her own books, she has illustrated the popular Ville Wilma books for reading aloud. In 2006 she was awarded the Sproing Prize for the cartoon novel Hitler, Jesus and Grandad.

CONTEMPORARY // ORIGINAL TITLE: DET DU IKKE SIER, ER SANT // 160 PAGES

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YOUNG ADULTS SUPERNATURAL THRILLER

The Time Rose The Lance Trilogy 1 Ørjan N. Karlsson

‘A suspenseful, mystic, creepy and fastpaced story ... a real page turner.’ THE BLOGGER AND LIBRARIAN RITALESER

Martin Sølvfoss goes to a boarding school in Cambridge, where it is end of term. Then Uncle Lauritz turns up – his father is missing on a boat trip. Martin must go home to Norway. At the same time, strange things start to happen. Martin has visions. He experiences time coming to a stop and receives a letter from his deceased grandfather in which it says that he has inherited a property. Martin sets out, and along with his friends Kaia, Elisabeth and Cad he soon realises that there is a great deal he never knew about his own grandfather and the Sølvfoss family. An incredible secret is revealed – since the Second World War Martin’s family have been guardians of one of the three holy fragments from the lance that was stuck into Christ’s side when he was hanging on the cross. And now someone is searching for it. The Time Rose is the first book of The Lance Trilogy.

About the author Ørjan Nordhus Karlsson is a social scientist, has an army officer education and has also taken part in assignments overseas. He has published several thrillers, science fiction and crime novels for adults. The books of The Lance Trilogy are his first novels for young adults.

SUPERNATURAL THRILLER // ORIGINAL TITLE: TIDSROSEN - LANSETRILOGIEN 1 256 PAGES

YOUNG ADULTS SUPERNATURAL THRILLER

The Well of the Souls The Lance Trilogy 2 Ørjan N. Karlsson A month ago, Martin Sølvfoss was just an ordinary young Norwegian exchange student in England, but when his father was reported missing after a sailing trip, he discovered that the Sølvfoss family had been guardians of one of the three holy fragments of the lance that pierced Christ’s side when he hung on the cross. The hunt for the fragment takes him through a portal into Nazi Germany in 1941. To be able to return to his own time, Martin has to find the holy fragment. But the pieces of the lance attract dark forces – ones that already have control over two of the three pieces. If this evil gets hold of the last fragment of the lance, history will be changed. The world will be plunged into darkness and chaos.

Three pieces of the lance – two guardians – a timeless evil.

The Well of the Souls is the second book of The Lance Trilogy.

SUPERNATURAL THRILLER // ORIGINAL TITLE: SJELENES BRØNN – LANSETRILOGIEN 2 256 PAGES

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YOUNG ADULTS NON-FICTION

Shameless Amina Bile, Sofia Nesrine Srour, Nancy Herz Nancy Herz, Sofia Nesrine Srour and Amina Bile have over the past year collected stories from girls who have personally experienced negative social control. In Shameless they discuss what it feels like to be constantly limited, corrected and shamed, and they share their own experiences on their way towards shamelessness. And their best hijab hacks. Herz, Srour and Bile started the movement which in the media is referred to as ‘The shameless girls’, and which really put negative social control on the agenda. For their work for freedom of speech they have, among other things, received the award Fritt Ords Honnør (2017).

About the authors Amina Bile (b. 1998) is involved in politics. She’s shameless, but harmless. Nancy Herz (b. 1996) is a Norwegian-Lebanese activist, booklover, daydreamer and writer. Sofia Nesrine Srour (b. 1994) is a Norwegian-Lebanese Muslim who debates a lot and thinks even more. Bile, Herz and Srour are all feminists and profiled voices in the public debate. NON-FICTION // ORIGINAL TITLE: SKAMLØS // 160 PAGES

CHILDREN NON-FICTION

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YOUNG ADULTS NON-FICTION

Sensitive Mariann Youmans

A handbook in feelings for the SHAME generation.

Just feelings? We’re familiar with them. And they can really hurt. Cause you to be afraid, sad, furiously angry, even to choose not to live. What does it feel like, and what’s the point of all the bad or confusing feelings? What can they actually tell us? And how do they come to be there? This is a handbook in feelings for the SHAME generation. It is full of humour and warmth, and helps you believe that things can get better. Mariann Youmans’ method in several books has been to let the young people make themselves heard as experts about themselves. Sensitive is the result of a cooperation with around ten young people with a broad life experience – from being a bit down to being stark raving mad. They freely share their experiences and tips about what helps. In addition, there are chapters with facts, information about the commonest mental illnesses, research and statistics. The author has also worked closely with professional experts, and there are interviews with both psychiatrists, psychologists and researchers.

