Four Blake Friedmann authors shortlisted for the M-Net Literary Awards 2012

M-Net has announced the shortlists for its annual literary awards, which include four Blake Friedmann clients. These prizes are awarded in South Africa to authors of novels written in English, Afrikaans and African languages. This year the lists include Caine Prize winner Henrietta Rose-Innes's NINEVEH; the 'King of South African Crime Fiction' Deon Meyer's, 7 DAE; Michiel Heyns's LOST GROUND which has already won the Sunday Times Award, and Finuala Dowling's witty and moving HOMEMAKING FOR THE DOWN-AT-HEART. The winners will be announced on Friday, 19 October at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg.

Previous winners of the award include Ivan Vladislavic, whose novel, DOUBLE NEGATIVE, won last year at the 50th anniversary of the prize.

Click here for the full shortlists.
 

Praise for NINEVEH (Henrietta Rose-Innes)
'This is a thought-provoking, densely imagined work of fiction in which no detail is out of place. It is a seamless and unusual blend of different modes of writing - the comic, the gothic and the social realist. It will appeal to any reader willing to ask questions and probe beneath the surface of our familiar urban reality.' -- Rob Gaylard, Cape Argus

'A gripping, thrilling allegory of a troubled nation, NINEVEH is executed with wit, panache, precision and something that I can only call wounded love for the country the author calls her home.' -- Neel Mukherjee

Rose-Innes's writing is as entertaining as it is subtle - a rare combination. ' -- Steven Amsterdam

 
Praise for 7 DAYS (Deon Meyer)
'Sleekly done crime thriller, layered with the cultural complexities of South Africa.' -- Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist

'Meyer is good with sexy plot complications…but the book's main strength is in its characters…Griessel is flawed but likable, and his trials give a bittersweet edge to a strong mystery.' -- Kirkus Reviews

'Superior prose and characterization' -- Publisher's Weekly

Praise for LOST GROUND (Michiel Heyns)
'LOST GROUND is among the finest books to have been published in the last few years. Well-written, engaging and almost perfectly paced.' -- M Blackman, Sunday Independent

'LOST GROUND is deceptively packaged as a crime novel, but landing explosively in the heart as only literature can, Heyns's wonderful book has a reach wide enough to hold even the fussiest and most easily bored of readers.' -- Karin Schimke, The Star

'The short review of this book is simply this: it's remarkable...It's hard to know how Michiel Heyns does it -- part magician, part juggler and fine linguist, he presents a novel that is as mysteriously alluring, yet as simple as the photo of some smalltown street on the cover.' -- Jane Rosenthal, Mail & Guardian
 

Praise for HOMEMAKING FOR THE DOWN-AT-HEART (Finuala Dowling)
'This is a delightful and comforting read for anyone who has tried to juggle her own needs with those of a family. Most especially, though, it is perfect for the home-maker who may very well be down-at-heart.' -- Janet van Eeden, Witness

'It is a swift read, but full of complexity and challenge....graceful and thoughtful.' -- Jane Rosenthal, Mail & Garden 



'Brilliantly funny.' -- Diane Awerbuck, TimesLive

Henrietta Rose-Innes shortlisted for the BBC International Short Story Award

Award-winning author Henrietta Rose-Innes', who has previously won the Caine Prize for African Writing, and been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction List, has had her short story, SANCTUARY, shortlisted for the BBC International Short Story Award 2012.

Ten stories were selected as contenders for the annual prize this year, which is open to writers writing in English anywhere in the world who have been published in the UK. In order to mark the historic 2012 London Olympics, the award has become the BBC International Short Story Award. The award is one of the most prestigious awards for a single fiction short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000 in prize money.

The winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4's Front Row on Tuesday, 2 October and the shortlisted stories will be published in a special anthology which will be available for free audio download.
 
For the full list, click here, and follow the BBC International Short Story Award 2012 on Twitter: #BBCISSA for all of the latest news.

Henrietta's latest novel is NINEVEH published by Umuzi in South Africa, and she is completing a new novel, GREEN LION.

