HOUSE OF ASHES longlisted for the OCM Bocas Prize 2015

Monique Roffey’s haunting novel HOUSE OF ASHES has been longlisted for the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2015, in the fiction category. The winners in each category will be announced on 1 April, and the Prize will be presented on Saturday 2 May, during the fifth annual NGC Bocas Lit fest in Port of Spain. The overall winner will receive a US$10,000 award with smaller awards for the other winners. Also nominated in the fiction category are Marlon James and Tiphanie Yanique.

Monique Roffey previously won the prize for her novel ARCHIPELAGO. HOUSE OF ASHES was shortlisted for the 2015 Costa Book Awards in the Novel category.

HOUSE OF ASHES is Roffey’s third Caribbean-set novel, again adeptly exploring the personal and political against the troubled backdrop of a fictional island ‘paradise’. Inspired by real events, it is haunting story of Ashes and Breeze, two disaffected young men who follow the charismatic Leader into a disastrous coup. Set over the period of the siege of the House of Power, where captors and their hostages see each other’s most brutal but also most vulnerable sides, HOUSE OF ASHES is about fathers and sons, about failures of leadership – but also about how we confront our shadow sides, and about coming through wreckage committed to peace.

Roffey’s THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE was shortlisted for the Orange (now Baileys) Women’s Prize for Fiction. ARCHIPELAGO was also shortlisted for the 2014 Orion Prize.

Visit Monique's website here.

Praise for HOUSE OF ASHES:

‘Deploying the deep, humane wisdom that has become [Roffey’s] hallmark… the novel delivers its final, bittersweet coup with a fearlessness and grace that richly satisfies.’ – Liz Jensen, The Guardian

‘Grimly absorbing... Roffey’s knuckle-whitening novel goes to the heart of questions of political temptation and folly; it grips from beginning to end.’ – Ian Thompson, Telegraph

‘[a] laudable piece of literary work.’ – Raoul Pantin, Trinidad Express

‘Monique Roffey’s tragicomic take on this almost forgotten episode, strips revolution of any pretence of glamour… as funny as it is unsettling.’ – David Shaftel, Financial Times

Monique Roffey’s HOUSE OF ASHES shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards

Monique Roffey’s ‘terrible, beautiful and compelling’ novel HOUSE OF ASHES (Simon & Schuster) has been shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards in the Novel category. Other shortlisted novels include two Booker shortlisted novels: THE LIVES OF OTHERS by Neel Mukherjee and HOW TO BE BOTH by Ali Smith, as well as Colm Toibin’s NORA WEBSTER.

The winners of the five categories – Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – will be announced on 5 January 2015, with the overall winner - the 2014 Costa Book of the Year – being announced on 27 January. The winners of each category will receive £5,000, with the overall winner receiving a further £30,000.

The judges said of HOUSE OF ASHES: “A tautly-constructed story which plots the violence and upheaval of revolution and its  aftermath, it is both moving and memorable.”

HOUSE OF ASHES is Roffey’s third Caribbean-set novel, again adeptly exploring the personal and political against the troubled backdrop of a fictional island ‘paradise’. Inspired by real events, it is haunting story of Ashes and Breeze, two disaffected young men who follow the charismatic Leader into a disastrous coup. Set over the period of the siege of the House of Power, where captors and their hostages see each other’s most brutal but also most vulnerable sides, HOUSE OF ASHES is about fathers and sons, about failures of leadership – but also about how we confront our shadow sides, and about coming through wreckage committed to peace.

Roffey’s THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE was shortlisted for the Orange (now Baileys) Women’s Prize for Fiction. ARCHIPELAGO was the 2013 recipient of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and was shortlisted for the 2014 Orion Prize.

Visit Monique's website here.

