DLM SPRING2014 FIN Screen2 PDF

THE DANISH ARTS FOUNDATION
DANISH LITER ARY MAGA ZINE

SPRING
2014
COVER ILLUSTRATION
TAKING A LINE FOR A WALK, THATS WHAT IM DOING ALL THE TIME, THATS MY FOOTPRINT
AS AN ILLUSTRATOR; THE LINE IS MY PULSE, MY SIGNATURE.
Hanne Bartholin (born 1962) is a picture book artist. She was born in Denmark, spent her youth in Sweden and has
now been commuting between Denmark and England for twelve years. She has illustrated around 40 books. Some
of her most famous works are Finn Herman written by Mats Letn, Axel elsker biler (Axel loves cars) with text by
Marianne Iben Hansen and the series of Carl books written by Ida Jessen. They have been translated into foreign
languages including Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Catalan and Swedish. Hanne Bartholin has received a number of
prizes for her work including the Danish Minister of Culture award 2001. She has participated in exhibitions all over
the world: In 2013 she exhibited in Seoul, Busan, Tallin and Nordiska Akvarell Museet in Sweden.
WELCOME
The Danish Literary Magazine is THE place to meet the very latest trends in
Danish literature and to keep abreast of the various support schemes. Its also
the place where youll meet a great range of Danish authors. In this edition youll
meet, amongst others, a Danish teen sensation: Yahya Hassan who has smashed
all records on his way to selling more than 100.000 copies of his debut poetry
collection. Yahya Hassan describes a young life lived at the edge a recurrent
theme in the young adult genre presented here. Danish picture books are a bit less
in your face, but theres still an edge and no attempts to camouflage true to their
ethos that a younger readership has no problem looking at life warts an all.
Some readers may notice that it is now The Danish Arts Foundation that publishes
the Danish Literary Magazine and not The Danish Arts Council. But this doesnt mean
a change in the support opportunities. In other words, the Danish Arts Foundation
will continue the task of supporting Danish literature; from sample translations to
translations proper, and then on to marketing and support for travelling authors who
are promoting foreign versions of their books. And are doing this at an increasing
rate: the number of Danish translation sales has doubled since 2009, and the
support has followed suit. On pages 42-43 of the magazine, readers can get a quick
overview of the support schemes available. But check out www.danishart.dk as well,
for more details, deadlines, facts and figures and the latest happenings. Enjoy!
Annette Bach
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

Danish Arts Foundations Committee for Literary Project Funding
www.danisharts.dk
EDITOR
TEXT
DESIGN
Lars Sidenius
lsi@kulturstyrelsen.dk
Lotte Kirkeby Hansen
NR2154
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
TRANSLATION
COVER ILLUSTRATION
Sren Beltoft
sbe@kulturstyrelsen.dk
Lars Theil Mnster
ltm@kulturstyrelsen.dk
Paul Larkin, Paul Russell Garrett, Lindy Falk Van Rooyen
Hanne Bartholin
CONTACT US
H.C. Andersens Boulevard 2, 1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark
Tel. +45 3373 3373, litt@kulturstyrelsen.dk
CONTENTS
P. 4
JOSEFINE KLOUGART
P. 6
BOOKS IN BRIEF
P. 16
YAHYA HASSAN
P. 20
RECENTLY SOLD
P. 26
PICTURE BOOKS
P. 34
LITERATURE FOR BOYS

P.38
AWARDS
P. 42
SUPPORT SCHEMES
P.44
ORGANISATIONS
DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE
ONE OF THE
GREATEST
With her modern apocalypse, Om Mrke
(On Darkness), her sixth publication in just four years,
Josefine Klougart establishes herself as one of the
greatest; she is an almost frightening talent on the
Danish literary scene, wrote one enthusiastic reviewer.
Few authors can boast of having

received two nominations for the
Nordic Council Literature Prize
before the age of 30, as Josefine
Klougart can. With her debut,
Stigninger og fald (Rise and Fall) in
2010, it was already apparent that
there was something rather special
at work in her distinctive prose.
With a steady and seductive hand,
she returns to the land of childhood
in a sensory-filled, fragmentary,
almost dreamlike form. Among
other accolades, she was presented
with the Crown Prince Frederik and
Crown Princess Marys Stardust
Award, along with the testimonial,
one of the most important authors,
not just of her generation, but of
her time. She was also nominated
for the Nordic Council Literature
Prize, the testimonial for which
said: Rise and Fall can be read in
many ways. For those sensitive to
linguistic articulation, you will lose
your breath; for the cool intellectual
searching between the lines, you
will begin to feel; and for the blind

reader stumbling about, you will
begin to see.
Klougarts latest novel, Om Mrke
(On Darkness), is a story of creation
and destruction, in which long and
short prose texts are combined,
almost in the nature of a cinematic
gallery. Zooming in and out, cutting
and panning over infatuations,
pearls and apple scrumping
and also perhaps particularly
earthquakes, avalanches,
torrential rainstorms. And a lot of
death; but not just final death and
extraordinary destruction but the
death that we meet every day in the
form of our daily confrontation with
changing bodies, rotting fruit and
the autumn that is slowly closing in
on us. On Darkness is an insistence
that death, loss, decay and sorrow
also hold beauty and are part of
the same existence as everything
else. One can speak of unbearable
beauty, Politikens reviewer wrote,
throwing six out of six hearts at

Klougart, but one can also speak
of a linguistic beauty that makes it
possible to bear the unbearable.
Josefine Klougart, born in 1985,
studied comparative Literature
and history of art. She graduated
from the Danish Writers School in
2010, when she also debuted with
the novel Rise and Fall, which was
nominated for the Nordic Council
Literary Prize. Since then, she has
published, amongst others, n af os
sover (One of Us is Sleeping, 2012),
which brought the young author
her second nomination for the
Nordic Council Literature Prize. On
Darkness is her sixth publication.
JOSEFINE KLOUGART
Om mrke (On Darkness),
Gladiator 2013, 330 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD
TO: France, Norway, Sweden. FOREIGN RIGHTS:
Leonhardt & Hier Literary Agency, Monica
Gram, monica@leonhardt-hoier.dk
JOSEFINE KLOUGART
One sees them from above. The skin becomes more skin.
Everything is a question of distance, if one comes close
enough, everything breaks apart, and when one moves
away again, it gathers in new ways, into something one
can miss and now truly be fond of. A gradual distance
between one and the other. A certainty of direction, what
moves, who sees, and what is seen. A feeling of being
witness to something disappearing. The eye weeps because
it is forever losing something. His legs are bent just like
his thoughts, bent around a very small point or an eye.
The body can be seen as an embrace of the air. Direction
in everything. What are you going to do to me, he thinks.
His stomach contracts, as if she has gathered his organs
and is now raising them above a precious carpet. One sees
the shadow, the two arms and a pile that is raised. The
body that streams out like light and discolours things. The
air can be seen as an embrace of the body.
Extract from On Darkness
Scandinavia has its own

Virginia Woolf. Few come
closer to the human condition
than Klougart.
PHOTO: SOFIE AMALIE KLOUGART
VG, NORWAY
BOOKS
IN
BRIEF
NEW BOOKS
FROM DENMARK
2013-2014
6
BOOKS IN BRIEF / FICTION
SUSANS FEELING FOR

SINCERITY
People confide in Susan; she has
an astounding ability to evoke
sincerity, and when she runs over
a Bollywood actor at a casino in
India, her distinctive ability proves
to be very useful. She is to receive
a long prison sentence but a former
government official offers to return
her safely to Denmark if she succeeds
in tracking down the last surviving
member of what is known as The
Future Commission and discover the
contents of the minutes of their last
meeting. But surprisingly enough, they
are not willing to let that information
emerge and Susan and her family are
caught up in an impenetrable power
struggle between politicians, scientists
and money-men. Peter Heg (born
1957) debuted in 1988 with the family
chronicle, Forestilling om det tyvende
rhundrede, (The history of Danish
Dreams), while the great international
breakthrough came with Frken Smillas
fornemmelse for sne (Miss Smillas
Feeling for Snow) in 1992. His works
have been published in thirty-three
countries.
A FATHERS
DESPERATE BATTLE
A couple have twins, but their paths

part and they share custody of the
children, an arrangement that works
well until the woman falsely accuses
the man of being violent and abusing
the children, and he is plunged into
a Kafkaesque hell. The authorities
deprive him of all contact with his
children and, although he puts up a
fight, he can do nothing as the system
guards the mother and her children.
All that remains are his tremendous
loss and sorrow. Anden person ental
(Second person singular) inspired
by a true story impressed Politikens
reviewer, who awarded the book
five out of six possible hearts and
concluded: Daniel Dencik writes
with great pathos about a fathers
desperate battle for his children,
but does so with an open mind and
a potent language. Daniel Dencik
(born 1972), who also enjoys success
as a film director, made his debut
in 1998 with the poetry collection
Lyn p en motorvej (Lightning on a
Highway).
MAN IN FREE FALL

A man makes a fatal decision: he
wants to end someones life before
taking his own. The novel Men (Just
Men) describes the twelve weeks
leading up to his decision, portraying
two men on a path towards their own
destruction. Jon, driven towards ruin
and Peter, who powerlessly sees his
own existence crumble, were once
best friends but have not been in
contact since the night that, in an act
of youthful and fatal recklessness,
they challenged each other to balance
on the top of a bridge. Jesper WungSung (born 1971) debuted in 1998
and has since written books for both
children, young adults and adults,
among them the short story collection
Mnd er fra Marstal (Men are from
Marstal), which cemented his position
as an exquisite literary researcher into
men. As the magazine Femina wrote:
There is something very tender and
very masculine at work. Its almost
like poking your nose through a hole
in the fence at the swimming pool
and peeking at the men!
PETER HEG
DANIEL DENCIK
JESPER WUNG-SUNG
Effekten af Susan (The Susan Effect),

Rosinante 2014, 330 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES
SOLD TO: More than thirty countries. FOREIGN
RIGHTS: Gyldendal Group Agency, Sofie Voller,
sofie_voller@gyldendalgroupagency.dk
Anden person ental (Second person singular),

Gyldendal 2014, 280 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS:
Gyldendal Group Agency, Sofie Voller, sofie_
voller@gyldendalgroupagency.dk
Men (Just Men), Samleren 2014, 432

pp. PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD TO: Germany,
United States. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
Group Agency, Sofie Voller, sofie_voller@
gyldendalgroupagency.dk
LITERARY BIOGRAPHY OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL REUNION WITH THE PAST

PAUL GAUGUINS WIFE FROM THE UNDERWORLD
Din
hengivne
Et gteskabs drama
om Mette og
Paul Gauguin
An n e
Thompso n
ROMAN
GY LD EN DAL
The French painter Paul Gauguin

meets a Danish woman, Mette Gad
(1850-1920) in Paris in 1873 and
later marries her. She is a resolute,
modern and devoted woman and
the first few years of the marriage
are stormy, but happy. Their paths
soon part, although they remain
married and they spend a large
portion of their married life apart:
Mette alone in Copenhagen with
their children, Paul in Paris, where
he hopes to establish himself with his
impressionist paintings. After Paul
leaves Copenhagen, they visit each
other only twice, but throughout
their lives they maintain a lively,
often heated, correspondence. Din
hengivne (Your devoted) is a story
about living in the shadow of a great
artist, and sketches a strong portrait of
a woman who never gives up hope of
regaining domestic happiness. Anne
Thompson, who is an Australian
art historian, discovered Gauguins
wifes fascinating story in 2007, when
she was led to Copenhagen by her
interest in the painter.
Vor tids helt (Hero of Our Time) is

one of the wildest, hardest and best
debuts of 2013, was the review in
Politiken, which awarded the novel
five hearts out of a possible six, as did
Berlingske. Jacob Skyggebjergs (born
1985) autobiographical debut novel
is a dark and powerful, wildly macho
and hypersensitive portrayal of his
childhood as an underclass animal
in a large Danish provincial town.
Here there is no society instead there
are parents with addiction problems,
quarantine stations for mischievous
boys, scandalous working conditions
at slaughterhouses and cake factories,
drugs and, not least, faithless love.
The anti-hero white trash who
as a child couldnt find any other
explanation to my intelligence, than
that I must have come from outer
space moves away from the losers
in the countryside to take up with
losers in the capital, Copenhagen,
where he smokes, takes drugs, drinks
and whores and where everything
ferments, and everything ends in
destruction.
When Niels father suddenly passes

away, he returns for the first time
in many years to his home in an
outlying region of Denmark. The
reunion with his mother, brothers and
childhood friends in the hinterland
from which he once ran away, stirs
up memories of a violent past that
has played a far bigger role than
Niels is prepared to acknowledge.
The events surrounding his fathers
death slowly but surely lead him to
remember more and more of what he
has repressed. But how far does he
dare to go to get beneath the surface
of the hinterland and himself? Opland
(Hinterland) is a raw and empathetic
novel about growing up in a forgotten
part of a country, the distance
between where you come from and
what you have become and, not least,
the painful distance between father
and son. Jens Vilstrup (born 1964)
debuted in 2002 with the childrens
book Den Store Viller (The Great
Viller) and has since written both
novels and childrens books.
ANNE THOMPSON
JACOB SKYGGEBJERG
JENS VILSTRUP
Din hengivne (Your devoted), Gyldendal

