Archives de catégorie : Presse

Lectures d’été, selon Bill Gates

Chaque été, le fondateur de Microsoft  publie sur son blog une liste de lectures estivales.

Cette année, trois titres représentés par notre agence y figurent : HYPERBOLE AND A HALF de Ally Brosh (« Hyperbole », éd. Les Arènes), WHAT IF? de Randall Munroe, qui paraîtra chez Flammarion, et ON IMMUNITY de Eula Biss, dont les droits pour la France sont encore disponibles.

Bill Gates nous présente ses choix dans cette vidéo :

 

Walt Disney portera à l’écran THE QUEEN OF KATWE

Mise à jour du 1er octobre 2015 : droits cédés aux éditions Michel Lafon

Le tournage du film, dont la sortie est prévue en 2016, vient de commencer avec, à l’affiche, Lupita Nyong’o (Oscar de la meilleure actrice pour 12 Years a Slave) et David Oyelowo (Selma).

Publié par Scribner en Octobre 2013, THE QUEEN OF KATWE relate l’incroyable histoire de Phiona Mutesi, jeune ougandaise, championne d’échecs. Élevée dans un bidonville, elle découvre les échecs à l’âge de 9 ans, errant affamée, dans les couloirs d’un tournoi organisé dans un refuge.

Les droits de THE QUEEN OF KATWE ont été cédés à Little, Brown UK (Royaume-Uni), Scribe (Océanie), Bruna (Pays Bas), BTB (Allemagne), Piemme (Italie), Juritzen (Norvège), Kinneret (Israël), Woongjin (Corée).

The “astonishing” (The New York Times Book Review) and “inspirational” (Shelf Awareness) true story of Phiona Mutesi—a teenage chess prodigy from the slums of Uganda

THE QUEEN OF KATWE
One Girl’s Triumphant Path to Becoming a Chess Champion
By Tim Crothers
Scribner, October 2013

One day in 2005 while searching for food, nine-year-old Ugandan Phiona Mutesi followed her brother to a dusty veranda where she met Robert Katende.
Katende, a war refugee turned missionary, had an improbable dream: to empower kids in the Katwe slum through chess—a game so foreign there is no word for it in their native language. Laying a chess­board in the dirt, Robert began to teach. At first children came for a free bowl of porridge, but many grew to love the game that—like their daily lives—requires persevering against great obstacles. Of these kids, one girl stood out as an immense talent: Phiona.
By the age of eleven Phiona was her country’s junior champion, and at fifteen, the national champion. Now a Woman Candidate Master—the first female titled player in her country’s history—Phiona dreams of becoming a Grandmaster, the most elite level in chess. But to reach that goal, she must grapple with everyday life in one of the world’s most unstable coun­tries. The Queen of Katwe is a “remarkable” (NPR) and “riveting” (New York Post) book that shows how “Phiona’s story transcends the limitations of the chessboard” (Robert Hess, US Grandmaster).

Kevin Spacey adaptera THE RESIDENCE pour la télévision !

Trigger Street, la société de production de Kevin Spacey, (HOUSE OF CARDS, THE SOCIAL NETWORK etc.) a acquis les droits audiovisuels de THE RESIDENCE de Kate Andersen Brower.

THE RESIDENCE dévoile les coulisses de la Maison Blanche à travers les récits de ses « travailleurs de l’ombre » : cuisiniers, magasiniers, gouvernantes et majordomes racontent plus d’un demi-siècle de vie au service des familles présidentielles, des Kennedy jusqu’aux Obama. Publié le 7 avril dernier, THE RESIDENCE est déjà un bestseller aux États-Unis :

A remarkable history with elements of both In the President’s Secret Service and The Butler, THE RESIDENCE offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas

THE RESIDENCE:
Inside the Private World of the White House
by Kate Andersen Brower
Harper, April 2015
320 pages , two 8-page color inserts

America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.
Two days after moving into the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama walked into the East Room with her small staff. “We are on their ground now,” she told her top advisors, motioning to the nearly 100 people standing before them. The first lady was not referring to high-powered political aides in the West Wing. She was talking about the ultimate White House insiders: the maids, butlers, chefs, florists, ushers, painters, engineers, and electricians who not only run the executive mansion but see the first family in their most private moments.
Fiercely loyal to the president and his family, regardless of political party, White House residence workers have an allegiance to the institution of the American presidency that is truly inspiring. They exude a quiet elegance and devotion to service that is nearly impossible to find in the nation’s divided capital. Now, for the first time, their stories of fifty years, ten administrations, and countless crises are told in THE RESIDENCE: Inside the Private World of the White House by former Bloomberg News White House Correspondent Kate Andersen Brower.
Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with butlers, maids, chefs, florists, doormen, and other staffers—as well as former first ladies and first family members—THE RESIDENCE offers a group portrait of the dedicated professionals who orchestrate lavish state dinners; stand ready during meetings with foreign dignitaries; care for the president and first lady’s young children; and cater to every need the first couple may have, however sublime or, on occasion, ridiculous.
In the voices of the residence workers themselves—sometimes wry, often affectionate, always gracious and proud—here are stories of:

The Kennedys—from intimate glimpses of their marriage to the chaotic days after JFK’s assassination

The Johnsons—featuring the bizarre saga of LBJ’s obsession with the White House plumbing

The Nixons—including Richard Nixon’s unexpected appearance in the White House kitchen the morning he resigned.

The Reagans—from a fire that endangered Ronald Reagan in his second term to Nancy’s control of details big and small

The Clintons—whose private battles unsettled residence workers

The Obamas—who danced to Mary J. Blige on their first night in the White House

Working tirelessly to provide impeccable service and earning the trust and undying admiration of each new first family, these extraordinary White House workers served every day in the midst of history—and lived to tell the tales.

Elizabeth Harrower sélectionnée pour le Miles Franklin Award


The Guardian
vient de l’annoncer : Elizabeth Harrower, 87 ans, auteure de IN CERTAIN CIRCLES, qui sera publié en France par les Éditions Rivages, est dans la liste pour le prix littéraire le plus important d’Océanie.

IN CERTAIN CIRCLES est le cinquième roman écrit par l’écrivaine australienne… quarante ans après son précédent ouvrage!

A FEW DAYS IN THE COUNTRY, son prochain titre, est un recueil de nouvelles qui sera publié en novembre prochain par Text Publishing.

Le Prix du polar européen 2015 pour Sascha Arango

2015-03-27_121554DIE WAHRHEIT UND ANDERE LUGEN de Sascha Arango, que le journal allemand Die Welt avait défini « meilleur thriller psychologique de l’année », ne pouvait pas passer inaperçu au festival Quais du polar à Lyon.

Le roman de l’auteur allemand, publié en France sous le titre LA VÉRITÉ ET AUTRES MENSONGES par les éditions Albin Michel, a fait l’unanimité auprès du jury du prix organisé par l’hebdomadaire Le Point, remis à la soirée d’ouverture du festival.

LA VÉRITÉ ET AUTRES MENSONGES avait déjà attiré l’attention d’Olivia de Lamberterie qui en avait longuement parlé le 24 février dernier, lors de sa chronique à Télé Matin, sur France 2.