The World of Gerard van Oost and Oludara

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Sportula Licenses Worldwide Spanish Rights to The Elephant and Macaw Banner

Award-winning Brazilian fantasy series to be launched digitally by Spanish publisher

PORTO ALEGRE, November 17, 2016 – The Elephant and Macaw Banner series is the latest acquisition of Spanish science fiction and fantasy imprint Sportula. Sportula is owned and operated by award-winning author Rodolfo Martínez. Their catalog includes authors such as Juan Miguel Aguilera, Elia Barceló, Angélica Gorodischer, Ian Whates, Arthur Conan Doyle and María Zaragoza.

The Elephant and Macaw Banner is a fantasy series set in colonial Brazil. The stories have been nominated for the Nebula and other international awards, and have been adapted to graphic novel and board game formats. Sportula plans to launch digital Spanish editions of the individual novelettes, available worldwide, followed by a possible print edition in Spain.

Martínez writes: “Kastensmidt´s stories are a breath of fresh air in the current landscape of epic fantasy, where everybody seems to be obsessed with revisiting over and over the European Middle Ages (or versions of it) as if there were no other possibilities. Instead, he has dared to look upon other traditions and mythos, and has created a very smart and compelling fusion of historical novels and African and American traditions and legends. He is exploring uncharted territory and discovering new worlds. For me, as head of Sportula, it’s a privilege to be the Spanish publisher of his work.”

Christopher Kastensmidt, author of the series, says: “Rodolfo is one of the most important Spanish SF authors and Sportula is one of the most beloved publishing houses among Spanish fans. This is a perfect fit for The Elephant and Macaw Banner, and I’m honored to be working with them.”

The Spanish edition will mark the seventh language to which the series has been translated.  The stories are currently available for purchase in Chinese via 100-million-user social network Douban Read, in Portuguese via Brazilian publisher Devir Livraria, and in English via the author’s own digital editions. Individual stories have been published in magazines in Czech, Romanian, and Dutch.

About Sportula

Sportula was born in 2009 as a means of managing the electronic rights to Rodolfo Martínez’s work. The idea of publishing other Spanish authors was always on the table, and it became a reality in 2012 with Akasa-Puspa de Aguilera y Redal, an anthology where several authors wrote new stories set in the space opera genre, organized by Juan Miguel Aguilera and Javier Redal. Over the years, Sportula has published more than a hundred titles (both in paperback and ebook) from more than forty authors, most of them Spanish, but also Latin-American and British. The house´s focus has always been electronic publication, and over years it has achieved several awards, being a favorite in the Ignotus Award (the Spanish equivalent of the Hugo Awards). In Sportula´s catalogue, readers can find science fiction, fantasy, historic novels, detective stories, essays and even poetry.

About the Elephant and Macaw Banner

The Elephant and Macaw Banner is an award-winning fantasy series set in sixteenth-century Brazil. The stories tell the adventures of Gerard van Oost and Oludara, an unlikely pair of heroes who meet in Salvador. News, artwork, and in-depth explanations of historical and cultural references from the series can be found at the website www.eamb.org.

About Christopher Kastensmidt

Christopher is a native Texan who immigrated to Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001. A former Creative Director at Ubisoft, he has authored games, comics, and books published around the world, totaling millions of units sold.

International covers:

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Sportula covers:

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Announcing the finalists of the Hydra Competition’s third edition

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The Elephant and Macaw Banner and Universo Insonia are proud to announce the finalists for the third edition of the Hydra Competition of Fantastic Literature. As in the previous edition, the selection of short stories had two stages, with each juror pre-selecting a list of fifteen stories, eventually narrowed down to the best three.

Those indicated for the final stage are:

A Última Feiticeira de Florença (“The Last Witch of Florence”) by Carol Chiovatto
Originally published in “Caçadores de Bruxa”, from Editora Buriti

A Dama e o Poeta (“The Lady and the Poet”) by Walter Tierno
Originally published in “Amor Lobo”, from Giz Editorial

A Melhor das Três (“Best of Three”) by Camila Fernandes
Originally published in “Bestiario 2 – outras criaturas”, from Editora Ornitorrinco

It was not easy at all for the jurors Daniel Borba, Claudia Oliveira, and Fabio M. Barreto to choose from over one hundred and fifty submissions, coming from both print and electronic publications. The three finalist stories will be translated to English by Christopher Kastensmidt, then sent to the editors of Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show Magazine, who will choose the winner and publish the story in an upcoming edition.

Congratulations to the three finalists!