Praise for HOUSE OF ASHES:

‘Deploying the deep, humane wisdom that has become [Roffey’s] hallmark… the novel delivers its final, bittersweet coup with a fearlessness and grace that richly satisfies.’ – Liz Jensen, The Guardian

‘Grimly absorbing... Roffey’s knuckle-whitening novel goes to the heart of questions of political temptation and folly; it grips from beginning to end.’ – Ian Thompson, Telegraph

‘[a] laudable piece of literary work.’ – Raoul Pantin, Trinidad Express

‘Monique Roffey’s tragicomic take on this almost forgotten episode, strips revolution of any pretence of glamour… as funny as it is unsettling.’ – David Shaftel, Financial Times

Catch BFLA Authors at the Edinburgh Festivals

Tickets are now on sale for Edinburgh International Book Festival and you can see several Blake Friedmann authors there this August.

Edward Carey will be appearing at the festival twice. On 9 August he will be talking with Nathan Filer and Matthew Quick about creating characters in fiction. On 10 August he will be talking to children about his IREMONGER trilogy. The second in the trilogy, FOULSHAM, is published on 7 August. Explore Foulsham on Edward’s website.

On 15 August, Monique Roffey will be talking with Neel Mukherjee. Their conversation will explore the different ways their books address idealistic young men railing against their societies. Monique’s latest novel, HOUSE OF ASHES, is published on 24 July. See more on Monique’s website.

Rohan Gavin is running a reading workshop on THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, Sherlock Holmes’s most famous case, on 19 August. The second novel in his KNIGHTLEY AND SON series, KNIGHTLEY AND SON: K-9, published on 14 August, also features a hound or two… See more on knightleyandson.com.

Zakes Mda is appearing on 19 August as part of the Voices from South Africa series to talk about his novels, including his most recent book THE SCULPTORS OF MAPUNGUBWE.

Margie Orford talks with Parker Bilal about African crime fiction and her novel WATER MUSIC, the fifth featuring detective Clare Hart, on 20 August. See more on Margie’s website.

On 25 August, Kerry Hudson talks with Simon Van Booy about her new novel THIRST and love stories. Find out more on Kerry’s Website.

Many of our writers also have shows as part of the Edinburgh fringe festival.

Andrew Doyle is performing his stand up show Zero Tolerance at the Stand this year from 30 July – 24 August. He will also be performing in a play called Outings at the Gilded Balloon, which explores many true life stories of people coming out, and runs from 30 July – 25 August.

Anna Emerson and Lizzie Bates of the Boom Jennies both have shows at the Fringe. Anna Emerson presents “An Evening With Patti DuPont” from 1-24 August. Lizzie Bates’ comedy show Reprobates runs from 30 July – 25 August. You can read more about the shows here.

The Edinburgh Festival is one of the largest Arts events in the world and takes place for three weeks every August in Scotland’s capital city.

Catch BFLA Authors at Hay Festival!

Hay Festival kicks off in Wales on 22 May and there are several chances for you to catch BFLA authors at a brilliant range of events.

Be sure to catch Barbara Erskine on Friday 23 May, as she talks about her brand new novel THE DARKEST HOUR, with an exclusive chance to buy your copy early (and get it signed!) before its official release on 3 July.

Joseph O’Connor will be talking with Maggie Shipstead about his new novel, THE THRILL OF IT ALL, released last week by Harvill Secker. The event will be on Saturday 24 May.

Kids - and parents! - should look out for Rohan Gavin, who will be talking Geeks, Gadgets and Science Fiction, and his novel KNIGHTLEY & SON, with Steve Feasey and Mark Walden, on Sunday 25 May.

There will be two opportunities for fans to see bestselling crime writer Peter James. He will be talking about the ten year anniversary of his hero Roy Grace on Tuesday 27 May. You can also catch him reading on a crime panel, alongside John Harvey, Louise Welsh and Phil Rickman, on Wednesday 28 May.

Monique Roffey will be alongside Mitch Cullin on Saturday 31 May. She will be speaking about her new novel, HOUSE OF ASHES, which is released by Simon & Schuster on 17 July.