Waverton Good Read Success for BFLA authors!

Two Blake Friedmann authors have been longlisted for the 2013-14 Waverton Good Read award. Nora Anne Brown’s THE FLOWER PLANTATION and Muriel Macleod’s WHAT THE RIVER WASHED AWAY have both been chosen among the 31 books on this year’s longlist.

Every year the residents of Waverton make an award to the best British debut novel published in the previous 12 months. More than 90 novels were submitted for this year’s prize from which only 31 made the long list. Previous winners of the prize include Mark Haddon, Marina Lewycka and Rachel Joyce.

Nora Anne Brown’s first novel, THE FLOWER PLANTATION, is set in Rwanda and published by Alma Books in August 2013.

WHAT THE RIVER WASHED AWAY was published by Oneworld in June 2013, and tells the story of a poor black girl abused by white men in early 20th century Louisiana, who takes her revenge.

The shortlist will be announced in March and the winner of the £1000 prize is voted for and announced in July.

The escapades of KNIGHTLEY & SON win fans and praise

Rohan Gavin's funny and suspenseful YA debut KNIGHTLEY & SON, has won many fans and accolades in the UK since its recent publication. This charming debut, the first in a series, features a quirky father-son detective duo in a quintessentially London setting – and Bloomsbury, who clinched a three-book deal after a heated auction, launched it in style at the London Eye.  It was a glittering winter’s night looking out over the London skyline and the outlook for the Knightleys looks bright both in the UK and further afield.

Gallimard have acquired French rights, and Bloomsbury US will publish on 4 March this year, with Rohan Gavin touring to promote. KNIGHTLEY & SON will be a part of the influential Spring 2014 Indies Introduce New Voices promotion, run by the American Booksellers Association, and supported by independent bookstores across the US. It’s also on the Spring 2014 Kids' Indie Next List – "Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers”. In the UK it’s racked up a number of accolades including Sunday Times Book of the Week and Book of the Month on Mumsnet.

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!’ 

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, 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.

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

Essie Fox’s ‘addictive’ THE GODDESS AND THE THIEF beguiles readers & reviewers

The latest novel from Essie Fox, ‘the master of Victorian drama’, has been drawing high praise. ‘Entirely pleasurable’ (Metro), ‘a gem of a read’ (The Lady), ‘beguiling, imaginative and original’ (Hello), reviewers have said, while The Times wrote: ‘The plot of this addictive novel is intricate and beautifully turned.’

Published by Orion, Essie Fox’s third novel was launched in style in Windsor, where the novel is set. It was a fabulous evening of delicious Indian canapés, Koh-i-Noor beer (from Windsor’s own brewery,with a name that reflects the brilliant jewel at the novel’s heart), henna hand painting, a fortune-teller, and a beautiful rendition of a carol that features in the novel, newly set to music by a friend of the author.

Essie Fox talks about the inspirations behind THE GODDESS AND THE THIEF in this Female First Q&A and on Fleur Fisher’s blog.

Essie’s debut novel, THE SOMNAMBULIST, was shortlisted at the National Book Awards for New Writer of the Year and was picked up by TV Book Club and optioned for film by Hat Trick Productions. It is published by Castelvecchi in Italy and Damm in Sweden and sold to Bertrand in Brazil.

Her second novel ELIJAH'S MERMAID  also received glowing reviews and she is now completing SILENCE ELECTRIC.  Hear more about the subject matter in  this piece about her writing room on Novelicious.

Essie Fox is appearing at a series of literary festivals in the months ahead – see the news page on her website for more details – and is also part of the author performance trio Memento Moriatas, who do innovative events in special venues around London – their launch was at the Dissenter’s Chapel in the historic Kensal Rise cemetery.

For more news from Essie Fox visit her Virtual Victorian blog and follow her on Twitter.

For wonderful images linked to her novels, see her Pinterest page.

Praise for Essie Fox:

'Essie Fox's style is like the great writers of the Victorian era such as Wilkie Collins: flowing and full of subtleties of meaning.' -- Words and Pieces

'Essie Fox really is the master of Victorian drama, and excels in making historical fiction appeal to all' – Anne Cater, Random Things Through My Letterbox

‘[Essie Fox’s work] is perfect for fans of Sarah Waters and Tracy Chevalier’ – Lovereading.co.uk

Praise for THE GODDESS AND THE THIEF:

'Fans of Essie Fox's first two novels will adore this one, and readers who are experiencing this author's work for the first time cannot fail to be impressed either. A truly outstanding novel, well-researched, colourful, sometimes a little dark, often unusual, but very readable and certainly memorable.' – New Books Mag

‘The plot of this addictive novel is intricate and beautifully turned, and echoes of Frances Hodgson Burnett and George MacDonald Fraser are entirely intentional — Fox’s raids on the story-box cleverly enhance the sense of mystery.’ – The Times

Essie Fox signing books for her readers.

