Omnipax Foreign rights catalogue 2012

RIGHTS: OMNIPAX (IMPRINTFORLAGET) P.O.Box 2336 Solli NO-0201 Oslo e-mail: [email protected]

OMNIPAX 2012 International rights catalogue

Picture books

ÅSA GAN SCHWEDER (text and ill.) FROM FIONALAND A new child is going to be born – six-year old Thale invites us to take part in her ideas of the mystery of life.

A quiet, extraordinarily beautiful picture book: The mystery of

life, seen from the child’s perspective. Thale’s aunt is going to

have a baby, and while waiting for the baby to come, Thale

and the mother-to-be talk about what it will be like, and what

it is like to be in “Fionaland”, the place where babies are

before they are born, according to Thale. When the baby

Fiona arrives, Thale wonders what goes on in her head, what

ideas she may have about her and the world around them.

In soft, transparent watercolours, the characters’ emotions

are shown with exceptional sensitivity, according to critics.

Target: 4 up Published 2011 Original title: Fra Fionaland Fully illustrated, in four colours. Pages: 40 Size: 230 x 290 mm

Åsa Gan Schweder, b. 1973, is a Master of illustration and book design from the Royal College of Art in London (1999) and in

philosophy from Binkbeck, London University (2003). She made her

debut with the novel Silkeormdrømmer – Silk Worm Dreams in 2006, with her own illustrations. Silk Worm Dreams is sold to Germany and

The Ukraine.


ÅSHILD SKADBERG (text) and LINE HALSNES (ill.) HAVE YOU SEEN OUR CAT? Most cat lovers have at one stage or other made the horrible experience of losing a cat. Here is a story – in verse – about what may have happened to a few of them.

Seven different cats, each with its own personality and

characteristics, disappear from their owners – one for each day

of the week. So, what may have happened to them? Where did

they go to? Perhaps they have found a new home, or a

wonderful new existence somewhere? Or perhaps not. We put

up labels on trees and lampposts, hoping for someone to bring

the loved ones back. But no matter how hard we try, and how

much we hope – the cats could not care less. In rough, poetic

rhymes and illustrations full of soul, the author and illustrator,

both of them lovers of, and experts on, cats give us an idea of

what the disappearing cats may be up to.

Target: 4 up Published 2012 Original title: Har du sett katten vår Fully illustrated, in four colours. Pages: 32 Size: 170 x 240 mm

Åshild Skadberg, b. 1968, has studied Nordic languages, psychology and literature at the University

of Oslo, and is currently working as a journalist. She made her debut with Dina and the Dream Horses

(2005).

Line Halsnes, b. 1981, has studied illustration at Norwich School of Art and Design. Freelance

illustrator and designer, also writing and illustrating for Aristokatt, the membership organ for The

National Association for Thoroughbred Cats.


KARIN HAKE (text) and MALGORZATA PIOTROWSKA (ill.) MAYBY GRANDAD IS A STAR? Grandad is Sara’s best friend. When Grandad dies, Sara contemplates where he may have gone to. Grandad is the one who can read bedtime stories to Sara, 5, he picks her up after nursery school, and together, they look at the stars to say hello to the beloved grandmother who passed away earlier. When Grandad is suddenly taken ill and dies, Sara’s big hope is that he too has become a star. A warm story about a child’s grief, where there is also room for describing the adults’ sorrow, but consistently told from the child’s perspective. It is Sara’s experience that we take part in, when she sees her mother’s tears. Or in the church, when she insists on following the coffin to the grave, or when she actually imagines seeing Grandad as a star. Malgorzata Piotrowska’s water colour illustrations wonderfully catch the warmth, the grief and the hope that this story is so full of. Target: 4 up To be published in 2012 Original title: Kanskje bestefar er en stjerne? Fully illustrated, in four colours. Pages: 48 Size: 230 x 260 mm

Karin Hake, b. 1939, is cand. paed from The University of Oslo. She has been engaged in research projects for The Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation in the field of children and television, and has developed a research method for interviewing young children. She has written several books on children and tv. Maybe grandad is a star? is her first picture book for children. Malgorzata Piotrowska, b. 1957 in Poland, is educated from The Warsaw Academy of Fine Art. She has lived and worked as an illustrator and author in Norway since 1987. Besides her own, she has illustrated a number of books for prominent Norwegian writers, among them Thorvald Steen and Laila Stien.


