How to Have a Top 10 Hit

For the past few weeks, Amore Amore – the Italian edition of Dan Rhodes’ Anthropology – has been making itself comfortable in the upper reaches of the Italian paperback chart. It was even the Christmas number 3. In these troubled economic times, publishers the world over will be watching this unexpected development, and wondering how they can emulate this success. Well, we’re going to let them in on the secret. Here’s how to do it:

1. Acquire the rights to Anthropology by Dan Rhodes. Speak to the Canongate rights department about this. Be sure to pay a decent amount, to start things off on a friendly footing.

2. Get the right translator for it – someone who really gets the book.

3. Package it so it’ll be the kind of thing that booksellers want to stock, and people want to pick up.

4. Price it correctly. This is the part of the process where so many publishers fall down. It’s a short book, and this should be reflected in the price. The Italian edition is €5. Perfect. Do not get this wrong.

5. Get a superb publicist on to it – one who will get it featured in Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, and all the important local titles – particularly those with a youthful readership.

6. Sit back with a gin and tonic and wait for the book to set up camp in the Top 10. When it does, continue to sit back with a gin and tonic as you bask in the glory of success. Easy.

Thanks to Fiammetta, Martina, Daria and everyone else at Newton Compton for getting it right.

In other Anthropology news, several of the stories have been included in the Swiss anthology Mit Geschichten durchs Jahr, which has a story for every day of the year. Published by Diogenes, this is Anthropology’s first outing in German – though there is now sure to be an unseemly stampede as publishers battle for the rights to the whole book. Let’s hope they won’t have to call a krankenwagen.

That’s enough about past glories. Eagle-eyed Rhodes-watchers will have noticed that we’ve been working around the clock and have come up with a dramatic new design for the site in anticipation of his new book, This Is Life, which is due out in a few weeks. More news on that as it breaks…

Happy reading.

Amore Amore

That’s right – Dan Rhodes’ Anthropology is being published in Italy this week, in a new translation from our friends at Newton Compton. They’ve called it Amore Amore. And why not?

It seems the whole country is going Amore Amore crazy – Rhodes even has a full page in Italian Vanity Fair, where the stories are described as being “però piccolo”, which we can just about understand. “Il risultato è un affresco unico di sentimenti,” they go on to say, “che sfugge al chiacchiericcio, non alle sorprese.” All this is beyond our vocabulary, so unfortunately we can’t tell if this means they like it or not. We expect they do, though – how could they not?

In other news, Rhodes’ new novel, an epic blockbuster (definitely not però piccolo, this one) called This Is Life, is currently being hosed down in preparation for a March 2012 release.

Happy reading.

Bulgarian Babies

We’re currently in the second week of a month long double celebration on the roof of the Dan Rhodes skyscraper, here in the heart of downtown Taipei. Here’s what it’s all about:

1. Little Hands Clapping is, at last, out in the US – so copies will no longer have to be smuggled in from Canada.

and

2. This month marks the fifteenth anniversary of Rhodes starting to write publishable stuff (Glass Eyes from Don’t Tell Me The Truth About Love, fact fans). Since then he’s written 386,000 words  - one for every person living in Sanshui district of Guangdong Province in China, or two for every baby born in Bulgaria in 1920. But that’s enough putting numbers into Wikipedia – we’re heading back to the party, to drink cocktails, giggle, and skinnydip in our rooftop pool. We suggest you do the same.

Happy reading.

Taputtavat Pikku Kätöset

We’ve hiked across the Sweden/Finland border for this month’s update. That’s right – Little Hands Clapping is now available in Finnish, in a typically handsome hardback from our friends at Sammakko. It’s a must read for those long winter nights. Obsessive Rhodes completists will also be glad to learn that he has recently co-translated a Finnish book about a foul-mouthed hedgehog. This is also from Sammakko. Here it is:

And if that wasn’t enough, the Italian edition of Little Hands Clapping is now out in paperback:

With no new Rhodes material due until the publication of This Is Life in March 2012, you could well find yourself wondering what to read in the coming months. There’s no need to panic, though – Rhodes has broken his strict no-blurbing rule and has publicly recommended the new book by Magnus Mills, A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked In. It’s great. Earlier this year he also found himself unable to resist blurbing Sixteen Shades of Crazy by Rachel Trezise, which is also great. And hats off to Faber for unearthing Twopence Coloured, a long-abandoned early novel by Rhodes favourite Patrick Hamilton. Guess what – it’s great.

Happy reading.

Klappa Händer Små

Yes folks, it’s a Swedish Special this month. Rhodes has long been a fan of Sweden and the Swedes – here’s a list of just some of his favourite things about them:

1. ABBA, obviously. See their finest moment here.

2. The magnificent Martin Beck series of cop novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. More about them here.
3. Bodies Without Organs – Earth’s most bafflingly named sunshine pop act.

4. Björn Borg, mainly because when he became famous he didn’t just buy an island, he bought an archipelago. Some people have natural panache.

5. And, of course, ‘Don’t Bore Us, Get To The Chorus’ by Roxette – a record he’s so unaccountably fond of he even gave it a supporting role in The Little White Car. We’ll stop there.

However, until now his admiration for the Swedes has gone unrequited, as they have joined together in their refusal to read his books. Hopefully this is all about to change, though, with the publication of Little Hands Clapping by our good friends at Basil. Translated as Klappa Händer Små, this excellent illustrated edition is sure to become this autumn’s must-read from Malmö to Kiruna. Next time you happen to bump into Max Martin, Britt Ekland, Stakka Bo or Dolph Lundgren, don’t be surprised if they have a copy under their arm.

And look, here’s a trailer:

You’ll probably need cheering up after that. Here’s the above-mentioned Bodies Without Organs to help out. Rhodes was at this very concert, which is reported to have been one of his favourite live sets ever:

Happy reading.