Today is the day when my new novel in Dutch translation — ‘Portrait of an Unknown Girl’ (‘Portret van een onbekend meisje’, Cossee Publishers, Amsterdam) — has been sent to the printer. The book (in a brilliant translation by Rosemie Vermeulen, Belgium’s finest translator of Russian literature) hits the bookstores on 22 of May, with a presentation on the same day at 8 pm hosted by ‘De Groene Waterman’, a cult bookstore in the heart of historical Antwerp. Huge thanks to everyone involved! Your work, your help, your attention and indeed your great patience are tremendously appreciated!
For the rights to the novel, please contact the publishing house or my agent Markus Hoffmann at Regal Literary Agency (NY).
ABOUT THE NOVEL:
‘Portrait of an Unknown Girl’ is a captivating and tragic story about a secret teenage love, unfolding against the background of oppressed Belarus in the final decades of Soviet rule. Evoking the provocative yet sophisticated sensuality of Nabokov’s iconic ‘Lolita’ along with the refined nostalgia of ‘The Life of Arseniev’ by Ivan Bunin, ‘Portrait of an Unknown Girl’ is a powerful and beautiful coming-of-age novel.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
Cossee is an independent publishing house located at Amstelveld, the most beautiful square in Amsterdam. The publishing house was founded in autumn 2001 by Eva Cossée and Christoph Buchwald, and the first books were published in the spring of 2002. Cossee publishes Dutch and translated fiction and non-fiction. With their selected list, the carefully edited and beautifully designed editions Cossee wants to give their authors the best possible platform and a growing readership.
ABOUT THE AGENCY:
Regal Literary, INC., a full-service agency based in New York, was founded in 2002. It represents works in a wide range of categories, with an emphasis on literary fiction, outstanding thriller and crime fiction, and serious narrative non-fiction. Regal Literary deals directly with co-agents and publishers in every foreign territory and also works directly and with co-agents for feature film and television rights, with extraordinary success in both arenas. Many of their clients’ works have sold in dozens of translation markets, and a high proportion of their books have been sold in Hollywood.
ABOUT MY AGENT:
Markus Hoffmann joined Regal Literary in 2006. He previously worked for several years as a literary scout and foreign rights agent on both sides of the Atlantic, most recently as Foreign Rights Manager at Aitken Alexander Associates in London and then Director of International Scouting at Maria Campbell Associates in New York. His main interests are international and literary fiction, crime, (pop) cultural studies, current affairs, economics, history, music, popular science, and travel literature. He also looks after foreign rights for the agency, sacrificing his health to the strenuous demands of the London and Frankfurt Book Fairs every year. He’s the trumpeter of Half on Signature, the finest R & B band on the international publishing circuit.
