50 editions & 550.000 copies sold
The bestselling literary thriller!
A multi-faceted thriller that impressively weaves together the themes of love, loss, betrayal/deception, war trauma, atonement and self-discovery. A memorable novel that not only grips us with its suspense, but also confronts us with the horrific realities of war, while at the same time delivering an uplifting, romantic conclusion.
ThrillZone Award (best Dutch crime novel 2021)
Hebban Favorite 2021 (across all genres)
Hebban Crime Award 2022
Most borrowed book of 2023 (prize by CPNB)
NS Readers Award 2023
Rights held: Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Portuguese (P&B)
Enquiries: info@asteriscagents.com
384 p.
Fiction: #LiteraryThriller #HebbanCrimeAward #1000FiveStarReviews
Original language: Dutch. Long English sample available
Rights Sold:
Dutch (Luitingh-Sijhthoff, original ed)
world English (Simon & Schuster)
Catalan (Columna)
Italian (Neri Pozza)
Spanish (RBA)
Polish (Otwarte)
French (Bragelonne, preempt)
Film rights: to NLFilm
Link: De Camino in Goodreads
Told in two voices, a moving and true love story that challenges the tragic current events of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the growing gap that separates two nations. A man and a woman become outlaws after their love goes beyond borders.
Told in two voices: Osama, a Palestinian professor yearning for freedom who lives and teaches in Ramallah but is trapped in the city, unable to leave it for fear of not being permitted to return; and Sari is an Israeli-American lawyer whose passion for freedom of movement drives her legal battles against the Israeli authorities.
The author and main character, Sari Bashi, is the program director of Human Rights Watch.
Rights held: Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Portuguese (P&B)
Enquiries: info@asteriscagents.com
Fiction / Narrative memoir
Original language: Hebrew. Full English text available
Rights sold: Italian (Voland)
More information about the author here and downloadable below
An upmarket commercial title recounting a year in the life of ‘little mister’, a neighbourhood cat living in Amsterdam. Warm and atmospheric.
7.000 copies sold | 7 languages | 4 preempts
The book follows a year in the life of Little Mister, an Amsterdam cat who makes friends with all the (human) neighbours in the neighbourhood, each one more bizarre than the last: from a former acrobat who now spends his days hooked on reality shows sitting on one of those mobility scooters to an eccentric woman who wears a dead guinea pig on her head and sees Little Mister as her dead pet. The cat shares his observations in a funny way, observations that do not stop hiding a deeper reflection on these apparently everyday encounters.
A loving and moving tribute to this unforgettable cat, who touched so many lives.' Georgina Verbaan
'A touching book about a cat and its owner' - ELLE
'An ode to her exceptional cat' - LINDA
'A feline story about humanity' - JAN
In a light-hearted and humorous way, multiple-award-winning children’s non-fiction author Marc ter Horst tackles climate change for curi- ous young readers – and anyone else who wants to listen. He does this honestly, without hiding the truth, but always in an optimistic, hopeful manner. Just like his book for slightly older readers, Palm Trees at the North Pole, Farting Cows and Cars is an enlightening read about the climate issues and its solutions. His most recent book, Virus World, won a Silver Pencil in 2022.
A Little Book on Climate Change
"Dear publisher,
'The Gnome Book' is a book I have always wanted to make. I took all the time I needed for this project and worked on it for more than eighteen months. I felt The Gnome Book had to be very original and modern. It shouldn’t be about the gnomes you might know from stories and fairy tales from the past, but about the modern gnome of our time." Loes Riphagen
Discover with Riphagen how gnomes live, what they’re up to during the day and how they keep themselves hidden so well. As per usual, Loes has created a work with lots of hidden jokes in every single one of her illustrations. Whether it’s a step by step plan for fabricating a gnome’s red hat or a cross section of a gnome’s house. Loes Riphagen’s work is a feast to the eyes!
In 1989 twenty-one-year-old Marie leaves the Netherlands in a great rush. In Paris she starts work as an au pair for a bourgeois family and tries to build a new life for herself.
