BEAUTIFUL NEW KNIGHTLEY & SON EDITIONS OUT TOMORROW!

Rohan Gavin’s KNIGHTLEY & SON Books One and Two – KNIGHTLEY & SON and K-9 – are to be re-released this Thursday by Bloomsbury Children’s Books with a fantastic new cover look.

Darkus Knightley is not your average thirteen-year-old: ferociously logical with a fondness for tweed, detective work is in his blood. His dad, Alan, was London's top private investigator and an expert in crimes too strange for Scotland Yard to handle, but four years ago the unexplained finally caught up with him and he fell into a mysterious coma. Darkus is determined to follow in his father's footsteps and find out what really happened…

The game is afoot for Knightley & Son - with a mystery that gets weirder by the minute. In K-9, the second instalment of the KNIGHTLEY & SON series, we see Darkus return. With his dad off the radar once again, this time he's accompanied by a new partner in crime-solving: an ex-bomb-disposal dog. Family pets are being savaged by a beast at a top London beauty spot. Policemen have been tracked and attacked by a particularly aggressive canine. And two curiously alert hounds seem to be watching Darkus’s house. No one is using the word werewolf – yet – but as the full moon approaches, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out that someone or something sinister is messing with the minds of London’s dog population. A mysterious canine conspiracy is howling for the attention of Knightley & Son…

The new look KNIGHTLEY & SON books will set the scene for the third title in the series 3 OF A KIND, in which the Knightley and Son team cross the Atlantic! 3 OF A KIND is out from Bloomsbury UK on 7 January 2016, and Bloomsbury US in August 2017. Watch this space for more exciting news to come …

K-9 was chosen as one of Sunday Express Summer Picks for Older Children in 2014 and KNIGHTLEY & SON was a Kirkus Best Children's Book of the Year 2014, a Sunday Times Pick of the Week, as well as Guardian Best Kids’ Book and a Daily Mail Summer Book Choice. The Guardian described KNIGHTLEY AND SON as “full of intrigue, suspense and humour ... a modern day classic detective mystery” and the Daily Mail wrote “the tweed-loving Doc is a young Holmes for our times.” KNIGHTLEY & SON was Shortlisted for the Stockton Children’s Book Awards 2014 and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2014, longlisted for Fantastic Book Awards 2014, and received an honour from the International Literary Association Children’s and Young Adults' Book Awards. Gallimard publish the KNIGHTLEY & SON series in France.

Rohan Gavin is an author and screenwriter, and father. He lives in London.

Praise for KNIGHTLEY & SON:

‘Full of suspense, intrigue and humour this is a modern day classic adventure story.’ – Louise Haines, The Guardian

Praise for KNIGHTLEY & SON: K9

'The perfect case for father-and-son detective team, Knightley & Son' — Sunday Express, Best Children’s Novels Summer 2014

'Young fans of Sherlock Holmes will be happy to see this' — The Bookbag

'A teeth-gnashing thriller... it will have readers howling for a third' – Kirkus

‘A hair-raising adventure… I would highly recommend the trilogy to anyone who loves to get stuck into a great mystery or an action-packed thriller.’ – Louise Haines, The Guardian

KNIGHTLEY & SON shortlisted for Bolton Children’s Fiction Award

Rohan Gavin’s KNIGHTLEY & SON has been shortlisted for the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award. The shortlist includes 5 other books: Charlie Fletcher’s DRAGON SHIELD, Alan Gibbons’ HATE, E.B. Colin’s PYRATE’S BOY, Rebecca Stevens’ VALENTINE JOE and Tom Hoyle’s THIRTEEN. The winner will be selected by a vote by school children, opening in May next year, and announced on 26 June 2015.

Darkus Knightley is not your average thirteen-year-old: ferociously logical, super-smart and with a fondness for tweed, detective work is in his blood. His dad Alan Knightley was London's top private investigator and an expert in crimes too strange for Scotland Yard to handle, but four years ago the unexplained finally caught up with him - and he fell into a mysterious coma. Darkus is determined to follow in his father's footsteps and find out what really happened. But when Alan suddenly wakes up, his memory is wonky and he needs help. The game is afoot for Knightley & Son – with a mystery that gets weirder by the minute, a bestselling book that makes its readers commit terrible crimes, and a sinister organisation known as the Combination…

Rohan Gavin is a screenwriter and author based in London. He is the son of award-winning children's author Jamila Gavin. His second book, KNIGHTLEY & SON: K-9 was published by Bloomsbury earlier this year.

See here for Knightley & Son profiles and case files…

See here for more reviews and a handy reading guide.

Follow Rohan Gavin on Twitter

News from Rohan Gavin’s KNIGHTLEY & SON US book tour!

After KNIGHTLEY & SON was selected for the American Booksellers Association “Indies Introduce New Voices” and the “Kids’ Indie Next List”, Bloomsbury US arranged an American author tour starting with Rohan’s first ever school visit. With his trusty publicist, Lizzy Mason, Rohan began in San Francisco before travelling to Petaluma, Los Angeles, Houston and San Antonio, where he addressed hundreds of children in packed gymnasiums, holding them all enthralled with the escapades of Knightley & Son.