About the author and illustrator Mariann Youmans (b. 1971) is a critically acclaimed writer of several fiction and non-fiction books for children and young adults. Ørjan Jensen works as an illustrator, and is educated at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts.

NON-FICTION // ORIGINAL TITLE: FØLSOM // PAGES 208

CHILDREN NON-FICTION

Margrete I Linn T. Sunne Margrete I was born a princess in Denmark just after the Black Death. When she was ten years old, she was married off and sent to Norway. At the age of seventeen she gave birth to her first and only child at Akershus castle. At a time when women had few rights, she became a strong, dynamic monarch over all of northern Europe and the only reigning queen in Norway up to the present day. This book is like a short novel about her life, particularly about what happened when she was a child and young woman. In the boxes you can read what we know for certain.

About the author and illustrator Linn T. Sunne is an author of books for children and young adults. She has twice been awarded the Brage Prize in the category books for children and young adults.This is her second non-fictional work for children. Jenny Jordahlâ€™s cartoon-like illustrations provide a cheery side-glance at the historical events. NON FICTION // ORIGINAL TITLE: MARGRETE 1. // 64 PAGES

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CHILDREN NON-FICTION

Bjørk the Beaver Frank Rosell, Neha Naveen, Jenny Jordahl (ill.) This is the story of Bjørk the beaver. She is born and enjoys a completely normal young life close to an idyllic lake in Telemark before she finds her chosen one, Ask, and gives birth to their daughter Linnea. Suddenly, life takes an unexpected turn for the small family. They have to move to a foreign country and face an unknown future... This book provides exciting knowledge about beavers and all that they get up to in nature. In addition, it describes a unique research project involving moving Norwegian beavers to Scotland, where the beaver have been eradicated more than 400 years ago. How did things go for the Norwegian emigrants, and what is the situation – five years later? Jenny Jordahl has illustrated the story in strip cartoon style, and there are also plenty of photographs from reality.

About the authors and illustrator Neha Naveen (b. 1986) is from Oslo, and has a MA in Cultural Studies. She has previously published the novel Rip Entry (2015). Frank Rosell is professor, specialized in the behavioral ecology (chemical communication) of mammals. Jenny Jordahl (b. 1989) is illustrator, designer and cartoonist. NON FICTION // ORIGINAL TITLE: BEVEREN BJØRK // 64 PAGES

CHILDREN NON-FICTION

Raven Synnøve Borge and Lise Myhre (ill.) We follow a raven that lives in the Norwegian mountains for one year, from the time it pecks its way through the shell of its egg in late winter until it settles with its mate on the branch in late autumn, after many dramatic events. This nonfictional tale has been enhanced by the distinctive strokes of Lise Myhre. The book consists of an exciting, narrative nonfictional text, amusing illustrations and lots of facts/photos. Join in and experience the life of the fascinating black bird. This is the fourth nature book that Borge and Myhre have worked together on. The first three books in the series are Brown Longear (Brunlangøre), The Red-tailed Bumblebee (Steinhumle) and The Goldenringed Dragonfly (Kongeøyenstikker).

Aftenposten writes about The Red-tailed Bumblebee: ‘The stroke of genius in the book is the fine balance Synnøve Borge has chosen between individual, variety and bumblebees in general. [...] And Lise Myhre gets better with each book in the series. Here there are both fine touches of humour and convincing, true-to-nature illustrations.’

About the author and illustrator Synnøve Borge (b. 1960) has a university degree in pedagogics and has studied creative writing for children at Norsk Barnebokinstitutt, where she specialized in documentary texts. Lise Myhre-Hestnæs (b. 1975) is a Norwegian cartoonist known for her comic strip Nemi. NON FICTION // ORIGINAL TITLE: RAVN // 32 PAGES

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CHILDREN NON-FICTION

Achoo! Berit Nordstrand Berit Nordstrand is a doctor and a best-selling author of lifestyle books, has started on a lifestyle series for children, The Cell Factory, about our smart bodies, and about food we can prepare and eat to help keep it healthy and strong. Achoo!, the first book the series, is an amusing and entertaining book that explains what happens in the body when it falls ill with a virus or bacteria, and how the immune response protects our body and makes us get well again. Here we join the cells Luke, Erle and Perle on an exciting adventure in the body of seven-year-old Mathea, who gets a really nasty cold. The book is also provided with 20 delicious recipes for you to strengthen your immune response, and which taste delicious even when you donâ€™t feel like eating, all put together by Dr. Nordstrand.

About the author and illustrator Berit Nordstrand (b. 1966) is a doctor, a specialist in dependence medications, a pharmacologist and a cognitive therapist. She has published a series of lifestyle books for adults, all of which have been on the bestseller lists. Janne Magnussen (b. 1987) is an illustrator who qualified from the Christiania University College. NON FICTION // ORIGINAL TITLE: ATSJO! // 120 PAGES