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Europa Editions snaps up Intan Paramaditha’s new novel
Europa Editions has acquired Night of a Thousand Hells by Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha, translated by Stephen Epstein and Tiffany Tsao.
Europa Editions pre-empted world English-language rights (excluding Australia and New Zealand) from Kelly Falconer, founder of the Asia Literary Agency. Scribe acquired Australia and New Zealand rights, while Italian and Polish translation rights were sold to ADD Editore and Tajfuny respectively.
"A literary sensation in Indonesia, Night of a Thousand Hells [Malam Seribu Jahanam] has been hailed for its haunting fusion of Gothic and Islamic elements with Asian folktales and myths," the synopsis says. "The novel opens with the youngest of three sisters committing a devastating act of violence, leading her surviving siblings to confront the ghosts of their shared past."
The blurb adds: "Night of a Thousand Hells’ exploration of Islamic culture in South-East Asia is a vital contribution to global conversations about identity, culture and politics. Inspired by real-life events, the novel addresses religiously motivated violence and its consequences from various perspectives within the Muslim community. Yet even as the work is timely, its themes are timeless and universal: set in Indonesia, the US and Australia, Night of a Thousand Hells reflects powerfully on the darker aspects of the human experience."
Michael Reynolds, executive publisher at Europa Editions, said: "Night of a Thousand Hells is a blazing, unforgettable, necessary novel, dynamic and energising, rooted in the specificity of Indonesian life, yet universal in its themes and style. It is a book that can both expand Europa’s readership and speak powerfully to our core audience, a lead title we are determined to champion and publish with gusto."