In the publisher's words: A literary hot title covering all kind of subjects (identity, friendship guilt, obsession, abuse, power relations, terrorism), connecting these most elegantly. In her poignant, straightforward and elegant style Bronwasser handles this fast-paced story perfectly. She grips the reader from the beginning and keeps you wondering as to what will happen next. All expectations of the reader again and again are not met.
6 weeks – 6 prints – 10.000 copies
"A highly ingenious novel that is also moving. Resolute and evocative, and told in a way that definitely rewards the reader." – NRC
"Ingenious new novel. Masterfully constructed. A novel that you can only admire." – Trouw
"A meticulously constructed and convincing story that gets under your skin from the very first page." – De Telegraaf
"Multi-layered story, with an interesting structure." – Het Parool
One day, browsing the stands at a garage sale, two lovers Melisande and Guillaume’s gaze fall upon a strange painting. In the foreground, they see a serene Chinese woman, while in the background they spot a couple who could easily be themselves but much older. How can such a coincidence be possible? Or is there something more to it? To unravel the mysteries, the two lovers set off on a great journey through China. They don't yet imagine all of the secrets that the painting is hiding and how much their life will change.
A contemporary love story, faithfully reproduced in a historical painting, directly leads a couple on a mysterious journey into the heart of China.
Rights held: Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Portuguese (P&B)
Enquiries: info@asteriscagents.com
276 p.
Fiction: #Romantic #LifeChangingTravel
Original language: French. English Sample available.
Rights sold: English (Harvard Square), German (Drachenhaus), Polish (Slowne), Russian (MTS Library)
Link: Plot & Key Selling Points
The Sleeping Car Porter brings to life a long-neglected part of Black and queer histories through the spellbinding, magical story of the singular –and unforgettable– Baxter, the car porter.
Rights held: Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Portuguese (P&B)
Enquiries: info@asteriscagents.com
224 p.
Fiction: #BlackHistory #QueerLiterature
Rights sold: UK (Dialogue Books/Hachette UK), German (Wagenbach)
Link: Praises, Awards & Reviews
Babinsky has a gift. A gift from heaven. He aims and shoots like no one else. Taken in by a professional criminal in the orphanage where he grew up, he becomes a contract killer in spite of himself. But beware! He might be a hitman, but he is also a humanist who has made it his job to make his future victims happy before he kills them.
Babinsky is a hitman.
A hitman, yes, but he is also a humanist who has made it his job to make his future victims happy before he kills them.
Rights held: Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Portuguese (P&B)
Enquiries: info@asteriscagents.com
196 p.
Fiction: #CosyCrime #UnusualThriller
Original language: French. English sample available
Rights sold: Mass-market (Le livre de Poche), French audio (SAGA), Russian (MTS Library), Movie rights (optioned)
Link: The Humanist Killer in Leor's site
A magic rule to solve any problem in life.
The most emotional story to learn how to solve life's problems by looking within yourself. Happiness was never so within reach.
+ 1 million copies in Japan | 200k copies in Spanish
Title of the bestselling EMOTION SERIES:
Small short books with inspirational fables on emotions.
Rights held: World
Enquiries: info@asteriscagents.com
104 p. · Softcover · 13x18
#FeelGoodFables #MagicRule #InspirationalSeries
Original language: Japanese. Foreign translations accepted from Spanish edition
Rights sold: Spanish (Comanegra), Italy (Sperling & Kupfer), Portugal (Presença), Greece (Pedio), Serbia (Vulkan)
Link: Meet the Author in YouTube
Bird is dead. Yesterday he was alive. Some of the other birds cry a little. And that’s alright. Crying together can be nice. Then it’s time to give Bird a funeral. All of Bird’s friends and even some of the birds who didn’t like him that much are helping. They dig a grave. They speak lovely words. They sing a song. They miss him a lot, and cry some more. And after? Tea and worms. Or cake, if you don’t like worms.
Managed by mice, the library lends books to all the animals in the forest. The daily life is happy and readers celebrate book picnics. But one day, some rats (intrigued by the success of the books) decide to eat and destroy as many books as possible. The mice shocked and surprised, decide to get back all the books and to do so, they will need to learn how to make books and to travel back in time to look for its authors. Will they save the destroyed library?