Fredrik Backman, Bestselling ‘A Man Called Ove’ Author, Signs With UTA (EXCLUSIVE)

Ellise Shafer
·1 min read
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Fredrik Backman, the internationally bestselling author of “A Man Called Ove,” “Anxious People” and more, has signed with UTA in all areas. UTA will represent Backman in his expanding publishing business, as well as across media rights, theater and podcasts.

The Swedish-born Backman has penned critically acclaimed novels including “A Man Called Ove,” “Things My Son Needs to Know About the World,” “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry,” “Britt-Marie Was Here,” “And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer,” “Beartown,” “The Deal of a Lifetime,” “Us Against You,” “Anxious People” and “The Winners.” Together, his works have sold 20 million copies in over 40 countries and have topped many bestseller lists.

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After spending a staggering 90 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list, “A Man Called Ove” was adapted for both the stage and screen, first in the 2015 Oscar-nominated Swedish film of the same name. Most recently, Tom Hanks starred in the U.S. version, titled “A Man Called Otto,” which grossed over $112 million globally and stayed in the top 10 of Netflix’s U.S. movies list for a month after its launch on the streaming service.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Fredrik Backman to the UTA family,” Byrd Leavell, co-head of UTA Publishing, said in a statement. “His emotionally resonant and insightful work has made an impact on countless readers across generations, myself among them, and we?re looking forward to helping him reach even more readers, viewers, and listeners in the years to come.”

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