WHEN THE KING DIES sold to Norway and Sweden: 7 territories in 2 weeks!

Elina Backman’s crime novel WHEN THE KING DIES (Otava, May 2020) and it’s sequel THE ISLE OF SHEEP (Otava 2021) are the hottest books of this summer! We had auctions in Norway and Sweden, and we are excited to announce that the Norwegian rights are now sold to Cappelen Damm, and Swedish rights to Bokfabriken, both in 2-book-deals.

Last week we sold the German, Dutch and Estonian rights, and we also have offers for film and TV! Yesterday we received the first Czech offer!

Other big news is that we now have a 50-page English sample!

Praise:

”We are simply delighted to have Elina Backman on our crime list!! Her debut Kun kuningas kuolee is smart, confident, exciting, elegant, entertaining and more!”
– Ida Cleve, Editor, Cappelen Damm, Norway

”A new star on the Nordic crime scene. With a real page turner that keeps the readers on theirs toes until the end.”
– Henrik Lindvall, Publisher, Bokfabriken, Sweden
“Elina Backman is a very exciting addition to our crime list and we are very proud to be able to publish her. With the fantastic WHEN THE KING DIES and the plans for her second book already in development we have every confidence she is more than capable of becoming as popular as authors such as Jo Nesbø, Lars Kepler and Hjorth Rosenfeldt. Dutch and Flemish readers love high quality crime fiction from Scandinavia, and Elina Backman is one of the most exciting new voices we have recently come across.”
– Chris Kooi, Acquiring Editor, Cargo/De Bezige Bij, the Netherlands

#1 WHEN THE KING DIES:
Kun kuningas kuolee,
Otava, May 2020, 495 pp.Jan, a Helsinki-based police officer investigates a ritualistic murder taking place at Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Meanwhile in idyllic countryside an ex-journalist Saana starts to dig up information of a girl who died in the 80’s in Hartola – in the only kingdom in Finland. Jan and Saana’s paths will cross – for more than one reason.

Rights sold:

FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak (Two-book deal)
CZECH REPUBLIC: first offer
GERMANY: Piper Verlag (Two-book deal)
NETHERLANDS: De Bezige Bij/Cargo (Two-book deal)
NORWAY:  Cappelen Damm (Two-book deal)
SWEDEN: Bokfabriken (Two-book deal)
TV/FILM: Offer on the table

Elina Backman


Elina Backman, 37, is a media & marketing professional living in Helsinki, in an old wooden 1920 house with a family of 2 kids and a husband. Elina loves books (all sorts), travelling, cycling and is a host of a Book & Wine Club. She is a creative soul with a commercial mind, and her goal is to find readers globally – her dream is a Netflix series based on her novels.

Her debut novel When the King Dies was published in May 2020 and has immediately gained an enormous amount of attention from the Finnish media, including a praising review by the biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

Bibliography


Elina Backman

When the King Dies

2020 May, Crime & Thriller

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