[EXCLUSIVE] Not your average thriller, 'The Consultant,' to be published in US, Europe

Novelist Im Seong-sun / Courtesy of Im Seong-sun

Bloomsbury UK purchased the World English Language Rights for award-winning novelist Im Seong-sun's debut novel, calling it a fascinating story

By Kang Hyun-kyung

"It's surreal."

That's what Im Seong-sun, author of the award-winning 2010 thriller, "The Consultant," said when asked how he felt when he learned that his debut novel will be published in English for English-speaking readers in 2023.

"I've never, ever thought that my novel might get translated into English and be sold in bookstores in the United States or other English-speaking countries, because I didn't know what kinds of novels readers there were looking for. To be honest with you, I still don't know whether my book will strike a chord with Western readers," he said. "But I'm honored that such a globally renowned publisher like Bloomsbury was interested in my debut novel and thrilled to hear that they purchased its World English Language Rights."

In Korea, Im, 44, went on to say that there are many talented novelists other than him, hoping that Bloomsbury can also give them the chance to publish their works for English-speaking readers.

The New York-based Barbara J. Zitwer Agency inked a contract on Thursday (EST) with Sara Helen Binney, managing editor at Bloomsbury U.K., that allows the publisher to acquire the World English Language Rights for Im's novel, enabling the English translation of the book to be printed and sold across the English-speaking world.

"His book will be published in the United States. Bloomsbury will publish and distribute it or sell it to another U.S. publisher for the U.S. rights… (we're) not certain yet but it is certain that it will be published in the United States," Zitwer told The Korea Times in an email, informing this reporter of the deal she had just signed with one of the world's leading publishers. "It will be published globally in English, so (it will be available in) all the World English Language territories, including Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, etc. The English edition will also be sold in Korea and all of Asia and Europe."

Joo Yeon-sun, founder and president of EunHaengNaMu Publishing Co. in Seoul, said Im's debut novel being published in the United States and Europe is great news for Korean authors.

"About 80 to 90 percent of Korean authors' works that were published overseas were done by small independent publishers based in Europe. It is rare that Bloomsbury, one of the largest publishers in the world, has decided to purchase the English language rights for a Korean novel. This means that Im's work has received important attention from the global publisher," he said.

"The Consultant" has been translated into English by Brother Anthony (An Seon-jae), who is one of the judges of The Korea Times Translation Awards and a prolific translator of Korean poetry and fiction.

"The Consultant" by Im Seong-sun

"The Consultant" is not your average thriller. It revolves around a young aspiring novelist who, unbeknownst to himself, becomes part of a hit squad. Upon the requests of his clients, the protagonist conducts elaborate amounts of research and planning in order to make planned murders look natural, creating "reasons" that are convincing enough to make criminalists, investigators and even forensic experts conclude that no criminal activities were involved in the deaths. His crime thriller-like "action plans" are handed over to a hitman, a fellow employee who is unknown to the protagonist, to execute them in return for money from their clients.

It's a tale of assassinating people under the guise of suicide, chronic ailments or tragic accidents.

The news that "The Consultant" will soon hit bookstores in the United States and Europe is a dream come true for the author.

"When I traveled abroad, from time to time I would face an awkward moment because of the lack of an English translation of one of my books. When I introduced myself as a novelist having published seven or eight novels, people there would ask me if one or some of them were translated into English and available in bookstores there. When I said no, there was always a moment of awkward silence. Having these experiences was quite embarrassing," he said.

Born in 1976, Im debuted as a novelist in 2010 with "The Consultant," which won the 6th Segye Ilbo Literary Award.

He suffered from severe agraphia, an acquired neurological disorder causing a loss in the ability to communicate through writing, after his mother passed away following having battled with cancer for seven years. "The Consultant" is the fruit of his years of efforts to cure himself of the disorder.

Among his published books, Im said that "The Consultant" is special to him because he wrote the novel when he was going through the darkest time in his life.

Losing his mother had devastated him, particularly because she had inspired him to write novels. His mother was an aspiring novelist and would ask her son to review her drafts once they were done and give her feedback. Im said that while helping his mother, he was able to hone his writing skills and create stories.

"The Consultant" empowered him to try for his own fresh start as a novelist.

Before his literary debut, he had worked in the film industry as a screenwriter and assistant director. He worked as assistant director for award-winning filmmaker Kwak Kyung-taek in the 2002 movie, "Champion," which tells the story of the late boxer, Kim Duk-ku, who died days after fighting in the world championship boxing match against Ray Mancini. Director Ahn Kwon-tae's 2004 hit movie, "My Brother," is another film he worked as assistant director. After that, he worked in the film industry in various positions.

Im said that his work experience in the film industry had led him to listen to his inner voice, which was telling him that he should write his own story.

"What I mean by 'my story' is that, in the film industry, I was asked to write screenplays based on plots that were already set by movie production houses. So, basically I was writing stories that someone else had set," he said.

Besides his thirst to write his own novels, Im said that he had a realistic reason to work on a novel for the literary award: he was penniless, because the film industry at that time was notorious for job insecurity, particularly for part-timers.

"I was so poor that I was unable to make ends meet. I walked all the way to my workplace because I didn't have money to pay the bus fare. My financial situation was dire. After 'The Consultant' won the literary award, I was given prize money sufficient enough to write three or four more works of fiction afterwards without having to worry about money," he said.

Zitwer said that she and the Bloomsbury publisher shared the view that "The Consultant" has the potential to become a bestseller.

"Bloomsbury thinks that the book is very original, literary and a page-turner… that it will be a bestseller and launch the global career of the author. They were incredibly fascinated and moved by the author's biography and his trying to overcome agraphia by writing this debut novel… that is an incredible story in and of itself, and the fact that the protagonist is a novelist trying to get published and have a literary voice resonates from the author's own life," she said. "Bloomsbury and I felt that the author is a true talent from a deep place inside himself and this debut will be a very exciting debut publication."