Italian rights to Marko Hautala’s Shrouds sold to Newton & Compton

Marko HautalaItalian publisher Newton & Compton has acquired the Italian rights to Marko Hautala’s Shrouds (Käärinliinat, Tammi 2009). Hautala won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize for Young Authors for Shrouds in November 2010. Shrouds is a gripping novel about the power of the human mind as well as a merciless depiction of the harshness of life at a mental institution. Thirty-year-old Mikael is assigned as the designated nurse of an elderly male patient, who has committed an inexplicable murder, and has since retreated in to strange Egyptian counter-world…

“Marko Hautala shows a masterful grasp of literary technique and his own material. He writes powerful prose in which memorable sentences join together to create a stirring vision of life” – Praise from the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize jury for Shrouds in 2010.

Recently, dtv – Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag – acquired the German rights to Shrouds and Hautala’s new book Worms (Torajyvät, Tammi 2011). Worms is an intensely emotional tale of the long shadows cast by the past and atonement for irreversible deeds. It has been praised by critics and readers alike.

‘Excellent entertainment in any event!’ – Helsingin Sanomat

‘Filled with creeping dread, Hautala’s novel keeps the reader tightly in its grip from the very first pages. If we wanted to look for an exemplar from foreign literature, then without a doubt what comes to mind are Edgar Allan Poe’s spine-chilling horror stories.’ – Keskisuomalainen

‘Following three timelines, this high-quality psychological thriller deals with love, loyalty, and the attitudes of small communities towards sin.’ – Pohjalainen

Please ask for reading copies and sample translations!

   Shrouds