Tomasz Jedrowski’s SWIMMING IN THE DARK selected by Dua Lipa for the Service95 Bookclub

We are delighted to share that Tomasz Jedrowski’s debut novel, SWIMMING IN THE DARK, has been selected by international chart-topping singer-songwriter Dua Lipa as the May title for her Service95 Book Club. Writing about the selection on Instagram, Dua Lipa said ‘reading SWIMMING IN THE DARK is a bit like peering into someone’s most intimate moments of self-discovery. It’s poetic and tender, burning with a quiet rage at the persecution the LGBTQIA+ community in Poland has suffered for decades and continues to fight against today. It’s a beautiful story – I hope you love it as much as I do’.

Launched in February 2022, Service95 is a global editorial platform founded by Dua Lipa, with over 300,000 followers on Instagram. The Book Club connects readers from around the world through both classic and contemporary books, by writers from all around the world. Throughout the month of May, Service95 will not only be introducing SWIMMING IN THE DARK to new readers, but sharing interviews, pieces of historical context, and reading guides for fans of the book old and new.

First published by Bloomsbury in 2020, SWIMMING IN THE DARK has since become a worldwide sensation, embraced by both critics and new generations of fans on BookTok. The novel was a finalist for the Polari First Book Prize in 2021, has so far been translated in eighteen languages, with film/TV, theatre and opera rights all under option for adaptation. It was published in the USA by William Morrow.

Poland, 1980. Shy, anxious Ludwik has been sent along with the rest of his university class to an agricultural camp. Here he meets Janusz – and together they spend a dreamlike summer falling in love.

But with summer over, the two are sent back to Warsaw. Confronted by the scrutiny, intolerance and corruption of life under the Party, Ludwik and Janusz must decide how they will survive; and in their different choices, find themselves torn apart.

Photo: Kuba Dubrowski

About Tomasz Jedrowski

Tomasz was born in West Germany to Polish parents and studied law at Cambridge. He lives in France, exploring local history, national identity, and ecology.

His debut novel SWIMMING IN THE DARK was published by Bloomsbury in the UK and William Morrow in the USA, and has been translated into eighteen languages. Film/TV rights and opera rights have been optioned. The novel was a finalist for the Polari First Book Prize (2021).

Praise for SWIMMING IN THE DARK

‘Marvellous, precise, poignant writing; the reader is happy to be overwhelmed. The highest talent at work.’ – Sebastian Barry

‘A lyrical exploration of the conflict between gay love and political conformity. Jedrowski is an authentic new international star.’ – Edmund White

‘Heartbreak – yes, I’m a romantic – is what we get from Tomasz Jedrowski’s exquisite debut novel, SWIMMING IN THE DARK. Set in 1980s Poland, this love story captivates and is so beautifully written I return to it again and again.’ – Guardian

‘Readers will relish the indelible prose, which approaches the mastery of Alan Hollinghurst. Jedrowski’s portrayal of Poland’s tumultuous political transformation over several decades makes this a provocative, eye-opening exploration of the costs of defying as well as complying with social and political conventions.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘A stupendous read: I could not put the book down. I urge you to order this book now. Its eloquence, its understanding of identity, belonging, loneliness and love is second to none. Powerful and uplifting.’ – Lord Michael Cashman, co-founder of Stonewall

BFLA Staff’s Cultural Highlights of 2022

LIZZY ATTREE

THINGS THEY LOST - Okwiri Oduor (Oneworld, 2022)

Photograph by Lizzy Attree

This is my first pick and I wrote a full review in the Guardian earlier this year: It’s worth repeating here that Oduor is an extraordinary writer, and her debut novel is packed with magic.

GLORY – No Violet Bulawayo (Chatto, 2022)

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year, Bulawayo’s second novel GLORY focuses on the “Crocodile” that has stalked Zimbabwe since the end of the 15-year war of independence in 1979 and the rise of the dominant political party, ZANU–PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front). Robert Mugabe is, for Bulawayo, the crocodile who ate the sun — as Peter Godwin described him in his 2006 book — yet the presence of other villains nurtured during ZANU–PF’s long stranglehold on power means that the current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, presents an even greater danger to Zimbabwe today. Shocking, funny and lyrical it’s worth the read.

