Fig Tree acquires spirited and deeply moving new novel by Michael Donkor

Credit: David Yiu

Helen Garnons-Williams, Publishing Director at Fig Tree has acquired UK & Commonwealth rights at auction, GROW WHERE THEY FALL,  the new novel by Desmond-Elliot-Prize-shortlisted Michael Donkor, from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann. Fig Tree will publish GROW WHERE THEY FALL as a lead title in summer 2024.

Ten-year-old Kwame Akromah’s life is changed forever when Yaw, a charismatic 22 year-old from his parents’ homeland of Ghana, comes to stay with his family. Kwame’s carefully-ordered routine doesn’t quite know how to hold this brash young man within it, but the two form a close bond and mutual admiration, learning from each other, until their friendship comes to an abrupt end. 

Twenty years later, Kwame has become an upright young man with a respectable job as a teacher at an aspirational secondary school, living just as cautiously as when he was a boy in order to keep himself ‘safe’. But when electrifying new headteacher, Marcus Felix, arrives out of the blue and bullishly challenges Kwame’s behaviour, Kwame finds himself questioning whether he’s living – or simply existing. 

GROW WHERE THEY FALL is a beautifully written, spirited and deeply moving novel about a young man coming to terms with his past and finding the courage to expand the limits of who he might become.

Helen Garnons-Williams says: ‘We are so excited to welcome the fiercely talented Michael Donkor to Fig Tree. GROW WHERE THEY FALL is a huge-hearted novel about love, fear and the freedom to be oneself, written with blazing compassion, humour and honesty.’

Michael Donkor says: ‘I was amazed by and so grateful for the care and commitment Helen showed when editing HOLD – it's a total joy to be working with her again. I'm thrilled to be part of the dynamic list she's building at Fig Tree.’

Juliet Pickering says: ‘This tender, skilful novel about the making of “a man” had me rapt from the first lines. Michael’s talent is to be warm and funny while he renders his characters deeply vulnerable, and this story is full of life. I can’t wait for Helen and Fig Tree to bring GROW WHERE THEY FALL to the readers who might empathise and find their voices here too.’

About Michael Donkor

Michael Donkor was born in London, to Ghanaian parents. He studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, and undertook a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. His writing won him a place on the Writers’ Centre Norwich Inspires Scheme in 2014, where he received a year’s mentoring from Daniel Hahn. His first novel, HOLD, was published by 4th Estate in 2018, and was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas and shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prizes. Michael was also selected by Scottish Poet Laureate Jackie Kay as one of the most important British BAME writers working today. He has written for the Guardian, the Telegraph, BBC Radio 3, the TLS and the Independent. 

Praise for Michael Donkor

‘Michael Donkor is a real talent.’ – Sarah Winman

‘A stirring new voice.’ – Irenosen Okojie

‘Michael Donkor is the freshest new voice in Black British literature’ – Derek Owusu

‘Donkor is a hugely skilful and fresh voice in literary fiction.’ — Anbara Salam, author of THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

‘Donkor has plenty of heart as a writer, and a willingness to fully explore the hearts and minds of his characters.’ – Tanya Sweeney, Irish Independent

‘He’s a young writer in Britain to watch’ – Kerri Miller, MPR

Follow Michael on Twitter

BFLA Open Week: Resources & Resourcefulness – Some Tips for Writers

Written by Isobel Dixon

So, you’re a writer. You’ve been putting in the hard yards, sitting at your desk/kitchen table/in bed, with your laptop/iPad/notebook and writing, WRITING, whichever way you can. In fact, you’ve written a lot – short stories, one that’s turned into a bit of a novella, a full War-and-Peace-sized novel manuscript even. Or you’ve started and abandoned books half a dozen times, but now you know that this one, this is The One That’s Not Going to Get Away. But you need help, some guidance, a boost in the right direction. Your family and friends are sick of you going on about your book, or are wondering why you keep disappearing, because you’re too shy to tell anyone that you have ambitions as a writer. What to do now?

There are many resources for writers, at many stages of their writing careers, and though I won’t go into extensive detail here, below are a few ideas and waymarkers. Some pointers, starting with your own practice and reaching out further. If you scroll down you’ll find a list with some links – not an exhaustive list and mostly a UK-focused one, but it will give you some idea of the kind of things you can look out for, wherever you are.

