Spotlight on.. Orenda Books
Orenda Spotlight
There is something exciting and very special about Orenda Books. I have known Karen for many years now and remember when she first set up Orenda Books. Well, if she hasn’t just been getting better and better! THIS is the indie publisher you need to be following, buying from and going to meet their authors.
Why Orenda?
They believe first and foremost in translation and have given us some of the best writers out there. The amazing Ragnar Jonasson was discovered by Orenda and has really brought Icelandic mystery writing to the English speaking world. Ragnar started out by translating Agatha Christie and it shows – he has some excellent books out there, and his Dark Iceland series is a testament to that.
Thomas Enger and Johanna Gustawsson
They do unique crossovers
Not only do they have Johanna Gustawsson who writes crackers like Yule Island but they also have the lovely Norwegian Thomas Enger who writes gritty crime thrillers set in his native Oslo.
So, what you get when you put both their criminally devious minds together? A very authentic and gripping crime drama with the title of SON. I mean, what more could you want? A series? Well, you are in luck as this is the first of many.
They have the funniest author known to man on their list
Have you been to an event with the lovely and charismatic Anti Tuomainen. He’s Finnish and very funny. If you are lucky enough to see him live at an event – go, as you are in for a treat! See him life or not, you HAVE to read one of his funny crime thrillers. Honestly, you will have read nothing like them. Kudos to the translator David Hackston for getting the humour across so brilliantly. But for Antti – being funny in another language and culture is no mean feat.
They pretty much invented Author Roadshows
This is where Karen takes multiple authors on the road at the same time. They go up and down the country visiting bookshops in cities and in remote places too. They are brilliant as you get to see and meet authors from all over the world, get to discover new authors and see them chat about each others books as well as their own. There is talk of there being more of these soon so keep your eyes peeled!
That’s just the tip of the Orenda iceberg. Start here and see what else you find.
…you are not going to be disappointed but be prepared to spend your cash on a pile of books!
Susan
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