THE FURROWS – Namwali Serpell (Hogarth, 2022)

My first thought on reading THE FURROWS is that the book is just devastating. The descriptions of simple tragedies are emotionally overwhelming. Completely different from her debut novel THE OLD DRIFT, Serpell declares on the cover that she doesn’t want to tell a story of what happened, but how it felt, which is an unusual mode to select, but makes sense when it comes to the subject of grief, which is a difficult emotion to navigate. The story that unfolds describes the recovery of a sibling whose lost brother haunts her dreams and puts her on a collision course with a doppleganger who isn’t quite who he seems to be.

Next year I’m looking forward to: DAZZLING – Chikodili Emelumadu (Headline, 2023)

KATE BURKE

TV series: THE WILDS

Having binge-watched most of the big and buzzy TV series of the year, I came across this Amazon Prime series, recommended by an author on Twitter, and I absolutely inhaled the two series (sadly, it was cancelled after that). It's about a group of teenagers who survive a plane crash so it's a bit like LOST meets YELLOW JACKETS but there's more to it than that (no spoilers!) and I found it to be really gripping fun. Definitely one of the best things I've seen this year. So, here's my plug for this lesser-known gem! 

Film: TOP GUN: MAVERICK

My film of the year! Such great entertainment - amazing stunts, great action and just enough nods back to the (far inferior, in my opinion) original. It surpassed my expectations and while I know it would sound much cooler to say that EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE was probably the best film of the year (!), for me, it was MAVERICK. 

Live music: PET SHOP BOYS

It had been a couple of years since I had been to a gig and this one-off charity show at Camden's Electric Ballroom was an absolute treat! A surprise gift from my other half, I only found out I was going just days before the concert. It was so nice to be back in a room with a slightly sticky floor, plastic cups of beer and a crowd that knew every single word to their songs. 

FINLAY CHARLESWORTH

Book: TRESPASSES by Louise Kennedy (Bloomsbury)

A lucky friend from the North of Ireland managed to get hold of a proof of this way back in 2021, and until it had come out in the UK and she had sold every last person in our social circle a copy, she did not pipe down about it once. Thankfully, it was worth the noise.

A staggering, heart-breaking read about love and fear in 1970s Belfast that never raises its voice, undermines or mistreats the reader – just laying bare the tender-menacing reality as it plays out.

Photograph by Finlay Charlesworth

Play: CYRANO DE BERGERAC at the Harold Pinter Theatre, dir. Jamie Lloyd, freely adapted by Martin Crimp

I’ve been fortunate enough to see some amazing actors on stage this year – Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, Simon Russell Beale and Emma Corrin to name a few – but James McAvoy’s CYRANO stands out, a supreme performance combining muscular wit and cunning with a genuine soft, caring affection.

The new version of Edmund de Rostand’s play by Martin Crimp and Jamie Lloyd set him free with their mercurial script and staging – fast, irreverent, intricate, and never less than totally captivating.

Series: BAD SISTERS (Apple TV+)

Do I think watching and reading things about immensely silly murders make it less likely I’ll be bumped off? Possibly. For the likes of FARGO, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING and BAD SISTERS, I’m happy to keep testing the theory.

BAD SISTERS keeps things fresh by telling you right at the start exactly who did it – but bouncing between the before and after to leave us asking how did they do it and will they get away with it?

Regularly took me from side-splitting laughter to jaw-dropping horror in seconds – fantastic.

Next year I’m looking forward to: THE MOON IS TRENDING by Clare Fisher (Salt, out 15th June). Clare was my very first guest lecturer as a fresh-faced create writing undergrad back in Leeds, and the first person I ever really associated with the short story – and since their last short story collection, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN (Influx) came out in 2018, I’ve re-read it about four times and gifted fresh copies twice. To say I’m excited about THE MOON IS TRENDING, their new collection, would be an understatement.