2014, 350 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
Group Agency, Jenny Thor, jenny_thor@
Vor tids helt (Hero of Our Time), Gladiator

2013, 252 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Leonhardt &
Hier Literary Agency, Monica Gram, monica@
leonhardt-hoier.dk
Opland (Hinterland), Peoples Press 2014, 385

pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Peoples Press, Thilde
Nybro Pfeifer, thilde@artpeople.dk
BLACK HUMOUR IN
CONTEMPORARY NOVEL
Many people bear heavy secrets.
And many people live lives with
which they are far from satisfied. Both
secrets and the unsatisfactory lives
tend to be invisible to the outside
world but in Torben Munksgaards
new dark, diagnostic, contemporary
novel, I Virkeligheden (In Reality) the
unique voices of ten such people have
their say. The novel is composed of
ten separate stories, each of which
focuses on one of the main characters.
Together they combine to a form a
collective novel. Torben Munksgaard
(born 1975) has made as his distinctive
feature the contemporary novel
written with a wry, black humour. He
debuted in 2007 with the critically
acclaimed novel, Retrograd, before
truly finding his Danish following in
2012, when Sort Hund (Black Dog)
was published. A sumptuously witty
and well-written work by Torben
Munksgaard, measuring the happiness
metre of tomorrows welfare society,
it should be one of the years most
successful novels, wrote Berlingskes
enthusiastic reviewer.
CAMILLAS WORLD
This is great; better than ever before.

Christina Hesselholdt creates new
possibilities for Danish literature,
pure and simple, wrote Information,
when Hesselholdt (born 1962)
published Selskabet gr op (The Party
breaks up). Now she has published a
sequel, Agterudsejlet (Left behind), the
fourth part of a prose suite. Echoes
from other works of literature act as
backdrop to the daily lives of Camilla,
her friends and a handful of curious
minor characters. In Agterudsejlet
(Left behind) Camilla is sitting in the
garden of her summer house, writing
about the troubles in her family
history and feeling as lonely as if she
were stranded on a desert island.
But then her friend persuades her to
join her on a trip to New York and
finally something begins to happen.
Christina Hesselholdt was awarded
The Critics Prize in 2010.
GREENLANDIC ADVENTURE
With a Gothic shiver, Mads Peder
Nordbo debuted in 2012 with
the novel, Odins Labyrint (Odins
Labyrinth), a breathless thriller that
now has a stand-alone sequel in
Thuleselskabet (The Thule Society). A
dead woman is found. She is naked
and her body is covered with rune
markings, literally carved into her
skin. The young student, Mathias
Hviid, is called in to decipher
the runes, the starting point of an
escalating adventure that leads him
and the reader on exciting and sombre
discoveries, stretching from the era
of the SS and The Thule Society to
Norse settlements in Greenland. It
soon becomes apparent that there was
more than one reason for Mathias
being drawn into the case Mads
Peder Nordbo (born 1970) debuted in
2012 with the thriller Odins Labyrinth,
a fascinating, perhaps revolutionary
linguistic investigation filled with
Gothic shivers, the newspaper
Information wrote. The Thule Society is
his second novel.
TORBEN MUNKSGAARD
CHRISTINA HESSELHOLDT
MADS PEDER NORDBO
I virkeligheden (In Reality), Lindhardt og

Ringhof 2014, 304 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD:
Finland, Norway, Sweden. FOREIGN RIGHTS:
Lindhardt og Ringhof, Hans Henrik Schwab,
hans.henrik.schwab@lindhardtogringhof.dk
Agterudsejlet (Left behind), Rosinante 2014,

120 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD TO: Serbia,
Spain, Sweden. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
Group Agency, Jenny Thor, jenny_thor@
Thuleselskabet (The Thule Society), Lindhardt

og Ringhof 2014, 400 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES
SOLD TO: Greece. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Lindhardt
og Ringhof, Hans Henrik Schwab,
WILD FAMILY TALE
One winter evening in 1984, fourteenyear-old Daniel Stark steps off a ferry
and onto a small Danish island. For
the first time in his life, hes going
to meet his grandfather. He turns
out to be a towering, staggeringly
drunk gentleman wearing a frock
coat and top hat: Theodor sailor,
womaniser and replica clothing
manufacturer who lives with his
lover and a collection of hunting
trophies. The visit with his eccentric
grandfather becomes a seminal
moment for Daniel, culminating in
a hunt and a global catastrophe. De
Trstige (The Thirsty) is a fantastical
novel full of family feuds, mariners
tales, ferocious tigers, wedding bells
and frothing pints; at the same time,
it is a novel about truth and lies,
about pure motives in a filthy world.
Sren Toft (born 1971) works as a
digital consultant by day and writer
by night. He debuted in 2003 with
his collection of short stories, Ilmarch
(Forced March) The Thirsty is his
second novel.
STRONG FAMILY DRAMA

Anna lives with her husband and
their little daughter. On the surface
everything seems fine, but when Anna
meets a man from her childhood
there are fatal consequences. Not
only does the meeting destroy Annas
family life, but it also draws an arc
back to her childhood and the death
of her younger brother. In the wake
of this meeting, a strong family drama
unfolds about a faithless older brother,
a charismatic grandmother and two
parents who are more than a little
aloof. Signe Langtved Pallisgaard
(born 1976) makes her debut with Et
andet sted (Another place), a novel
about quitting your life; falling down
and getting up again. There are equal
measures of matrimonial drama,
Bildungsroman and family chronicle
in this novel, which was praised in
Politiken under the headline Keen
debutant walks in Tolstois footsteps.
The review concluded: Here is a
debutant who wants to tell roaring
fireside stories, and seems to have
more than one place from which to
tell them.
RAW AND INCISIVE

SHORT STORIES
Many of the stories in Peder Frederik

Jensens new collection were
composed as the author commuted
to and from Copenhagen, and the
book is inspired by the brief glimpses
of scenes caught by him as his train
rushed by. The novels peer into
sitting rooms and kitchens, garages
and farmyards and are accounts of
decisive choices; about letting things
go or fighting back; deciding to stay
or leave; give or take. Peder Frederik
Jensen (born 1978) is a graduate of
The Danish Writers School, as well
as being a qualified boat builder.
He made his debut in 2007 with the
novel Her str du (Youre standing
here). In 2012 the critically acclaimed
novel Lretid (Apprenticeship) was
published and was praised in JyllandsPostens review: The text contains
references to literary minimalism that
so many readers love in Helle Helles
rendition. Peder Frederik Jensen may
very well be proffered as her male
counterpart.
SREN TOFT
SIGNE LANGTVED PALLISGAARD
PEDER FREDERIK JENSEN
De trstige (The Thirsty), Samleren 2014,

320 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
Et andet sted (Another place), Lindhardt

og Ringhof 2014, 234 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS:
Lindhardt og Ringhof, Hans Henrik Schwab,
Banedanmark (Danish Rail), Samleren 2014,

138 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Leonhardt&Hier
Literary Agency, Monica Gram, monica@
leonhardt-hoier.
10
JUBILEE POEMS
Jubilees ought to be celebrated. And
Katrine Marie Guldager has done
so with the publication of a new
poetry collection to mark the 20th
anniversary of her debut collection of
poems, thereby completing a circle.
Et sted i verden (A Place in the World)
is primarily about relationships: about
ones network of family relations and
friendships. Not least of these is the
authors relationship with her father
and her experience of his sudden,
tragic death. Katrine Marie Guldager
(born 1966) made her debut in 1994
with the poetry collection Dagene
skifter hnder (The Days are shifting
Hands). Since then, she has written
both short stories as well as novels and
childrens books. Most recently, she
has produced a critically acclaimed
family chronicle, which prompted
Politikens reviewer to opine: The
tone of Guldagers fictional narrator
is and remains something completely
unique in Danish contemporary
literature. She was awarded The
Critics Prize in 2004.
ABSOLUTELY
SHATTERING POETRY
Zeuthen completely destroys his

own lyrical construction in a very
effective manner so that it refracts
its bizarre and bizarrely everyday
rays in all directions, wrote
Politikens reviewer when Nicolai
Zeuthen released his collection of
poetry, Strler (Rays),written with
the melancholy wry perspective
on reality that he unveiled in his
debut. He has mastered social satire
as few other writers have done and
with both wit and economy, he
uses completely colloquial social
utterances as the point of departure
in his poetical texts. Nicolai Zeuthen
(born 1974) made his debut in
2009 with the poetry collection
Olieble (Oil Fire) followed by the
satirical novel Verdensmestre (World
Champions) (2010), which was
praised for its witty, tender, but also
deeply critical portraiture of family
life in the first decade of the new
millennium.
COLLAGE ABOUT
FREEDOM AND GENDER
Author Naja Marie Aidt and the poet
Mette Moestrup have joined forces
with the dramatist Line Knutzon to
create Frit flet (Free Weave). Under
the pseudonyms A, B and C, the
three women combine texts from
various genres, including poetry,
logbooks, songs, drama and letters,
all garnished with photos. Many
of the texts are written jointly, and
the whole book is a collaborative
effort. The result is a fun, humorous,
personal and anarchistic collage about
freedom and gender. Naja Marie Aidt
(born 1963) made her debut in 1991
and has a well-established authorship;
most recently she published the novel
Sten, saks, papir (Rock, Paper, Scissors)
in 2012. She was awarded The Nordic
Councils Literature Prize in 2008.
Mette Moestrup (born 1969) has
most recently published the poetry
collection, D, lgn, d (Die, Lie, Die)
in 2012. Line Knutzon (born 1965),
the award-winning Danish dramatist,
is among other things the author of a
series of childrens books.
NAJA MARIE AIDT

LINE KNUTZON
METTE MOESTRUP
FRIT
FLET
FLLESBOGEN
GYLDENDAL
FF.RESET.indd 541
KATRINE MARIE GULDAGER
NICOLAI ZEUTHEN
Et sted i verden (A Place in the World),

Lindhardt og Ringhof 2014, 60 pp. PREVIOUS
TITLES SOLD TO: Germany, Norway, Sweden,
United States. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Busch Agency,
Trine Busch, trine@buschagency.dk
Strler (Rays), Samleren 2013, 59 pp. FOREIGN

