THE MOTH by Paul Herzberg receives its London premiere at the Finborough Theatre this October

We are delighted to announce that Blake Friedmann client Paul Herzberg's award-winning play THE MOTH will have its London premiere at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre for a strictly limited four-week season, from 27 October to 21 November 2026, following a triumphant Northern tour in 2025. The press nights will be held on Thursday, 29 October and Friday, 30 October 2026 at 7.30pm.

Micky Cochrane & Faz Singhateh in The Moth by Victoria Wai

THE MOTH tells the story of a chance encounter on a train between John, a Black British journalist, and Marius, a White South African ex-soldier. Their meeting sets in motion an escalating chain of events that reshapes their lives over thirty years, culminating in a confrontation before the nation's television cameras where they are forced to lay bare their conflicting truths.

Directed by award-winning theatre director Jake Murray Elysium Theatre Company. The play is presented by Andy Jordan Productions and Elysium Theatre Company in association with Neil McPherson.

Inspired by a true story, the play explores the themes of memory, identity, the legacy of Apartheid, and ultimately, what does forgiveness really mean. Paul, an accomplished actor and writer with nearly fifty years in theatre, television, and film, drew directly on his own experience of forced conscription into the army during the Angolan Border War. Having left South Africa in 1976, his lived experience of Apartheid and its continuing reverberations drive the narrative with profound authenticity.

ABOUT PAUL HERZBERG

An accomplished actor and writer, Paul Herzberg began his career at South Africa's first multi-racial theatre, The Space, before coming to the UK in 1976. As a writer, Paul's work has been produced by BBC Radio 4 and presented internationally. His previous stage play The Dead Wait was produced at the Market Theatre Johannesburg, the Royal Exchange Manchester, and the Park Theatre. It was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award, nominated for three Manchester Evening News Awards, and adapted for BBC Radio 4, ABC Australia, and WDR Germany.

Paul is represented by Julian Friedmann.

The Northern tour reviews:

“Evocative and as deeply human as it is disturbing... A sure sign of a remarkable and powerful play is that it stays with you long after the curtain call. Like a moth, this play will linger and flutter in your mind.”

Northern Arts Review ★★★★★

“A political thriller which directly confronts its darkness... A piece of theatre which lodges itself deep inside you, demanding reckoning long after the evening is over.”

The Palatinate ★★★★★

“Gripping, stellar performances by Faz Singhateh and Micky Cochrane. A poignant reflection on race, war, history and identity.”

Love Manchester ★★★★★

Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO longlisted for the SA Book Awards Favourite Bestselling Adult Fiction Prize

Bestselling crime sensation Deon Meyer has been longlisted for the 26th annual SA Book Awards in the Favourite Bestselling Adult Fiction category with SKORPIO. The awards, powered by NielsenIQ BookData and supported by the Publishers’ Association of South Africa and the SA Booksellers’ Association, strive to celebrate books written and published in South Africa, as voted for by South African booksellers.

SKORPIO earned its place on the longlist following an epic 9-week end of year run at the top of the South African bestseller lists, claiming the Christmas #1. In 2024, Deon took home not only the Best Fiction prize but also the overall Book of the Year prize at the SA Book Awards, for his previous Benny Griessel title LEO.

This year’s longlist was made up of the bestselling titles published in South Africa by South African authors, as measured by NielsenIQ BookScan South Africa in 2025, with South African booksellers invited to vote for their favourite to determine the shortlist and winners. Each category winner will be awarded ZAR 5,000.00 and there will be an overall winner, receiving the highest number of votes, who will be presented with ZAR 20,000.00. The winners will be announced at a special virtual award ceremony later in the year.

SKORPIO was first published in South Africa, in Afrikaans, by Human and Rousseau in October 2025. The English-language edition, titled SCORPIO RISING (translated by K.L. Seegers), will be published by Pan Macmillan in South Africa in October this year, and in the UK in Spring 2027, alongside Grove Atlantic in the US and Canada. Rights have further sold in France (Editions Gallimard), the Netherlands (A W Bruna) and Germany (Aufbau).

In SKORPIO/SCORPIO RISING, when two seemingly disparate investigations collide, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido must race against time to solve both before it is too late.

Aishah Fernandez, distinguished former Deputy Director General of South Africa’s nuclear power regulatory agency, is brutally attacked in her hotel room in Moscow. Four months later, Benny Griessel and his partner Vaughn Cupido – their rank as captains happily restored – find themselves investigating two tragic but seemingly unrelated cases: two small explosions and the suspicious death of private investigator Brandon Maarman.

At the same time, Benny is desperately trying to repair the damaged relationship with his son Fritz. As the connections between the cases become frighteningly clear, the race to save the country from an international disaster is on, with stakes higher than a father’s bond with his son.

