GHOST LIGHT is No 1 again in Ireland!

Joseph O'Connor's GHOST LIGHT is back at no 1 in the Irish paperback sales charts. The month long GHOST LIGHT 'One City, One Book' project has Dublin's streets adorned with GHOST LIGHT posters and the books are on display in bookshops all over the city, with events taking place throughout April.
 
GHOST LIGHT has also been shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. The winner will be announced on June 18 at the Borders Book Festival and will receive £25,000.

GHOST LIGHT is published by Harvill Secker and Vintage in the UK and Farrar, Straus & Giroux in the US. It has also been sold to Record (Brazil), VL Publishers (Bulgaria), Fraktura (Croatia), Phebus (France), Fischer (Germany), Ambo|Anthos (Holland), Guanda (Italy), Zvaigzne (Latvia), Dom Quixote (Portugal), Salamandra (Spain) and Norstedts (Sweden).
 
Praise for GHOST LIGHT:

'As I read GHOST LIGHT, I found myself going more and more slowly, because I didn't want to miss a single sentence. I found myself calling friends and reading passages aloud to them over the phone. This is a rare experience indeed. It is a rare and wonderful book.' -- Michael Cunningham, author of THE HOURS

 'A brilliant novel.' -- Joseph O'Neill, author of NETHERLAND

'I can't think of any book I've read recently which has so enthralled me and worked at every single level. GHOST LIGHT is a wonder.' -- Peter Carey, twice winner of the Booker Prize and on Sky Books Programme, Sky TV

Ivan Vladislavic and Lauren Beukes on the University of Johannesburg Creative Writing Prize shortlist

DOUBLE NEGATIVE by Ivan Vladislavić and ZOO CITY by Lauren Beukes are both shortlisted for the University of Johannesburg Creative Writing Award. The winner will be announced in May.

The annual University of Johannesburg Creative Writing Prize is one of South Africa's most prestigious literary awards for works in English. It celebrates writing from a range of genres and the shortlist features both fiction and non-fiction. Last year's winner, Imraan Coovadia is on the panel of judges this year, along with Michiel Heyns. The prizewinner will receive R 60,000. Please click here for more information on the award.

Umuzi/Random House published Ivan Vladislavić 's DOUBLE NEGATIVE in a joint collaboration with David Goldblatt's photography as TJ & DOUBLE NEGATIVE. It has been shortlisted for the 2011 Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards, in the category of Best Photography Book, with the prize to be announced in London on 27 April. The stand-alone novel DOUBLE NEGATIVE will be published by Umuzi in May 2011.

ZOO CITY is published by Angry Robot in the UK and USA and Jacana in South Africa. Click here to visit her website.

Praise for Ivan Vladislavić:

'One of the most imaginative minds at work in South African literature today.' -- André Brink

'Vladislavić is without doubt the most significant writer in South Africa today.' -- Focus on Africa

Praise for Lauren Beukes:

'Beukes delivers a thrill ride that gleefully merges narrative styles and tropes, almost single-handedly pulling the "urban fantasy" subgenre back towards its groundbreaking roots.' -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

'Lauren Beukes is very, very good. It feels effortless. Utterly accomplished.' -- William Gibson

Peter James and Graham Hurley longlisted for CWA Dagger in the Library Award!

Peter James and Graham Hurley have both been longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. The shortlist will be announced at Crimefest on 20 May.

The CWA Dagger Awards showcase the best works that are published in the field of crime fiction every year. The CWA Dagger in the Library Award, sponsored by The Random House Group,  is a coveted prize among crime writers. Authors are nominated by UK libraries and Reader's Groups, based on their entire body of work rather than a single title. The winner will be announced during the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate, on 22 July and as well as the Dagger the winner will receive £1,500.

Peter James' Roy Grace novels have been previously shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. DEAD LIKE YOU is the sixth book in the Roy Grace series, and was published by Macmillan in October 2010. The Roy Grace series is sold around the world to 34 languages. His new title in the series, DEAD MAN'S GRIP will be published by Macmillan in May this year.

Graham Hurley's bestselling Portsmouth-based Faraday and Winter crime series has twice been nominated for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The latest title, BORROWED LIGHT is published by Orion, and Hurley is now writing the last book of the series.

Praise for Peter James:

'A terrific thriller...DEAD LIKE YOU is a haunting page-turner that seamlessly blends psychological suspense with police procedure, echoing the heart and voices of such authors as P. D. James and Ian Rankin at their best.' -- Jeffery Deaver, author of ROADSIDE CROSSES

'Roy Grace ... is fast becoming one of the more memorable coppers in modern crime fiction ... A first class police procedural.' -- The Times

Praise for Graham Hurley:

'Hurley's Portsmouth-based series gets better with each book. He handles multiple storylines skilfully with - as always - vividly realised characters. Hurley is now firmly at the top, with few rivals in this genre.' -- Sunday Telegraph

'These are how crime novels should be written and they push Hurley right to the forefront of British crime writers, where he richly deserves to be.' -- Independent on Sunday

Zakes Mda’s memoirs launched in South Africa

Acclaimed South African author Zakes Mda's candid, vigorous autobiography SOMETIMES THERE IS A VOID has been released in South Africa by Penguin Books and will be published in the US in 2012 by Farrar Straus & Giroux. Zakes Mda will be touring in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and appearing at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in May.

In this memoir Mda weaves together past and present to give an intensely personal story of his development in life, in love and in learning, and the events and people who shaped him. Forced to follow his father, PAC 'founding spirit' A P Mda, into exile in Lesotho (then still Basutoland) at the age of fourteen, Zakes initially finds freedom from close parental discipline irresistible and becomes a frequenter of shebeens and an exponent of fast living, but he also becomes politicised during this time. We are given a fascinating insight into the growth and development of both the PAC and the ANC in exile, as well as contemporary social history.

As Penguin SA say: 'Always outspoken, Mda has been a frank commentator on the social and political scene in South Africa and has made a number of powerful people unhappy with his views. Although he 'resisted the centre' and 'stayed on the periphery' and sees himself as an 'outsider' who has been sidelined in many aspects of his country's society, his contribution to the social and cultural advancement of his fellow South Africans remains undiminished. This vigorous and vibrant account of his life is enriched by Mda's astute perceptions, his wry humour and his ability to engage with his reader on a very personal level.'

NO PLACE TO HIDE shortlisted for Best Autobiography in British Sports Book Awards!

Errol Christie with Tony McMahon's NO PLACE TO HIDE is on the shortlist for the British Sports Books Awards in the category of Best Autobiography. The shortlist features Henry Olonga, Brian Moore, John Hartson, Laurent Fignon and Kenny Dalglish.

A highlight for the sports publishing year, the British Sports Books Awards is in its ninth year running. Other categories include Best Biography, Best Football Book, Best Cricket Book and Best Rugby Book. The winners will be named at a ceremony at The Savoy Hotel on 9 May. The winners in each category will then be entered into a public vote to find the best overall sports book of the year. For more information on the award, please click here.

Errol's appropriately hard-hitting autobiography written with journalist Tony McMahon, NO PLACE TO HIDE: How I Put the Black in the Union Jack is published in the UK by Aurum Press.

Praise for NO PLACE TO HIDE:

'Christie's gift to us is in his bitter, poignant evocation of a time when to be black in a British ring, or anywhere near a riot, was to be taken for the devil. He writes as if he never got over it ... His is a chilling read ... engrossing.' -- The Observer

'This is an engaging book, written in a direct and powerful style, and is far more than just another sporting yarn: it's honest, controversial, and moving. Get ready for a glimpse of life in 'Ghost Town' Coventry and beyond.' -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly