Wildfire seizes Lee’s Korean fantasy duology

Wildfire has acquired both books in the DallerGut Dream Department Store duology by Mi-Ye Lee, the first of which was, according to the publisher, the most sold book in Korea in 2021. The books have been translated into English by Sandy Joosun Lee.

Areen Ali acquired UK and Commonwealth rights including audio from Chiara Tognetti at the Chiara Tognetti Rights Agency on behalf of Bora Sun at Korea Copyright Centre and Sam & Parkers. North American rights sold to John Glynn at Hanover Square Press.  

Book one – DallerGut Dream Department Store: The Dream Your Ordered Is Sold Out – was first published by Sam & Parkers in 2020. It tells the story of a mysterious village, hidden in our subconscious, where a quaint store called DallerGut Dream Department Store lives, selling dreams of all kinds.

The synopsis continues: "Every day, the store is crowded with human and animal customers from all over the world shuffling in to purchase their latest adventure. The story follows a young girl named Penny, as she begins her dream job at the titular department store. Each floor in the department store sells a special genre of dream, from dreams of childhood laced with nostalgia to dreams about your past loves, to eating delicious food and much more sinister, mysterious dreams, and nightmares. In book one, we follow along with Penny as she meets the delightful cast of characters that make up the other employees of the store and tries to uncover the workings of this wonderful world."

DallerGut Dream Department Store: The Dream You Ordered is Sold Out will be published by Wildfire in trade paperback, e-book and audiobook on 9th November 2023. The second book, Dallergut Dream Department Store: In Search of Loyal Customers, came out in Korea in 2021 and Wildfire will publish in late 2024.

Ali said: “Mi-Ye Lee has built an amazingly clever and intricate world. Behind its humour and imagination, this series hides a powerful message on the effects of living in a capitalist society and what it means to have the freedom to dream. We are delighted that DallerGut will expand the Wildfire list into the emerging Korean fiction-in-translation market and bring this wholesome and innovative bestseller to an English-language audience."

Tognetti added: “DallerGut Dream Department Store is a heart-warming healing fantasy with layers of depth. This trend-setting series is a shining example of the innovative fiction coming out of Korea right now and is generating huge excitement in the global publishing market. I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Areen and the team at Wildfire on the English-language edition of this work.”

Mi-Ye Lee (Korean name: 이미예) was born in Busan in 1990. After graduating from the Busan National University School of Materials Science and Engineering, she worked as a semiconductor engineer at Samsung Electronics. Her debut novel DallerGut Dream Department Store published entirely funded through a crowdfunding service in Korea in 2020.

Sandy Joosun Lee is a translator and interpreter based in Seoul. Her translations include Won-pyung Sohn’s Almond (HarperVia, 2020). She also works in animation, translating and developing animated content, which includes "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf” (2021) and "Star Wars: Visions" (2023).