Cato Kwong heads to Europe

Crime novelist Alan Carter is getting warmer after signing deals that will see his Cato Kwong series published in Europe.

Prime Cut will be published in French and German translations while Prime Cut and Getting Warmer will be published in the United Kingdom as part of a two-book deal.

Carter said it was exciting to see Cato Kwong embraced by Europe.

‘Maybe this is the start of something big, out go the Scandinavians and in comes red dust Aussie noir?’ said Carter.

Carter’s popular local series has Cato Kwong, a disgraced cop and ex-poster boy for the police force, solving murders against the backdrop of the Western Australian mining boom.

Fremantle Press rights manager Clive Newman said the rights sales came as a result of the 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair.

‘Initial interest in the series was sparked by Alan’s award wins but ultimately the books were chosen because they liked the stories and thought they’d be a good fit for their lists,’ said Newman.

Prime Cut won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction and was shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award.

Alan Carter has recently returned from Shanghai where he was researching the third book in the Cato Kwong series. Getting Warmer and Prime Cut are available from all good bookstores and online. Both books will be published in Europe in 2014.