Already, as an observer and chronicler, you are watching and recording. Being ‘someone on whom nothing is lost’, as Henry James said. You’re alive to the world around you, noticing, and writing things down. Robert Louis Stevenson said he always carried two books at any time – one to read and one to write things in. And as a writer, you’re also going to be reading widely and closely – for pleasure as a reader, but also with an analytical eye to understand how plot , structure and narrative form work in practice. You can see a bit more about this in a piece I wrote about ‘voice’ (with some emphasis on poetry, given that I am a poet myself).

As a reader, and a writer aspiring to publication, you’ll be curious about how books are sold and received, so you’ll want to spend some time in bookshops and libraries. Whether you’re buying or borrowing, and whatever genre you are writing in, there is so much information to be absorbed there.

In your reading journey, ask questions of booksellers and librarians as to what they’ve liked and what they recommend in your chosen field. If you’re pressed for time, remember that you can listen to audiobooks via your library too. (And a note here that writers love the royalties they get from book sales, but in many countries, authors, translators, illustrators and audio narrators receive a small amount every time a library book is loaned, if they sign up to the national system, called Public Lending Right in the UK. So borrowing lots of books is good for writers too! If you’re published and haven’t registered your books for PLR yet, there’s no time like the present… And while you’re on the admin, check out the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), who also make payments to authors for registered titles, where there has been photocopying or other licensing use.)

Also ask questions as a writer – libraries and independent bookshops will have knowledge of book clubs and writers’ groups in your area too. At some stage you will need to ‘declare and share’ – acknowledging your goals as a writer, whatever your day job, and showing your work to someone else. This may be via an informal local group or a taught course, in-person or online, but it will be transformative, even as it pushes you beyond your comfort zone.

Beyond your local library, local universities may offer writing workshops – in London I started attending Michael Donaghy’s evening poetry workshop, a short course given by City University, which led me to the poetry friends I still informally workshop with, decades later.

Regional writer development organisations do invaluable work with and for writers, offering courses about the craft, information on publishing, creating networking opportunities, running festivals and prizes – so do check what there is in your region. At the agency, we’re big admirers of the National Centre for Writing in Norwich, with whom I have worked closely for years, New Writing North, Writing West Midlands, Writing East Midlands, Literature Works, Scottish Book Trust, and more. The Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Literary Fund also provide support for writers in different ways – see their websites for more.

The Arvon Foundation runs creative writing courses in Devon, Shropshire and Yorkshire. The Word Factory helps support short story writers, bringing established and emerging writers together for mentoring, helping to develop craft and contacts. They run an Apprentice Award Programme for this. Attending festivals, local author events and live literature nights like Café Writers (Norwich and online) will bring you into contact with more useful organisations and creative people! The many online and hybrid events and festivals now available provide wider access: do investigate online festival passes and what discounts are offered for students and those on low incomes.

Arts Council England, Arts Council of Ireland and Creative Scotland provide information and funding for writers and projects – see what applies to your region and what they showcase online. Literature Wales lists writers’ groups and literary societies across Wales and beyond on its site.

In London, Spread the Word also does excellent work, and Apples and Snakes supports spoken word artists. Recently, my colleagues Juliet, Sian and I enjoyed talking about agenting with the Black Girl Writers group: a free mentoring programme for Black women who write, pairing them with established authors and literary agents and hosting online workshops.  Other towns and cities will have their projects too – too many to mention individually, so do your local research. Sign up to newsletters from organisations like these, and also festivals and venues that offer events and courses that could help you in your writing practice.

If you’re interested in finding out about the publishing industry in general, this year in the UK the Association of Authors’ Agents, the  Publishers Association and the Booksellers’ Association joined together to create a platform called OpenBooks – an initiative designed to reach the next generation of book industry talent, through a series of free, accessible online events. Aimed primarily at 14 to 19-year-olds from underrepresented backgrounds, OpenBooks showcases a range of book-related career options across publishing, bookselling, literary agenting and beyond. Speakers on various panels help to demystify publishing career options and identify routes into the book trade. Various publishers and literary agencies run paid internship programmes, like our own Carole Blake Open Doors Project.

Carole Blake, the brilliant co-founder of the agency, also wrote an excellent book, From Pitch to Publication, about finding an agent, and the path to publication. It’s due an update on some aspects like e-books, but the core principles are timeless and valuable.

