June 2025

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

To us, summer truly feels like a new life—longer days, lighter moods, and stories waiting to be discovered. 

With a flurry of fresh news from Diogenes, we wish you sun-soaked afternoons, cool drinks, and books so good they keep you reading well past bedtime!

Happy summer holidays,

✉️ Susanne Bauknecht (Rights Director)

✉️ Suzanne Hégelé

✉️ Jana Lissek

✉️ Claudia Reinert

✉️ Andrej Ruesch

PS: For the full meaning of the quote above, please don’t hesitate to ask us for a reading copy. 

PPS: Frankfurt is coming. If you haven't yet made an appointment, we will be happy to schedule one with you. 

For Polina by Takis Würger has once again climbed into the top 5 of the Spiegel bestseller list—currently #5!

What a phenomenal ride this book is on: 20 weeks at the top of the list and a sensational #1 upon publication, to be published in 11 languages so far. 

Rights sold:
Albanian (Botart)
Catalan (Les Hores)
Dutch (Meulenhoff)
Estonian (Tänapäev)
French (Calmann-Lévy)
Italian (Neri Pozza)
Russian (Azbooka)
Slovak (Ikar)
Slovenian (Mladinska)
Spanish/world (Alba) 

Martin Suter’s Love and Fury rises from #4 to #2 on the Spiegel bestseller list. It’s the 12th week for Love and Fury in the top 4 of the list, 6 of which at #1 (yes, indeed, we triple-checked). French rights to Love and Fury have been sold to Phébus.

An English sample translation by Jamie Bulloch is ready: Please drop us a line if you would like to have a look. 

The Indigo Press in London published Paradise Garden in June, translated by Alexandra Roesch.

»Mesmerisingly addictive and exquisitely translated by Alexandra Roesch, Paradise Garden was longlisted for the ›German Book Prize‹ 2023 and is already an international bestseller that has also been optioned for film. We’re not surprised. Author Fischer, 38, from Mainz, is one to watch.«

Sally McDonald, The Sunday Post

We’re also thrilled that Paradise Garden has been handpicked by Dua Lipa for her book club and global newsletter platform Service95, where it was featured as one of The Best New Book Releases This June:

Praise for the Dutch edition:

»Paradise Garden has a lot of pace, lightness and depth.«
NRC / Amsterdam

Rights sold:

Czech (Prostor)
Dutch (Meulenhoff)
English/world (Indigo Press)
Estonian (Tänapäev)      
French (Gallmeister)
Hungarian (Helikon)
Italian (Feltrinelli Gramma)
Portuguese (Porto) 
Serbian (publik Praktikum)
Spanish (AdN) 
Slovak (E. J. Publishing) 
Turkish (Domingo)

Michel Bergmann passed away on 15 June 2025 in Berlin. We mourn the loss of our esteemed author, whose humour and wisdom enriched us all.

Born in Riehen near Basel, he spent his early childhood in Paris and his youth in Frankfurt. After his studies, he worked as a journalist, later as a film director and producer. In 2010 his first novel was published, eight more books followed. He lived in Berlin.

At Diogenes, his most recent work, Mameleben (2023), tells the story of his mother — her expulsion from Germany, the loss of nearly her entire family, and the joy of rediscovering the love of her life. This moving narrative nonfiction stands as a powerful tribute to memory, resilience, and love.

Michel Bergmann's voice will be missed, but his stories remain.

Now Published in Translation: Blösch (aka Cow) by Beat Sterchi in Serbian 

Karpos Books, Loznica