Translation rights

image of a selection of our translated titles

De Correspondent is known for its original bestsellers on the most important topics of our time, innovative ideas and bold publishing choices. Read more about De Correspondent Publishers here. On this page, you can find our contact information and full list of (upcoming) titles. 

Who to contact

 

Anna de Roest: foreign rights manager
annaderoest@decorrespondent.nl

 


Milou Klein Lankhorst: publisher 
milou@decorrespondent.nl

 


Channa van Dijk: contracts
channa@decorrespondent.nl

Sub-agents

Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and South-East Asia: Japan UNI Agency — miko.yamanouchi@gmail.com
France: Anna Jarota Agency — megan@ajafr.com
Eastern Europe: Anna Jarota Agency — Iza@ajapl.com

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Our titles 

Poverty Explained to People With Money 

Tim ‘S Jongers

‘One of the best books of the year 2024.’ – Paul Verhaeghe, professor emeritus of clinical psychology and psychoanalysis

‘Relatable from the first to the last word. A (mandatory) gift for all policymakers.’ – Emine Uğur, social service worker and columnist

Tim 'S Jongers grew up in extreme poverty. Challenging blind spots and debunking misconceptions, this book serves as a crash course for people with money. Because fighting poverty is not possible until the people with money learn to see poverty differently.

  • Over 57,500 copies sold.
  • Hit the Dutch bestseller list at #2 and stayed in the list for more than 32 weeks.
  • For the readers of: Thomas Piketty, Michael Sandel, Édouard Louis.
  • Rights sold: Slovak (Kapital Noviny), Italian (La Nave di Teseo).

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Moral Ambition - Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference 

Rutger Bregman

‘A revolutionary in a sensible coat.’ – Russell Crowe
‘A stark wake-up call’ – Trevor Noah
‘The voice in my head’ – Jameela Jamil

The greatest waste of our time is the waste of talent. The antidote to that waste? Moral ambition: the will to make the world a better place. Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind, encourages readers to transform their lives.

Rutger Bregman is internationally famous for his speech at Davos, appeared in The Daily Show and joined Late Night with Seth Meyers. He’s also known for his viral interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson and his TED Talk (over 4 million views). Rutger has over 860,000 followers on social media.

  • Sold over 77,000 copies in the Netherlands.
  • A #1 Dutch bestseller, with 28 weeks in the Dutch bestseller list.
  • From the author of Humankind (1,5 million copies sold worldwide).
  • Praise from Trevor Noah, Russell Crowe, Jameela Jamil, Stephen Fry and more.
  • For the readers: of Mark Manson, Adam Grant, Steven Pinker.
  • Rights sold to: UK (Bloomsbury), US (Little, Brown), Catalan (Grup 62), Croatian (Ljevak Naklada), Czech (ARGO), Danish (People’s Press), Finnish (Atena), French (Editions du Seuil), German (Rowohlt), Greek (Klidarithmos), Hungarian (HVG), Japanese (Bungei Shunju), Lithuanian (Tyto Alba Publishing), Norwegian (Spartacus), Portuguese (Bertrand, Romanian (Litera), Slovak (N Press), Spanish (Planeta), Swedish (Natur och kultur), Taiwanese (Chinese Times Publishing Company).

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The Entire Village Knew 

Rinke Verkerk

‘You are completely drawn into this stunning story.’ – Lale Gül, author of international bestseller I will live

Through the deeply personal story of her former classmate, Rinke Verkerk explores the role of bystanders in sexual child abuse and shows how – by choosing to not look away – we can become better bystanders.

Over 18,600 copies sold and more than 15,000 streams on Storytel.
Number #1 most borrowed non-fiction book from Dutch libraries in 2024.

  • Average of 4.36 stars (2,769) on Goodreads.
  • For the readers of: Tiger, Tiger (Margaux Fragoso), Educated (Tara Westover), Consent (Vanessa Springora), Small Things Like These (Claire Keegan).
  • Movie rights sold to A Bigger Picture and TomTit, open to international collaboration.

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Movement - How to take back our streets and transform our lives 

Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet

‘A revolutionary view of mobility. Gives us the tools to campaign for something different.’ – Lucy Siegle
 
Who do our streets belong to? What do we use them for? And who gets to decide? Journalist Thalia Verkade and Urban Mobility Futures professor Marco te Brömmelstroet collaborate to explore how we move about urban environments, why we prioritize traffic above all else and how we can make our communities safer, cleaner and greener.

