STAND BY ME is at no 5 on the paperback bestseller list!

STAND BY ME by Sheila O'Flanagan is at no 5 on the paperback bestseller list in its first week of publication. STAND BY ME is published by Headline, and Sheila's next title, ALL FOR YOU is due to be published in July later this year. She was the recipient of the prestigious Irish Tatler Literary Woman of the Year award in 2003 and more than 3 million copies of her novels are in print. Please click here to view her website.

Praise for STAND BY ME:

'Fast-paced, warm story' -- Image magazine

'Romantic and charming, this is a real must-read.' -- Closer magazine

'A story that delivers on so many levels and which will never stop surprising you.' -- The Northern Echo

Prize-winning debut novelist Martin Sutton joins Blake Friedmann

The judging committee of the Historical Novel Society International Award (Matthew Bates, Fiction Buyer for W.H. Smith Travel, Heather Lazare, editor at Simon & Schuster, New York and Carole Blake, joint managing director of Blake Friedmann) were unanimous in being impressed by Martin Sutton's LOST PARADISE. The powerful First World War novel concerns William Pascoe, a young gardener on the Heligan estate in Cornwall, who is wrenched away from a blossoming but difficult romance, to fight at the front on the Somme. The book contrasts the horror of trench warfare with the terror of those left behind in Britain.

Carole Blake and the author immediately agreed to work together, and she will introduce the book to editors at next week's London Book Fair.  This is the first client Carole has added to her list since she took on Liz Fenwick three years ago, whose debut novel has been so successful with Orion that they have now contracted her for a second two-book deal.

Submissions of LOST PARADISE will be made after the Fair. Martin Sutton has already completed another novel set against the occupation of Paris during the Second World War.

Praise for LOST PARADISE:

'The best novel I have read about the Great War since Birdsong.' -- Richard Lee, Historical Novel Society

'A haunting, generational novel of war, love, secrets and lies…will appeal to a wide and varied pool of readers… Has the scope of a Kate Morton.' -- Matthew Bates, Fiction Buyer for W.H. Smith Travel

Paul Bassett Davies at Brixton Book Jam

"The Brixton Book Jam is an eclectic gathering for people who are passionate about books and the written word. It's a mix of readings, talks and panels, chatting and socialising. From people who love to read through to A-list authors, ghost writers, erudite editors, self-effacing self-publishers and aspiring scribes, everyone is welcome and many of them will be speaking. A congenial, intelligent, unpredictable free event for readers and writers."

Paul will be reading from his new novel, DEAD WRITERS IN REHAB, alongside a great list of fellow writers. More information is available at www.brixtonbookjam.com.

The Brixton Book Jam takes place on Monday 6th May 2013, at The Hootananny, 95 Effra Road, Brixton SW2 1DF

Doors: 7.30pm.

Tatamkhulu Afrika’s BITTER EDEN sold to Picador USA

Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann is delighted to announce a new deal for the Estate of Tatamkhulu Afrika, the acclaimed South African poet and novelist who died in 2002.

Stephen Morrison of Picador USA has acquired North American rights to Bitter Eden, a powerful autobiographical novel which was first published in the UK by Arcadia in 2002, shortly before the 82-year-old author's death.

Isobel Dixon says: 'Stephen and I first corresponded about this extraordinary novel more than a decade ago, when he said he had read the novel "in one fell swoop on a cold Saturday afternoon and was unable to put it down".  He described it as "powerful, provocative and incredibly moving" - but added regretfully that he wouldn't be able to offer. But it made such an impact that he asked to keep the copy for his personal library and we've spoken about it at intervals since, at several different publishing houses. I'm thrilled that as publisher of Picador US, he's now been able to return to this truly unforgettable story and acquire it for the 2014 list.'

Tatamkhulu Afrika was born in Egypt of Arab/Turkish parents who moved to South Africa while he was still a baby, but died in the influenza epidemic of 1920. He was adopted, but later, after learning the full details of his history, he converted to Islam, became active in his opposition to apartheid, and changed his name to Tatamkhulu Afrika ('Grandfather Africa' in Xhosa). Starting to write in earnest late in life, he published seven prize-winning volumes of poetry and several novellas. He was included in the Carcanet anthology Ten South African Poets. Bitter Eden was his last novel. A new edition has recently been published in Italy by Playground.

Praise for BITTER EDEN:

'Bitter Eden is one of those rare books that is both tender and tough, that is a punch to the stomach and a caress to the face. This is an exploration of men in war, and though it rings absolutely true to the experiences of Allied prisoners in the Second World War, it also transcends the specific and the historic to be a moving and unsettling chronicle of the ferocious bonds and dangerous conflicts that emerge when any group of men are pushed to extremes. Bitter Eden is earthy and lyrical,  caustic and moving. It is a thrilling read.' -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of THE SLAP

'Harsh, exquisite and concise, an astonishing story about men in close quarters forging relationships that border on trust and betrayal - and how love, in war, is an ambivalent bond.' -- The Independent

'An extraordinarily powerful novel… it reads like an epic prose poem - or a kind of deathbed confession.' -- Mark Simpson, Independent on Sunday  (Books of the Year, 2002)

Joseph O’Connor on the longlist for Edge Hill Short Story Prize

Joseph O'Connor's WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? heads up a strong Irish contingent on the Edge Hill Short Story Prize longlist, with the collection sitting alongside efforts by Emma Donoghue and Kevin Barry. The award, which is now in its seventh year, is the only prize for single author short story collections published in the UK. A shortlist of five will be announced on May 31st, and the overall winner will be unveiled at a ceremony in London on July 4th.

Joseph O'Connor is also the author of the highly acclaimed novels, STAR OF THE SEA, REDEMPTION FALLS and GHOST LIGHT. He has been awarded the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature.

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'Connor's 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