The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is a practical compilation of industry advice including agent listings, author interviews, and information on editorial services. If you want to move beyond courses and workshops, don’t have an agent, and choose to pay for one-to-one editing or writer mentoring, there are many companies and individual freelancers who offer these services. The Literary Consultancy is one that is long-established and supported by the Arts Council.

The Society of Authors also hosts a number of excellent creative seminars and panel discussions around writing and publishing. Membership eligibility covers all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators at every stage of their careers – including journalists, scriptwriters, bloggers, novelists, biographers, translators, poets and games writers. The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) is also a trade union representing professional writers in TV, film, theatre, radio, books, comedy, poetry, animation and videogames.

Do also take a look at the various practical pieces written by Blake Friedmann colleagues over our Open Weeks!  There is lots of information on submitting to agents, what agents do, and much more, and you can access these here. 

Here are just a few good books on writing and creativity (much more to say on this another time!):

Happy writing, and exploring!

 A (non-exhaustive!) list of some links and resources

Open Books – joint UK book industry initiative:
https://agentsassoc.co.uk/2022/11/04/press-release-the-pa-ba-and-aaa-join-together-for-openbooks/

Open Books website
https://www.publishers.org.uk/openbooks/

Carole Blake Open Doors Project
http://blakefriedmann.co.uk/carole-blake-open-doors-project

Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook
https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/

Spread the Word
https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/

Apples & Snakes
https://applesandsnakes.org/

Black Girl Writers
https://blackgirlwriters.org/

Word Factory
https://thewordfactory.tv/about/

Arvon Foundation
https://www.arvon.org/about/arvon-home-of-creative-writing/

The Association of Authors’ Agents (AAA) – UK
http://www.agentsassoc.co.uk/

Association of American Literary Agents
https://aalitagents.org/

The Australian Literary Agents’ Association – Australia
https://www.austlitagentsassoc.com/

Arts Council England
https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

Arts Council Ireland
https://www.artscouncil.ie/home/

Royal Society of Literature
https://rsliterature.org/

Royal Literary Fund
https://www.rlf.org.uk/helping-writers/

Society of Authors
https://www.societyofauthors.org

Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) – UK
https://writersguild.org.uk/

Authors Guild of America
https://www.authorsguild.org

PEN International
https://www.pen-international.org/

Society of Childrens’ Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) – International
https://www.scbwi.org/

The Writers Union of Canada (TWUC) – Canada
https://www.writersunion.ca/

We Need Diverse Books
https://diversebooks.org/

Public Lending Right (PLR)
https://www.bl.uk/plr

Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS)
https://www.alcs.co.uk

Literature Wales
https://www.literaturewales.org/for-writers/writers-groups-literary-societies/

Conmonword
https://www.cultureword.org.uk/

Literature Works (South West)
https://literatureworks.org.uk/

New Writing North
https://newwritingnorth.com/

Writing West Midlands
https://writingwestmidlands.org/

Writing East Midlands
https://writingeastmidlands.co.uk/

Scottish Book Trust
https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/

Publishing Ireland
https://www.publishingireland.com/

Publishing Scotland
https://www.publishingscotland.org/
https://www.publishingscotland.org/about-publishing/

Independent Publishers Guild
https://www.independentpublishersguild.com/

Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ)
https://publishers.org.nz/

Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA)
https://publishsa.co.za/

And for those in the book trade who are in need, see what BTBS the Book Trade Charity has to offer:
https://btbs.org/

GRACE returns to ITV1 this month!

The new series of GRACE, the hugely popular television show based on the internationally bestselling Roy Grace book series by Peter James, will premiere on ITV1 on Sunday 19th March at 8pm.  

The Brighton-based ITV crime drama has proved a real hit with audiences and was renewed for a second time shortly after the second series came to an end last year. John Simm will reprise his role as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, with Richie Campbell, Zoe Tapper and Craig Parkinson also returning to their roles of DS Glenn Branson, Cleo Morey, and DS Norman Potting respectively.

‘GRACE has earned its coveted spot among ITV’s crime perennials.’ – Gabriel Tate, The Telegraph

 ‘Simm is excellent as the melancholic copper and should get his wish to play the role for years to come.’ – Joe Clay, The Sunday Times, Critic’s Choice

The new series will consist of three feature-length films, with episodes one and three written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip, and the second penned by Ed Whitmore. DEAD LIKE YOU is up first on ITV1 at 8pm on Sunday 19th March, with the series continuing on Sunday 26th March with DEAD MAN’S GRIP and concluding on Sunday 2nd April with NOT DEAD YET.