  • Over 21,000 copies sold in the Netherlands and Belgium.
  • Winner of the prestigious Brusseprijs for the best journalistic book of 2021.
  • The English translation has 4.18 stars on Goodreads (more than 1700 ratings).
  • Rights sold: UK (Scribe), US (Island Press), German (Marmota Maps), Portuguese (Brazil, Perspectiva), Lithuanian (Hubris).

 

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Truth Be Sold 

Rob Wijnberg


With the rise of capitalism in a postmodern world, truth has become a consumer commodity – true is what clicks and sells – rather than a collective good. In the battle for truth, how can a progressive story triumph over that of the nostalgic nationalists, who want to solve all our problems by returning to the past (“Make America Great Again”)? Philosopher Rob Wijnberg shows how truth can once again become something that unites instead of divides us.

Rob Wijnberg is a philosopher, media critic and co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of De Correspondent. Together with three co-founders, he broke the world record in crowdfunding for a journalism startup in 2013 with De Correspondent, raising over 1.3 million dollars in eight days. He appeared on CNN and was interviewed by The Guardian. His six bestsellers together have sold more than 125,000 copies in The Netherlands

  • More than 31,000 copies sold in The Netherlands and Belgium.
  • Stayed in the Dutch best seller list for 19 weeks.
  • Rights sold: German (Beck). 

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In Light-Years There’s No Hurry 

Marjolijn van Heemstra

‘A lovely, lyrical book about the search for signs of life in these perilous times.’ – Jenny Offilll
‘A charming, challenging book.’ – New Scientist

We often feel short of space: space in our calendars, in our heads, in our lives. But what if we look at existence from the greatest distance imaginable? Marjolijn van Heemstra takes you on a journey to space, changing the way you view life on earth.
  • Over 20,000 copies sold.
  • For the readers of: Jenny Offill (Weather, Department of Speculation) and Katherine May (Wintering, Enchantment).
  • Rights sold: UK & US (W.W. Norton & Company), Korean (Dolbegae Publishers).

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Humankind: A Hopeful History

Rutger Bregman

‘Made me see humanity from a fresh perspective’ – Yuval Noah Harari
‘Hugely, highly, happily recommended’ – Stephen Fry

Human beings, we’re taught, are selfish by nature. But what if we were wrong? Rutger Bregman rewrites history – and sheds a new light on our future.

  • Translated into 46 languages and sold over 1,5 million copies worldwide.
  • A New York Times Bestseller, Spiegel Bestseller, Sunday Times Bestseller and was one of the best selling Dutch books for three years.
  • One of the stories from the book, about the ‘real Lord of the Flies’, will be made into a movie by New Regency, the Hollywood studio behind 12 Years a Slave.
  • The documentary rights have been sold to the independent studio Media Res.
  • Rights sold: UK (Bloomsbury), US (Little, Brown), Albanian (Botime Koliqi), Armenian (Vernatun Media LLC), Bulgarian (Millenium), Chinese (Cheers), Croatian (Ljevak Naklada), Czech (Argo), Danish (People’s Press), Arabic (Egypt) (Dar Altanweer), Estonian (Varrak Publishers Limited), Finnish (Atena), French (Editions du Seuil), German (Rowohlt), Greek (Klidarithmos), Gujarati, Hindi, Malayam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu (India) (Manjul Publishing House), Hungarian (HVG), Indonesian (Gramedia Pustaka Utama), Hebrew (Penn Publishing), Italian (Feltrinelli), Japanese (Bungei Shunju), Korean (Influential Inc.), Lithuanian (Tyto Alba Publishing), Norwegian (Spartacus), Polish (Wydawnictwo Publicat), Portuguese (Bertrant), Portuguese (Brazil) (Editora Planeta do Brazil), Romanian (Litera), Russian (Sinbad Books), Serbian (Laguna Publishing House), Slovak (N Press), Slovene  (Vida), Spanish (Anagrama), Catalan (Grup 62), Sinhalese (Subhavi Publishers), Swedish (Natur och kultur), Taiwanese (Chinese Times Publishing Company), Thai (Biblio Publishing), Turkish (Can Yayinlari), Ukrainian (Laboratory Publishers), Vietnamese (Tan Viet Books).

