Bluemoose sells German rights to Hession's books in publisher's biggest rights deal

In its biggest rights sale to date, Bluemoose Books has sold two books by Rónán Hession to Blessing Verlag, an imprint of Penguin Random House in Germany, for a "high five-figure fee".

The publisher sold German rights to Panenka (Bluemoose Books), which published in the UK in May 2021, and Hession’s new book, Ghost Mountain, which will be released on 23rd May 2024 in the UK, to Anke Göbel, publishing director of fiction, via Deborah Druba at the Paris-based Agence Deborah Druba. Ghost Mountain will be published first, followed by Panenka, and both books will be translated by Andrea O’Brien.

Göbel said: "Rónán Hession is really a very special author, he shines a light on the human character with all its weaknesses and always remains warm-hearted and empathetic. One would like to mark many a sentence when he writes about old and young souls, for example, or about loneliness. I have not yet read such a direct and kind, affirming view of life.

"Blessing stands for literature and fiction with high standards and at the same time for books of the heart and success with a large audience. Our programme ranges from Nobel Prize winners Kazuo Ishiguro and Wole Soyinka to chroniclers of social realities like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Karen Jennings to the great entertainer David Sedaris and the warm-hearted storyteller Jan-Philipp Sendker."

Kevin Duffy, the co-founder of Bluemoose Books, said: "We are overjoyed to see Rónán joining such an illustrious German Publisher and roster of writers at Blessing and can’t wait to see Ghost Mountain and Panenka reaching even more readers in Germany after the success he has had with Leonard and Hungry Paul which reached number four in the German Indy charts this year."