Edward Carey's LITTLE selected to be pitched at SERIES MANIA this week

Edward Carey's LITTLE has been selected to be pitched at the international producer's conference SERIES MANIA this week. Utterly unique, LITTLE is the wry, macabre, unforgettable tale of an ambitious orphan in revolutionary Paris, befriended by royalty and radicals, who transforms herself into the legendary Madame Tussaud.

Eleanor Catton described Carey's earlier novel HEAP HOUSE as ‘delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical’, a description that is apt for LITTLE too.

Julian Friedmann will be pitching LITTLE to a wide range of producers and financiers, along with other select BFLA projects. 

FEEL-GOOD SUMMER ROMANCE MY MAMMA MIA SUMMER ACQUIRED BY ORION

World Rights (All Languages) for MY MAMMA MIA SUMMER by Annie Robertson have been acquired by Harriet Bourton, Publisher at Orion Fiction, in a deal struck by Juliet Pickering.

Orion Fiction will publish in eBook first on 7 June 2018 and as a paperback original and in audio on 12 July 2018 to coincide with the film release of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

A joyous, heart-warming summer read, MY MAMMA MIA SUMMER is perfect for fans of escapist women’s fiction and ABBA alike. When her beloved grandmother, Marnie, passes away, Laurel is left with a small inheritance and a note telling her to follow her dreams. Turning to her favourite film for inspiration, Laurel grabs her passport, dons her best dungarees, and jets off to Skopelos for her own Mamma Mia adventure. Laurel is having the life of her life – could this be where she truly belongs?

Annie’s previous novel, I HEART NORA, about an aspiring screenwriter who pens a sequel to When Harry Met Sally, was published in Germany (Blanvalet), the Netherlands (Singel Uitgeveijen), the Czech Republic (Albatros) and Slovakia (Metafora).

Harriet Bourton, editor said: ‘This is an irresistibly fun, feel-good story that practically packs itself into your suitcase! I was craving a romantic, sweet-natured escapist beach read and in MY MAMMA MIA SUMMER Annie delivers that in spades – as well as being so timely with the film just around the corner. This book has taught me that what can’t be captured in an ABBA pun isn’t worth saying.’

Juliet Pickering, said: ‘This is a gorgeous novel, full of adventure and sunshine, and I can’t think of a better match than Annie and the Orion Fiction team.’

Annie Robertson, author said: ‘I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Harriet and the fabulous team at Orion. I hope MY MAMMA MIA SUMMER will find a place in readers' hearts this summer.’

Annie Robertson trained in London as a classical musician, then worked as an assistant for an Oscar winner, an acclaimed artist, a PR mogul and a Beatle. After several years of running errands for the rich and famous, she went to medical school where, hiding novels in anatomy textbooks, she discovered her true passion for writing. She went on to complete a Creative Writing MA with distinction. Annie now lives back home in Scotland. When not writing she enjoys playing the piano, swimming with her son, visiting antiques markets with her husband, and walking her Basset Hounds.

Dima Alzayat Shortlisted for Prestigious Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award

Short story writer, Dima Alzayat, has been shortlisted for the Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award, a prize set up to support first-time writers working on their debut book. Dima’s stories, including The Daughters of Manat, have been selected by judges Anne Enright, Jenny Uglow and Pete Hobbs, on a shortlist of just three. Chair of judges, Anne Enright, said, “The judges are delighted with this varied and hugely interesting shortlist which shows the vigour and range of writing in English today. New work is always so heartfelt.  It is a privilege to witness talent at this early stage.”

Dima won the Bristol Short Story Prize in November 2017 with her story Ghusl, and is now writing a collection of short stories alongside completing her PhD on Arab American Fiction, and teaching creative writing at Lancaster University.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday 16th May, and will also appear at Hay Festival on Sunday 27th May. Read more about the Award here.

TOMASZ JEDROWSKI’S SWIMMING IN THE DARK SOLD IN A SIX-WAY AUCTION IN UK AND FOR A SIX-FIGURE DEAL IN THE US

SWIMMING IN THE DARK, the tender and passionate debut by Tomasz Jedrowski, caused excitement on both sides of the Atlantic in the lead-up to London Book Fair. Set against the decline of communism in Poland in the 1980s, the novel tells a story of first love between two men as they seek moral integrity under a repressive system.

The manuscript garnered much praise from editors in the UK, leading to a hotly-contested six-publisher auction. Alexa von Hirschberg, senior commissioning editor at Bloomsbury secured UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Samuel Hodder. She praised the “seductive and heartbreaking novel, which as well as being a passionate coming-of-age story, also raises profound moral questions”.