Photograph by Isobel Dixon

ISOBEL DIXON

Travel: NEW MEXICO

Six years ago, my Picks of the Year included the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at Tate Modern, an agency summer outing which spoke to my long fascination with O’Keeffe’s paintings and her love of the New Mexico landscape – so reminiscent of the expanses of the Karoo where I grew up. A work not in that exhibition was The Lawrence Tree her striking image of the large ponderosa pine D.H. Lawrence sat and wrote under during his time in in New Mexico. One day, I thought, I’d see it – the painting and the tree itself. Late in that 2016 summer I’d also read and loved Out of Sheer Rage, Geoff Dyer’s wonderful, artful wrestle with Lawrence, himself, writing and not writing. This year saw a confluence of these two streams as (after pandemic postponements) I finally made it to the 15TH INTERNATIONAL D.H. LAWRENCE CONFERENCE in Taos, fell in love with the landscapes of New Mexico and sat happily a while under that ‘overshadowing’, ‘guardian angel’ tree. A week in Taos, walking among the pines on the D. H. Lawrence Ranch and learning more about New Mexico’s Native American communities was book-ended by two visits to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe and a trip out to her homes at Ghost Ranch and Abiquiú. All this, with the friends I made along the way, made for a major memorable journey of the last few years. A Santa Fe poem about apricots and Georgia O’Keeffe fell into my lap as a result.

Events: BOOK FAIRS

It was a year of slow revival, and the return of other Covid-suspended festivals and book fairs suspended made for many significant reunions – I appreciated a return to a fuller FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR, a first trip to Gothenburg Book Fair with several authors, and being in Glasgow and Edinburgh again around the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Book: WEST by Carys Davies

For more interior journeys, the novel that struck me most in its humanity, beauty and quiet power was Carys Davies’ WEST.

SIAN ELLIS- MARTIN

Event: WOMEN’S EURO 2022

I loved watching the Women’s Euro tournament this year. It was really inspiring to watch women from around the world play on an international stage and to finally get the screen time they deserve. And… it finally came home!

Book: PLAIN BAD HEROINES by Emily M. Danforth

A gothic, queer, cleverly written story with a haunting mystery at its heart. It was addictive reading and I couldn’t put it down.

TV: DEAD TO ME

I was a bit slow off the mark with this one and didn’t start season one until season three had come out. What a ride! Dead to Me is the perfect combination of funny, poignant and dramatic. Despite the absolute insanity of it, I binged the whole thing (and cried for the entirety of the last episode). The intricacies of Jen and Judy’s relationship are beautiful to watch, and Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are amazing throughout all three seasons.

JULIAN FRIEDMANN

TV: BIG OIL VS THE WORLD, BBC TV (3 parts)

I started researching the anti-climate change lobby as part of the research for Dr Stephen Oppenheimer’s next book THE FOURTH FLOOD and was shocked at how blatant the lobby has been. This is nowhere better shown than in the three-part BBC documentary series BIG OIL vs THE WORLD. “The age of fossil fuels is far from over.” “What climate change means to me is looking in the eyes of my grandchildren, and wondering what kind of hell they’re going to pay?” Jane McMullen’s trilogy on the fossil fuel lobby deserves the Nobel Prize, such is the urgency of the issue, yet we are sleepwalking towards a global disaster.

Object: A HEATED COFFEE MUG WARMER

This really come into its own this December. It was given to me as a Christmas present last year: research shows that the USB warmers do not get hot enough. This one runs from mains and has three temperature settings. Highly recommended.

Photograph by Julian Friedmann

Travel: ICELAND

A bucket-list holiday to see volcanoes, geysers, the aurora, glaciers and ice caves (deep underneath glaciers) curated by New Scientist magazine (who knew they did holidays?) was a spectacular success.

SAMUEL HODDER

Book: WHY YOU LIKE THIS PHOTO: THE SCIENCE OF PERCEPTION by Brian Dilg (Ilex Press)

I devour photography books, but this little book was still full of revelations. Brian Dilg is a celebrated cinematographer and photographer, and here he uses discoveries in psychology and neuroscience to explain how perception works and the ways in which the human eye differs from a camera and its processes. It’s a fascinating subject and this short book is packed full of information that photographers can use to make their own work stronger.