GRACE aired around the world for the first time in March 2021, with episodes written by critically acclaimed screenwriter and ENDEAVOUR creator Russell Lewis. The first episode, based on the first Roy Grace book DEAD SIMPLE, was watched by 8.8 million viewers in the UK and has since aired in countries including the USA, Canada, Japan, Norway and Finland. In April 2022, GRACE returned to screens with LOOKING GOOD DEAD and NOT DEAD ENOUGH, both of which topped the charts as most-watched UK TV show of the night. DEAD MAN’S FOOTSTEPS and DEAD TOMORROW followed. You can catch up on previous episodes of GRACE on BritBox and ITVX.

GRACE is produced by Tall Story Pictures (part of ITV Studios) and Vaudeville Productions. Along with Patrick Schweitzer (Tall Story Pictures), Andrew O’Connor (Vaudeville Productions) and Paul Sandler (Vaudeville Productions), author Peter James will be executive producing the new films. ITV Drama Commissioner, Huw Kennair-Jones, will oversee production from ITV’s perspective.

The eighteenth Roy Grace novel, PICTURE YOU DEAD, was published in September 2022 by Pan Macmillan, and shot straight to Number Two in the Sunday Times hardback bestseller charts. It will be published in paperback in May 2023, with the nineteenth novel in the series, STOP THEM DEAD, following in hardback in September 2023. All the Roy Grace novels are being released in new TV tie-in editions as well, as the series progresses. See more about the whole series in order here.

Image credit: ITV

More Praise for GRACE:

 ‘There is a reason why Peter James’s novels have sold all over the world, and one of the main ones is that… Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is a well-written and believable character… Simm makes for a likeable lead and the atmospheric Brighton setting is well used.’ – Sarah Hughes, The Sunday Telegraph, The Very Best of the Week Ahead

 ‘The intricate, twist-laden plot, atmospheric south-coast location and impressive performances mean that GRACE is likely to be a hit with fans of the books and newcomers alike.’ – The Sun, Pick of the Day

‘‘Grace and Branson’s race to find Michael made for truly nail-biting TV and there were great performances, with Simm as watchable as ever as the shrewd, yet vulnerable Grace… With more to come later this year… I’ll certainly be tuning in.’ – Gwendolyn Smith, The i

‘Simm gives [Roy Grace] a winning sense of humour beneath all the grit… Campbell is smooth foil, playing Branson quietly enough that Simm doesn’t have to be enormous to stand out. Brighton’s mix of pretty shoreline, faded glamour, criminal past and contemporary hipsterism makes it a ripe spot for some murder. The action feels rooted in its setting … It’s almost inconceivable Simm hasn’t already been in a long running franchise… and I expect the wait’s over.’ – Ed Cumming, The Independent

 ‘The first TV adaptation of the first of bestselling author Peter James’ Brighton-based Roy Grace detective novels impressed on its debut last year. But with the second episode last week, there was a huge sense that the whole thing stepped up a gear. The actors actually started to become those characters that we have been reading about across 17 brilliant novels so far; and importantly, we also started to get a genuine sense too of the relationships between them. Tonight, the Grace series, with its third episode, took maybe its biggest leap so far: the one that fully establishes it as a thrilling series which is now fully into in its stride – a series with the legs to run and run for as long as Peter James is prepared to keep writing the novels… The series is now absolutely required Sunday night viewing… complex without being convoluted; at the extreme ends of human behaviour but also thoroughly rooted in our humanity.’ – Phil Hewitt, Sussex Express

 ‘LOOKING GOOD DEAD is an undeniably fun ride. The central mystery itself is gripping and well-paced, doling out bits of information at just the right time to keep things engaging, while Simm and Campbell make for a strong on-screen pairing. Simm in particular is naturally charismatic in the role, making Grace at once unknowable yet also deeply empathetic at the same time… action sequences are thrillingly executed, and the overall story resolution is satisfying, while leaving enough character threads hanging to allow for development across the rest of the season… I was hooked and came away wanting more.’ – James Hibbs, Radio Times

‘It’s so, so good. I nearly missed my train stop!’ – Zoe Ball, The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, BBC Radio 2, interviewing John Simm who plays Roy Grace in GRACE on ITV

 About Peter James: 

Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels, repeatedly occupying the Number One slot on the Sunday Times bestseller charts in both hardback and paperback. Peter writes both thriller standalones and the hugely popular Brighton-set Roy Grace series, now adapted for ITV.