Illustrated books for young readers

TIRIL VALEUR (text and ill.) POLLY-ESTHER AT THE RUBBISH DUMP Polly-Esther is the heroine of – so far – three books, including Polly-Esther and the Monster (2010), Polly-Esther at the Monsters’ Party (2011) and Polly-Esther at the Rubbish Dump (2012). More than anything, Polly-Esther wished that she had a monster of her own – a great big one, that could scare away school bullies and terrible dogs. In the first volume of this series, Polly-Esther and the Monster, she does indeed get a monster, only it appears to be very little. So small, in fact, that Polly-Esther herself has to be big and strong to protect it. Little Lo becomes Polly-Esther’s true companion. In Polly-Esther at the Monsters’ Party, she and little Lo are invited to a party held by Lo’s family. A catastrophy right from the beginning, and it gets worse. In the end, Polly-Esther realises she has to lend the monsters some of her good manners, as they completely lack this themselves. At least, when her father asks her where her good manners have gone to, this is her explanation. Little Lo came to Polly-Esther through the drawer in which her socks were kept (in fact, she only noticed him when trying to put on a sock one morning). This drawer in the chest in Polly’s room works as a passage to where the monster family lives. In Polly-Esther at the Rubbish Dump, Polly’s father, in a sudden urge to tidy up the house, sends the old chest off to the rubbish dump. This is a total disaster. Polly and Lo have to find the chest and bring it back to the house, before the monster family disappears. Target: 4 up Published 2012 Original title: Polly-Esther på søpla Fully illustrated by the author, in four colours. Pages: 48 Size: 150x 210 mm

Tiril Valeur, b. 1975, is a Master of visual communication from The

National College of Arts and Design in Oslo, she works freelance in arts,

design and illustration, and as a production designer for puppet shows.

The books about Polly-Esther are her major project. She was awarded a

major scholarship from the Cultural Committee of the city of Kristiansand

(2011), and is a candidate to the prestigious “Sørlandets kulturpris”

(2012).


SUSANNE AGERHOLM (text) and CECILIE SEIM (ill.): THE MIKKEL AND MARI TRILOGY In these playful books about Mikkel and his little sister Mari, the author lets Mikkel try out the different meanings that “adult” words and expressions can have. In The Beach Lion (2010), Mikkel and Mari are on their way to the beach with mummy. On Mikkel’s towel, there is a picture of a lion – a true beach lion, mummy says. So, what is a beach lion, really? Mikkel soon finds out! In The Book Worm (2011), Mikkel and Mari want to go to the library, to find a real book worm. They find him, but he is quite different from what they expected. In The Little Piglet (to be published in 2013) Mikkel and Mari go to visit a farm in the country. At the farm the first animal they meet is a big pig with a lot of newborn piglets. One little one is kept to himself, as the mother pig was likely to harm him. The children are allowed to feed the little fellow, which of course is a great experience. In the evening, Mari cant sleep, she gets up, wishing to see to the new friend. When Mari is not in her bed, everyone is out looking for her, and find her, asleep on top of the barn, with the piglet in her arms. Target: 4 up To be published in 2013 Original title: Grisungen Fully illustrated, in four colours. Pages: 48 Size: 150x 210 mm

Susanne Agerholm, b. 1959, is a trained psychiatric nurse. She has published three novels for adults, and two children’s books. The third volume, The Little Piglet, will be published in 2013. Cecilie Seim, b. 1976, is an illustrator, trained at Oslo School for Painting and Drawing. She was a runner-up for a competition for best picture book for adults with reading difficulties in 2010.