Place: THE RUINS OF XANTHOS (Turkey)

Photograph by Samuel Hodder

I’m drawn to ruins – the older the better – like a cat is to catnip, and it was a delight to explore this ancient site in the countryside in the south of Turkey. I’d been intrigued by Xanthos, once a major Lycian city, since I first saw some of its treasures in the British Museum, including the glorious Nereid Monument. Despite being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dating to the 8th century BC, Xanthos was almost deserted when I visited, and I could explore its remarkably well-preserved ruins in silence without any distraction. Below is a photo of the entrance to the amphitheatre. Xanthos is the site of the first recorded mass suicide in history: in 540 BC almost all the city’s population took their own lives when the city was about to fall to an invading Persian army.

Book: THE FIVE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE WOMEN KILLED BY JACK THE RIPPER by Hallie Rubenhold (Black Swan)

I came to this a little late, picking up the book after hearing Hallie Rubenhold talk at an event at the British Library this summer, and it became one of my favourite books of the year. It centres the victims of Jack the Ripper, correcting the marginalising and dismissive narratives that were placed upon them at the time. Despite being rigorously researched it has the pace of a thriller and it is deeply moving, too.

In 2023 I’m looking forward to: DUNE 2 directed by Denis Villeneuve! Earlier this year, I had been looking forward to DUNE so much that I was a little worried I would be disappointed. But I loved it: epic, sumptuous cinematography; exciting storytelling, and a brilliant cast including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac and Charlotte Rampling.

Photograph by Hana Murrell

HANA MURRELL

VILLA CARMIGNAC on Porquerolles Island

The island itself is a jewel off the Provençal coast – protected by National Park status, where cars and new builds aren’t allowed, and everyone walks or cycles between the charming village centre and beautiful beaches, passing by vineyards. I particularly enjoyed visiting the Villa Carmignac, a contemporary art gallery set in sprawling gardens, where you’ll find striking sculptures hidden behind gnarly old olive trees.

KAWANABE KYŌSA exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts

My mum and I really enjoyed this exhibition of Japanese painter Kawanabe Kyōsai’s work from the 19th century. Exquisitely wrought landscapes and animals were more familiar to me and reminiscent of other famous Japanese painters’ work, but the traditional scroll paintings depicting western visitors to Japan going around in top hats were a revelation. His fantastical, otherworldly creatures were also an arresting sight.

VORTEX JAZZ CLUB in Dalston

Local to me and to the office, I discovered their late-night Saturday jam session recently, and highly recommend it to anyone who fancies listening to a bunch of very talented jazz musicians for a great-value £5, in a causal and friendly space.

ANNA MYRMUS

Film: BONES AND ALL

I think surprise is something that always makes a film, or a book stick out for me and BONES AND ALL did nothing but surprise me. I went in not knowing anything about the film, specifically not knowing the two main characters were cannibals, so you can imagine my shock when Taylor Russell gnawed down on her classmate’s finger about five minutes in. But more than that I spent the whole film in awe of Luca Guadagnino, who left me similarly amazed by CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, because he managed to make a film that was thrilling, beautiful, disgusting, and romantic all at the same time.

Travel: CUBA

Photograph by Anna Myrmus

One of the highlights of my year was going to Cuba in July. Cuba is a beautiful country, and the landscape was breathtaking. We particularly enjoyed our time spent in the rural town of Viñales, where we went horse-riding twice, once at sunrise. The silence was astounding, especially having come from London. Cuba wasn’t the easiest place to travel but everyone was very warm and welcoming, and I really treasured our conversations with our hosts, taxi drivers and tour guides, who were always so open to chatting about everything from their life during covid to football.

JULIET PICKERING

Book: BOOK LOVERS by Emily Henry

I’m sure nearly everyone has heard of TikTok sensation Emily Henry; I picked up BOOK LOVERS to see what the fuss was about, and to my great delight/horror discovered that the main character was a literary agent. Literary agent characters are NEVER glam and usually pretty boring, but this one was quick and funny, and even I could suspend the disbelief at her falling for a moody, handsome publishing editor… Definitely fiction, but sexy, romantic and a joyful escape. Loved it!

