STEEL MOON now in preproduction

Andy Briggs has recently finished work as the lead writer on STEEL MOON, a science fiction film to be directed by Jon Wright.

The film will be produced by Arvin Ethan David and Cavan Ash for Slingshot Productions and Piers Tempest for Salt, and will now enter preproduction.

The film is set on the world's first space hotel, a 7-star resort orbiting the Earth that promises a stay of unrivalled luxury and incomparable views. It is blissfully unique in its ethereal isolation. But when an ancient lupine bane is brought aboard, the small band of occupants face a desperate struggle for survival as a werewolf stalks the moonlit corridors. Their isolation soon becomes a prison...

STEEL MOON places the traditional werewolf myth within the stunning futuristic setting of an orbital hotel to create a claustrophobic, stylish and visceral horror in the vein of Alien or The Thing.

The film is anticipated for release in 2013 and will shoot in the UK and Canada.

BLACK BY DESIGN longlisted for London Book Awards 2012.

BLACK BY DESIGN by Pauline Black has been chosen as one of six titles longlisted for the London Book Awards 2012. The London Awards for Art and Performance celebrates talent across a wide range of art forms. The shortlist will be chosen through each nominee proposing their top 3 choices within their own category (excluding themselves). Other authors on the longlist for the Book Award include Jeanette Winterson and Catherine Hall. The shortlist will be announced in Spring 2012. Please click here for more information on the London Book Awards.

BLACK BY DESIGN is published by Serpent's Tail.

Praise for BLACK BY DESIGN:

'It paints a vivid portrait of simmering racial tension.' -- The Independent

'Evocative.' -- The Bookseller

ZOO CITY chosen as one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2011 and longlisted for IMPAC prize

Lauren Beukes' Arthur C. Clark winning novel ZOO CITY has been named one of Publisher Weekly's Best Books of 2011. This is a terrific accolade which rounds off an eventful year for Lauren who has won a number of prizes for ZOO CITY as well as being shortlisted for several others.

ZOO CITY is also longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin prize. Initiated by the Dublin City Council, this is an international literary award and the winner will receive €100,000. The longlist includes another Blake Friedmann author, Manu Joseph for his novel SERIOUS MEN. The shortlist will be publicised on 12 April 2012, and the winner will be announced on 13 June 2012.

Lauren was also featured in a lead story in last week's edition of The Bookseller about the current sci-fi/mainstream crossover boom. Click here to read the whole article.

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)

'Beukes's energetic noir phantasmagoria...crackles with original ideas...Beukes skilfully employs all the twists of first-rate noir...powerful indeed.' -- Jeff Vandermeer, The New York Times

Zakes Mda’s SOMETIMES THERE IS A VOID picked as one of Alexandra Fuller's Top Ten African Memoirs

Acclaimed South African author Zakes Mda's candid, vigorous autobiography SOMETIMES THERE IS A VOID has been selected as one of Alexandra Fuller's 'Top Ten African Memoirs' in the UK Guardian. The memoir is published in South Africa by Penguin and will be published in the US by FSG in March 2012.

Fuller says: 'Mda's electric honesty is a live current through his remarkably gorgeous, urgent, poetic, matter-of-fact memoir. But don't get lulled into thinking this is just the book of one bravely truthful man's journey into self-expression. Mda has shaken off calcification, identity, ego and walked us all into sovereignty and selfhood. Read this, and be prepared to examine your own soul as never before.'

For the full list, click here.

Praise for SOMETIMES THERE IS A VOID:

'A compelling read, for the story of his life resembles a lyrically written thriller…Mda has written his…memoir in vivid and searingly honest style.' -- Sue Grant-Marshall, Business Day

'Mda is a wonderful author and South Africa can be proud to have him in its stock…be sure to grab yourself a copy of his book.' -- Tessa Reed, mediaupdate.co.za

'The narration of his personal revelations is compelling, honest, amusing, sometimes tragi-comic in its presentation of this younger self as a kind of buffoon who succeeds in bungling everything, except love letter-writing…This is Zakes Mda's story. It must be read.' -- Maureen Isaacson, The Sunday Independent

Praise for Zakes Mda:

'For a long time, white writers dominated South African literature - Paton, Brink, Gordimer, Coetzee. Post-apartheid, Zakes Mda, looks like the great South African novelist of his generation, a writer rich in both imagination and ironic political attitude.' -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

'Mda writes from the inside with a rare combination of passion and truth that will connect with readers everywhere.' -- Booklist

'A voice for which one should feel not only affection but admiration' -- The New York Times

'In novel after novel, Zakes Mda seems to have cultivated a mode of writing in which the realistic and the magical co-exist with unruffled ease.' -- Harry Garuba, Independent

'Zakes Mda is among the most acclaimed exponents of a new artistic freedom. His fiction has a beguiling lyricism and humour, revelling in the beauty of aloe-covered mountains or Cape marine life.' -- Maya Jaggi, The Guardian

Pan Macmillan acquire a collection of short stories from number one bestselling author Peter James

Wayne Brookes, Publishing Director at Pan Macmillan, has bought UK and Commonwealth rights to a collection of short stories from the number one bestselling crime and thriller writer Peter James. Rights were acquired from Carole Blake.

Peter James commented:
"I have always loved the short story form, and the kind of quick, sharp shocks I like to deliver in my stories work particularly well in the new electronic delivery methods of publication.  I'm really excited that the Macmillan team have given me this wonderful opportunity."

Carole Blake added:
"As well as pinning readers to their seats with his page turning novels, Peter has always been a past master with the short story form. This collection will thrill his fans (and his 33 other publishers), and Macmillan plan to have fun with the way they market them."

Wayne Brookes said:
"Given his major success with the Quick Read novella the Perfect Murder, when I heard Peter loved writing short stories I really couldn't wait to read them. In this amazing collection Peter uses all of his skills as a number one storyteller to entertain shock and entice a new generation of reader, as well as completely satisfying his massive fan base. Using all of his favourite subjects from police procedure to the supernatural, Peter has created what I feel is a completely addictive collection. Our aim is to publish some as eBook originals and then later add them together in a physical volume with brand new unseen material. It's going to be a real delight for his fans."

Peter James' new novel, the stand-alone PERFECT PEOPLE was published in hardback by Macmillan UK on October 27.