Credit: Will Punt, Pear Tree Photography

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in 31 countries, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. His latest novel LEO, a new Benny Griessel thriller, enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching audiences in the USA, New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe.

Praise for SKORPIO

‘Even if he writes a book where Griessel and Cupid just go on holiday without any crime to solve, I will still buy it, read it and add it to my collection… Meyer needs no introduction… I don’t even want to think what he has meant to the Afrikaans book and film industry as a whole. He showed everyone what is possible, and SKORPIO shows how everyone still listens when he speaks. In 2025, a wealth of good suspense literature was published; SKORPIO is the icing on the cake.’ – Stefan Coetzee, LitNet

‘It’s the characters, the humanity and the humour that keeps me devouring Deon Meyer’s novels.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Netwerk24

‘In terms of depth, it is Meyer’s penetrating consideration of the nature of criminality that is surprising… In Meyer we notice the necessary awareness of South Africa’s social diversity. This makes the story nuanced and credible. What is also striking is the compassion with which Meyer treats the characters. This is a novel that is marked by humanity. Even the characters and suspects do not lack the author’s compassion… Ultimately, it is the scope of the story that surprises both the detectives and the reader. The evil that is systemic corruption is strikingly exposed. With the unmistakable Deon Meyer trademark, precise and powerful, SKORPIO is prime crime fiction that captivates to the end’ – Francois Bekker, Netwerk24

Praise for Deon Meyer

‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo

‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Visit Deon’s website

Amazon Original Stories acquires ‘thrilling and surprising’ short story from No.1 bestselling crime writer Peter James

Credit: Max Young

This summer Amazon Original Stories will publish a brand-new story from no.1 Sunday Times bestselling crime and thriller writer Peter James, acquired by editor Maisie Lawrence from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.

Publishing on 1st August, JOHN GREBBLE IS GONE follows the eponymous John Grebble, who wakes up to discover he’s been declared dead. His bank account is frozen, his car repossessed, and his entire existence erased. Someone wants him gone – permanently. Can he discover who would go this far to destroy him before it’s too late?

Peter James says: ‘I love to write short stories – in which I can explore ideas and themes very different to my Roy Grace crime thrillers.  The team at Amazon have been both huge fun and truly inspirational to work with, and I can honestly say that JOHN GREBBLE IS GONE is one of my very favourite stories I have ever written.’

Maisie Lawrence says: ‘I was so excited when Peter James said yes to writing an Amazon Original Story. JOHN GREBBLE IS GONE is an incredibly fast-paced, darkly comic thriller about a man whose entire existence is wiped out overnight and the result is a short that sent shivers up my spine. Peter brings all of his trademark thrilling pace and ability to surprise. It’s wickedly entertaining and I know readers are going to love it.’

Isobel Dixon says: ‘The indefatigable Peter James is a twisty plot powerhouse and it’s such a pleasure to share his bestselling work – series and standalone – with the world in so many formats. Thanks now to Maisie Lawrence for this opportunity for Peter to have some more short-form storytelling fun – providing great entertainment to even more readers worldwide.’

Michael Buchsteiner, Senior Manager at Amazon Books Europe, says: ‘Peter James is one of the UK’s most iconic crime writers, and we’re thrilled to bring his brilliant storytelling to Amazon Original Stories. ‘John Grebble Is Gone’ is a gripping, inventive short that showcases Peter’s extraordinary ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats. We’re proud to connect his work with even more readers across Europe and beyond, and to champion the short story format as a home for bold, compelling fiction.’

Peter’s next full length novel, DEAD IN THREE TWO ONE, will be published on 20th October by Pan Macmillan. It will be the 22nd in Peter’s ever popular Roy Grace series, but as with all the Grace titles, readers can dive in at any stage!

About Peter James

Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels. Peter writes both thriller standalones and the hugely popular Brighton-set Roy Grace series.

Peter’s books have been translated into thirty-eight languages, with worldwide sales of over 24 million copies and his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has given him 21 Sunday Times Number Ones. In 2015 WH Smith customers voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he was awarded the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. In 2018 he received a Specsavers Honorary Platinum Bestseller Award and in 2024 he won four Silver Nielsen Bestseller Awards. Peter James has also written two books based on true crime stories, with former senior detective Graham Bartlett.

The opening episode of GRACE, based on the first Roy Grace novel, DEAD SIMPLE, was broadcast in March 2021 with John Simm starring in the lead role as the tenacious detective. It was a TV Pick of the Day across all the major UK newspapers, appeared on ITV 1’s prime Sunday night slot and viewing figures quickly reached more than 8.8 million, with glowing reviews. In May 2025 it was in the top ten of ITVX’s most streamed shows.

