HC pre-empts Norwegian bestseller 'spreading love for insects'

HarperNonFiction has pre-empted a Norwegian bestseller about insects by life scientist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson.

UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to Extraordinary Insects were pre-empted from Annabel Merullo at PFD by commissioning editor Lydia Good. It will publish on 25th April 2019 on HarperCollins' new Mudlark imprint.

First published in April 2018 in Sverdrup-Thygeson's native Norway, Extraordinary Insects was a bestseller there for seven weeks. The book has since sold in 19 languages while its author has been nominated for Norway’s Brage Prize, a literary prize awarded annually by the Norwegian Book Prize foundation.

Occupying the space between scientific narrative and nature writing, Extraordinary Insects promises to highlight how instrumental insects are in explaining the history of the Earth and humans’ existence within in it. HarperCollins added in its description for the book that it served as "a timely reminder of the fragility of our ecosystem and the importance of these tiny insects to the running of the world".

Sverdrup-Thygeson, who has a Doctorate degree in conservation biology and has worked with insects for over 25 years, said the critters "never cease to surprise me".

"My hope is that this book will open more people’s eyes to the weird and wonderful world of insects, whilst marvelling over all the connections between their lives and ours," she said further. "Insects are simply indispensable to our ecosystems, and thus indispensable for our future. We need them to manage pollination, decomposition, and soil formation; to serve as food for other animals, keep harmful organisms in check, disperse seeds, help us in our scientific and medical research, and inspire us with their smart solutions. I am very excited about my book being published in English by HarperCollins – this is a book for all of you that think you don’t like insects, my ambition is to change your mind."

Good said: "Anne’s book is not only incredibly important and timely within the conversation about the future of our natural environment, but is full of fun, intrigue, wonder and astonishing revelations about our vast insect population and how they keep our world turning every single day. Anne is a dream author, unrivalled in her field and full of passion and energy. We’re thrilled to be publishing her on our Mudlark list and spreading the love for insects."