Michele Hutchison
International Booker Prize 2020
7 October 2020
The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison is the winner of the International Booker Prize 2020.
Marieke Lucas Rijneveld is the first Dutch person and youngest writer to win this prestigious prize. So far the book has been sold to over 35 territories. For more rights information please check our translations database or contact the rights manager Hayo Deinum hdeinum@atlascontact.nl.
For publishers who have now gotten a taste for Dutch literature, we have asked Michele Hutchison to recommend four other related authors.
Jan Wolkers
He is Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s greatest source of inspiration.
#religion #sexuality #nature #poetic language
TURKISH DELIGHT
(1969)
Raw novel about the ill-fated love between a sculptor and a bourgeois woman.
Rights sold: to more than 20 countries
Rights: 2 Seas Agency, Marleen Seegers [email protected]
RETURN TO OEGSTGEEST
(1964)
Autobiographical novel about the author’s Calvinistic parents and the death of his brother are accompanied by stories of his nascent sexuality.
Rights sold: Germany (Rowohlt), Hungary (Magvető), Poland (PIW), Turkey (Versus), Sweden (Forum)
Rights: Meulenhoff, Anita Verweij [email protected]
Gerard Reve
An author whose inimitable style, full of wit and melancholy, influenced later generations of Dutch authors. His coming out as a homosexual in the early 1960s contributed immensely to the LGBTQ community.
#adolescence #families #dark humour #homosexuality
THE EVENINGS
(1947)
Dark and caustic novel about the lonely adolescent Frits van Egters. Often referred to as ‘the ultimate novel on boredom’.
Rights sold: Denmark (Turbine), Germany (Merlin), World English (Pushkin Press), Italy (Iperborea), Croatia (Hrvatsko filolosko drustvo), Spain (Acantilado), Turkey (Kirmizi Kedi Yayinlari), Sweden (Ersatz).
Rights: De Bezige Bij, Marijke Nagtegaal [email protected]
Uta Matten [email protected]
WERTHER NIELAND
(1949)
Young Elmer tries to control the world by forming secret clubs. When mysterious Werther becomes a member, a game of attraction and repulsion begins.
Rights sold: UK (Pushkin Press).
Rights: De Bezige Bij, Marijke Nagtegaal [email protected] Uta Matten [email protected]
Jaap Robben
A poet, children’s book author and theatre director. In his two novels he writes about young adults coping with dysfunctional families in secluded areas.
#young adults #trauma #absent parents #closed communities
YOU HAVE ME TO LOVE
(2014)
Nine-year-old Mikael lives on an island off the coast of Scotland. His father saves him from drowning, but dies in the attempt. Overwhelmed by grief and guilt Mikael has to stand up to his mother, who wants him to take over the role of his father.
Rights sold: Czech Republic (Vysehrad), World English (World Editions), Germany (Ars Vivendi), Turkey (Kahve Yayinlari). Rights: De Geus, Jolijn Spooren [email protected]
SUMMER COAT
(2018)
13-year old Brian lives in a caravan with his shady father. One summer he has to take care of his disabled brother Lucien. An honest, tender account of brotherly love in troubled circumstances.
Rights sold: World English (World Editions), Czech Republic (Albatros), Russia (Mann, Ivanov and Ferber), Slovenia (Mladinska knjiga)
Rights: De Geus, Jolijn Spooren [email protected]
Gerbrand Bakker
An author who won both the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2010 for The Twin and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2013 for The Detour.
#farming community #poetic language #nature #homosexuality #death of sibling
THE TWIN
(2006)
After his twin brother died, Helmer had resigned himself to taking over his brother’s role on the farm. When he reconnects with his sister-in-law and cousin, he tries to take his life into his own hands.
Rights sold to more than 25 countries.
Rights: Cossee, Stella Rieck [email protected]
JUNE
(2009)
In 1969 the 2-year-old daughter of Anna Kaan was run over by the village baker and killed. Forty years later, this tragic death still influences the whole family.
Rights sold: Catalonia (Rayo Verde), Denmark (Gyldendal), England (Harvill Secker), France (Gallimard), Germany (Suhrkamp), Italy (Iperborea), Macedonia (Antolog), Spain (Rayo Verde)
Rights: Cossee, Stella Rieck [email protected]
This information was published in our New Dutch Fiction - Autumn 2020 brochure.