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Seven Dials has pre-empted 's Frank Krake's The Last Survivor, a “gripping and compelling” true story of concentration camp survivor Wim Aloserij.
Ru Merritt, commissioning editor of Seven Dials, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Paul Sebes of Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency. The book has been pre-empted in the US by Lyons Press and in Italy by Newton Compton, with rights sold at auction in France, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. Seven Dials will publish in hardback, e-book and audiobook on 28th October 2021.
Aloserij was a young man from Amsterdam who miraculously survived three concentration camps and one of the worst martime disasters of the Second World War, the bombing of ocean liner "Cap Arcona", where 7,000 prisoners died and only 350 survived. He didn’t reveal to anyone the horrors he had endured, including his family, until he was 93 years old, when he met Krake by chance during a book talk.
The publisher said: “The Last Survivor has now sold over 80,000 copies in the Netherlands and Wim saw his story reach thousands of people before peacefully passing away in his sleep the week after publication. A remarkable, fast-paced and at times unbelievable tale, Wim’s story is a testament to the resilience of humankind.”
Merritt commented: “From reading the prologue alone, I was immediately captivated by Frank’s writing and Wim’s story. The Last Survivor often reads like fiction and it was a manuscript that I couldn’t put down. The book has been a bestseller in the Netherlands and I’m thrilled to have the privilege to share Wim’s story with UK readers.”
Krake said: “It was Wim Aloserij’s wish to share his story with the world, potentially with millions of people around the globe. To have his voice and message heard in this UK edition would certainly have made him very proud and I am equally delighted that such a well-established publisher as Seven Dials has given us the opportunity to reach our goal.”