Peter took part in the launch podcast of the Queen’s Reading Room in January 2024, having had the Grace series featured on the Royal Reading Room previously. He appeared on the podcast again in June 2024, where he was named one of Her Majesty’s favourite crime writers and Roy Grace her favourite fictional detective!

In 2026, Peter was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List, in recognition of his services to literature and to charity.

Praise for Peter James

‘Superior plotting and edge-of-the-seat suspense.’ – The Guardian

‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Karin Slaughter

‘A master plotter who cunningly tunes into contemporary concerns. Peter James cannot fail to thrill.’ – The Daily Mail

‘Memorable characters and nail-biting tension.’ –  Kathy Reichs

‘Peter James creates a world we can smell, touch and feel for his Brighton detective Inspector Roy Grace.’ – The Times

‘Probably the closest we’ll get to a British Stephen King’ – The Financial Times

‘With echoes of Thomas Harris, the closer analogue is to Jeffrey Deaver’s clock-racing thrillers… James delivers the goods.’ – Kirkus Reviews

‘James just gets better and better and deserves the success he has achieved with this first-class series.’ – Independent on Sunday

Visit Peter’s website

Follow Peter on Facebook and Instagram

Peter James awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List

Best-selling author Peter James has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in His Majesty The King’s 2026 Birthday Honours List, in recognition of his services to literature and to charity.

Best known for his DSI Roy Grace series, now a hit ITV drama, Peter James is the #1 bestselling author of over 40 novels, including 21 Sunday Times Number One bestsellers, which have been translated into 38 languages. He has sold over 23 million copies worldwide. Much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern-day policing, he has won over 40 awards for his work including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger.

ITV’s primetime adaptation of the Grace novels, starring John Simm, continues to delight audiences with significant ratings growth, and series seven is currently in production. On stage, seven of Peter’s Grace novels have been adapted as plays, earning his work the reputation of being the most successful stage franchise since Agatha Christie.

Peter is a supporter of many of charities reflecting his concerns and interests, including as Co-Patron of the Sussex Police Charitable Trust, which supports Sussex Police officers, staff, special constables, pensioners and dependant family members in their hour of need; as a patron of the RSPCA, the Samaritans, as an ambassador for The Reading Agency and as an ambassador for the National Year of Reading 2026, among many others.

Peter James says: ‘I was surprised, delighted beyond words and felt both thrilled and humbled by the news that I was being awarded an OBE. I also shed a tear, wishing my parents were still alive to see this, and knowing how proud they would have been - they were always so supportive.’

Lucy Hale, Managing Director of Pan says: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to see Peter James recognised with an OBE in The King’s Birthday Honours list. Peter is one of the reigning legends of UK crime fiction, and this prestigious honour is a richly deserved testament to his services to literature. For decades, Peter has been a towering fixture on the bestseller lists, capturing the imaginations of millions of readers worldwide. From his phenomenal DSI Roy Grace series, to his tally of more than 40 awards, Peter’s impact on the literary landscape is immeasurable. Everyone at Pan is immensely proud to publish him, and we join his millions of fans in celebrating this fantastic milestone.’

Isobel Dixon, Managing Director of Blake Friedmann Literary Agency says:  ‘At Blake Friedmann, we are delighted that Peter James has been awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list, an honour so richly deserved. Working closely with him over many years, the whole team is in awe of his prodigious energy – energy poured not just into his widely acclaimed and internationally bestselling books, but also shared in his support of many charitable causes, and with a passionate focus on bringing more people to reading. We are so proud of his extraordinary achievements and his spirit, generosity and commitment are a true inspiration.’

Peter James has just announced the title of his next Roy Grace novel, DEAD IN THREE TWO ONE, which will be published in hardback by Pan Macmillan in October 2026.

Praise for Peter James

‘Superior plotting and edge-of-the-seat suspense.’ – The Guardian

‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Karin Slaughter

‘A master plotter who cunningly tunes into contemporary concerns. Peter James cannot fail to thrill.’ – Daily Mail

‘Memorable characters and nail-biting tension.’ –  Kathy Reichs

‘Peter James creates a world we can smell, touch and feel for his Brighton detective Inspector Roy Grace.’ – The Times

‘Probably the closest we’ll get to a British Stephen King’ – The Financial Times

‘With echoes of Thomas Harris, the closer analogue is to Jeffrey Deaver’s clock-racing thrillers… James delivers the goods.’ – Kirkus Reviews

‘James just gets better and better and deserves the success he has achieved with this first-class series.’ – Independent on Sunday

Visit Peter’s website.

Like him on Facebook and follow him on Instagram.

Edward Wilson-Lee’s ‘sui generis’ Renaissance genius biography THE GRAMMAR OF ANGELS to be published in North America by Pegasus Books

University of Cambridge Scholar and Guggenheim Fellow Edward Wilson-Lee’s biography of prodigy and polymath Pico della Mirandola, THE GRAMMAR OF ANGELS – one of The Daily Telegraph’s best books of 2025 – will be published in North America next year by Pegasus Books. Publisher Jessica Case bought rights from agent Isobel Dixon, and will publish in hardback on 2 February 2027.

THE GRAMMAR OF ANGELS: The Life of a Renaissance Prodigy and his Search for a Philosophy of Everything tells how Pico dedicated his short, brilliant life to finding a philosophy that would settle the most important questions about human existence. This philosophy would, he believed, provide tools by which man could transcend his mortal limitations and join the ranks of the angels. Pico’s tempestuous life at the heart of the Renaissance was a testament to intellectual daring, a celebration of human dignity founded in the willingness to think the unthinkable, peering over the edge of the abyss in search of answers.

THE GRAMMAR OF ANGELS was first published in the UK by William Collins, garnering widespread acclaim, with rights also selling in Italy to Bollati Boringhieri, in Romania to ART, and in Korea to Kachi.

Photo: Raphael Gaillarde

‘We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring Wilson-Lee’s wondrous story of this Renaissance prodigy and polymath to American readers,’ said Jessica Case, Publisher of Pegasus Books. ‘Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s lust for knowledge and intellectual curiosity is infectious – THE GRAMMAR OF ANGELS is a reminder of the limitless and enduring magic of the human mind and power of language.’

‘I’m hugely excited that Pegasus will be bringing Pico to readers in the US,’ said Edward. ‘The blend of high drama in Renaissance Italy and troubling questions about the abilities of language to push at the boundaries of thought is one that I hope American readers will find both intriguing and strangely familiar.’

Isobel Dixon added: ‘Edward Wilson-Lee has a rare gift for taking readers deep into history, on journeys with fascinating figures, revealing once-famous or forgotten lives in new ways, and casting fresh light on our own contemporary predicaments as he does so. Pico della Mirandola is a perfect subject match and the book itself a marvel. It’s a joy that Jessica Case and Pegasus Books will now bring this story to North American readers.’

About Edward Wilson-Lee

Edward Wilson-Lee is 1596 Fellow in English at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he teaches Renaissance Literature. After growing up in the US, Kenya, and Switzerland, he studied in London, New York, Oxford and Cambridge and lived in Zimbabwe, Mexico and the United States in between. He lives in Cambridge with his wife and two sons.

He has been awarded numerous Fellowships to support his work, including from the British Academy and the Leverhulme Foundation, and most recently a Guggenheim Fellowship. His first book was SHAKESPEARE IN SWAHILILAND and THE GRAMMAR OF ANGELS his most recent. THE CATALOGUE OF SHIPWRECKED BOOKS won the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize and was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Biography 2019, as was A HISTORY OF WATER in 2023. In addition to English-language publications in the UK and the US, his work has been translated into another 15 languages and he is regularly invited to festivals abroad.

Praise for THE GRAMMAR OF ANGELS

‘In this smart and rangy book, Wilson-Lee, a Cambridge don, paints a glorious portrait of the great 15th-century prince of learning, and teaches you more about magic than you thought you would ever know.’ – ‘The greatest books of 2025’, The Telegraph

‘A deeply fascinating, sui generis book by a brilliant scholar-writer, which uses the life story of a Renaissance prodigy to summon an angel-host of ideas, people and stories, all circling the question of language's ability to transcend the mortal realm’ – Robert Macfarlane

‘In Wilson-Lee’s hands, the most abstruse subjects become not so much transparent as feverishly exciting… such range and ambition is, after all, very Renaissance. It’s very Pico. It is also a joy to read.’ – James McConnochie, Sunday Times

Praise for Edward Wilson-Lee

‘The closest thing documented history can get to magic realism.’ — Simon Schama, Financial Times

‘Autodidact catnip. He’s a gifted chronicler of the odd, the interesting and the esoteric. Think non-fiction Umberto Eco.’ – Ian Sansom, The Spectator

‘Wilson-Lee offers a thrill on almost every page.’ – Irina Dumitrescu, New York Times

‘Wilson-Lee has the rare knack of re-visiting even the most familiar places as if they were being discovered for the first time. His prose is rich, fluent, absorbing. He guides his readers through a kaleidoscope of detail, interrelating various themes with consummate skill.’ – Fernando Cervantes