Peter’s books have been translated into thirty-eight languages, with worldwide sales of over twenty-one million copies and his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has given him 19 consecutive Sunday Times Number Ones. In 2015 WH Smith customers voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he was awarded the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. In 2018 he received a Specsavers Honorary Platinum Bestseller Award. Peter James has also written two books based on true crime stories, with former senior detective Graham Bartlett.

Successful nationwide tours of the stage plays of THE PERFECT MURDER (2014), DEAD SIMPLE (2015,) NOT DEAD ENOUGH (2017) and THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL (2019) have packed theatres in dozens of British cities, and garnered magnificent reviews. WISH YOU WERE DEAD is the latest thrilling instalment of the Roy Grace series to be adapted for the stage and touring the UK in 2023.  Several other Peter James novels are optioned for film and in further development.

Visit Peter’s website

Like him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram

BFLA OPEN WEEK: Bookselling, from a Publishing Perspective

Written by Tabitha Topping

I was a bookseller from May 2018 to March 2020. The bookshop I worked in was a small branch of a well-known book retailer – which, for obvious reasons I am not going to name - but suffice to say my experience of bookselling was, and will be, very different from those who work in independent bookshops. Obviously, the aims of all booksellers are the same (to sell books) but the way this is done differs hugely depending on the bookshop you work in.

I want to say now that the reality of bookselling does not match the cosy image often portrayed in films and books. There is no time within the workday to sit and read and very rarely do your encounters with customers lead to a Notting Hill or You’ve Got Mail experience. But bookselling is invaluable experience for those who want to work in publishing.

Looking back from my current publishing vantage point, I can see the many ways in which my years as a bookseller equipped me for the role I do now. The most obvious being the constant close contact with customers. As a bookseller you see first-hand how customers interact with books; which ones they are drawn to, the ones they buy, the ones they don’t. You talk to them: you hear their likes and dislikes, the books they love, the books they hate. Frequently your opinion is sought – they want a recommendation for their seven-year-old grandson, their sister, their friend.

The nature of the job means that as a bookseller you are constantly surrounded by books – giving you an excellent knowledge of the current market. This sort of first-hand knowledge is invaluable if you want to work in publishing, no matter the department you might be considering.

Something I think that is also helpful if you want to take the leap from bookselling to publishing is the regular interactions you have with authors when working in a bookshop. Most bookshops hold frequent events with authors (whether that is part of a larger literary event or a simple talk or signing held within the bookshop itself) and authors often dropped in to check we had their books on the shelves. Not only do these events and interactions help dispel any common preconceptions about authors (it turns out that they are regular people after all!), but being able to navigate the slightly trickier situations that may come up (e.g. not having any of the author’s titles in stock and having to explain it to them) will prove extremely useful when working with authors within a publishing context – again, this applies to whichever area of publishing you end up working in.

Something that I was keenly aware of as a bookseller (and perhaps even more so now as I work in publishing) is the value of booksellers. Booksellers can make or break a title. Customers trust them. Back when I was a bookseller, we had regular customers who would buy books simply on the recommendation of a favoured bookseller. Even when it was something they would never have picked up before they would unhesitatingly hand over their card or cash if a bookseller loved a book enough. ‘Alright then,’ they would say. ‘I trust you.’

As a bookseller, we had a few glimpses into the publishing industry through the copy of  The Bookseller (the trade newspaper for the publishing world) that we received every Friday morning and the advance copies of upcoming books we were sent from book publicists. We were sent the latter in the hope that we would read the book, love the book, then sell lots of it to our customers.

We would also get occasional visits from the publishers’ sales reps. I enjoyed these visits as it meant we got a sense of what was coming up and what books the publishers were really excited about. Publishing can be very insular and those visits were (and are) an ideal opportunity for publishers to learn from booksellers and their expertise regarding what was (and is) actually selling in their bookshops. Recognising the knowledge booksellers have is valuable and worth using would contribute a great deal to the books we publish and the way we publish them.

The bookshop I worked in was in a small town in the North of England, so my experience likely differed to booksellers in London and other major metropolitan areas. I value my time as a bookseller immensely and would heartily recommend all those looking for a role in publishing to get some bookselling experience – I don’t think I would have got my job without it!