US PUBLICATION OF KNIGHTLEY & SON: K-9 TODAY

KNIGHTLEY & SON: K-9 by Rohan Gavin, the much anticipated sequel to KNIGHTLEY & SON, is out today in the US from Bloomsbury.

Darkus Knightley, tweed-wearing, mega-brained, thoroughly logical 13-year-old investigator of the weird, was just getting used to having his dad back in his life. Then Alan Knightley went off-radar, again, leaving Darkus with a traumatised ex-bomb-disposal dog as his only partner in crime-solving. Now things are getting even stranger. Family pets are being savaged by a beast at a top London beauty spot. Policemen have been tracked and attacked by a particularly aggressive canine. And two curiously alert hounds seem to be watching Darkus’s house. No one is using the word werewolf – yet – but as the full moon approaches, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out that someone or something sinister is messing with the minds of London’s dog population. A mysterious canine conspiracy is howling for the attention of Knightley & Son…

Published in the UK by Bloomsbury UK in August, K-9 has already been chosen as one of Sunday Express Summer Picks for Older Children 2014. KNIGHTLEY & SON was a Kirkus Best Children's Book of the Year 2014, a Sunday Times Pick of the Week, a Guardian Best Kids’ Book and a Daily Mail Summer Book Choice. The Guardian called it “full of intrigue, suspense and humour ... a modern day classic detective mystery” and the Daily Mail wrote “the tweed-loving Doc is a young Holmes for our times.” KNIGHTLEY & SON was also Shortlisted for the Stockton Children’s Book Awards 2014 and longlisted for Fantastic Book Awards 2014. Knightley & Son is also up for the Bolton Book Prize. Gallimard published KNIGHTLEY & SON in France last year. 

Rohan Gavin is an author and screenwriter, and father. He lives in London and is now writing the third in the series KNIGHTLEY & SON: 3 OF A KIND.

US readers, who gave KNIGHTLEY & SON a warm welcome, have a treat in store with K-9. Look out for Detective Days on the Bloomsbury US Twitter account, 18-20 February, inspired by K-9, where readers will be discussing favourite detectives, mysteries, and authors!

Praise for KNIGHTLEY AND SON: K9

'The perfect case for father-and-son detective team, Knightley & Son' — Sunday Express, Best Children’s Novels Summer 2014

'Young fans of Sherlock Holmes will be happy to see this' — The Bookbag

'A teeth-gnashing thriller... it will have readers howling for a third' – Kirkus

‘A hair-raising adventure… I would highly recommend the trilogy to anyone who loves to get stuck into a great mystery or an action-packed thriller.’ – The Guardian

David Gilman’s DEFIANT UNTO DEATH published today by Head of Zeus

DEFIANT UNTO DEATH, the second part of the MASTER OF WAR series written by award-winning author and screenwriter David Gilman, is released today by Head of Zeus. It follows the story of former stonemason Thomas Blackstone, now a knight with a small fiefdom in northern France, as he is forced to defy everyone he loves and lives for in order to fight a traitor who has turned the king of France against him.

The first instalment of the series was launched last year and enthusiastically received. Gareth Wilson of the Falcata Times wrote ‘if you only read one historical debut this year, make it this one. The prose is sharper than a bodkin arrow, the pace faster than thought.’ And sales were swift too, with Thomas Blackstone's exploits entertaining more than 50,000 book buyers. 

On 22 January, David was in Goldsboro Books signing the stunning hardcover edition at what can only be described as a defiant speed, scribbling away so quickly that the camera struggled to keep up!

Visit David’s Website.

Follow David On Twitter.

Praise for the MASTER OF WAR series:

'A gritty book, sparing nothing in its descriptions of the realities of Medieval warfare. I'm sure readers will hope for more from this author.' – Kathy Stevenson, Daily Mail

‘First in a series of historical fiction based around the Hundred Years War by an author who can compete with Bernard Cornwell and, in places, wins on points. Exciting, informative and including battle scenes that made me reach for a firm surface. Love it!’ - Ani Johnson, Bookbag

‘As a debut novel, Gilman's MASTER OF WAR stands up well against its heavyweight predecessors …The writing is taut and the story fast-paced. … All lovers of this type of historical fiction will enjoy Master of War and look forward to the next instalment in a planned trilogy.’ – Greg Waite, Ontago Daily Times

Barbara Erskine’s THE DARKEST HOUR shortlisted for Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards

Barbara Erskine’s latest novel THE DARKEST HOUR is shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards in the Epic category. Five other authors our shortlisted in this category, including Elizabeth Buchan and Alison McQueen. Category winners will then go on to compete for the £5000 Romantic Novel of the Year Award. All winners will be announced at a sparkling London ceremony on 16 March.

