We are proud to announce that we are representing on behalf of Shared Stories the Dutch bestselling titles The Latecomer by Dimitri Verhulst (Spain and Sweden) and Ventoux by Bert Wagendorp (Spain). Both books are strong, plot driven novels published in 2013 by Uitgeverij Atlas Contact and are a huge success in Holland where they hit the bestselling list for months.

The Latecomer by Dimitri Verhulst (May 2013, Altas Contact)

More than 80.000 copies sold!

Foreign rights sold to Portobello (Uk, World Rights), Luchterhand (Germany) and Denöel (France)

Original title: De laatkomer, pages: 140, genre: fiction

The Latecomer by Dimitri Verhulst tells the story of Désiré Cordier, an ordinary 74 years old man who is stuck in a loveless and boring marriage with the dominant and bitter Moniek de Petter. One day he decides to escape to hide in an old people’s home, pretending to be senile. Désiré appears to be a sublime actor! Although he has to fake incontinency and is surrounded by mentally disabled people day and night, he couldn’t be happier: he is not only separated from his wife, he also meets his childhood sweetheart Rosa who is a patient too. With Rosa on his side he feels younger and more free than ever before. Once he has opened up his mind and heart to the dramatic, uncontrollable and sometimes hilarious situations occurring amongst the senile patients, he fully enjoys the adventure of being alive…

The Latecomer is a fascinating and engrossing story, told in a captivating way and overflowing with dark humor, with the cynical voice that the bestselling and highly appreciated Verhulst has made into his personal literary style. The Latecomer has sold over 80.000 copies in the Netherlands and is highly praised by the literary critics!

Recently the Latecomer has been selected for ‘Books at Berlinale’ at the Berlin Film Festival. The selection was made from more than 120 books from over 25 countries and will be presented to experienced filmmakers and producers.

 

 

Dimitri Verhulst (Belgium, 1972) is considered one of the best writers in the Dutch language. Since his first book in 1999, he has published a constant stream of novels, plays and poetry. His breakthrough came in 2006 with the novel De helaasheid der dingen (The Misfortunates). The book won several awards including the Golden Owl Literature Prize and has sold more than 200,000 copies to date. The English translation was named one of the best books of 2012 by The Irish Times. The film The Misfortunates, directed by Felix van Groeningen, screened all over Europe, and won the Prix Art et Essai at the Cannes Film Festival’s Quinzaine des Réalisateurs and was the official Belgian entry for the Academy Awards.

In 2009 his book Goddamn Days on a Goddamn Globe was awarded the Libris Literature Prize. Dimitri Verhulst’s work has been published in more than 30 countries.

Watch here the book trailer of The Latecomer.

Ventoux by Bert Wagendorp (June 2013, Altas Contact)

More than 100.000 copies sold!

Foreign rights sold to btb (Germany), Turbine (Denmark), Galaade (France) and Kagge (Norway)

Original title: Ventoux, pages:288, genre: fiction

Bart Hoffman, crime reporter and cyclist, is almost fifty years old when his childhood friends André, Joost, and David come back into his life. They retrieve memories of the summer of 1982: the summer spent with his best friends, five men and one woman; the summer of his hopeless infatuation with the beautiful Laura; the summer of betrayal; and the summer of the death on Mont Ventoux. The five eighteen-year-old boys climbed the legendary mountain on their bicycles, and only four of them returned. An accident on the slopes claimed the life of Peter, the promising young poet, a tragic incident that shattered their near-magical bonds of friendship and drove the friends apart. Laura, Peter’s muse, vanished without a trace.

Thirty years later, in the summer of 2010, Laura invites the four men to visit her home in Provence, where she works as a theatrical director. The friends find themselves travelling back into their past, with their racing bicycles strapped to the roof, their lost years in the back seat, and their inner demons trailing behind them.

Ventoux is a moving tragicomedy about the nature of true friendship, a hilarious and insightful portrait of a generation, and a two-wheeled journey toward the consequences of youthful choices, in search of forgiveness and a new beginning. The novel sold over more than 100.000 copies.

 

Bert Wagendorp (The Netherlands, 1956) is a highly appreciated columnist at the Dutch daily De Volkskrant and the author of the novella De Proloog (The Prologue) and the short story collection De dubbele schaar (The Double Scissors). Producer Hans de Wolf of KeyFilm, director Nicole van Kilsdonk, and Bert Wagendorp have joined forces to make a film adaptation of the book.