Monique Roffey's erotic novella THE TRYST sold to Dodo Ink

Photo credit: Marcus Bastell

Dodo Ink has acquired rights UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to THE TRYST by Monique Roffey, from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann.

THE TRYST is a literary erotic novella about a married couple, Bill and Jane, whose relationship has grown stale.  On the night of the summer solstice they visit a London pub, where they encounter Lila – a mysterious femme fatale. She has a mesmerising effect on the men, and Jane is horrified but fascinated herself. At closing time Jane impulsively invites Lila home for another drink, thus beginning a startling chain of events, and unleashing raw and powerful forces that will change all their lives forever...

Sam Mills, Editor at Dodo Ink, said, “THE TRYST is a raw, powerful and provocative read. It is a very sexy book, but it is light years away from Fifty Shades. This is a novel which works on many levels – it is an intelligent dissection of a relationship in crisis, an eerie fable with hints of Angela Carter, and a thought-provoking exploration of sexuality on a par with Anaïs Nin.” Thom Cuell, Dodo Ink MD, said, “We are very proud to be working with Monique and look forward to sharing her book with readers in early 2017.”

Monique Roffey is an award-winning novelist. Her most recent novel HOUSE OF ASHES, (Scribner UK) received widespread praise and was shortlisted for the Costa and the BOCAS Prize. ARCHIPELAGO, winner of the OCM BOCAS prize for Caribbean Literature, was published by Scribner in the UK, Viking in the US, and five translation markets.  Her second novel, THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Encore Prize, among other accolades.

Dodo Ink is a newly established indie press dedicated to publishing daring and difficult fiction. Set up by novelist Sam Mills, book reviewer Thom Cuell and marketing expert Alex Spears, it will launch its first list in summer 2016.

ICON BOOKS ACQUIRE GROUND-BREAKING NEW BOOK ON MASCULINITY FROM JACK URWIN

Tom Webber, commissioning editor at Icon Books, has bought UK & Commonwealth rights from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann to MAN UP: Surviving Modern Masculinity by Jack Urwin. Audible have bought unabridged audio rights, from Juliet Pickering, to publish simultaneously in June 2016.

Urwin’s article in Vice last year – A Stiff Upper Lip is Killing British Men – went viral on publication and was praised by Irvine Welsh as ‘fabulous’, and by feminist journalist and author Laurie Penny as 'the brilliant, personal, not-actually-sexist writing by millennials about masculinity and politics that the world has been waiting for'.

MAN UP explores why masculinity – for all of its positive achievements – is currently in crisis, and what it means to be a man now. There’s no doubt about that crisis, either: suicide is currently the main cause of death among men between the ages of 18-49 in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics.

As commentators like Matt Haig have repeatedly said, men are now facing up to the challenges that their gender presents, and as more books are published about women, by women, men are struggling to be part of a similar conversation about the future of their gender.

Inspired in part by his own father’s premature death when Jack was nine, and his subsequent struggles with depression in his teens and early twenties - to which his inability to communicate emotionally was a major contributing factor - MAN UP expands on Urwin’s personal experiences, and delves further into the historical causes of toxic male behaviour in both biological and sociological contexts.

In the book, Jack traces crises of masculinity from our grandfathers’ inability to verbalise the horrors of war and the decline of the working class in the latter part of the 20th century, to the mob mentality displayed on the football terraces, and the disturbing rise of mental health problems among men today. He also looks at the wider impact wrought by reinforcement of such rigid definitions of masculinity, harming not only heterosexual men but also the women and LGBT people around them. 

Smart, funny and friendly, MAN UP is the start of an essential conversation for men, exploring why we have perpetuated various myths of masculinity – and how we can challenge it, and change it.

‘This won’t be the only voice discussing men and masculinity in 2016 - there seem to be few more contemporary topics - but Jack’s is definitely unique’’ Webber says. ‘His writing is extremely resonant and clear, and as well as coming from his own traumatic experiences as a child and teenager, it shows a wisdom that belies his age. We think he’s going to be a star and that this book will only be the beginning of his rise to fame’

Jack Urwin says ‘This is a book from the heart and I’m really looking forward to adding what I can to the debate about masculinity. Icon have a great reputation for books about big ideas, and having already seen how receptive Tom and his colleagues are, I’m more than confident they’ll be the perfect publisher.’

HOW TO BE AN INTERNATIONAL SPY BY ANDY BRIGGS TO BE PUBLISHED BY LONELY PLANET KIDS

Lonely Planet Kids - an imprint from Lonely Planet, the world's leading travel publisher - is pleased to introduce an impressive line-up of new children's books that aim to enhance learning, interaction and appreciation for the planet's rich diversity of people, places and cultures. Immersive, engaging and educational, the new Lonely Planet Kids books, available in October, continue to explore the world and inspire a whole new generation of travellers as only Lonely Planet can.

HOW TO BE AN INTERNATIONAL SPY: YOUR TOP SECRET GUIDE TO ESPIONAGE by Andy Briggs will teach aspiring undercover investigators (ages 8+) all they need to know about the shadowy world of spies. From cool gadgets and sneaky surveillance to code cracking and daring decoys they can try in real life, this guide will take readers through the ranks of new recruit to secret agent in no time.

