David Conhaim Laszlo

Born in Minneapolis, USA, D. László Conhaim is a national award-winning author whose historical fiction is known for exploring themes of racial and social justice, identity, and moral struggle in the American West. His earlier novels include All Man’s Land, a Spur Award finalist and Will Rogers Medallion “Maverick” winner, and The Unredeemed, Best Novel winner in the Will Rogers Medallion Awards.

MEMOIRS OF SPURIUS (Illustrated Fiction, Forthcoming: Kulturalis)

A political whodunit set in Ancient Rome and based on a real but little known, though witch hunt that took place in 186 BCE, I think this book would be a great addition to your list, given your interests, and would speak to our current times with surprising nuance.

Based on events recorded by Livy and a bronze plaque in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, SPURIUS purports to be the “found” memoirs of Spurius Postumius Albinus, Consul of Rome. Investigating a series of crimes attributed to the Cult of Bacchus that, he argues, “threaten the very heart of the State,” Spurius perhaps doesn’t intend to start a witch hunt, at least not one that results in the deaths of some 3,500 Romans. Yet that is precisely what happens as Rome’s war on terror takes her legions as far as Asia to bring a relentless scourge to justice—the exiled Carthaginian Hannibal. As Spurius, ever the unreliable narrator, continues his quest, debate raged in the Senate over this preemptive military policy, with senators arguing over what a “just” war looks like and whether to hand down punishments or Triumphs to certain commanders who went too far—all relevant stuff to today’s reader.

Development of Kulturalis’ deluxe edition of SPURIUS began at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2024 and continued through the London Book Fair this March. The book was previously independently published by David so that he might take it to Frankfurt, where he secured the Kulturalis deal. Now, these deluxe editions will be presented at October’s Frankfurt Book Fair with a November launch to take place in London. The editions will be reviewed by Cambridge University in their Journal of Classics Teaching.

Rights Sold: Illustrated World English
Rights Available: Non-Illustrated World English, Translation
Agent: Zeynep Sen