Press release – Douban Read Licenses Chinese Rights to The Elephant and Macaw Banner

Logo of Douban

 

Douban Read Licenses Chinese Rights to The Elephant and Macaw Banner

Award-winning Brazilian fantasy series to be sold via 100 million user social network Douban

 

Douban Read, editorial arm of Chinese social network Douban, has acquired Chinese publishing rights for Christopher Kastensmidt’s The Elephant and Macaw Banner series. The stories will be sold through Douban.com, a site with over one hundred million registered users. Douban Read’s catalog contains major international authors such as David Mitchell, Nancy Kress, Ken Liu, Thomas Olde Heuvelt and Aliette de Bodard.

 

The Elephant and Macaw Banner is a series of fantasy stories set in colonial Brazil. The stories have been nominated for the Nebulas and other international awards. Christopher Kastensmidt, author of the series, writes: “It’s an immense honor to sign this deal with Douban. I can’t imagine a better partner for transporting the world of The Elephant and Macaw Banner to China, the world’s largest audience.”

 

Pei Liu, foreign rights editor of Douban Read, states: “I was fascinated by the creatures inspired by Brazilian folklore when I read The Fortuitous Meeting for the first time.  We then decided to build in China a nice home for stories of The Elephant and Macaw Bannner.  We think Douban Read is the best choice for them because it has the largest reader group in China. This is also a great chance for Chinese readers to meet the beauty, mystery, and magic of Christopher’s writings.”

 

According to The Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry 2014, China is responsible for 12% of the world editorial market, second only to the United States.

 

About Douban Read

Douban is one of China’s most visited SNS websites, with more than one hundred million registered users. People gather at Douban, buying ebooks and sharing comments of their favorite readings, music and films. Douban Read is Douban’s e-book store launched in 2012, accompanied by set of apps for iPad,  Kindle, and desktop PC reading within a web app. To keep the experience social, the Douban Reader app allows users to leave comments and reviews on the ebooks they’re reading. It is also China’s largest self-publishing platform, with works by over 15,000 amateur writers e-published exclusively at Douban Read.

 

About the Elephant and Macaw Banner

The Elephant and Macaw Banner is an award-winning fantasy series set in sixteenth-century Brazil. The stories tell the adventures of Gerard van Oost and Oludara, an unlikely pair of heroes who meet in Salvador. News, artwork, and in-depth explanations of historical and cultural references from the series can be found at the website www.eamb.org.

 

About Christopher Kastensmidt

Christopher is a native Texan who immigrated to Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001. A former Creative Director at Ubisoft, he has authored games, comics, and books published around the world.

Partnership with Rockhead Games

Rockhead Games Announces Partnership with Award-Winning Author Christopher Kastensmidt

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Kastensmidt to produce transmedia content for platform-adventure game Starlit Adventures

PORTO ALEGRE, October 14, 2015 – Rockhead Games, publisher of mobile hits Starlit Adventures, Master of Words and Pixel Shaper, announced today its partnership with Consultacad, company of award-winning author and game designer Christopher Kastensmidt. Under the agreement, Consultacad is developing transmedia content for Rockhead’s platform-adventure title Starlit Adventures, a title that has already attracted millions of players in Latin America and China and is set to launch worldwide in November 19th. In the first phase of this agreement, Kastensmidt has overseen expansion of the game’s universe and produced three graphic stories, to be published in digital and print formats.

“We are extremely excited to have Christopher working with us on this project,” states Christian Lykawka, president of Rockhead Games. “His work with games, prose, and comics has received notice around the world. Since our initial talks, we’ve seen that he is the perfect fit for this project. His creativity and transmedia vision is taking our storytelling to another level.”

Christopher, a former Creative Director of Ubisoft Brazil, has worked on thirty video games, totaling millions of units sold, and has stories, books, and comics published in a dozen countries. “I’m thrilled that Rockhead is providing me this opportunity to flex my transmedia muscles, working a narrative across games and comics,” says Christopher Kastensmidt. “Starlit Adventures is an amazing game with enormous world-building opportunities, the Rockhead team has created a truly unique world. This partnership is going to allow us to create something very special.”

About Rockhead Games

Rockhead Games was founded in 2010 by industry veterans Christian Lykawka and Fernando D’Andrea, who brought with them a combined 30 years of experience in video game production. Their new venture has produced mobile hits Starlit Adventures, Master of Words and Pixel Shaper and the location-based game Item Quest.

About Starlit Adventures

Starlit Adventures is an original platform-adventure game specially designed for mobile. It brings hours of fun with intuitive controls, unique characters, beautiful visuals, and a wide range of gameplay mechanics to deliver a valuable and memorable experience.

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Website: http://starlitadventures.com/

Press kit: http://www.starlitadventures.com/press/sheet.php?p=starlit_adventures