By Siobhan O’Leary

Portuguese Nobel Prize winner and international bestseller José Saramago, who has been published in German by Rowohlt Verlag to this point, is moving houses to Hoffmann und Campe. In a statement to the Boersenblatt, Rowohlt spokeswoman Regina Steinicke revealed that the split resulted from a disagreement over the publication of Saramago’s blog in printed form under Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag (the publisher refused to print the book in its present form so Saramago decided to leave). His next novel, The Elephant’s Journey, will be published in German by Hoffmann und Campe in fall 2010, as will his diary. The publisher will also release Saramago’s earlier novel Cain in fall 2011.

For more on The Elephant’s Journey, take a look at this recent profile of the author from The Independent.