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How Are We Going to Explain This: Our Future On a Hot Earth

Jelmer Mommers

‘Mommers helps us see how we might remake the world.’ – David Wallace–Wells
‘Breezy, easy to read, perky, full of good stories and all done with a brisk summary of the history of ideas.’ – The Sunday Times
‘Shines a light on the path forward with clarity and determination.’ – Christiana Figueres, Architect of the Paris climate agreement

Climate change threatens everything we hold dear. But we are not as powerless as many think: we can turn the tide and write our own future. Jelmer Mommers shows how.

Jelmer Mommers is known for his investigative journalism and worldwide scoop about the oil company Shell, which you can read in The Guardian.

  • Over 43,000 copies sold in the Netherlands.
  • For the readers of: David Wallace-Wells (The Unhabitable Earth), Naomi Klein (This Changes Everything), Rutger Bregman (Humankind), Greta Thunberg (The Climate Book).
  • Rights sold: UK (Profile Books), US (Scribner).

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Second Thoughts: On Having and Being a Second Child 

Lynn Berger


What's it like to have a child when you already have one? And what does it mean to be second in a world that revolves around the first? An indispensable book for anyone who is having a second child, who is a second child or knows one.

  • Over 12,000 copies sold in The Netherlands.
  • An excerpt was published in TIME Magazine.
  • For the readers of: Rachel Cusk, Jenny Offil, Emily Oster.
  • Rights sold: UK (September Books), US (Henry Holt).

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  The Number Bias: How Numbers Lead and Mislead Us

Sanne Blauw


'Sharp and funny' – The Guardian

Whether it’s election polls or the number of infections during an epidemic – numbers are everywhere and have a big influence on our lives. Sanne Blauw writes a history of the (sometimes deliberate) misuse of numbers.

  • Over 28,000 copies sold in The Netherlands.
  • For the readers of: Nassim Taleb, Hans Rosling.
  • Rights sold: UK (Sceptre (Hachette)), Arabic (Lebanon) (Arab Scientific Publishers), Chinese (United Sky New Media Company), Czech (Host), German (DVA), Greek (Alexandria Publications), Italian (Garzanti), Japanese (Sunmark Publishing), Korean (Gilbut Publishing Co. Ltd.), Polish (Znak), Portuguese (Bertrand), Russian (Azbooka), Taiwanese (Business Today Publisher), Turkish (Alef Kitap). 

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Utopia for Realists

Rutger Bregman

‘The Dutch wunderkind of new ideas’ – The Guardian
‘Listen out for Rutger Bregman. He has a big future shaping the future’ – The Observer
‘The folk hero of Davos’ – Vox

Using real world examples, Rutger Bregman argues that seemingly radical ideas—like universal basic income, a fifteen-hour workweek, open borders and the eradication of poverty—are not only possible but have historical precedent.

  • New York Times Bestseller.
  • More than 77,500 copies sold in The Netherlands.
  • Watch Rutger’s TED Talk about universal basic income.
  • Rights sold: UK (Bloomsbury), US (Little, Brown), Albanian (Minerva), Azerbaijani (Teas Press), Bulgarian (Millenium), Chinese (Citic Press), Croatian (Ljevak Naklada), Czech (Limassol), Danish (Artpeople), Estonian (Tammerraamat), Finnish (Atena), French (Editions du Seuil), German (Rowohlt), Greek (Psichogios), Hungarian (Cser Kft.), Icelandic (Skrudda), Italian (Feltrinelli), Hebrew (Radical Publishing House), Japanese (Bungeishunju), Korean (Gimm-Young Co.), Lithuanian (Vaga Publishers), Norwegian (Spartacus), Polish (Czarna Owca), Portuguese (Bertrand), Portuguese (Brazil) (GMT Editores LTDA), Romanian (Grup Media Litera), Russian (Alpina Publisher), Serbian (Dereta), Slovak (N Press), Spanish (Salamandra), Catalan (Grup 62), Swedish (Natur och kultur), Taiwanese (Locus Publishing Company), Turkish (Domingo Publishing), Ukrainian (NF LLC), Vietnamese (Tan Viet Books).