541
25/02/14 12.20
NAJA MARIE AIDT, METTE MOESTRUP,

LINE KNUTZON
Frit flet (Free Weave), Gyldendal 2014,
500 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
11
LOUISE RICK IS BACK
Sara Bldel does it again: expertly

balancing between plot and
character, between the hardboiled
and the touching, between criminal
cases and the private life of Louise
Rick, head of Copenhagen Police
investigative unit. Reviewers are
in complete agreement about her
eighth crime novel, Ddesporet (Death
Trail). The death trail of the title
is an overgrown path in a forest
along which, in days gone by, the
dying were led to a great oak tree
to sacrifice some of their blood to
the gods. There are indications that
traffic moves once more on the
death trail, when a 15-year-old boy
disappears close to the legendary
path, not far from Louise Ricks
home. Sara Bldel (born 1964)
debuted in 2004 with Grnt Stv
(Green Dust), the first volume in
the Louise Rick series. She has been
selected as Denmarks favourite
author no fewer than three times by
the bookstore chain, Bog og Id.
MYSTERY OF THE
DEAD MAYOR
Even before its publication, Jakob
Melanders first book, the crime
novel, jesten (The House that Jack
Built), had already been sold to
foreign publishers. Danish reviewers
were quick to match the publishers
enthusiasm for the book declaring it
to be captivating, distinguished,
impossible to put down and a sure
touch. In this Melanders second
book about Detective Sergeant
Lars Winkler, Winkler is assigned
to a delicate case when the mayor
of Copenhagen is found murdered
in his luxury flat. And if matters
werent already complicated enough,
the victims mother,who happens
to be the Danish Finance Minister,
gets her secret service agent, Lars
Winklers arch enemy, involved in
the investigation. Jakob Melander
(born 1965) debuted in 2013 with the
crime novel, jesten (The House that
Jack Built). Serafine is the second novel
in the series about Lars Winkler.
P R ESS EN OM JESTEN :
HHHHH HHHHHH
BERLINGSKE
FEMINA
JAKOB
M E LAN DE R
KRIM I
TO SAVE YOURSELF
Agnete Friis and Lene Kaaberbl get

everything right in their new novel.
Bravo!, said Weekendavisen when the
fourth crime novel about Red Cross
nurse, Nina Borg, was published.
Nina Borg is used to saving others
but how far will she go to save
herself? That is the question in Den
betnksomme morder (The Thoughtful
Murderer) when, after Nina Borg has
been knocked down, dazed and semiconscious, she hears her assailant
begging for forgiveness. And
suddenly her own life is in danger, in
a case that has connections to three
young men from Manila and their
surprising and dangerous friendship.
Lene Kaaberbl (born 1960) and
Agnete Friis (1974) made their mark
in 2008 with their co-debut, Drengen
i kufferten (The Boy in the Suitcase).
The series was sold to twenty-seven
countries, selling over half a million
copies worldwide.
SERAFINE
R OS I NANTE
SARA BLDEL
JAKOB MELANDER
LENE KAABERBL & AGNETE FRIIS
Ddesporet (Death Trail), Peoples Press 2013,

317 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD TO: More than
twenty countries. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Victoria
Sanders & Associates, Victoria Sanders,
vsanders@victoriasanders.com. FOREIGN
RIGHTS: (Scandinavia): Busch Agency, Trine
Busch, trine@buschagency.dk
Serafine, Rosinante 2014, 400 pp. PREVIOUS

TITLES SOLD TO: Canada, Czech Republic,
Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia,
Slovakia. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
gyldendalgroupacency.dk
Den betnksomme morder (The Thoughtful

Murderer), Peoples Press 2013, 285 pp.
PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD TO: More than twenty
countries. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Peoples Press,
Thilde Nybro Pfeifer, thilde@artpeople.dk
12
BOOKS IN BRIEF / CRIME
NEW THRILLER
FROM KAZINSKI
In the lingerie department of a large
shopping centre in Copenhagen
Julie catches sight of the woman
who ruined her life. What should
she do? Pretend that everything is
okay? Or should she follow her and
exact revenge, because she stole
her husband? A.J Kazinskis latest
book, Forflgerne (The Persecutors) is
a story about four perfectly average
people. Each begins to follow another
person; secrets are unearthed, lies are
uncovered. But what are these people
actually looking for? And what are
they going to do with their newfound
wisdom? Forflgerne (The Persecutors)
is the fourth book written under the
pseudonym of A.J. Kazinski, behind
which lurk the authors Anders
Rnnow Klarlund (born 1971) and
Jacob Weinreich (born 1972). The
author-duo made their debut in 2010
with Den sidste gode mand (The Last
Good Man), which was awarded the
French Prix Relay. Most recently,
the novel En hellig alliance (A Holy
Alliance) has been published.
A MAD POLE
The brother and sister team Sren

and Lotte Hammer (born 1952 and
1955) debuted with Svinehunde (The
Hanging), selling more than 80,000
copies in Denmark. The rights
have already been sold to at least
sixteen other countries, including
the US, where Publishers Weekly
wrote: Everything works in this
dark Scandinavian procedural the
intelligent and complex plot, the
fallible lead and the atmospheric
prose. The pair have now produced
another novel in the series about
Detective Chief Inspector Konrad
Simonsen. One summer day, four
people are brutally murdered on a
Copenhagen canal tour, with all clues
leading Konrad Simonsen and his
team back in time to 1995 and a
secretive event in Bosnia involving
Danish UN soldiers. And it seems no
one has any interest in raking up the
past. Quite the contrary. Den sindssyge
polak (The Mad Pole) is the fifth
novel in the series, with plans in the
pipeline for another volume.
BONE EXPERT ON
SPANISH VISIT
A gangster flees Copenhagen in order
to enjoy the good life on Spains Costa
del Sol. Almost forty years later, an
elderly woman is brutally decapitated
in a quiet Copenhagen park and
an attempt is made to assassinate a
leading biker, threatening to spark
a gang war. In Spain where bone
expert Linnea Kirkegaard is taking
part in an excavation and enjoying a
little time away from her boyfriend
and domestic life in Denmark a
fresh corpse turns up in a mass grave.
Nr solen forsvinder (When the Sun
Disappears) is the third stand-alone
book from Benni Bdker (born
1975) and Karen Vad Bruun (born
1977) about the bone expert Linnea
Kirkegaard. Previously published
were Blod vil have blod (Blood Wants
Blood), 2010, as well as Fr dden
lukker mine jne (Before Death Shuts
My Eyes), 2012, which according
to Politikens reviewer, rises well
above the parish pump in the writers
composition of an internationally
orientated plot.
A.J. KAZINSKI
LOTTE AND SREN HAMMER
BDKER & BRUUN
Forflgerne (The Persecutors), Politikens

Forlag 2014, 320 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD
TO: More than twenty countries. FOREIGN
RIGHTS: Politikens Forlag, Nya Guldberg, Nya.
Guldberg@jppol.dk
Den sindssyge polak (The Mad Pole),

Gyldendal 2014, 400 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES
SOLD TO: More than twenty countries. FOREIGN
Nr solen forsvinder (When the Sun

Disappears), Modtryk 2014, 352 pp. PREVIOUS
TITLES SOLD TO: Germany, Japan, Norway.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Nordin agency, Henny
Holmquist, henny@nordinagency.se
13
EXISTENTIAL
SHORT STORIES
There is no overriding moral and

no instruction in the works of Janne
Teller. No simple Good and no Evil.
Teller simply aspires to see into the
souls of her heroes, even when it
hurts. And this is precisely what
makes this book these heroes
so human, wrote Der Spiegel,
when Janne Tellers ALT (All) was
published in Germany. Similar to
INTET (Nothing) from 2000, which
has already sold nearly half a million
copies in 25 countries, Janne Teller
again depicts for readers aged12
years and upwards what transpires
when we cannot find any common
humanity or coherence in life. Janne
Teller (born 1964) has published a
series of books for children, young
adults and adults that often explore
the existential and ethical questions of
life. The eight short stories contained
in ALT (All) span themes ranging
from meaningless violence, freedom
of expression, exclusion, parental
failure and role models to mental
disability and questions concerning
individual responsibility.
FATAL LOVE
As they haul us up out of the
Limfjord, were still bound together.
I dont know how long wed been
lying in the water, its hard to tell
you kind of lose all track of time. A
week. Maybe two. I cant tell. The
coroner has equal difficulty in being
more precise. Hed like permission
to remove the handcuffs; he keeps
repeating this, its bloody difficult to
work with two corpses that are bound
together in this manner. Dig og mig
ved daggry (You and Mee at Dawn) is
a love story with fatal consequences;
a story about coincidences,
misunderstandings, desertion and
forgiveness and about loving
someone so deeply and meaningfully
that its worth dying for. Critics
across the board have unanimously
described the novel as beautiful,
formidable, gripping a must-read.
This book is the first joint project of
the two experienced authors, Sanne
Munk Jensen (born 1979) and Glenn
Ringtved (born 1968).
WEIRD AND WONDERFUL

THOUGHTS
Armed reindeer, angry pixies, cross

penguins, dying grandmothers and
clueless parents are just some of the
personalities who live in the pages
of Lortehjorte (Damn Deers). In a
series of brief short stories which
are well-suited to being read out
loud to slightly older children Tina
Sakura Bestle demonstrates her talent
for conveying weird and wonderful
thoughts with humour. And all
the stories have their own magical
illustration by Annika yrab.
Wow! That sums it up. Here are
finally a string of stories, where
everything is said between the lines,
wrote a reviewer in Fyns Amts Avis
awarding Lortehjorte (Damn Deers)
maximum six out of six possible stars.
Tina Sakura Bestle (born 1975) has
published several childrens books.
Annika yrab, who has provided
the books illustrations, studied design
and illustration at the Hamburg
University of Applied Sciences and
Denmarks Design School.
JANNE TELLER
SANNE MUNK JENSEN & GLENN RINGTVED TINA SAKURA BESTLE & ANNIKA YRAB
ALT (All), Dansklrerforeningen 2013, 140 pp

PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD TO: More than twenty
countries. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Lars Ringhof
Agency, Esthi Kunz, esthi@ringhof.dk
Dig og mig ved daggry (You and Mee at Dawn),

Gyldendal Group Agency, Louise Langhoff Koch,
louise_langhoff_koch@gyldendalgroupagency.dk
14
Lortehjorte (Damn Deers), Jensen & Dalgaard

2014, 104 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Jensen &
Dalgaard, Bjarne Michael Jensen,
jensen@jensenogdalgaard.dk
BOOKS IN BRIEF / YOUNG ADULT
COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL
Sommerdrenge (Summer Boys) is set
in a little Danish coastal town in the
summertime. A young girl, Kille, is
usually just one of the boys, but this
summer everything is different. She
can feel it in her body and in the
way the boys look at her. Precisely
the boys are important puzzle-pieces
in this novel about not being the
same person you were last summer
yet being more yourself than ever
before. Rebecca Bach-Lauritsen
writes a convincing and empathetic
story about how tremendously awful
and wonderful it is when your body
suddenly decides to change ... there
are just as many exciting things going
on in this short book of just 96 pages
as there are assembled in all the
teenage-years, wrote Informations
reviewer. Rebecca Bach-Lauritsen
(born 1976) is a graduate of The
Danish Writers School for Childrens
Fiction and made her debut in 2011
with the novel Veronika lyder som
harmonika (Veronika sounds like
Harmonica).
OCCULT NOVEL
Sebastian wakes up in hospital,

knowing that something is terribly
wrong. But has he really killed a man
out in the forest as the police and the
morning papers claim? In an attempt
to prove his innocence and get to the
bottom of the case, Sebastian and
his friend, Naja, become embroiled
in an age-old rivalry between a
powerful demon and a merciless
avenger who calls himself Glam.
The entire unfolding of events can
be read as an illustration of young
peoples difficult coming-of-age, but
first and foremost, Glam is a magical
and effective thriller, ran Berlingskes
review of David Meinkes occult, gory
splat-novel which, using colloquial
language and written in a breathless
tempo is an account of love, revenge,
spirits and murder. Glam is suited to
the older segment of young readers.
David Meinke (born 1974) made his
debut with Kaos (kys ah oh shit) (Chaos
(Kiss ah oh shit)) in 2007, and most
recently has published the horror
novel Ordenen (The Order) (2011).
DOOMSDAY STORY
When a major catastrophe hits
the earth, millions of people will
die but not the preppers, people
who dont just sit around waiting
for the catastrophe to strike. Among
them are Daniel and his family,
preparing themselves for the ultimate
catastrophe, so that they will be
ready when it strikes. Well, at least as
ready as one can be. For even if you
have prepared yourself for this day
all your life, it is impossible to predict
what will happen. Prepper is part
elementary thriller about a struggle
between life and death and, despite
its doomsday theme, part realistic
novel that follows the development
and education of its protagonist,
Daniel, from boy to young man. Lise
Bidstrup (born 1976) made her debut
in 2005, and already has a large
back catalogue of books for children,
young adults and adults. In recent
years, she has been nominated for a
series of prizes, including the Orla
Prize in 2008 and 2010.
REBECCA BACH-LAURITSEN
DAVID MEINKE
LISE BIDSTRUP
Sommerdrenge (Summer Boys), Hst & Sn