Tomasz said: "I could not be more thrilled to be working with Bloomsbury. Their authors have inspired and sustained me throughout my creative journey and it's incredible that SWIMMING IN THE DARK will be published alongside writers who have helped to bring it to life. Many thanks to my agent Samuel Hodder at Blake Friedmann and to Alexa von Hirschberg at Bloomsbury for setting Ludwig's and Janusz's story free in such a gracious and loving way." 

Jessica Williams, senior editor at William Morrow, snapped up North American rights as part of an impressive six-figure pre-emptive deal. She told The Bookseller it was a “breath-taking debut”.

“I started SWIMMING IN THE DARK on a cold Saturday afternoon in New York, and immediately disappeared into its sensuous language and the lives of its characters,” she said. “I fell so utterly in love with Tomasz’s storytelling that I finished the book in one sitting, immediately sent a note to my publisher, and offered a pre-empt first thing Monday morning.”

Further auctions saw German rights sold to Hoffman und Campe, Italian rights to Edizioni E/O, and UK and Commonwealth audio rights to Audible. An auction for Dutch rights is ongoing.

Tomasz Jedrowski was born in Germany to Polish parents, but has lived in several countries, speaks five languages, and is a graduate of Cambridge University and Université de Paris. He currently lives in Warsaw but often travels to the UK. SWIMMING IN THE DARK is his first novel.

CHILLING MEMORIES RESURFACE AS SWEET HEART BY PETER JAMES IS RELEASED IN AUDIO TODAY

Déjà vu or something much more sinister? That is the question Charley and her husband ask themselves when disturbing memories emerge at an old mill house in this spine-tingling tale by Number 1 bestseller Peter James. SWEET HEART is released by Orion for the first time in audio today, with the story read by Anna Acton and a suitably spooky new foreword to the novel read by Peter James himself. SWEET HEART is the second classic Peter James suspense title to have a new audio release, after THE TRUTH last year, followed by its 20th Anniversary Edition paperback edition this February. The new paperback edition of SWEET HEART will be in stores in July 2018. A further eight backlist titles are set to be republished and released in audio by Orion, including FAITH and HOST.

Charley has a strange feeling when she sees the idyllic mill house with its cluster of outbuildings, the lake and the swirling mill stream; a powerful sense of recognition, as if she has been there before. Except she knows she hasn't.

After Charley and her husband Tom move into Elmwood Mill, sinister memories of a previous existence start to haunt her. Despite both their attempts to dismiss everything with rational explanations, the feeling turns to certainty as the memories become increasingly vivid and terrifying.

Charley is persuaded to undergo hypnosis – but in searching deep into her past, she unwitting opens a Pandora's box of evil ... and now the terror is free.

In January 2018, Peter was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award at the Specsavers Bestseller Awards, recognising his considerable achievement, selling over five million copies in the UK over ten years. He will enter the Nielsen 21st Century Hall of Fame for bestselling authors. In Poland he received the Lubimyczytać.pl Horror Book of the Year Award for 2017 and his outstanding contribution to the international crime writing genre was also celebrated last October, when he travelled to Germany to receive the first Rheinbach Glass Dagger Award for Crime Fiction.

Peter James is a New York Times bestseller, as well as achieving multiple Sunday Times Number 1s. His work is published in 37 languages and his novels have sold 19 million copies worldwide. His novel PERFECT PEOPLE was shortlisted for the Wellcome Prize and he won a Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel in 2012. He has won numerous other awards, including the coveted 2016 CWA Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence, and he was publicly voted by WH Smith – Britain's biggest book selling chain – The Best Crime Author of All Time.

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Praise for Peter James:

‘A master plotter.’ — The Bookseller

‘Peter James, Britain’s closest equivalent to Stephen King’ — Sunday Times

'James has a gift for turning mind-stretching subjects into novels that are irresistibly readable as well as utterly believable’ — Robert Goddard

‘Britain's answer to Stephen King and Michael Crichton' — Sunday Express

‘Grippingly intriguing from start to finish’ — James Herbert

‘A compulsive horror story . . . I cannot remember when I last read a novel I enjoyed so much’ — Sunday Telegraph

‘One of the most consistently readable crime writers.’ — Daily Mail

‘A superior thriller … agreeably chilling moments and entertaining twists.’ — The Times

‘James has been compared with Stephen King, but in many ways he's better’ — Daily Express