TV: COUPLES THERAPY (BBC iPlayer)

I’m nosy, and always fascinated by the emotional dynamics between two people, so this documentary/reality show about real couples in counselling in New York, had me completely hooked. The second series was particularly absorbing as the covid pandemic hit, and forced everyone into lockdown, both bringing people together and forcing them apart. Soooo much better than Love Island - this is love in its grittiest form!

TV: THE MOLE AGENT (Storyville, BBC iPlayer)

I’m still an emotional wreck after watching this a few weeks ago. I don’t want to give away too much except to say that this starts out by being about an 83 year-old man sent into a Chilean nursing home as a mole, reporting on what he witnesses there via a succession of clumsy voice notes and videos, and then becomes a film about remarkable kindness. Devastating in the best (happy/sad) ways. 

In 2023 I’m looking forward to ROMANTIC COMEDY from Curtis Sittenfeld. ELIGIBLE was a lot of fun, so I’m very hopeful about this novel and all the title promises.

JAMES PUSEY

Art: EDVARD MUNCH: MASTERPIECES FROM BERGEN at the Courtauld. Small, powerful exhibition of 18 paintings rarely seen together outside Norway.

Sport: ICC Men’s T20 WORLD CUP CRICKET. Great England win Down Under.

TV: CANAL BOAT DIARIES. Adventures along Britain's waterways with film-maker and musician Robbie Cumming aboard his narrowboat, The Naughty Lass.

ANE REASON

Dance and music: FLIGHT PATTERN

Earlier this year, I signed up to the Royal Opera House’s new streaming service, which offers a large number of ballet and opera performances and behind-the-scenes features. It’s a brilliant way to access footage during my few fleeting moments of free time. Although the service doesn’t replace the experience of attending live performances, it does offer some unique advantages, such as being able to rewatch favourite moments and catch nuances that would have been lost without the aid of close-ups. It’s difficult to choose a favourite from such an extensive archive, but I particularly enjoyed Flight Pattern, a contemporary ballet by Crystal Pite, about the refugee crisis. 

Photograph by Ane Reason

Art: ASHMOLEUM MUSEUM
It has been a while since I went to a museum in person, so I loved visiting the Ashmolean Museum and seeing their Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. There were some spectacular large paintings on display and I enjoyed seeing some of the well-known masterpieces in real life, but the highlights for me were the small drawings, such as the intimate portraits the Pre-Raphaelites made of each other and their studies for paintings. 

CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Growing up in Norway, most of my books were written by Scandinavian authors. It has therefore been exciting to discover a wider range of children’s literature while reading to my daughter in the evenings. Our current household favourites include Frog and Toad, Daddy Lost His Head, The Enormous Crocodile, The Gruffalo’s Child and The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear. 

ROYA SARRAFI-GOHAR

Book: FREE by Lea Ypi (Allen Lane)

A memoir about the author’s childhood in Albania: first we see the anxious, paranoid atmosphere under the Hoxha regime through the eyes of a child who is quick to believe her teachers, and a little more curious than her parents would like. Then, when the regime falls, and political freedom arrives, we see the real human cost of the economic ‘shock therapy’ that followed: unemployment, bankruptcies, a civil war and refugee crisis.

Event: OPEN HOUSE FESTIVAL

I loved how the Open House festival allowed me to see the city I’ve lived in for so long with fresh eyes. A highlight for me was the derelict waterworks at New River Head, soon to be the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. It featured an exhibition of imagined histories of people who lived around the New River, based on found objects, by Laura Copsey and Philip Crewe, with photos ‘taken’ by the New River itself (photographic film left in the river). I learned that the history of water infrastructure in the city is much more interesting than I’d realised.

Film: THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (Joachim Trier)

A film about the mundane crises around turning thirty, which I also did this year -- it’s playful, fun, and almost corny. But it captures the doubt, anxiety and longing so well that it feels very compellingly human.

TABITHA TOPPING

Novel: MAPS OF OUR SPECTACULAR BODIES by Maddie Mortimer (Picador)

I really loved the way this novel played with form and language and am excited to see what Maddie writes next.

