Putnam deal
Author Jim Thompson has closed a two-book deal with Putnam, a major United States publisher, for Snow Angels, a crime novel set in Finnish Lapland, and its sequel, Dead of Winter. Thompson has contracted with Finnish publisher Johnny Kniga, an imprint of WSOY, for a series of thrillers and crime novels, the first of which, Across the Green Line (in Finnish, Jerusalemin veri), was recently released.
Thompson’s US literary agent, publishing industry legend Nat Sobel, negotiated the deal with Putnam. Sobel represents bestselling authors such as James Ellroy and Edward Bunker, and in October showcased Thompson at the world’s largest book fair in Frankfurt Germany. Sobel says Snow Angels was “hands down his hottest book in Frankfurt,” and that nearly every editor and publisher he showed it to requested a manuscript. Interest was so high that Sobel held an auction for North American rights on November 19th for Snow Angels and Dead of Winter. Sobel says it has been a long time since a novel he represents generated enough interest to warrant an auction, and that he expects to sell Thompson’s works into several European countries and the UK as well as the United States.
Putnam placed the high bid and won the novel for an undisclosed amount. Putnam editor Kathryn Davis says, “G.P. Putnam’s Sons is thrilled to be publishing Finland’s best-kept secret, Jim Thompson. Snow Angels is a page-turner that reverberates with the tension and menace of Finland’s violent underbelly in the dark days of winter. We’re ready to bring this promising new talent to a broader American audience.”
G.P. Putnam’s Sons leads the publishing industry with more New York Times bestsellers than any other imprint in the publishing industry. Its list of award-winning, bestselling authors is well-known around the world. With its unrivaled bestselling track record, Putnam is one of the most respected and prestigious imprints in the industry. Putnam authors include: Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Catherine Coulter, Clive Cussler, Frederick Forsyth, Sue Grafton, Jack Higgins, Amy Tan and Kurt Vonnegut.
Thompson’s publishing story began a little more than a year ago. He was bartending at Hilpeä hauki, a bar in Kallio, when he met Johnny Kniga managing editor Jaakko Pietiläinen. Thompson told Pietiläinen that he had been writing for many years but had been unable to find a US publisher because they considered his writing too brutal and subject matter too controversial for publication. “They kept telling me I was a good writer, but that I was writing the wrong books,” Thompson says. “Jaakko thought they were wrong.”
Johnny Kniga prides itself on publishing controversial literature. Pietiläinen read Thompson’s debut novel, Across the Green Line, and brought it to the attention of Johnny Kniga publisher Jyrki Nieminen. Pietiläinen and Nieminen had so much confidence in Thompson’s writing that they took the unusual step of contracting with him for three novels before the first hit the bookstores. They now expect to publish five of Thompson’s novels before year end 2010. A second thriller, Snow Angels, will appear in spring 2009, and The True Name of God will follow in the autumn.
“My deal with Putnam never would have happened without Johnny Kniga,” Thompson says. “Jaakko is a brilliant editor. He’s worked with me developing three books so far, including Snow Angels. He pushes me to write as well as I’m able and bring my books up to the quality needed to sell on the international market. And if Jyrki hadn’t believed in me enough to contract for these books and promote me like he has, I would never have gotten the attention of Nat Sobel and Putnam. This is their success as much as mine.”
