Two-book deal with Harvill Secker
Indonesian writer’s ‘fierce and unconventional’ fiction to Harvill
The Bookseller, March 21, 2018
by Katherine Cowdrey
Harvill Secker has acquired two “fierce and unconventional” books from Indonesian writer Intan Paramaditha. It will publish feminist short story collection Apple and Knife in spring 2019 and The Wandering, a novel about displacement where the reader chooses their own narrative path, in 2020.
Ellie Steel, senior editor at Harvill Secker, signed UK and Commonwealth rights in both books from Kelly Falconer at Asia Literary Agency.
Paramaditha, the author, said Apple and Knife “tells stories about disobedient women who negotiate with their social structures” whereas The Wandering “engages with the issues of travel, mobility, and displacement in our global world”.
Apple and Knife was inspired by horror fiction, myths and fairy tales and, according to Harvill Secker, it is “an unsettling ride that swerves into the supernatural to explore the dangers and power of occupying a female body in today’s world”. The short stories are set in everyday Indonesian places – in corporate boardrooms, in shanty towns and on dangdut stages – but reveal “a soupy otherworld stewing just beneath the surface”.
By contrast The Wandering is a “choose-your-own-adventure-style” novel about travelling the world. Its jumping off point is the story of Dorothy and her ruby slippers. Readers are invited to slip them on and roam on a path of their own choosing between New York, Berlin, Jakarta and Lima.
Apple and Knife was translated by Stephen J Epstein and has already been published in Australia and New Zealand by Brow Books following its publication launch last weekend at New Zealand’s Writers and Readers Festival.
Ellie Steel, senior editor at Harvill Secker, said both books were “fierce and unconventional”, hailing Paramaditha’s writing “exhilaratingly wild, fun and feminist”.
ALSO IN…
Apple and Knife Rights Sold to Harvill Secker
Brow Books, March 21, 2018
More cool rights news: as reported by Books+Publishing, we at Brow Books have sold the UK and Commonwealth rights to Intan Paramaditha’s Apple and Knife to Harvill Secker (an imprint of Penguin Random House UK’s Vintage division). The deal was overseen by Kelly Falconer at Asia Literary Agency, and includes a second book by Intan, The Wandering. Harvill Secker’s edition of Apple and Knife will be published in early 2019.
We’re excited for Intan and delighted that her book will receive the recognition it deserves and that readers all around the world will be introduced to her work. Apple and Knife was published here in Australia just this month, and has already received some rave reviews, including in The Saturday Paper, whose reviewer said of the book: “Paramaditha’s stories are shockingly bold and macabrely funny, powerfully defamiliarising the cultural lore of patriarchy. What makes them special is their lack of interest in representing women as victims – here, the taboo of feminist anger is flagrantly and entertainingly broken.”
Read more
Brow Books sells UK rights to ‘Apple and Knife’
Books+Publishing, 21 March 2018
Brow Books has sold UK and Commonwealth rights to Sydney-based Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha’s short-fiction collection Apple and Knife to Harvill Secker, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK.
Harvill Secker also acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to a second book by Paramaditha, called The Wandering, which is described as a ‘choose-your-own-adventure-style novel about travelling the world’ that spans ‘New York, Berlin, Jakarta, Lima and beyond’.
Harvill Secker two-book deal for Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha
bookbrunch.co.uk
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Short story collection Apple and Knife set for publication next spring; The Wandering, ‘a novel where the reader chooses their own narrative path,’ to follow in 2020…
read more…
Dua Karya Intan Paramaditha akan Diterbitkan Harvill Secker
Tempo.co, 22 Maret 2018
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -Penerbit Harvill Secker (Penguin Random House group – UK) akan menerbitkan dua buku terjemahan karya penulis Indonesia, Intan Paramaditha. Buku yang akan diterjemahkan adalah Apple and Knife (Brow Books, 2018) dan Gentayangan: Pilih Sendiri Petualangan Sepatu Merahmu (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2017).
Buku Apple and Knife merupakan antologi cerpen terjemahan Stephen J. Epstein yang sebagian besar isinya berasal dari buku Sihir Perempuan (Katakita, 2005; Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2017) dan Kumpulan Budak Setan (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2010). Buku ini pertama kali diterbitkan di Australia oleh penerbit Brow Books dan diluncurkan di New Zealand Writers and Readers Festival, Maret 2018.
Intan’s Books Signed by UK Publisher
The Jakarta Post, March 24, 2018
British publishing company Harvill Secker has signed two books by Indonesian writer Intan Paramaditha — short story collection Apple and Knife and a novel in which the readers choose their own narrative path, The Wandering.Harvill’s senior editor Ellie Steel, who signed the United Kingdom and Commonwealth rights of both books at Asia Literary Agency, praised Intan’s writing as exhilaratingly wild, fun, and feminist, while digging deep into different ideas.
‘Fierce and Unconventional’ Intan Paramaditha Signs UK, Commonwealth Book Deals
The Jakarta Globe, March 23, 2018
Jakarta. Sydney-based Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha has signed a deal with publisher Harvill Secker for her short story collection “Apple and Knife” and experimental novel “The Wandering,” a statement received by the Jakarta Globe on Thursday (22/03) said.
Harvill Secker, an imprint of Vintage, is known to print international literature from around the world. Previous titles include Yuval Noah Harari’s “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” and Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.”