Hodder to publish award-winning Norwegian history of maps

Hodder & Stoughton is publishing a history of maps, Theatre of the World, which won the Norwegian Book Prize Foundation's 2017 Brage Prize for non-fiction.

Non-Fiction publisher Rupert Lancaster and Vanessa Mobley, executive editor at Little, Brown US, pre-empted world English language rights to by Thomas Reinertsen Berg's title from literary agent Thomas Mala of Northern Stories

To publish in autumn 2018, the "beautifully illustrated" book - judged "a tour de force" by the Norwegian Book Prize Foundation - is already sold in the Netherlands and Sweden and, according to Hodder, it has attracted interest from all over the world.

The book covers a range of topics, from "the mysterious symbols of the Stone Age to Google Earth", and is marketed as "a fascinating story of art and technology, power and ambition, practical needs and distant dreams of the unknown".

The book is Berg's first. He said of the deal: "It’s quite thrilling that Theatre of the World makes its way out into the world. To be published by two such esteemed publishers as Hodder & Stoughton and Little, Brown US assures me that the journey will go smoothly. I’m honoured and deeply moved, and look forward to cooperating closely on the English language version with them."

Despite receiving the proposal for the book so close to the holidays on 23rd December, Lancater said he knew he had to acquire it. 

"As soon as I read the proposal I knew I had to try and acquire this book – even though it was the day before Christmas Eve," he said. "Thanks to a great piece of transatlantic cooperation with our Little, Brown US colleagues we were able to agree a deal very swiftly with agent and author.

"We’re hugely excited about publishing Theatre of the World. It will appeal to all those who enjoy books like Prisoners of Geography and share a fascination not only with maps but also the men and women who created them."