Poetry: AMNION by Stephanie Sy-Quia (Granta)

The kind of work that as soon as I finished it I wanted to go back to the beginning and read all over again.

Extra-curricular: EVENING ART CLASS

Signing up for a beginner’s art class was a spur-of-the-moment decision but one I’m so glad I did. Initially apprehensive (I hadn’t done any art since school), it quickly became the highlight of my week – and though not every one of my creations was successful (my cloud sculpture made of chicken wire and plaster apparently resembled a ‘sea-slug or a dead animal… but in a good way’), I had so much fun that I am seriously considering signing up for another class next year!

2023 Pick: ARRANGEMENTS IN BLUE by Amy Key (Jonathan Cape)

I really enjoyed Amy’s collection ISN’T FOREVER and am looking forward to picking up her memoir which is shaped around Joni Mitchell’s album ‘Blue’. While I have a soft spot for blue-themed books (e.g. BLUETS by Maggie Nelson), the fact that pretty much everyone I follow on social media is raving about how moving and beautiful ARRANGEMENTS IN BLUE is, has made me even more excited to read it.

DAISY WAY

Book: NIGHTCRAWLING by Leila Mottley

An incredible debut written when Mottley was still a teenager, making her the youngest author to ever be longlisted for the Booker Prize – and with good reason. It’s a heartbreaking story of neglect, poverty and exploitation which follows 17 year old Kiara who is left to fend for herself and finds herself pulled into the darkest side of the adult world. Gripping, gut-wrenching, powerful. This novel stayed with me long after I’d finished reading.

TV Series: BAD SISTERS

Sharon Horgan never disappoints and this is no exception. The dark comedy, which follows five Irish sisters as they deal with the fall out of their abusive brother-in-law's unexpected death, is just superb – wickedly funny, perfectly cast, and so well-written with twists and turns where you least expect them. Wonderful to have the backdrop of the beautiful Irish scenery too!

Film: EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

Michelle Yeoh is brilliant as the film’s unlikely hero, an ageing laundromat-owner trying to stop her life, business and family from falling apart, who is unexpectedly sucked into a trippy multiverse rift. A true rollercoaster of a film which seems to have a bit of everything – action, comedy, drama, love, martial arts, family, sci-fi… the list goes on. The frenetic energy of the film makes it fly past despite the long running time, and proves that the multiverse isn’t only for superheroes! It is completely bonkers and I loved it.

Sceptre acquires James Cahill's second novel

We are delighted to announce that Juliet Brooke, Associate Publisher at Sceptre Books,  has acquired UK and Commonwealth (exc. Canada) rights for James Cahill’s second novel, THE VIOLET HOUR,  from Samuel Hodder at Blake Friedmann.

A sweeping psychological drama and razor-sharp satire of the international art world, THE VIOLET HOUR is a gripping and insightful glimpse into a maelstrom of glittering parties, titanic reputations and fatal rivalries.

A young man falls to his death from a tower block in London. Gradually, this apparently random tragedy is shown to be entwined with the lives, desires and regrets of the novel’s three protagonists as they grapple with their pasts and presents – and the ruthlessness of the international art world.

Assured, intelligent, laced with notes of violence and eroticism, THE VIOLET HOUR is a perfect follow up to TIEPOLO BLUE (which publishes today, 9 June 2022), a debut novel that already garnered praise and admiration from readers and reviewers alike. Like TIEPOLO BLUE, THE VIOLET HOUR  weaves sophisticated ideas about expression, authenticity and performance into an exquisitely written story you cannot put down.

James Cahill said: ‘I’m hugely excited to be publishing my second novel with Sceptre. THE VIOLET HOUR is a portrait of the contemporary art world – a world I’ve existed in for many years – but it’s also a story of loss, longing and redemption. I can’t wait for it to come to life as a book, and I’m looking forward to working again with Juliet Brooke, Charlotte Humphery and the whole team at Sceptre.’