THE DARKEST HOUR is published by HarperCollins. An epic tale of love and heartbreak set in World War II and the present, Lucy’s husband is killed in a bizarre car accident and a painting he was to have restored leads Lucy back to the life of the artist, Evie. Finding a painted-over figure of a WWII pilot behind Evie’s self-portrait, Lucy unravels the mystery of the two men in Evie’s life, and their relevance to Lucy’s own.

Barbara Erskine is the author of the bestselling novel LADY OF HAY, which has been continuously in print for 29 years and is published in 26 languages.

Praise for Barbara Erskine:

'Barbara Erskine's storytelling talent is undeniable.' -- The Times

MONKEY AND ME by David Gilman on the CILIP Carnegie Longlist

David Gilman’s MONKEY AND ME (published by Templar in the UK and Penguin in Australia) has been longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, known as the ‘Booker of Children’s Books’, awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children. The shortlist will be announced on Tuesday 17 March 2015, with the winning titles announced at an awards ceremony on 22 June 2015.

Ten-year-old ‘Beanie’ is always getting into scrapes, and his older brother Mark keeps getting a black eye from standing up to belligerent kids who pick on his younger brother. Their dad has given up his job as a truck driver to work as a postman, to be closer to home, and we know that things are not quite right with the family. But there’s a world outside filled with excitement and intrigue as Beanie makes a bid to join his brother’s gang, and they brave the scary deserted house The Black Gate, where some creature is making frightening noises…only to come upon, of all things, a chimpanzee. How exactly he got there is a mystery to be solved as Beanie bonds with the ape he names Malcolm, discovering that he seems to know some basic sign language. Has he escaped from an animal experiment laboratory? Who are the men pursuing him? And can the boys rescue Malcolm from what could be a harsh fate, with the help, perhaps of a deaf girl…

David Gilman is an award winning screenwriter, who has written for long running series like DALZIEL AND PASCOE and A TOUCH OF FROST. He is currently writing the MASTER OF WAR historical adventure series for adults, of which the second book – DEFIANT UNTO DEATH – is out on Thursday from Head of Zeus.

For more information on the Carnegie Longlist, click here.

Praise for MONKEY AND ME

‘I haven't read anything like this book before... I liked this sad, humorous, emotional book and I rate it 9¾ out of 10.’ – Child book reviewer, Children’s Books site, The Guardian

‘We desperately need writing of this quality for this younger age group... Some very serious, thought-provoking issues are tackled with a very skilful, light and humorous touch making this is a book to appeal to many different audiences and be read on many different levels.’ –Schoolzone

‘MONKEY AND ME is a fantastic read that will have both boys and girls totally engrossed.’ –Booksforkeeps

Visit David’s website

Follow David on Twitter

Teacup Travels starts 5.45pm today on CBeebies, Polly Churchill is Head Writer

This afternoon, and every weekday at 5.45pm, gather your little ones and prepare to be spirited away on an adventure... courtesy of a teacup!

Each episode of Teacup Travels (25x15-min) centres around the relationship between intelligent and inquisitive twins called Charlotte and Elliot, and their Great Aunt Lizzie. Great Aunt Lizzie is an enigmatic and mysterious woman, who claims to have been an archeologist for more years than anyone can remember and is full of tales of adventure and intrigue that captivate the children.

Charlotte and Elliot love to visit Lizzie and are fascinated by her collection of illustrated teacups. On each visit they choose a different teacup, each decorated with an interesting historical item. It's this item that provides Lizzie with the inspiration for her story and, as she tells her tale, Charlotte and Elliot imagine themselves setting off in their Great Aunt’s archeological footsteps to discover the item for real.

Starring Gemma Jones (Harry Potter, Spooks, Bridget Jones), Evie Brassington and Roddy Gilkison, TEACUP TRAVELS is a charming and adventurous new show for pre-schoolers. Click here to see more on the CBeebies' website, and here's a sneak-peek video in which head writer Polly Churchill and the team discuss what you can expect to see in the show:

Teacup Travels takes us behind the scenes and shows us what it's like to be on set. Visit CBeebies at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies to find even more fun games and videos for your pre-schooler in a safe child friendly environment. CBeebies is dedicated to delighting and surprising its pre-school audience and it remains the UK's most watched and most loved channel for the under-sixes.

Teacup Travels is executive produced by Michael Towner for CBeebies and Simon Parsons and Micky MacPherson for Plum Films. The series is supported through Creative Scotland.