Books for tweens

MAGNUS BUEN HALVORSEN ASTON MARTIN With sharp observations, psychological understanding and sore descriptions, not without optimism and rough humour, the author creates a strong story about a young boy who has had to learn to fend for himself. The path that Sverre has had to trudge through early life has not been the easiest one. Now at the age of twelve, he finds himself mourning the father who passed away four years ago, without anyone having had the guts to tell him what really happened. His mother is not capable of giving him the love and support he needs and longs for. But all the same, Sverre struggles along, trying to come to terms with the loss of his father. An imaginative and creative young boy, Sverre continually develops and redefines his own self. Target: 9 up Published in 2012 Original title: Aston Martin Pages: 207 Size: 130 x 205 mm

Magnus Buen Halvorsen, b. 1973, is a teacher. Aston Martin is his first novel for children.

http://www.omnipax.no/index.php?ID=Forfatter&counter=1433





NINA ELISABETH GRØNTVEDT (text and ill.) HEY, IT’S ME! Nina Grøntvedt made her international debut in 2010, with Hey, it’s me!, a wonderful mix of diary, notes, illustrations and “true stories” of life in a small community in Norway.

The first book is Oda’s own, absolutely true story of exactly what happened that snowy winter when she was 11 (going on twelve). Oda lives with her parents and her little, extremely annoying, sister, Erlend. Helle is one year younger, and Oda’s very best friend in the whole world – until they fall out, without any of them really wanting to. The seemingly worst, most irritating person Oda has to put up with is Helle’s older brother, Stian, the cause of the fall-out. Oda is imaginative – perhaps more so than what is good for her. One moment she fancies a young and handsome writer who has visited her school, and sends him fan e-mails with a variety of personal questions, whilst dreaming of what it would be like to be his girlfriend. The next moment the girls are kids playing in the snow, making up stories about – and spying on – some very scary, evil looking neighbours. Target: 9 up

Published 2010 Original title: Hei, det er meg! Ikke la meg bli alene igjen her Fully illustrated by the author, in black and white. Pages: 284 Size: 145 x 200 mm

Sold to: Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Russia, The Ukraine


NINA ELISABETH GRØNTVEDT (text and ill.) HEY, IT’S ME 2 (working title) Oda is back and ready for new adventures. New “problems”, new friends, and even new neighbours. Oda takes it all in, curious, inventive as she is. Helle and Oda are once again best friends. But all of a sudden they start to drift apart. Helle finds new friends, and Oda, split between the child she was and the adolescent she is about to become, is confused. Who is she? What is expected of her? Why has she lost the straightforward and uncomplicated approach to life and the people around her that she once had? Why is it, for instance, that even annoying little sister Erlend immediately becomes friendly with the new family next door, immigrants from Bulgaria, while Oda, suddenly shy, finds herself in the background? So many new challenges all around, the biggest of all, Oda has never been kissed. And how do you go about being an experienced kisser when you have never done it? With no less humour and warmth, this sequel is a worthy follow-up to the successful first volume.

Target: 9 up

Published 2012 Original title: (To follow) Fully illustrated by the author, in black and white. Pages: ca. 280 Size: 145 x 200 mm

Nina Elisabeth Grøntvedt, b. 1979, made her debut as a writer in 2006, with the picture book The little Hero (Den lille helten). She has studied graphic design and has a Bachelor degree in illustration from Southampton Solent University, England. She has completed a two-year-course in children’s

writing at the Norwegian Institute of Children’s Literature. Hey, it’s me 2 (working title) is her forth book for children.


Books for young adults

LIV EIRILL EVENSEN (text) and RONJA SVENNING BERGE (ill.) MY BAND DOES NOT PLAY PROGROCK Graphic novel A short, but complex text about trying and failing – and trying again, about learning how to cope with one’s own feelings, and to dare to let go of preconceived perceptions. My band does not play progrock is the story of Helle, who decides she wants to join a band. There is an audition, she is accepted by the boys. Everything looks bright. But then she makes the fatal “Yoko Ono-mistake”: The singer, Sebastian, starts flirting with her, she falls in love, or at least, she thinks she does. And the risk is, this very-close-to romance will threaten to break up the band. Helle needs time to contemplate, not only her relationship to Seb. and the rest of the band, but also to her mother, to the father she misses, and mother’s new boyfriend. Gunnar is so different from her father that Helle wonders how her mother could have had a relation to both. If she loves Gunnar now, how could she have loved Helle’s father before? In the end, Helle reluctantly finds that Gunnar is ok – even more so, as he is the one who understands her drive to play the guitar, and who can help her along. The black and white illustrations by cartoonist Ronja Svenning Berge vividly express Helle’s emotions and the dynamics of the band. Target: 12 up Published 2012 Original title: Bandet mitt spiller ikke progrock Fully illustrated throughout, in black and white. Pages: 96 Size: 150 x 210 mm


Liv Eirill Evensen, b. 1974, has studied religion, ethnology and literature at the University of Bergen.