2013, 96 pp. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
Group Agency, Louise Langhoff Koch, louise_
langhoff_koch@gyldendalgroupagency.dk
Glam, Hst & Sn 2013, 268 pp. FOREIGN

RIGHTS: Gyldendal Group Agency, Louise
Langhoff Koch, louise_langhoff_koch@
Prepper, Hst&Sn 2013, 186 pp. FOREIGN

RIGHTS: Gyldendal Group Agency, Louise
Langhoff Koch, louise_langhoff_koch@
15
YAHYA
HASSAN
Very rarely do I open my email attachments, start reading and
know immediately this is a book I want to publish one that
I need to publish, one thatll haunt me if I dont get to publish
it. Very rarely do I find that a collection of poetry has this
magical, powerful quality that grips both my head and heart,
refusing to let either one go. Yahya Hassan has this very rare
talent. Due to his angry, vivid and raw words I was unable to put
the book down. His strong, sad, shocking story made me wince,
even as I admired the courage and honesty he possesses.
I am sure that Yahya Hassan will reach as many readers in
Norway as he has in Denmark, and I am equally sure that we
need a voice like this his voice; his story is not unique, but the
authority with which he tells it and the quality of his writing, is.
We should all read Yahya Hassan now. And we will continue to
do so for years to come.
PHOTO: MIKKEL BERG PEDERSEN / POLFOTO
Anne Fltaker, Fiction Publisher, Cappelen Damm, Norway
To start with the obvious: it is not often that we buy

a poetry collection from Denmark. However, when we
read the manuscript, we knew immediately that this
was an important voice in modern literature; someone
with a unique perspective on the outside world,
someone with a distinctive, striking voice. His poetry
tells a coming-of-age story that is touching, unnerving,
raw and ultimately, unforgettable. We expect that the
book will have a large impact on the Dutch literary
world, not only because of the controversial content
of the poems, but also because of Yahyas original and
expressive style of writing.
Peter van der Zwaag, Publisher, De Bezige Bij, The Netherlands
Despite his young age, Hassan

is a mature poet. His writing is
disturbingly sharp; his words hit
you right in the face, and the world
he describes the world he has
grown up in will hurt you while
you read it, as much as it hurt him.
Marta Treves, Foreign Fiction Editor, Rizzoli, Italy
16
YAHYA HASSAN
This is a collectors item. Of 100,000 collections. Of

several collections that will probably be established
with this wonderful little phenomenon of a fucking
poetry collection. Congratulations to Denmark.
Lars Bukdahl, reviewer and author in his motivation for the winner of
Weekendavisens Literature Prize.
When did someone last break

through the sound barrier and upend the nation? There is a heart in
this work. It may very well be that
the heart has been hidden behind
a hard shell along the way, but
when he reads his work out loud,
it is like hearing a young man who
is peeling off his childhood and
tossing it over his shoulder where
it lands with an explosion on the
ground behind him.
Mona Madsen, Entertainment, Culture and
Library Manager in her motivation for the
winner of BogForums Best Newcomer Prize.
YAHYA HASSAN
YAHYA HASSAN, Gyldendal
2013: SOLD TO: Germany, Italy,
The Netherlands. Norway, and
Sweden. FOREIGN RIGHTS:
Gyldendal Group Agency,
Sofie Voller, sofie_voller@
He has gained our attention because he has created a work of art that
touches the most tender places in both the reader and the Danish welfare
society. It reveals a great deal about what has happened in Denmark that
a poet who has Palestinian parents, who writes in Danish, yet does not
consider himself to be Danish, can walk away with Politikens Literature
Prize. There are so many ways to be a Dane. Yahya Hassan is a Danish
poet. Not because he falls within the parameters of some or other
definition of what it means to be Danish, but because he composes his
poetry in Danish. And he has done so in a manner that has rammed an
entire nation in the centre of its heart. The winner of Politikens Literature
Prize 2013 has already changed the world.
Jes Stein Pedersen, literature editor, in his motivation for the winner of Politikens Literature Prize.
17
CHI
/ BARNDO
The opening poem Childhood of

Yahya Hassans self titled debut
poetry collection
FIVE CHILDREN IN A ROW AND A FATHER WITH A CLUB

POLY CRYING AND A PUDDLE OF PISS
WE PUT OUT OUR HANDS IN TURN
FOR THE SAKE OF PREDICTABILITY
THE SOUND OF BLOWS RAINING DOWN
SISTER JUMPING SO QUICKLY
FROM ONE FOOT TO THE OTHER
DOWN HER LEGS A WATERFALL OF PISS
ONE HAND FORWARD THEN THE OTHER
TOO SLOW
RANDOM BLOW
A BLOW A SCREAM A NUMBER
30 OR 40 SOMETIMES 50
AND A KICK IN THE ASS TO EXIT THE DOOR
HE GRABS BROTHER BY THE SHOULDERS
18
YAHYA HASSAN
ILDHOOD
OM
TRANSLATED BY KUKU & AL AGAMI
STRAIGHTENS HIM UP
BEATING AND COUNTING
FACE DOWN WAITNG MY TURN
MOTHER SMASHING PLATES IN THE STAIRCASE
AL JAZEERA TRANSMITS
HYPERACTIVE BULLDOZERS AND RESENTFUL BODY PARTS
GAZA STRIPPED IN SUNSHINE
FLAGS WILL BE BURNED
IF A ZIONIST DOES NOT RECOGNIZE OUR EXISTENCE
IF WE EVEN EXIST
WHEN WE HICCUP FEAR AND PAIN
WHEN WE GASP FOR BREATH AND MEANING
AT SCHOOL NO ARABIC
AT HOME NO DANISH
A BLOW A SCREAM A NUMBER
19
RECENTLY
SOLD
ABROAD
SEPTEMBER
2013
JANUARY
2014
20
RECENTLY SOLD
RECENTLY SOLD
DANISH FICTION
BRAZIL
BERTRAND
MICHAEL KATZ KREFELD
AFSPORET
EDITORE ARQUEIRO
LENE KAABERBL &
AGNETE FRIIS
ET STILLE UMRKELIGT
DRAB
VERTIGO
HAMMER & HAMMER
ALTING HAR SIN PRIS
BULGARIA
PROZORETZ PUBLISHING
HOUSE
KRISTIAN BANG FOSS
DDEN KRER AUDI
CHINA
BEEPUB
BENNY ANDERSEN
100 UDVALGTE DIGTE
CROATIA
HRVATSKO FILOLOSKO
DRUSTVO
KAREN BLIXEN
BABETTES GSTEBUD
ZNANJE
JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN
JOURNAL 64
CZECH REPUBLIC
BRANA PUBLISHING
A.J. KAZINSKI
DEN SIDSTE GODE MAND
HOST
KIM LEINE
PROFETERNE I
EVIGHEDSFJORDEN
EDITIONS GAA
FLEMMING JENSEN
EN LILLE BOG OM GLDEN
VED AT BLIVE NATTETISSER
KNIHA ZIN
LEIF DAVIDSEN
PATRIARKENS HNDELIGE
DD
EDITIONS GAA
JESPER MALMOSE
BORGEN
GREECE
PSICHGIOS
AFSPORET
HUNGARY
KNIHA ZIN
STEFFEN JACOBSEN
TROF
EDITIONS GAA
ANNE-CATHRINE
RIEBNITZSKY
FORBANDEDE YNGEL
PASEKA
AFSPORET
GALLIMARD
KAREN BLIXEN
BABETTES GSTEBUD
ANIMUS
JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN
MARCO EFFEKTEN
ESTONIA
GALLIMARD
SISSEL-JO GAZAN
SVALENS GRAF
EUROPA
KAREN BLIXEN
DEN AFRIKANSKE FARM
GERMANY
NAPKUT
ERLING JEPSEN
KUNSTEN AT GRDE I KOR
VARRAK
AFSPORET
FINLAND
GUMMERUS
JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN
JOURNAL 64
LIKE
AFSPORET
SILTALA PUBLISHING
LENE KAABERBL &
AGNETE FRIIS
ET STILLE UMRKELIGT
DRAB
FRANCE
BTB/RANDOM HOUSE
MAREN UTHAUG
OG SDAN BLEV DET
ANIMUS
JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN
AFDELING Q, BOG 6
NAPKUT
KIRSTEN HAMMANN
SE P MIG
GOLDMANN
AFSPORET
ICELAND
KIEPENHEUER & WITSCH

JESPER STEIN
BYE BYE BLACKBIRD
DRAUMSYN
CHRISTIAN JUNGERSEN
DU FORSVINDER
PIPER VERLAG
SARA BLDEL
DDESPORET
ITALY
ULLSTEIN
YAHYA HASSAN
YAHYA HASSAN
ACTES SUD
AFSPORET
ATMOSPHERE LIBRI
EVA MARIE FREDENSBORG
N GANG MORDER
EINAUDI
AFSPORET
RIZZOLI
YAHYA HASSAN
YAHYA HASSAN
SCRITTURAPURA
INGER CHRISTENSEN
DET MALEDE VRELSE
MAREN UTHAUG
Illustrator, writer and columnist, Maren Uthaug, debuted
in style with her family novel Og sdan blev det (And Thats
How It Was). Youd have to search long and hard for a
more complete, humorous and promising debut novel
Jyllands-Postens reviewer wrote about the story of the halfSami girl, Risten. When her dad leaves his Sami wife,
Ristens mum, she is torn from her roots, moving from the
north of Norway to the southernmost region of Denmark.
Only as an adult does Risten see her mum again and it was
nothing like she had hoped.
21
RECENTLY SOLD
DANISH FICTION
ISRAEL
MACEDONIA
KINNERET ZMORA DVIR

JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN
FASANDRBERNE
ANTOLOG
JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN
KVINDEN I BURET
JAPAN
ANTOLOG
KRISTIAN BANG FOSS
DDEN KRER AUDI
HAYAKAWA
BDKER & BRUUN
BLOD VIL HAVE BLOD
HAYAKAWA
BDKER & BRUUN
FR DDEN LUKKER MINE
JNE
HAYAKAWA
BDKER & BRUUN
NR SOLEN FORSVINDER
HAYAKAWA
AFSPORET
HAYAKAWA
ERIK VALEUR
DET SYVENDE BARN
LATVIA
ALMA LITTERA
JENS CHRISTIAN GRNDAHL
TAVSHED I OKTOBER
MEXICO
SEXTOPISO
INGER CHRISTENSEN
ALFABET
SEXTOPISO
INGER CHRISTENSEN
DET
THE NETHERLANDS
COSSE
ERLING JEPSEN
DEN SNDERJYSKE FARM
DE BEZIGE BIJ
YAHYA HASSAN
YAHYA HASSAN
DE GEUS
SARA BLDEL
DDESPORET
LITHUANIA
KARAAT
JONAS T. BENGTSSON
ET EVENTYR
KITOS KNYGOS
AFSPORET
LEBOWSKI PUBLISHER
TOM KRISTENSEN
HRVRK
DETTE
BURDE
skrives
I NUTID
ELLE
ELLE
ROMAN
H
22
SAMLEREN
PROMETHEUS
AFSPORET
PUBLISHING HOUSE Q
JESPER MALMOSE
BORGEN
NORWAY
SCHIBSTED
ANNE-CATHRINE
RIEBNITZSKY
FORBANDEDE YNGEL
TIDENS FORLAG
SARA BLDEL
DDESPORET
VIGMOSTAD & BJRKE
SISSEL-JO GAZAN
SVALENS GRAF
AUDITUR
EVA TIND
ROSENVEJ
PAKISTAN
BASTION
MAREN UTHAUG
OG SDAN BLEV DET
AIM PUBLISHING
STIG DALAGER
SKYGGELAND
CAPPELEN DAMM
YAHYA HASSAN
YAHYA HASSAN
POLAND
CAPPELEN DAMM
TOM KRISTENSEN
HRVRK
GYLDENDAL NORSK FORLAG
HANNE-VIBEKE HOLST
KNUD, DEN STORE
A.J. KAZINSKI
EN HELLIG ALLIANCE
PELIKANEN
STINE PILGAARD
MIN MOR SIGER
SCHIBSTED
AFSPORET
HELLE HELLE
This Should be Written in the Present is an outstanding novel,
another svelte, nonchalant masterpiece from the hand of
Helle Helle, naturally, Informations reviewer wrote of
Helle Helles latest novel. Here the reader meets a young
woman who, strictly speaking, ought to be focusing on
her university studies but instead, spends her time on the
streets and alleys. She writes as well, but with little success
there are too many disruptions: former boyfriends,
parents and the freight train that comes thundering past
her bedroom window every night.
LITERACKIE
AFSPORET
ZNAK
CHRISTIAN JUNGERSEN
DU FORSVINDER
PORTUGAL
CAVALO DE FERRO
ERLING JEPSEN
KUNSTEN AT GRDE I KOR
EDITORIAL PRESENA
JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN
KVINDEN I BURET
RECENTLY SOLD
RECENTLY SOLD
DANISH FICTION
ROMANIA
TOM KRISTENSEN
With his major work, the autobiographical novel Havoc
(1930), Tom Kristensen enters the period of inter-war
European modernism along with authors such as James
Joyce, Thomas Mann and Louis-Ferdinand Cline. In the
novel, Tom Kristensen presents a judgement of himself
and the times, the roaring 1920s, when he tells the story
of the failed author, Ole Jastrau, who leaves his middleclass existence as family man and literary critic in order to
plunge himself into the oblivion of alcohol.
EDITURA RAO
AFSPORET
RUSSIA
ARIEL
INGER CHRISTENSEN
UDVALGTE DIGTE
INOSTRANKA
AFSPORET
SERBIA
GEOPOETIKA
KAREN BLIXEN
DEN AFRIKANSKE FARM
KARPOS
KIM LEINE
PROFETERNE I
EVIGHEDSFJORDEN
SLOVAKIA
ARTFORUM
HELLE HELLE
DETTE BURDE SKRIVES I
NUTID
NORSTEDTS
JENS ANDERSEN
ASTRID LINDGREN BIOGRAFI
PEGASUS
CARSTEN NAGEL
ZEHRAS FLUGT
NORSTEDTS
YAHYA HASSAN
YAHYA HASSAN
YAPI KREDI PUBLISHING

INGER CHRISTENSEN
AZORNO
TAIWAN
YAPI KREDI PUBLISHING

STIG DALAGER
JEBLIKKETS EVIGHED
IKAR
AFSPORET
MARCO POLO
LENE KAABERBL &
AGNETE FRIIS
ET STILLE UMRKELIGT
DRAB
SLOVENIA
TURKEY
UCILA
AFSPORET
AYRINTI
CHRISTIAN JUNGERSEN
DU FORSVINDER
SPAIN
AYRINTI
CHRISTIAN JUNGERSEN
KRAT
ALFAGUERA
SISSEL-JO GAZAN
SVALENS GRAF
SWEDEN
ALBERT BONNIERS FORLAG
HANNE VIBEKE-HOLST
KNUD, DEN STORE
KABUSA
CLAUS BECK-NIELSEN
MINE MDER MED DANSKE
FORFATTERE
MASSOLIT
SARA BLDEL
DDESPORET
AYRINTI
CHRISTIAN JUNGERSEN
UNDTAGELSEN
DEDALUS
JOHANNES V. JENSEN
KONGENS FALD
MARTI
AFSPORET
UNITED KINGDOM
DALKEY ACHIVE PRESS
LARS SIDENIUS
JOHANNE, JOHANNE
GRANTA BOOKS
THORKILD HANSEN
UDDRAG
QUERCUS
SISSEL-JO GAZAN
SVALENS GRAF
SERPENTS TAIL
MARTIN KONGSTAD
FRYSER JEG
SOHO PRESS
LENE KAABERBL &
AGNETE FRIIS
DEN BETNKSOMME
MORDER
UNITED STATES
DALKEY ARCHIVE PRESS
LARS SIDENIUS
JOHANNE, JOHANNE
GRAND CENTRAL
PUBLISHING
SARA BLDEL
DDESPORET
QUERCUS
SISSEL-JO GAZAN
SVALENS GRAF
SERPENTS TAIL
MARTIN KONGSTAD
FRYSER JEG
SOHO PRESSS
LENE KAABERBL &
AGNETE FRIIS
DEN BETNKSOMME
MORDER
UKRAINE
KOMPANIYA KROK
DAN TURELL
MORD I MRKET
MARTI
ERIK VALEUR
DET SYVENDE BARN
23
RECENTLY SOLD
DANISH NON-FICTION
TOM BUK-SWIENTY
FINLAND
Karen Blixens father, Wilhelm Dinesen, is the central

figure in Tom Buk-Swientys latest drama documentary,
Captain Dinesen 1 Fire and Blood. Wilhelm Dinesen was an
aristocrat, adventurer, soldier, hunter, politician and author
and in choosing to join company with him, you follow in
part, a story about an extraordinary personality as well as a
fascinating journey through nineteenth century European
history, when Wilhelm Dinesen managed to experience
four wars over his brief lifespan. A second volume about
Wilhelm Dinesen is due for publication in Autumn 2014.
ATENA
THOMAS RODE ANDERSEN
STENALDERKOST
GUMMERUS
GRETHE DIRCKINCKHOLMFELD
EN VEN HJLPER EN OP AD
MUDDERET
GUMMERUS
GRETHE DIRCKINCKHOLMFELD
VIL DU VRE MIN KRESTE?
GERMANY
NEW ZEALAND
SCHWARZKOP &
SCHWARZKOP
MORTEN GRUNDWALD &
PER KUSKNER
MIN TID I GULE SOKKER
PENGUIN
CHRISTIAN BITZ &
ARNE ASTRUP
VERDENS BEDSTE KUR
ICELAND
UGL
KLAUS WIVEL
DEN SIDSTE NADVER
ITALY
FELTRINELLI
JESPER JUUL
AGGRESSION
JAPAN
SHINKYO
JOAKIM GARFF
SAK
THE NETHERLANDS
DE GEUS
MICHAEL RASMUSSEN &
KLAUS WIVEL
GUL FEBER
KOSMOS UITGEVERS
CHRISTIAN BITZ &
ARNE ASTRUP
VERDENS BEDSTE KUR 2
TEN HAVE
JOAKIM GARFF
SAK
24
NORWAY
AKADEMIKA FORLAG
CARSTEN BENDIXEN,
HENRIK FISCHER (RED.)
PSYKOLOGI I SKOLEN HVAD
VIRKER
AKADEMIKA FORLAG
ULF BRINKKJR,
MARIANNE HYEN
VIDENSKABSTEORI
FOR DE PDAGOGISKE
PROFESSIONSUDDANNELSER
ARNEBERG FORLAG
ANNA SKYGGEBJERG
INTROVERT
GYLDENDAL NORSK
AKADEMISK
RIKKE SCHWARTZ,
SUSAN HART (RED.)
BARNET OG DETS
RELATIONELLE MILJ
SPAIN

TOM BUK-SWIENTY
KAPTAJN DINESEN 1
SWEDEN

LARS HALSKOV
SCANDINAVIAN STAR
HERMON
KLAUS WIVEL
DEN SIDSTE NADVER
LIBRETTO FORLAG
THOMAS OLDRUP
DU SKAL VRE FAR
VIGMOSTAD & BJRKE
HELGE PETERSEN
POLITIKENS BOG OM
DRIVHUSET
CAPPELEN DAMM
LENE HOLME SAMSE
SUVERN STRIK
MORA
JESPER JUUL
AGGRESSION
GLEERUPS
CARSTEN BENDIXEN,
HENRIK FISCHER (RED.)
PSYKOLOGI I SKOLEN HVAD
VIRKER
NATUR OCH KULTUR
JOAKIM JAKOBSEN
TOUR DE FRANCE
STUDENTLITTERATUR
ULF BRINKKJR,
MARIANNE HYEN
VIDENSKABSTEORI
FOR DE PDAGOGISKE
PROFESSIONSUDDANNELSER
UNITED STATES
JACK MURPHY
THOMAS RATHSACK
I KRIG MED ELITEN
JOAKIM JAKOBSEN
Every year, millions gather in front of TV screens to
follow the wolds best cyclists in the Tour de France, and
year after year, they push their bodies through inhuman
hardships on the French country roads and mountaintops.
In his impressive, mammoth work, Tour de France, journalist
Joakim Jakobsen tells the story behind the race , following
its development from 1903 up until today drawing
portraits of the great and the small champions, describing
the most absurd incidents, telling the wildest anecdotes and
delving deep into the most crucial stages.
RECENTLY SOLD
RECENTLY SOLD
DANISH CHILDRENS BOOKS
AUSTRALIA
STABENFELDT
DORTE ROHOLTE
P EGET ANSVAR
BRAZIL
EDITORA OBJETIVA
SANNE MUNK JENSEN OG
GLENN RINGTVED
DIG OG MIG VED DAGGRY
FINLAND
STABENFELDT
DORTE ROHOLTE
P EGET ANSVAR
FRANCE
GALLIMARD JEUNESSE
MED BEDSTEMOR I TIDENS
LABYRINT
PIKA EDITION
METTE FINDERUP &
THOMAS MUNKHOLT &
LARS GABEL
GEMINI 1-6
POCKET JEUNESSE
KENNETH BGH ANDERSEN
JULEMANDENS DD
GERMANY
ARENA VERLAG
SABINE LEMIRE
365 TING
BOJE VERLAG
JAKOB MARTIN STRID
DA LILLE MADSENS HUS
BLSTE VK
BOJE VERLAG
JAKOB MARTIN STRID
DEN UTROLIGE HISTORIE OM
DEN KMPESTORE PRE
CARL HANSER VERLAG
JESPER WUNG-SUNG
SKOLEN
CARLSEN VERLAG
KENNETH BGH ANDERSEN
TISSEMYRENS BID. ANTBOY 1
GERSTENBERG
KIM FUPZ AAKESON & EVA
ERIKSSON
S BLEV FARFAR ET
SPGELSE
OETINGER VERLAG
SALLY ALTSHULER & SVEN
NORDQVIST
NOAS SKIB
QUERIDO
KIM FUPZ AAKESON &
EVA ERIKSSON
SNDAG
NEW ZEALAND
STABENFELDT
DORTE ROHOLTE
P EGET ANSVAR
SPAIN
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
ALBERT
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
EN FLODHEST I HUSET
NORWAY
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
FRODE OG ALLE DE ANDRE
RDDER
CAPPELEN DAMM
ASTRID LINDGREN &
VARIOUS ILLUSTRATORS
JULEFORTLLINGER
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
GUMMI TARZAN
GEORGIA

SANNE MUNK JENSEN &
GLENN RINGTVED
OETINGER VERLAG
SANNE MUNK JENSEN &
GLENN RINGTVED
STABENFELDT
DORTE ROHOLTE
P EGET ANSVAR
MTP
CECIL BDKER
SILAS OG BEN-GODIK
HUNGARY
STABENFELDT
METTE FINDERUP
EMMY 4+5
STABENFELDT
DORTE ROHOLTE
P EGET ANSVAR
ICELAND
FORLAG ID
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
ORLA FRSNAPPER
LATVIA
ZVAIGZNE ABC PUBLISHERS
JAKOB MARTIN STRID
DEN KMPESTORE PRE
MEXICO
LEGION COMIX
PETER MADSEN
VALHALLA
THE NETHERLANDS
MEULENHOFF
MED BEDSTEMOR I TIDENS
LABYRINTH

OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
OTTO ER ET NSEHORN
PDAGOGISK FORUM
JYTTE ANDERSEN
DET GEMMER SIG I
BLYANTEN
SCHIBSTED
JAKOB MARTIN STRID
DEN KMPESTORE PRE
SCHIBSTED
JAKOB MARTIN STRID
MIMBO JIMBO BESGER
EN VEN
SCHIBSTED
JAKOB MARTIN STRID
MIMBO JIMBO OG DE STORE
ELEFANTER
STABENFELDT
INA BRUHN
DITTE & LADY. HESTENE P
PONYGRDEN
STABENFELDT
ASTRID HEISE-FJELDGREN
JAGTEN P JOE. KYS OG
KANEL 4
STABENFELDT
DORTE ROHOLTE
P EGET ANSVAR
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
HODJA FRA PJORT
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
LILLE VIRGIL
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
ORLA FRSNAPPER
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
OTTO ER ET NSEHORN
RINOCERONTE EDITORA
OLE LUND KIRKEGAARD
PER OG BETTE-MADS
SWEDEN
BOKFRLAGET HEGASI
BENNI BDKER
ORION 1-4
NYPON
ANDERS MORGENTHALER
EN HUND EFTER SELSKAB
STABENFELDT
DORTE ROHOLTE
P EGET ANSVAR
UNITED STATES
ENCHANTED LION
GLENN RINGTVED &
CHARLOTTE PARDI
GRD BLOT HJERTE
SIMON & SCHUSTER
JESPER WUNG-SUNG
DEN SIDSTE HENRETTELSE
25
STORIES
WITH AN EDGE,
UNSOFTENED BY
CAMOUFLAGE
The content of Danish
picture books displays
a certainty that
children need not be
shielded from lifes
problems.
26
Most parents read aloud to their

children. They do this to entertain
and reassure them, and also to sooth
them or help them fall asleep. Picturebook time is often experienced as
enjoyable quality time for children
and parents alike. But the value of
these books goes far beyond just
entertainment. They also reveal a
great deal about the lives of children
in the countries in which they are set,
and about different societies view
of their children. In this way, these
apparently innocent picture books
plant a set of formative images in
the minds of these small, blissfully
unaware children; thus, picture books
become part of both the discourse
and the narrative arc that describe
what its like to be a child in a
particular country.
In Danish picture books, there is
a strong tradition of children being
depicted as individuals who can,
will and want to act independently.
Through the action in these books,

children are witnessed as being
transformed into small people who
can speak for themselves. Thus, the
children we meet within the pages
of a Danish picture book are often
free-spirited and rather rebellious;
they are not necessarily sweet or
well behaved characters. On the
contrary, they might have a nasty
edge; they might be bad-mannered
and wilful or even be struggling with
grim or forbidden feelings. These
books, therefore, tend to depict a
raw, realistic image of the child rather
than one that is sweetness and light
or idealised. However, this is also
an image of a child who has a more
nuanced attitude to life, a child who
can be far more than the cardboard
cut-out happy/sad model of a child.
No subject is too big or too small
to be included in a picture book. It
can address anything from everyday
situations, like being a fusspot,
PICTURE BOOKS
being unfriendly, sibling jealousy or
reluctance to accept a new parent,
to hefty existential questions such
as what its like to be different from
other people, or illness, or death. Life
is shown warts and all, completely
free of any softening camouflage; but
fortunately, there is also an ironic
or comical edge to make even the
harshest of topics somehow bearable.
And, more than any other element,
its the illustrations in picture books
that provide moments in which crisis
situations are given welcome twist.
These moments have come to play a
bigger and bigger role in the genre.
THE CRUCIAL
IMPORTANCE OF
COLLABORATION
Close cooperation between author
and illustrator is a factor that, in
recent years, has helped to push
Danish picture books to a new level.
Thanks to new types of training and
wider options for developing skills,
we are seeing far more examples
of top class work and, today, more
illustrators than ever are able to make
a living by illustrating childrens
books. This more professional
and holistic approach has been a
key element in the expansion of
skills. Once upon a time it was the
author who acted as the catalyst,
writing a text that was then sent to
an illustrator, who did the artwork
without necessarily engaging in a
dialogue with the author about the
way the text and images should
interact. Today, the collaborative
process is much closer, which is why
we are seeing books in which the text
and pictures do more than simply
strive to imitate each other. Instead,
the space created between text and
image becomes a place in which
humour and irony are brought to the
fore a place in which significant
moments and issues arise.
CONFIDENCE AND
SOLIDARITY
In other words, as they interact with
humour and irony, the illustrations
can take the sting out of the sometimes
harsh narratives being presented to
Danish children. In fact, there are very
few taboos in Danish picture books
for children, and this comes from a
tradition in which self-confidence and
solidarity are emphasised. This sense
of confidence stems from a belief
that even quite small children are
competent, sensible and able to reflect
on their circumstances and thereby
able to grapple with lifes problems.
Thus, the overall approach is one
that reflects the belief that too much
mollycoddling is a bad thing. Rarely
do Danish authors and illustrators of
childrens books seek to shield their
young readers. Rather, they address
them directly and honestly, without
talking down to them, believing
implicitly that children will be able to
process and interpret the issues being
raised. This includes the more lyrical
and poetic texts, which also often deal
with serious topics but not necessarily
by direct reference to them.
It may well be that the processing
of certain narratives requires a bit of
help from grown-ups, perhaps as they
read aloud for children. But adults also
benefit from reading picture books of
this sort. For the truth is that it is very
often not children who are afraid to
tackle issues such as jealousy, sickness
and death, but rather it is adults who
find it difficult to discuss these things
with their children. And it is precisely
in this area that the best of the picture
books can pave the way for discussions
about things like how hard it is to be
a big brother, how sad it is to lose a
special girlfriend, how horrible it is
when your parents are in the throes of
divorce, or how terrible it feels when
a grandparent or a favourite pet dies.
These narratives show how, despite
everything, such things can usually be
dealt with in a positive way.
27
DIFFICULT CHILDREN
AND THE CRAZY
ADULTS THEY HAVE
TO PUT UP WITH
FRKEN FINE (MISS FINE)
Book Prize, of which Gyldendal

was joint sponsor, in 2004. The tale
concerns a really, really bad little
frog who whooshes down from outer
space and lands slap bang in the
middle of an unsuspecting middleclass frog family. The story of the
totally impossible, misunderstood
frog-child is told with great humour
LILLE FR (LITTLE FROG)
BETTY
28
Naughty children who harbour

forbidden feelings and do nasty things
can be represented in any form, from
naked frogs to conventional-looking
children with pony tails and spiky
hair. Jakob Martin Strids book about
the little frog who pushes everything
to the limit, Lille Fr (Little Frog
Gyldendal), won the Nordic Picture
PICTURE BOOKS
and no little edge the little frog has
to go through the mill before finally
becoming a brilliant artist.
Difficult and anti-authoritarian
children also appear in more
conventional guises, as portrayed by,
amongst others, Kim Fupz Aakeson
in books such as Vitello (Gyldendal),
illustrated by Niels Bo Bojesen.
Vitello does not always behave as he

should in fact, far from it when he
gets a knife and discovers hes quite
good at carving his name on cars,
or when hes confronted with a new
stepfather, a prospect that he doesnt
welcome, to put it mildly. Like Vitello,
Betty (Gyldendal), captured in all her
angry glory by Rasmus Bregnhis
artwork and Alberte Windings text,

is filled with infinite rage when her
parents go to a party without her or
presume to dictate what she should
and shouldnt eat; while the Miss
in Katrine Marie Guldagers Frken
Fine (Miss Fine Carlsen), illustrated
by Mette-Kirstine Bak, deals with
things in a more internalised way
DENGANG MIN ONKEL KULLE BLEV SKR (THE TIME MY UNCLE KULLE WENT A BIT STRANGE)
VERDENS STRKESTE MAND (THE WORLDS STRONGEST MAN)
VITELLO
29

and becomes furiously jealous when
she returns home from her holidays
and discovers that her best friend has
betrayed her.
There is no guarantee in Danish
picture books that adults are going
to behave themselves, either. In
Kim Fupz Aakeson and Rasmus
Bregnhis Dengang min onkel Kulle
blev skr (The Time my Uncle Kulle

Went a Bit Strange Carlsen),
Uncle Kulle arrives on a visit, acting
strangely and wearing wellies, and
insists that he has been turned into a
rhododendron. Meanwhile, Verdens
Strkeste Mand (The Worlds Strongest
Man Gyldendal) would like to be
less powerful because hes scared of
MOR (MUM)
a method in his madness, declared the

Danish author Benny Andersen when he
presented the Silas Award to Aakeson
in 2009. The method can be found in
the fact that he is always on the side
of the children and talks to them like
an intimate friend, so that together
they can observe and share a mutual
bewilderment about adults. Those crazy
adults who always think they are right,
but whose avarice, calculating slyness
and self-importance leaves them
unstuck time after time or maybe a lot
worse than unstuck.
Most children know all too well the

feeling of being embarrassed by the
parents they have been landed with,
perhaps even wishing that they had
different ones. Still, there cant be many
who can beat the awful feelings aroused
by the monstrously fat, hotdog-eating,
carrot-dodging, diet-avoiding mother in
Kim Fupz Aakesons 1998 classic Mor
(Mum Gyldendal), who is captured
perfectly by Mette-Kirstine Baks
grotesque and incisive drawings. Theres
30
crushing his new-born daughter in his

enormous arms. This moving story by
Kim Fupz Aakeson & Lilian Brgger
deals with the difficulties of being
very strong and at the same time
trying to be gentle.
PICTURE BOOKS
LOTS OF ELEPHANTS
AND OTHER ANIMALS
Anthropomorphised animals are alive

and well, indeed thriving, in Danish
childrens books and are central to
the work of many illustrators. This
is certainly the case in the work of
Hanne Bartholin, whose arrival was
announced when she was awarded
the Ministry of Cultures Illustrator
Prize for Herman (Gyldendal), written
by Mats Letn. The book concerns a

sweet crocodile, Finn Herman, who
loves going on trips round town with
his mother, even though she never
stops giving him useful but rather
irritating advice. In 2005, Bartholin
changed animals and created an
elephant in Lille N (Little N
Gyldendal) in collaboration with her
MIMBO JIMBO
mangler Carl billede her