The father-and-son duo’s adventures have won the hearts of UK readers too, with a Sunday Times Pick of the Week and KNIGHTLEY & SON proving the fourth highest selling debut in Children’s Fiction in the six months since release.

Here's a glimpse of the tour:

Rohan talking to kids at Harvard Elementary, Houston, Texas.

Rohan talking to 300 students at Bowditch Middle School, CA.

Preaching to students at St. Vincent’s Elementary, Petaluma, CA.

Rohan adds:

“The final leg of the tour took us to San Antonio, home of the Alamo, and the awe-inspiring Texas Library Association mega-conference, culminating in a twenty mile cycle ride to promote local libraries. I rode alongside my US Publisher Cindy Loh, marketing director Erica Barmash, fellow Bloomsbury author Megan Frazer Blakemore, and thirty or so librarians (one on a unicycle!) but little did our intrepid crew know we’d be pedalling through some of the lesser travelled parts of San Antonio, where we were greeted by pickup trucks with tinted windows and an unleashed Rottweiler that threatened to eat the hapless bookworms as they cycled by. It would have been great material for the Knightley & Son sequel K-9 (yes, it’s about savage canines), were it not for the fact that I’d already finished writing the new book, and hoped to live to see its release this August. Fortunately Cindy Loh practiced excellent author care and jangled nerves were soon soothed in the safety of a Mexican cantina.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury US and all the kids, teachers, librarians and booksellers who made the tour such a success.”

Praise for KNIGHTLEY & SON:

‘Dangers are faced in London in an engaging, characterful debut … with enjoyably convincing family relationships.’ – Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times, Pick of the Week

'Heaps of mystery, dry humor and tweed abound in this exemplar of crime fiction à la Doyle... Darkus’ skill at deduction, perpetual observation and sang-froid are spot-on Holmes-ian… Heroes, villains and settings are all fully realized through proficient description, and contemporary technology gives way to sheer brainpower… A rousing page-turner with one fault: It ends.' - Kirkus (Starred Review)

‘Skillfully done. This is a quick and fun read; a great choice for those looking for a new mystery to dive into’ – School Library Journal (Starred Review)

‘Gavin deftly paces the story...Fans of this debut will be glad that the ending leaves the door open for sequels' – Booklist

‘Danger and excitement—not to mention quirky characters and wonderful writing—lurk around every page!’  — Chris Grabenstein, New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Treasure Hunters, and I Funny: A Middle School Story

For more on the series visit www.knightleyandson.com or tweet @rohangavin

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.

US Publication day for KNIGHTLEY & SON!

Rohan Gavin’s KNIGHTLEY & SON is published in the US by Bloomsbury today. 

Darkus Knightley is not your average thirteen-year-old: ferociously logical, super-smart and with a fondness for tweed, detective work is in his blood. His dad Alan Knightley was London's top private investigator and an expert in crimes too strange for Scotland Yard to handle, but four years ago the unexplained finally caught up with him - and he fell into a mysterious coma. Darkus is determined to follow in his father's footsteps and find out what really happened. But when Alan suddenly wakes up, his memory is wonky and he needs help. The game is afoot for Knightley & Son – with a mystery that gets weirder by the minute, a bestselling book that makes its readers commit terrible crimes, and a sinister organisation known as the Combination . . .

Kirkus gave it a coveted starred review, saying: 'Heaps of mystery, dry humor and tweed abound in this exemplar of crime fiction à la Doyle... Darkus’ skill at deduction, perpetual observation and sang-froid are spot-on Holmes-ian… … A rousing page-turner with one fault: It ends.' New York Times bestselling author Chris Grabenstein offered this praise: ‘Danger and excitement – not to mention quirky characters and wonderful writing – lurk around every page!’ 

Rohan Gavin is a screenwriter and author based in London. He is the son of award-winning children's author Jamila Gavin, and recently became a father himself. His second novel KNIGHTLEY & SON: K-9 (featuring a plucky four-legged friend) is due for UK publication in August this year. He will be on author tour in the US in April.

Some praise for KNIGHTLEY & SON:

‘An engaging, characterful debut’ – Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times Pick of the Week
'This book surpasses all expectations... Any fan of Sherlock Holmes will find this book very appealing ... full of suspense, mystery and some very clever detective skills.' – Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

'Just too good... a fun adventure story that the whole family should read... I hope there are more adventures to come' – Girl-who-reads.com

'In Darkus Knightley, author Rohan Gavin has created a protagonist that readers will grow to love... clever, action-packed and humorous adventures' –bookzone4boys

‘His first novel, owes much to the world of film – especially the non-stop, tongue-in-cheek movies that are aimed at a family audience – Indiana Jones and most recently, Sherlock. …  Action is high on the agenda … Aimed firmly at an audience who are steeped in Tintin and who have enjoyed The Diamond Brothers, this is a lively romp which will certainly please young readers.’ – Booksforkeeps

See here for Knightley & Son profiles and case files…

See here for more reviews and a handy reading guide.

Follow Rohan Gavin on Twitter