Rovio’s Freya and Storm Sisters create buzz in book publishing
Macmillan acquires worldwide English rights for Freya; Bastei Lübbe purchases rights for Storm Sisters digital release in English and German
Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group has acquired worldwide English rights for the first two novels and a graphic novel adaptation of Rovio Entertainment’s new young adult series, Freya, written by Matthew Laurence. The series will be published among the first titles of Imprint, a part of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
The rights for Rovio’s first young adult novel series, Storm Sisters, written by Mintie Das, were acquired by Bastei Lübbe for a worldwide digital release in English and German. Bastei Lübbe is one of Germany’s leading trade publishers and home to bestselling authors such as Dan Brown and Jeff Kinney.
All rights were sold by Elina Ahlbäck of the Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, based in Helsinki and New York.
Freya tells the story of an ancient goddess adrift in the modern world. Resigned to obscurity in a Florida mental hospital, her quiet life is shattered by the arrival of an ominous man who knows exactly who she is - and has a job to offer. It’s the spark that kicks Freya out of her self-imposed exile and begins a thrilling return to the spotlight.
"Matthew Laurence has written a fantastic character, and working with Rovio to launch Freya is an exciting opportunity. Freya’s story as a forgotten god in a modern world is fresh and compelling. I can’t wait for readers to meet her,” says Imprint Publisher Erin Stein.
Set in the late 1700s but narrated in a lively, contemporary voice, the Storm Sisters series follows five girls of different ages who sail the high seas on their own, facing dangerous enemies and protecting themselves with a secret pirate identity called “The Pirettes.”
“We are thrilled to work together with Rovio and Mintie Das on such an innovative project. Sea adventures, shocking revelations, tormented love stories: This series about five brave girls has all the right ingredients for success!” says Giuseppe Terrano, Content Acquisition Manager at Bastei Lübbe.
Rovio’s Publishing Director Laura Nevanlinna comments on the sales: “I’m thrilled that our young adult publishing line has received so much positive attention. To see our stories published by such distinguished publishers in new ways is a real honor. We may be known for our games, but for those of us at Rovio Books, storytelling has always been the core.”
Storm Sisters has already been sold to 5 languages globally by Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, most recently to Planeta in Spain and previously to Robert Laffont in France, Tammi in Finland, Gramedia in Indonesia and JCS Media in Hungary. Storm Sisters: The Sinking World was shortlisted for Books at Berlinale in February 2015.
Video: Matthew Laurence on The Freya Series
Video: Mintie Das on Storm Sisters
Media enquiries:
Laura Nevanlinna
Publishing Director
Rovio Entertainment
tel. +358-40-172 3554
laura.nevanlinna@rovio.com
About Rovio Entertainment Ltd.
Rovio Entertainment Ltd, the creator of Angry Birds™, is a global industry-changing entertainment media company headquartered in Finland that creatively combines digital with physical, breaking the boundaries of traditional content delivery. What started as a casual game in 2009 became an international phenomenon within a few months of its release. Today Angry Birds is not only the most downloaded game of all time, it is a worldwide known entertainment brand reaching out into publishing, licensing, animations, books and location based entertainment. Rovio's animated Angry Birds feature film is slated for May, 2016. www.rovio.com