CARL
LILLE N (LITTLE N)
31

illustrator colleague Hanne Kvist.
In this tale, a husband and wife are
not sure whether they really want to
tame the little African elephant they
encounter one day, even though the
elephant would give its trunk to be
tamed. Bartholin has also explored an
elephant motif with the Danish author
Ida Jessen, who normally writes for
adults. Together they created a series

about another little elephant, Carl
(Hst & Sn), aimed at children aged
three to six, which presents everyday
situations such as really irritating
little brothers and sisters, and parents
who insist that youre big enough to
stand on your own feet. Books about
the little blue elephant Mimbo Jimbo
by Jakob Martin Strid take a similar

approach. Strid is also the author of
Den Utrolige Historie om den Kmpestore
Pre (The Incredible Story of the
Enormous Pear). All three books are
published by Gyldendal.
HERMAN
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Authors that have been published by Carlsen contact Lindhardt og Ringhof, Lotte Kjerskouv, lkj@lindhardtogringhof.dk
contact Gyldendal og Hst & Sn: Gyldendal Group Agency, Louise Langhoff Koch, louise_langhoff_koch@gyldendalgroupagency.dk
32
PICTURE BOOKS
SNEUGLEUNGEN ULLA (ULLA THE SNOWY OWL)
Who would have thought that young

snowy owls have problems speaking
correctly? But thats precisely the
problem that Ulla has in poet Mette
Moestrups Hvad Siger Sneugleungen
Ulla (Whats Ulla the Snowy Owl Saying?
Gyldendal), illustrated by Charlotte
Pardi. Even though she tries her best
with her vowels, its hopeless. A review in
the Berlingske gave it six out of six stars,

saying: The language has such lightness
of touch that the deeper meaning at
the heart of the story strikes home like
a punch to the stomach. The dialogue
is finely crafted. Everything is pared
back to its essence and put together
brilliantly. This is a highly creative way of
presenting linguistic confusion, coupled
with a fine balance between comedy and
vulnerability.
33
PLENTY OF
ACTION
BUT NOW
THERES
ROOM FOR
FEELINGS
TOO
Danish literature for boys is
undergoing a fundamental
change. Where the different
genres were once, in the main,
cut and dried, we are now
seeing books that dextrously
combine a credible action
narrative with references to
feelings, humour and politics.
34
LITERATURE FOR BOYS
There are many myths, preconceptions and prejudices when it comes

to gender and reading: woman
read novels and men read trade or
professional journals, for example.
These gender stereotypes around
reading habits are equally applied
to the youngest of reader profiles:
girls like real-life stories and enjoy
fantasy tales, while boys want thrills,
horror, humour and action if, that
is, they can bring themselves to look
at the printed word at all. Another
myth is that electronic media swept
books off the table a long time
ago, able to offer less demanding,
immediate satisfaction in the areas of
entertainment and action. Yet another
myth is that good books are no longer
written for boys and only bookish
girls are now catered for. In reality,
the question today is whether we
are actually justified in talking about
girls and boys books at all. These are
concepts that belong to an age when
the main characters in books for girls
busied themselves about the house
while, in books for boys, they were
launched into adventures in faraway
lands. Perhaps these genres are still
to be found, but they are far less
prominent than they once were.
HORROR, SPORT
AND HUMOUR
Even a cursory glance at the range

of books available in Denmark for
children and youths will dispel the
myth that books that appeal to boys
are no longer available. In fact, after
their first few school years, once they
have gained a strong proficiency in
reading, there are many book genres
that will appeal to even quite young
boys, not least in science-fiction,
action and magic. Take, for example,
the classic action story, Antboy
(Antboy the Hero Hst & Sn).
Kenneth Bgh Andersens superhero,
an alternative sort of Spiderman who
saves a whole town from destruction,
has gained quite a following among

Danish boys in recent years. Or take
an author like Benni Bdker, who has
penned an extensive and varied range
of books, and recently produced
the Zombie City 14 series (Corto
Publishers), easy-to-read horror
stories for the youngest independent
reader profile, which, it must be
said, are particularly aimed at boys.
Then there is Nicole Boyle Rdtnes
series, Zombie-Jger (Zombie Hunter
Alvilda Publishers).
The more realistic kind of book
that focuses more on sport and action,
and features the sort of impudence
and humour often required to get a
book to slide more easily into a boys
schoolbag, is also well represented.
Lars Bgeholt Petersens series FC
Fodboldvenner (Football Friends FC
Gyldendal) is a good example of
this, as is Daniel Zimakoffs FC Mezzi
series (Mezzi FC Carlsen), both of
which plunge us deep into the world
of football fans. The same goes for
Kasper Hoffs series Doktor Z (Doctor
Z Gyldendal), about the crazy
scientist Doctor Zakarov, who never
tires of coming up with new scientific
inventions for his small friends in
need, Viggo and Mylle. Author
Manu Sareen, meanwhile, uses more
weighty, issue-based humour in
his books about second generation
immigrant Iqbal Farooq (Carlsen and
Politiken Publishers), who straddles
a position between two ethnic camps
and doesnt always get Danish
customs and habits.
ACTION,
EXISTENTIALISM
AND SENSITIVITY
As evidenced by Manu Sareens

work, classic literature for youngsters
has taken on a more political,
existential and sensitive tone, thus
becoming less uni-gender. The
same thing can be seen, amongst
other places, in Trine Bundsgaards
35
Skolen (The School):

In this hardboiled yet lyrical tale of
terror, Jesper Wung-Sung challenges his
readers to dig deep, both in terms of their
own feelings and the content of the text,
as he describes what happens to a group
of children when they discover that their
school is under siege by a gang of men
dressed in black.
36
work. Bundsgaards theme is

friendship between boys, and she
raises questions around how stable
these friendships actually are. Her
book Mig & Milo (Me and Milo
Carlsen) features a fortune teller
whose warning that the two boys
friendship is in great danger turns out
to be true. The prolific award-winning
author Morten Drr is equally
unafraid of tackling lifes big issues
in books like Marias Dukke (Marias
Doll Hst & Sn), an engaging tale
in words and images about street
urchins for our youngest readers and,
for slightly older readers, Skaderne
(The Magpies Alvilda Publishers),
which tells the story of Oscar, who is
lost and forsaken after the death of
his mother until the magpies in the
garden bring him a letter from her.
This tendency to depict the lives
of children and youths who are living
on the edge whether in a literal
and physical sense or in a more
metaphorical and existential way is
evident in childrens books aimed
at all age groups, but is perhaps
most noticeable in those for older
young readers. Here we see a blend

of action and feelings, which means
that the books potentially carry
broader appeal for both genders. For
example, Ronnie Andersens realist
novel Komats (Coma Girl Hst &
Sn), which in 2013 was awarded The
Danish Ministry of Cultures Book
Prize, portrays a sixteen-year-old girl
who has problems with her alcoholic
mother and war veteran father. Its no
coincidence, therefore, that Denmark
itself, in the form of a belligerent
military state, has begun to feature
in literature for children. In Hell Man
(Gyldendal), Sanne Sndergaards
main character, the young Thor, goes
off to fight in Afghanistan, mainly
because he is searching for a future
with some kind of point to it and
doesnt know what else to do. Both
of these books depict young people
who are trying to find real meaning
in their lives and are challenged
to find out exactly how much they
can handle. This theme arises again
in Sanne Munk Jensen and Glenn
Ringtveds critically acclaimed novel
Dig og Mig ved Daggry (You and Me
LITERATURE FOR BOYS

at Dawn Gyldendal), a fatal story
about a love so wild and meaningful
that its worth dying for. (See also the
reference in Books in Brief on page
14.) Another author who embraces
major existential issues in his books
for younger people is Jesper WungSung, whose Den Sidste Henrettelse
(The Last Execution Hst & Sn)
explores the question of the right to
life and capital punishment. In his
most recent novel, Skolen (The School
Hst & Sn), three black-clad men
take over a school and erect a fence
around it, while food, medicine
and bodybags rain down from the
heavens around the unsuspecting
school pupils. The book is redolent
of The Lord of the Flies and explores
the psychological forces that are
unleashed when a framework for life
goes out of the window, along with all
rules and regulations.
Just like Ronnie Andersen, Sanne
Sndergaard, Sanne Munk Jensen &
Glenn Ringtved, Jesper Wung-Sung
combines credible action scenes
with effectively portrayed emotions,
managing to satisfy the appetites of
readers hungry for action as well as

those looking for tension of a more
psychological sort. These authors
offer action-packed narratives that
also contain discussions around
empathy, morality and ethics. At
the same time, they demonstrate
that the book as a concept is
still an incomparable method of
communication for both boys and
girls when it comes to conveying
the subtle interplay of actions and
emotions that occur between all
human beings.
Antboy:
A complete pushover who, in a
remarkable turn of events, ends up
saving a whole town from destruction,
Kenneth Bgh Andersens Antboy has
won a place in every Danish boys heart.
The books has been turned into a film
series in Denmark, which was sold to
the USA before it even reached Danish
screens.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Authors have been published by Carlsen contact Lindhardt and Ringhof, Lotte Kjeldskouv, lkj@lindhardtogringhof.dk. Corto
Publishers contact Nordin Agency, Henny Holmqvist, henny@nordinagency.se. Alvilda Publishers contact Alvilda Publishers, Pernille Larsen, pl@
alvilda.dk. Gyldendal and Hst & Sn contact Gyldendal Group Agency, Louise Langhoff Koch, louise_langhoff_koch@gyldendalgroupagency.dk.
Politiken Publishers contact Politiken Publishers, Nya Guldberg, Nya.Guldberg@jppol.dk
37
YA H
H A S YA
SAN
K IM
LEINE
E
N
I
R
E
H
T
A
ANNE- C NIT ZSK Y
RIEB
38
PHOTO: ANNE-SOPHIE FISCHER KALCKAR
Nordic Council
Literature Prize
awarded to
Kim Leine
G
N
I
N
HEN ENSEN
MORT
When Kim Leines striking
Greenlandic epic, Profeterne i
Evighedsfjorden (The Prophets of
Eternal Fjord), was published in
2012, Danish critics were bubbling
over with genuine sensual pleasure.
As one enthusiastic reviewer noted,
when Kim Leine drops his reader
into the middle of the story, so one
shields oneself from the fire and
shudders from the ice, scratches
ones wig for lice and grimaces
from the stench of blubber and
the reek of sweat. Readers and
AWARDS
IA
SA TA O L I VH O F
NORDEN
CL AUS
BE CK- NIE L S E
N
IDA
JES SEN
prize committees were obviously in

complete agreement, for his story
of the prophets planted itself at
the top of the bestseller lists and in
the months that followed ran away
with almost every available Danish
prize. The icing on the cake was the
Nordic Council Literature Prize for
which the adjudicating committees
citation read: The 2013 Nordic
Council Literature Prize is awarded
to Kim Leine for the novel, The
Prophets of Eternal Fjord, a gripping
epic about suppression and
rebellion, an anti-colonial, wildly

sprawling work that fantasises over
man as body and mind.
Kim Leine, born in 1961, was
first published in 2007 with his
autobiographical novel, Kalak. The
Prophets of Eternal Fjord, his fourth
novel i set in the 1780s and follows
the aspiring priest and anti-hero,
Morten Pedersen, on his travels
from Norway to Denmark and on to
Greenland. There he encounters the
charismatic preacher Habakuk and
his wife, who, in an act of rebellion

against the Danish colonial power,
have established a miniature
society deep in Eternal Fjord, the
dramatic focal point of the story.
Profeterne i Evighedsfjorden (The Prophets
of Eternal Fjord). Gyldendal 2012, 525
pp. PREVIOUS TITLES SOLD TO: France,
Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands,
Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, United
Kingdom, USA. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
39

This powerful and controversial
collection hammers resoundingly
into Danish taboos and prejudices
about second generation Danes,
who until now have rarely had a
voice in the cultural sphere. Yahya
Hassan has redressed the balance,
in style. You can read more about
him elsewhere in this magazine.
yngel (Slaughtered Pigs) won

Politikens prestigious novel
competition in 2013.
Golden Laurels
for novel about
a dysfunctional
family
Forbandede yngel (Slaughtered Pigs),

Politikens Forlag, 329 pp. PREVIOUS TITLES
SOLD TO: France, Norway. FOREIGN RIGHTS:
Politikens Forlag, Nya Guldberg, Nya.
Guldberg@jppol.dk.
PHOTO: SARA SKYTTE
Prizes for
uncompromising
poetry collection
Yahya Hassan, Gyldendal 2013, 169 pp.

