20th market for Deon Meyer's thrillers
October 14, 2009
'King of South African crime', Deon Meyer has hit the 20 country mark with a deal concluded at the Frankfurt Book Fair, with the sale of BLOOD SAFARI to Presença in Portugal. Teresa Villarubla of The Foreign Office brokered the deal for Meyer's agent Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann. BLOOD SAFARI, published by Hodder in the UK, has recently been published in the US by Grove, to widespread praise.
'Meyer's stellar stand-alone thriller delivers muscular prose with a hero to match...Once again, Meyer shows he's a writer not to be missed.'
-- Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
'Deon Meyer's novels explore the complex reality of South Africa...At the most obvious level, they are exciting stories of crime, conflict, revenge, but they are more than that: ambitious attempts to show us the pain and greatness of a troubled nation that is still being born...Meyer has a fine eye for people and places...He makes Lemmer an intriguing figure, entirely honest about his appetite for violence...and his growing affection for [Emma] is skillfully drawn...Meyer is a serious writer who richly deserves the international reputation he has built. BLOOD SAFARI manages to be both an exciting read and an eye-opening portrait of a nation with problems perhaps even more complex and agonizing than our own.'
-- Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post
Conrad Williams of Blake Friedmann recently concluded a film deal with Malcolm Kohll and Robert Fig for Meyer's THIRTEEN HOURS (click here for more information), which is to be published next Spring, with Meyer attending the London Book Fair 2010, where South Africa will be the country of market focus. BLOOD SAFARI is also attracting a great deal of film rights interest.