She is now working as a councellor in the municipality of Odda, and is a drummer in a band. She is

the happy owner of a Gibson The Ripper-base from 1974. She made her debut with Me and a chalky-

white T-shirt with no logo in 2011.

Ronja Svenning Berge, b. 1984, is Bachelor of visual communication from The College of Art in Oslo and Master of Fine Arts from HDK (Göteborg). She is a designer and illustrator, mainly working with cartoons.

LIV EIRILL EVENSEN ME AND A CHALKY-WHITE T-SHIRT WITH NO LOGO

A short and intense novel about a love story that was over before it really got started. What makes Aksel, the new boy in the class, single out Anne as his business partner? Aksel's life project is to find a briliant idea that will make him a millionaire by 25. "All it takes is one, genial idea, Anne!" he claims. Anne soon finds out that she and Aksel are soul mates. They venture into a series of not so bright projects, driven on by Aksel's incurable optimism, and Anne's matter-of-fact approach. It is clear from the start that this story does not have a happy ending. Aksel dies, and in short italic notes Anne memorizes the time after Aksel's death. These are interwoven with down-to-earth, even humorous accounts of all their not-so-successful projects, while the major text is made up of longer chapters where Anne, in retrospect, describes her life with Aksel from the day they met, until he passed away. Target: 12 up WINNER OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE NEWCOMER AWARD FOR 2011 Published 2011 Original title: Meg og en kritthvit T-skjorte uten tekst på Pages: 96 Size: 130 x 205 mm

http://www.omnipax.no/index.php?ID=Forfatter&ID2=&ID3=E&counter=1425

http://www.omnipax.no/index.php?ID=Forfatter&ID2=&ID3=B&counter=1432


KARI WOXHOLT SVERDRUP Growing up and being exposed, seen from three different angles – three novels about young girls, Anna, Ella and Janna, who, each in their own way, find an inner strength to cope with the challenges they meet. Although the books are fully independent, the three girls become “supporting characters” in each other’s stories. Accidental Angel (original title: Tilfeldig engel, 2010) is the story of Anna, and her feeling of loss after her father left the small family for a freedom he believed to have been searching for. After a turbulent period of time, the family settles in a small community where rules are strict, and reprisals are many if you do not fit in. Who shall Anna turn to? A travelling carpenter and folksinger becomes a friend and a substitute for the lost father. In White Moon, Blue Magic (original title: Heksesot, 2011), Ella tries not to be an outsider. Still, that is what she becomes, in her new community, where rules are laid out, and conventions not to be challenged. A heart disorder since birth has caused her to spend a lot of her life hospitalized. She is not at ease with a normal school situation, and finds herself bitterly alone in the new surroundings. The mystic rituals she finds, help her in a way, and she strongly believes in the effect of the paranormal rites. A fine mixture of brutal reality and the force of imagination. In Crow’s Castle (original title: Kråkeslottet, to be published 2012), we get to know Janna better. Janna was one of the gang of antagonist girls who saw it as their main occupation to bully Anna and Ella in the first two volumes. In no way a leader, Janna was always too weak to oppose Regine, the chief bitch, when the dealing out of needles and pins to Anna and Ella was on the agenda. Now, getting to know her background, we understand more of her cowardly behaviour. An unsettled family, an older half sister that she finds it hard to come to terms with, a basic feeling of uncertainty, of never being accepted, never good enough, causes her to cling to the stronger and more successful Regine, and to play along with her. Target: 14 up Published 2010 – 2012 Original titles: Tilfeldig engel, Heksesot and Kråkeslottet Pages: ca. 250 - 270 Size: 130 x 205 mm

Kari Woxholt Sverdrup, b. 1958, made her debut in 1993 with the

bestselling novel Hjemme er et annet sted. (Home is somewhere else). She

is a trained teacher, but has been a fulltime writer since 2000. She was the

leader of the Association for Children’s Books Writers for xxx years, till 20xx

and is currently engaged in book promotion and in giving classes for young

writers besides her own writing.


Documents

Omnipax Foreign rights catalogue 2012