News
Foreign publishers compete for Jón Kalman Stefánsson
Since the English rights for Himnaríki og helvíti / Heaven and Hell were acquired by MacLehose Press nearly a year ago, the book has attracted keen interest internationally.
Of the many Italian publishers competing for the publication rights, Iperboria took the prize, and Salamandra, one of the largest publishers in the Hispanic world, has acquired the rights for Spain. In the Netherlands the rights have been acquired by Ambo Anthos. Rights had previously been sold in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and France.
Jón Kalman‘s latest book, Harmur englanna / Sorrow of the Angels, continues the coming-of-age story of Heaven and Hell‘s main character, and has received excellent reviews from critics. Gauti Kristmannson (Víðsjá, National Radio) says that the book marks a turning point in Jón Kalman‘s career: „Like all great works of art Sorrow of the Angels is meticulously crafted. Jón Kalman‘s storytelling technique reaches a zenith ... the narrative entices and whisks the reader away.“ Páll Baldvin Baldvinsson at Fréttablaðið newspaper gave the book four stars (out of five possible), and says that the novel is a great achievment: „Excellently written ... a stirring story about the fates of the people who walked these streets before us.“