Successful scriptwriter with scripts sold to Hollywood and in Europe, including FOREVERMAN which was commissioned by Paramount Pictures (producers: Stan Lee and Robert Evans), Andy Briggs collaborated with the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate on young adult trilogy based on the adventures of Tarzan. HERO.COM and VILLAIN.NET are Andy's dual series of books - the series and the anti-series - which reinvent the superhero genre for a young-adult audience. Either series stands alone - but are perfect companion pieces - occasionally interweaving plot and character, and providing an exciting new take on an established genre, thrusting it into the present for the Playstation Generation.

Other books include POLYBIUS The Urban Myth – the first in a series of SpyQuest novels. Andy has also written several comics and graphic novels for Markosia, And he has been commissioned to write numerous thrillers for cinema and television.

Praise for Andy Briggs:

‘Andy Briggs vision of a world with super-hero's and super-villain's is a very original one and has been very well realised. These books are superbly written, the story sets off at a high pace and never once slows down...' – Antony, ScienceFictionandfantasy.co.uk

‘Tweens and younger teens who have wished for super powers will be drawn to this interesting concept, and there will be plenty of action to keep them reading.’ – Booklist

‘You like stories with fights? Chases? Explosions? Heroes? Villains? Explosions? Spectacular hideouts? Sinister master plans? Gadgets? Missiles? Awesome powers and (oh, yeah) explosions?? Then these books have got THE LOT.’ – Sam Enthoven, author of THE BLACK TATOO and TIM

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RECIPES FOR LOVE AND MURDER: A TANNIE MARIA MYSTERY published in Australia today

RECIPES FOR LOVE AND MURDER, the sensational debut Tannie Maria mystery from South African novelist Sally Andrew, is published today in Australia by Text Publishing. This is the first of five English Language publications of the novel over the next three months, with Umuzi publishing in South Africa next month, and Canongate in the UK, Ecco Press in the US and HarperCollins in Canada in November.

RECIPES FOR LOVE AND MURDER: A TANNIE MARIA MYSTERY marks the start of a delicious new mystery series with a lovable, unforgettable heroine. Tannie Maria used to write a recipe column for the Klein Karoo Gazette. Then Head Office decided they wanted an advice column instead, so now she gives advice. In the form of recipes. Because, as she says, she may not know much about love, but food—that’s her life.

Everything has been going well. A tongue-tied mechanic wins his girl with text messages and Welsh rarebit. A frightened teenager gets some much-needed sex ed with Tannie Maria's chocolate-coated bananas. But then there is a letter from Martine, whose husband beats her, and Tannie Maria feels a pang of recognition and dread. This may be a problem that cooking can’t solve…

Warm, funny, poignant: Sally Andrew’s irresistible heroine brings mystery, romance and amazing cooking together in the most entertaining new series in years. And all Tannie Maria’s mouthwatering recipes are right there in the book! You can read a wonderful blog about the Text team’s efforts baking Karoo Farm bread following Tannie Maria’s recipes here.

Sally Andrew divides her time between the Cape Town coast and a nature reserve near Ladismith in the Klein Karoo, which she shares with her artist partner, a giant eland and a secretive leopard. Her work is being translated into 11 languages.

Praise for RECIPES FOR LOVE AND MURDER:

‘Vivid, amusing and immensely enjoyable read about detection (and cooking) in an intriguing part of southern Africa. …  A triumph.’ – Alexander McCall Smith

‘A delightful debut, tender and funny. The mystery takes on the worldwide problem of abused women while revealing both the beauties and problems of South Africa. And the recipes will make you want to drop everything and start cooking.’ – Kirkus, Starred Review.

‘A culinary and linguistic treat … and has a pleasing bite.’ – Cathy Rentzenbrink, Editor’s Choice, The Bookseller

WILLIAM COLLINS TO PUBLISH EDWARD WILSON-LEE’S SHAKESPEARE IN SWAHILILAND

Arabella Pike of William Collins has acquired from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann the UK and Commonwealth rights in a radical, original and breath-taking new book about William Shakespeare – to be published for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in April 2016. Farrar Straus & Giroux will publish in the USA.

Shakespeare in Swahililand is the first book by Edward Wilson-Lee, a Fellow in English at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. In a narrative that is part travelogue, part memoir, a satire, an ode to Shakespeare and a potted history of East Africa, Wilson-Lee aims to find the holy grail of literary studies – an answer to how and why Shakespeare is acclaimed as a global poet and why his writings should be so universally adored. 

Shakespeare in Swahililand takes Wilson-Lee back to the lands of his childhood (he grew up in Kenya) to dig through mouldering archives to recover the unknown story of the part played by Shakespeare’s works in the region’s history. His story is a literary adventure that throws high culture and the wild together in celebration of Shakespeare’s legacy as a poet of the world.

Wilson-Lee says: ‘Shakespeare in Swahililand began when I discovered that one of the first books printed in Swahili, on the island of Zanzibar in 1867, was a translation of Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare. Starting from there, I uncovered an extraordinary sequence of stories in which explorers, railway labourers, decadent émigrés, freedom fighters, and pioneering African leaders made Shakespeare their own in this alien land.’ 

Edward Wilson-Lee was raised in Kenya, as part of a family of wildlife conservationists and filmmakers, and now teaches Shakespeare for a living at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he settled after periods of living in the Swiss alps, London, Mexico, New Orleans, New York, and Oxford. He has written and lectured widely on subjects from the Bible to Don Quixote, and is an expert on the early years of the printing press, chivalric romance, and the novel. He has won prestigious research grants from Cambridge University and the British Academy, and is currently reconstructing the greatest library of the Renaissance, which Columbus’ bastard son collected and went mad trying to catalogue.