See here for more on Henrietta: 
http://www.henriettarose-innes.com/about.php
 
Praise for Henrietta Rose-Innes
'Henrietta Rose-Innes writes an admirably taut, clean prose…A welcome addition to the new South African literature.' -- J M Coetzee 
 
'Rose-Innes's writing is as entertaining as it is subtle - a rare combination.' -- Steven Amsterdam
 
'Henrietta Rose-Innes is a master of the beautifully thought-out metaphor. Her prose is elegant and liquid.' -- Cape Times
 
'Rose-Innes is a writer almost in the Virginia Woolf mould - lateral of mind and poetic in her style of narration.' -- Leon de Kock, Sunday Times
 
'Rose-Innes writes like a virtuoso; each word is as carefully placed as in a poem.' -- Margot Pakendorf, Rapport
 
'One of South Africa's most renowned and most exciting emerging voices.' -- Carol Brammage, The Witness
 
'Rose-Innes is a pleasure to read - inventive, intelligent and entertaining. She has a gift for precise, revelatory description that remakes familiar things in astonishing ways' -- Ivan Vladislavic

Vintage Books offers a free epub version of FIGURE IN A PHOTOGRAPH - a short story in WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

FIGURE IN A PHOTOGRAPH is a short story taken from WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?, a collection of short stories from critically acclaimed author Joseph O'Connor. It is his first collection of stories in twenty years. Vintage Books is currently offering a free download of the short story on their website. 

In FIGURE IN A PHOTOGRAPH, Sean Hyland's wife has left him home alone with their infant daughter and teenage son, leaving him feeling more middle aged than ever before.  FIGURE IN A PHOTOGRAPH is a poignant story that takes us to the heart of fatherhood and marriage, via skateboards, Jeremy Kyle and ectoplasms of snot.

Click here to download FIGURE IN A PHOTOGRAPH.

Praise for WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

'Joseph O'Connor's novels have always shown a zest and talent for diversity. So it's no surprise to find that WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?, his first collection of short stories for more than 20 years, is a masterclass display of versatility. Widely differing places and periods are vividly evoked…tone, mood and style have a similarly wide span…O'Connors prose [is] close to poetry. His terrific ear for idiomatic speech makes dialogue sizzle off the page….Break-ups and breakdowns are frequent in these stories that often delicately modulate between comedy and melancholy. Ireland's misfortunes - The troubles, sectarian terrorism - are an underlying presence. O'Connor's opening story, Two Little Clouds, inventively reworks A Little Cloud from James Joyce's DUBLINERS. Echoed cadences and images pay further homage to Joyce. But the finest tribute is the way this outstanding collection exhibits the continuing vitality of the great Irish tradition of richly concise, crisply written stories that Joyce's work began.' -- Peter Kemp, The Sunday Times

'Humour … obliquely provides a cover for confronting readers with the darkness of the soul. …an exhilarating array of sharp dialogue and biting one-liners .. his fiction charts the fragility of relationships, the cruelty of chance and circumstance throwing people together only to shatter their lives, the nightmare of distrust and guilt stirred by memory, and the stark fear of separation and being left alone in the stillness of the night.  Where Have You Been? is his first collection of short stories for 20 years and reasserts a mastery of the form.' -- Irish Independent

Christine Glover joins Blake Friedmann

Blake Friedmann Literary Agency is delighted to announce that as of 1st October Christine Glover joins the agency's Film & TV department to work alongside agents Julian Friedmann and Conrad Williams. Christine comes from A.P.Watt, where she has been an agent since 2003, and Head of Media since 2011.
 
'We are all very excited to have Christine on board,' says Julian Friedmann. 'She brings with her an excellent list of clients, great knowledge of the industry, and a tremendous enthusiasm for the business. We look forward to working with her as a closely integrated team to the benefit of all our clients and producer friends.'
 
Says Christine: 'This is a really exciting opportunity to consolidate existing relationships with producers, and to continue to explore new opportunities for my clients, both in the UK and abroad. I am thrilled to be joining Blake Friedmann and to be working with Julian, Conrad and the rest of the agency team.'
 
For more information please contact Conrad Williams on 0207 2840408,
 or at conrad@blakefriedmann.co.uk

Julian Friedmann at TEDxEaling 2012

Julian Friedmann will be talking at the inaugural TEDxEaling event today (21/09/12). The theme of the day is 'Story' and Julian will be bringing his years of experience and commercial perspective to the discussion.

TEDx lectures are local, self-organised events, promoted under the TED banner, but designed to spark independent discussion in small, localised groups. The event is organised by Chris Jones, creative director of the London Screenwriters Festival, and Hilary Pierce.

You can find the website here and there will be twitter coverage throughout the day @TedXEaling #TedXEaling