The View from Rome - Launch of Charles Lambert's new book

Last week, Isobel Dixon flew to Rome for the launch of Exhibit A’s publication of THE VIEW FROM THE TOWER, Charles Lambert’s second dark and suspenseful novel set in the streets of Rome. Below is Charles’ own account of the event:

‘When I first moved to Rome, and knew no one, I used to eat in what may have been the cheapest trattoria the city had to offer, a place called Mario’s (yes, with the apostrophe ‘s’, a wink perhaps to impoverished foreigners) in Via del Moro, a narrow street running up from the river to Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. I was back in Via del Moro on Wednesday evening, not at Mario’s (although I was momentarily tempted to nip in for a plate of spaghetti aglio olio) but a few doors further up, at No. 45, at the Almost Corner Bookshop. It’s my favourite independent bookshop in Rome, run by Anita and Dermot, who helped me out with launches of earlier books of mine, and were the obvious people to turn to when I decided to have a Rome launch for THE VIEW FROM THE TOWER. THE VIEW FROM THE TOWER isn’t just set in Rome, it’s imbued with the city. I like to think you could use the novel to guide yourself around whole swathes of the capital should you feel so inclined. The square beneath Helen’s apartment, where the novel opens, is just on the other side of the river, a few minutes’ walk away. It felt like taking the novel home.

I had a great time. I love all book launches, not only my own, particularly when the wine is flowing and I’m surrounded by books, and people, both old faces and new. Among the new faces was Conor Fitzgerald, author of the Alec Blume novels, who also knows a thing or two about the seamier side of Rome. One of my favourite short story writers, Matthew Licht, also made the trip down from Florence to celebrate with me (Commercial break: Matthew and I will be reading together and talking about memory at the British Institute in Florence on 19 March.) But what made this launch even more special, apart from the joy of seeing some friends I hadn’t seen for a shamefully long time, was the presence of my friend and agent, Isobel Dixon. You know that motto about trying to be the person your dog thinks you are? Agents are a far cry from dogs, although Isobel, in terms of loyalty and hard work is certainly this author’s best friend, but her presentation of me and of the book was filled with such generosity and affection, I was left wondering how anyone could ever live up to it. I’ll do my best, Isobel! I then read three short extracts from the book.

Another exciting thing about the launch was that I was able to give my Italian friends a preview of the novel in Italian translation, beautifully read by Renata Crea. Retitled Occasioni di Morte (Chances of Death), translated by Isabella Zani, it’s due out in September with the Italian publisher, Voland Edizioni. So that’s another launch to look forward to…’

Charles Lambert with Anita Ross (Almost Corner Bookshop) and Valentina Parlato (Voland Edizioni).

Dermot O'Connell (Almost Corner Bookshop) with copies of THE VIEW FROM THE TOWER by Charles Lambert.

Charles Lambert with Liz Glanville and Matthew Licht.

To see more photos and the video, visit the Exhibit A page

Follow Charles on Twitter.

A series of events featuring Kaite O'Reilly, hosted by Art/Works Ireland

Rehearsed reading of Cosy (directed by Phillip Zarrili)

Kaite O’Reilly’s new work-in-progress play, Cosy, is a dark comedic tour-de-force written for six female performers ranging across three generations. Set in a dilapidated house, the estranged family gather —for the matriarch Rose wants to die. (Secretly) failed businesswoman Camille and her precociously intelligent teenage daughter, Isabella, arrive to find the house falling down around their ears and Ed, the elder sister/house-keeper isolated and old before her time. Then the much-traveled, many times divorced Gloria arrives, but the black sheep of the family is transformed – and who is the strange woman taking refuge in the garden shed?

The play explores family dynamics, issues of inheritance and self-ownership, and how to ‘keep the faith’ in the midst of economic chaos.

The rehearsed reading will take place this Saturday, February 22nd (5 – 7pm), at Triskel Arts Centre, Cork.

Kaite will also be leading a two-day, intensive writing workshop this weekend, aimed at encouraging writers to “Do one thing every day that scares you” - Get over the fear and start writing. On application only.

She will also be taking part in the Jennings Gallery Lunchtime Lecture: "Neither Richard, Oedipus or (Tiny) Tim. Dominant and Alternative Representations of Disability in Drama" on Monday 24th February at 1pm, and the Lecture to mark Disability Awareness Week UCC on Monday 24th February at 5-7pm: Disability Arts and Culture: “NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US” - A personal odyssey through the UK’s Disability Civil Rights Movement to ‘crip’ culture and disability arts

Click here for more information on these events.