The Frankfurt Book Fair is a meeting place for publishers, booksellers, agents, film producers or authors. Each year in October, we all come together and create something new. It is the most important marketplace for books, media, rights and licences worldwide. More than 7,300 exhibitors from 100 countries, 300,000 visitors and over 10,000 journalists. Pontas was there again (and never missed a “Frankfurt” since 1992!), building bridges between books and publishers, texts and screens. This year Anna Soler-Pont, Carina Brandtand Anna Ascolies attended meetings with publishers and film producers from all around the world during seven days.
Among the deals we have closed, we are happy to announce that Feltrinelli will be publishing Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa in Italian (meaning that the novel will be translated into 23 languages so far!); and that Pontas will represent New Zealand’s Richard Literary Agency in all European territories: their great clients include Witi Ihimaera (author of The Whale Rider, successfully adapted into an acclaimed film).
Carina Brandt with Anna Pastore (from Sperling & Kupfer); and Anna Ascolies preparing her meetings:
Patrick Janson-Smith (from Blue Door at HarperCollins UK) and Silvia Querini (from Lumen at Random House Mondadori); and a very happy Gustavo Guerrero, publisher of Mario Vargas Llosa at Gallimard --as he said, his first “Nobel” in twenty years of career (and a picture of her daughter Luz):
Marie-Pierre Gracedieu and Claire do Serro (from Éditions Stock) and literary scout Daniela Schlingman and her assistant Katherine Critchlow (based in London):
Once again, the Berlinale Co-Production Market in collaboration with the Frankfurt Book Fair organised an interesting dinner to promote the international networking between literary agents and film producers looking for new books to adapt. Anna Soler-Pont was invited and had the chance to meet with Jack Arbuthnott (from Scott Free), film director Barney Cokeliss and Damiano Vukotic from Ridley Scott Associates: