Publishing Director of Pan Macmillan, Wayne Brookes, has concluded a major five book deal with the eight times number one bestseller Peter James. This new deal will see Peter penning three more novels in the acclaimed Roy Grace series and two standalone thrillers. The success of Peter’s Brighton based Roy Grace novels have seen him become the UK’s No. 1 bestselling police procedural author and has seen him amass sales of over 16 million to date.
The two new standalone thrillers are set to match the success of Peter’s 2011 standalone novel PERFECT PEOPLE, which won many awards, including the publicly voted ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards, People’s Bestseller Dagger and a place on the shortlist for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize. Peter’s first standalone novel since PERFECT PEOPLE will be THE HOUSE ON THE COLD HILL, a ghost story out this Autumn.
Jeremy Trevathan, Publisher, said: ‘In the ten years that we have published him Peter has become the No. 1 UK-based crime writer. I’m thrilled therefore that we’ve concluded a new deal with him, through Carole Blake, and secured the next stage of our strategy to continue to grow his sales both in the UK and international markets.’
Wayne Brookes, Publishing Director, added: ‘Long before I came to Macmillan I was a fan of Peter James. The Roy Grace series is simply magnificent in both plot and character and each book we publish gathers thousands of new readers. However, what’s so very exciting is that with Peter’s standalone novels we can also explore beyond the world of Roy Grace and his team. Peter is a master storyteller and I couldn’t be more excited about the future.’
Carole Blake, Partner of Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, said: ‘The Macmillan-Peter James partnership has worked very well for more than a decade. It’s a tremendous source of satisfaction to me to see it going forward for several more years. Great novels, huge sales and terrific fun. Perfect!’
Peter James commented: ‘When I was a child my ambition was to be a published author, and one day to see a book I had written on the shelves of a bookstore. The bestseller lists seemed an unattainable dream back then, and that coveted No 1 an impossibility that could only ever happen to someone else… During this past decade Pan Macmillan have repeatedly made that dream and that impossibility come true for me. For that I will be eternally grateful, and I could not be happier to have now signed this new deal with them and be continuing forward into the exciting and adventurous future, with them.’
Peter James has been twice Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and has won many literary awards: as popular internationally as in the UK, he won the US Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel in 2012. This year, 2015, he was voted by WH Smith readers as The Best Crime Author Of All Time. He is published in more than 3 dozen languages.
Find out more about Peter James at Blake Friedmann's, Pan Macmillan's and Peter’s websites and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.