SOLD TO: Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Norway, Sweden. FOREIGN RIGHTS: Gyldendal
PHOTO: MORTEN HOLTUM
40
PHOTO: ALBERT MADSEN
The book stores prize, the Golden

Laurels, has been awarded to
language officer and author
Anne-Catherine Riebnitzsky (born
1974) for her novel Forbandede
yngel (Slaughtered pigs). The novel
pursues the Afghanistan theme,
Riebnitzsky explored in her first,
non-fiction book, Kvindernes krig
(The Womens War) (2010) and her
fictional debut, Den stjlne vej (The
Stolen Road). Based closely on the
authors own life circumstances,
Forbandede yngel describes the
story of a language officer who is
sent to Afghanistan, but returns to
Denmark when her younger sister
tries to commit suicide. On the
flight home she talks to the military
doctor sitting next to her about her
awful, neglected childhood and that
dysfunctional family waiting for her
back home. A review in Politiken
called Forbandede yngel A moving
novel that should be devoured.
Anne-Cathrine Riebnitzsky
won BogForums Debutant Prize in
2012 for Den stjlne vej (The Stolen
Road) and her book Forbandede
Montana Prize to
Lodestone
The whole country is talking about

Yahya Hassan, the 18-year-old
poet who won BogForums Debutant
Prize in 2013 and has already made
literary history with Denmarks
fastest selling poetry collection
of all time. Only a month after
his self-titled debut collection
of poetry was published, 37,000
copies had already been sold. The
authorities come in for a roasting
in the collection, which describes
a violent childhood characterised
by criminality, drug abuse and
the experience of being let down
again and again and again. After
Yahya Hassan was awarded both
the daily newspaper Politikens
Literature Prize in January 2014
and Weekendavisens Literature
Prize, sales jumped to 100,000.
If everything doesnt go under, I

believe with time, Nordenhof can
become a great, great literary figure
at home, one enthusiastic reviewer
wrote for Politiken, upon publication
of Asta Olivia Nordenhofs second
collection of poems, Det nemme
og det ensomme (The Easy and the
Lonely). The review called the young
author, born in 1988, a lodestone
drawing clichs upon herself: she
is a star, one of a kind. Seen in that
light, it isnt surprising that the
newspaper, Information and Testrup
Folk School awarded Nordenhof the
Montana Prize for her condensed,
AWARDS
Klovnens rejse (The Clowns Voyage).
Its colourful narrative garnished
with historical research. The novel
follows the former circus clown,
Albert Palopoli. From a care home
by the Odense River, his final stop,
tells about his lifes voyages through
Europe during two world wars,
together with his family and best
friend, the elephant, Petite Trompe.
Henning Mortensen, born in 1939,
has written more than fifty books
across all genres, including the ten
novel series about Ib Nielsen and
the Sondrup trilogy about peculiar
events in the province.
autobiographical collection of
poems. The Easy and the Lonely
positions itself somewhere
between broken prose and lyrical
composition and with a rare, honest
voice, tells of becoming an orphan
at a young age, of being admitted to
psychiatric wards, of earning a living
as a prostitute and of growing up
with a violent father - but also of life
as a dishonourable miracle.
Asta Olivia Nordenhofs frst
collection of poems, Et ansigt
til Emily (A Face for Emily) was
published in 2011.
Det nemme og det ensomme (The Easy and
the Lonely), Basilisk 2013, 55 pp. FOREIGN
RIGHTS: Forlaget Basilisk, Peter Hyrup,
admin@basilisk.dk
Klovnens rejse (The Clowns Voyage),

Gyldendal Group Agency, Sofie Voller, sofie_
voller@gyldendalgroupagency.dk
Medal to Palopoli
the clown
Nominations to the
Nordic Council
PHOTO: MIKLOS SZABO
PHOTO: HANNE WIENBERG
PHOTO: ISOLDE OHLBAUM
With his sympathetic insight into

the comedic and melancholic life
of a clown, this diligent author
presents a rather peculiar and
motley picture of the twentieth
century. With its original twist, the
novel enters into a long tradition of
making use of the insightful, wry
perspectives of a jester. Thus read
the citation when author Henning
Mortensen secured himself the
Holberg Medal for his novel,
This year, Ida Jessen and Claus

Beck-Nielsen will represent
Denmark in the competition for the
Nordic Council Literature Prize. In
its citation, the committee says of
Ida Jessens short stories, Postkort
til Annie (Postcard for Annie): With
these short stories, Ida Jessen
shines in her literary exploration of
the strong ties between people, how
they are bound, how they are broken.
It is existential and psychological
wisdom in short story form. But
its also high-energy prose with a
sizzling drive in terms of language
and composition; its narrative tone
is both subdued and reckless and
has an indulgent humour and clear,
enigmatic images. Claus BeckNielsen formerly wrote under the
names Das Beckwerk and Nielsen.
The committee had this to say
about his novel, Mine mder med De
Danske Forfattere (My Encounters
With The Danish Authors): What is
sensational about this book is the
humour that constantly balances
on the borders of seriousness. The
portraits of the Danish authors
maybe well be caricatures but
they all hold a truth if only a
mythological truth, seen from the
point of view of the writer as he
recollects himself as young and
hesitant man. The Nordic Council
Literature Prize will be awarded in
October 2014 in Stockholm.
Ida Jessen
Postkort til Annie (Postcard for Annie),
SOLD TO: Germany, Korea, Netherlands,
Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden. FOREIGN
Claus Beck-Nielsen
Mine mder med De Danske Forfattere
(My Encounters With The Danish Authors),
SOLD TO: Norway, Sweden. FOREIGN RIGHTS:
Leonhardt & Hier Literary Agency, Anneli
Hier, anneli@leonhardt-hoier.dk
41
SUPPORT
SCHEMES
THE DANISH ARTS
FOUNDATIONS COMMITTEE
FOR LITERARY PROJECT
FUNDING WORKS TO PROMOTE
DANISH LITERATURE AT
HOME AND ABROAD AND
HELPS FACILITATE LITERARY
EXCHANGE PROJECTS
BETWEEN DENMARK AND
OTHER COUNTRIES.
INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Support may be provided to foreign publishers,
heads of festivals and the like who wants to
acquire an insight into contemporary Danish
literature and visit the Danish publishers, festivals
ect., to strengthen network and dialogue between
the Danish and international literary partners.
There is no application deadline, and applications
will be processed as quickly as practicable.
SAMPLE TRANSLATION FUND

Foreign translators, theatres, and publishers may
apply for support to finance sample translations of
Danish literature.
TRANSLATION FUND
APPLICATION
GUIDELINES, DEADLINES
AND ELECTRONIC
APPLICATION FORMS
MAY BE OBTAINED AT
DANISHARTS.DK
Support is provided to foreign publishing houses

that publish works translated from Danish. Support
is provided to works of fiction, general works of
non-fiction, comics/graphic novels, and childrens
literature translated by professional translators.
There are three annual application deadlines.
NORDIC TRANSLATION FUND: INTER-NORDIC TRANSLATIONS
CONTACT:
THE DANISH ARTS FOUNDATIONS

COMMITTEE FOR LITERARY PROJECT FUNDING
LITT@KULTURSTYRELSEN.DK
WWW.DANISHARTS.DK
42
Support may only be sought for the translation of

works from Danish. Support for translations into
Danish must be sought from within the country
in which the respective work was originally
published. The funds for Nordic translations
are distributed on behalf of the Art and Culture
Program of Nordic Culture Point under the
Nordic Council of Ministers.
SUPPORT SCHEMES
SAMPLE
TRANSLATION
FUND
INTERNATIONAL
RESEARCH
PROGRAMME
GENERAL
FUND
TRANSLATION
FUND
THE DANISH
ARTS FOUNDATION
SUPPORT SCHEMES
PROMOTION
GRANTS
NORDIC
TRANSLATION
FUND
LITERARY
EXCHANGE
FUND
LITERARY EXCHANGE FUND
GENERAL FUND
Support may be provided to defray travel and

hotel expenses in connection with a Danish
authors participation in literary festivals, readings
and publication events abroad, if there is a formal
invitation.
Support may be provided to foreign authors
travelling to Denmark on the same conditions.
In addition, foreign translators of Danish literature
may apply for support to defray travel expenses in
connection with shorter stays in Denmark.
Professional translators may apply for travel
grants in connection with specific translation
projects as well as for supplemental linguistic and
cultural training.
Normally, support is only provided for events,

publications, and seminars in Denmark. In
exceptional cases, however, the Danish Arts
Foundations Committee for Literary Project
Funding may subsidize the publication abroad of
Danish works in translation and events, that have
a special focus on Danish literature.
In a pilot project the Danish Arts Foundations
Committee for Literary Project Funding has
earmarkedspecial funds to cover the cost of
printing and production forforeign publishers
wishing to publish Danish illustrated childrens
books in translation.Publishers can apply for a set
grant of 1,000 euros.
There are two annual application deadlines.
PROMOTION GRANTS
Foreign publishers can apply for grants for the
promotion of Danish literature abroad.
43
THE DANISH ARTS FOUNDATION WORKS TO PROMOTE ART

IN DENMARK AND DANISH ART ABROAD.
THE DANISH AGENCY FOR CULTURE IS THE ADMINSTRATIVE
ARM OF THE DANISH ARTS FOUNDATION.
www.danisharts.dk
ORGANISATIONS
DANISH WRITERS OF FICTION AND POETRY
THE DANISH WRITERS ASSOCIATION
was founded in 1991 and has approx. 200 members
is Denmarks oldest professional association for writers

and translators. It was founded in 1894 and has approx.
1350 members. The association includes the
Danish Translators Association.
df@danskforfatterforening.dk / www.danskforfatterforening.dk
kontor@skoenlit.dk / www.skoenlit.dk
THE DANISH PLAYWRIGHTS AND SCREENWRITERS GUILD

(founded in 1906) is an association for theater,
radio, television and film scriptwriters.
It has approx. 300 members.
admin@dramatiker.dk / www.dramatiker.dk
THE DANISH BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION

is a trade association for Danish booksellers.
The association has approx. 380 members and
represents 90% of all Danish booksellers.
ddb@bogpost.dk / www.boghandlerforeningen.dk
THE DANISH PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

(founded in 1837) is a trade association for individuals
and firms involved in the publishing industry.
The association accounts for approx. 2/3 of
the overall turnover from Danish publications,
including multimedia.
danskeforlag@danskeforlag.dk / www.danskeforlag.dk
DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY THE DANISH ARTS

FOUNDATIONS COMMITTEE FOR LITERARY PROJECT FUNDING.
THE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED TWICE ANNUALLY.
DANI S H AR T S . D K

DLM SPRING2014 FIN Screen2 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

DLM SPRING2014 FIN Screen2 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THE DANISH ARTS FOUNDATION

DANISH LITER ARY MAGA ZINE

DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

Lotte Kirkeby Hansen

Paul Larkin, Paul Russell Garrett, Lindy Falk Van Rooyen

LITERATURE FOR BOYS

DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE

Few authors can boast of having

will begin to feel; and for the blind

throwing six out of six hearts at

Scandinavia has its own

DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE

BOOKS IN BRIEF / FICTION

SUSANS FEELING FOR

A couple have twins, but their paths

MAN IN FREE FALL

Effekten af Susan (The Susan Effect),

Anden person ental (Second person singular),

Men (Just Men), Samleren 2014, 432

DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE

LITERARY BIOGRAPHY OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL REUNION WITH THE PAST

The French painter Paul Gauguin

Vor tids helt (Hero of Our Time) is

When Niels father suddenly passes

Din hengivne (Your devoted), Gyldendal

Vor tids helt (Hero of Our Time), Gladiator

Opland (Hinterland), Peoples Press 2014, 385

BOOKS IN BRIEF / FICTION

This is great; better than ever before.

MADS PEDER NORDBO

I virkeligheden (In Reality), Lindhardt og

Agterudsejlet (Left behind), Rosinante 2014,

Thuleselskabet (The Thule Society), Lindhardt

DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE

WILD FAMILY TALE

STRONG FAMILY DRAMA

RAW AND INCISIVE

Many of the stories in Peder Frederik

SIGNE LANGTVED PALLISGAARD

PEDER FREDERIK JENSEN

De trstige (The Thirsty), Samleren 2014,

Et andet sted (Another place), Lindhardt

Banedanmark (Danish Rail), Samleren 2014,

BOOKS IN BRIEF / FICTION

Zeuthen completely destroys his

NAJA MARIE AIDT

KATRINE MARIE GULDAGER

Et sted i verden (A Place in the World),

Strler (Rays), Samleren 2013, 59 pp. FOREIGN

NAJA MARIE AIDT, METTE MOESTRUP,

DANISH LITERARY MAGAZINE

LOUISE RICK IS BACK

Sara Bldel does it again: expertly

Agnete Friis and Lene Kaaberbl get

LENE KAABERBL & AGNETE FRIIS

Ddesporet (Death Trail), Peoples Press 2013,

Serafine, Rosinante 2014, 400 pp. PREVIOUS

Den betnksomme morder (The Thoughtful

BOOKS IN BRIEF / CRIME

The brother and sister team Sren

LOTTE AND SREN HAMMER

BDKER & BRUUN

Forflgerne (The Persecutors), Politikens