Charlotte Humphery, senior commissioning editor at Sceptre, who is working with Brooke’s authors while Brooke is on parental leave, said: ‘TIEPOLO BLUE is a remarkable debut – confident, beautiful and thrilling to read – and we’re so excited to be publishing it this month. THE VIOLET HOUR confirms James Cahill as a vital voice in literary fiction – we’re thrilled to invest in his work. And I know that his new and future fans will love this gorgeous, sophisticated new novel.’

Sceptre will publish THE VIOLET HOUR in Spring 2024.

Praise for TIEPOLO BLUE:

‘The spirit of E.M. Forster is alive and well in James Cahill.  The same palpating of damaged moral tissue, the same psychological canniness, the same gently invoked erudition, the same exactitude and eloquence – except Cahill is able to explore forbidden themes that Forster feared to touch on except posthumously’ – Edmund White

‘This is the best novel I have read for ages. It is so beautifully written, not a false note in any sentence… it’s just masterly… My heart was constantly in my throat as I read… [There is] so much to enjoy, to contemplate, to wonder at, and to be lost in.’ – Stephen Fry

‘Imagine if Hollinghurst and Murdoch collaborated on a witty update of DEATH IN VENICE and you’ll see the appeal of James Cahill’s assured debut.’ – Patrick Gale

‘Sensual, treacherous and elegiac.’ – Maggi Hambling

‘[An] arresting debut novel… [the prose] has a masterly attention to (especially visual) detail and in an irresistibly propulsive, almost swaggering style…there are moments here and there that would make even Hollinghurst blush….’ – Literary Review

‘This divine debut from art critic and academic James Cahill is the smart, sexy read you need in 2022.’ – Evening Standard

About James Cahill:

James Cahill was born in London. Over the past decade, he has worked in the art world and academia, combining writing and research with a role at a leading contemporary art gallery. He is currently a Research Fellow in Classics at King’s College London. His writing on art has appeared in publications including The Burlington Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The London Review of Books. He was the lead author and consulting editor of FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN (Phaidon, 2018), a survey of classical myth in art from antiquity to the present day. He was the co-curator of ‘The Classical Now’, an exhibition at King’s College London (March-April 2018), examining the relationships between ancient, modern and contemporary art.

Follow James on Twitter and Instagram.

BFLA OPEN WEEK: A Very Brief Guide to What an Agent Does

Written by Samuel Hodder

Before submitting a manuscript

An agent’s work begins with scouting for writing talent! This includes reading unsolicited submissions and creative writing anthologies, attending writers’ festivals and events by organisations which support emerging writers, and referrals from editors and colleagues. Sometimes, we proactively approach authors whose writing we admire, after discovering their journalism, or their website, or a self-published book, or even their social media.

We talk with the author about what they are looking for from an agent and what their hopes are for their writing career over the long-term. And we give the author a sense of our own preferred ways of working and what they can expect from a partnership. If we’re the right fit for each other, we clearly lay out our terms for working together in an agency agreement letter, which both the author and agent sign.

The next step is editorial work, in which the author and agent will work together to get the manuscript is the best possible shape before submitting to publishers. This usually has two stages. First, structural (or developmental) edits, which looks at the manuscript as a whole and how well its parts fit together and serve the central narrative. For a novel, questions of plot, pacing, perspective, characterisation and themes will be considered here. The agent’s knowledge of the publishing landscape and what editors are currently looking for can feed into these conversations.

Next comes a line (or language) edit, which looks at the way language is used to communicate the story at the level of the sentence. The word choice, tone, clarity and sharpness of the writing will all be discussed during the line edit.

A novel nearly always needs to be fully-written before being submitted to publishers (this is especially for debut authors). But non-fiction books can often be sent to publishers as a proposal, which includes an overview, a detailed chapter plan, and a writing sample of around 10,000 words.

Finding a publishing deal

From the first time an agent reads a manuscript, they will start to think about which editors and imprints would be a great fit for the book, and they’ll begin to pitch it to editors in meetings. Our goal is to get editors excited to read it! At the time of submission, agents will send out the manuscript over email, together with a submission letter. This letter will succinctly describe the book, tell the editor which rights are available, and a little about the author. The letter will also suggest a few comparison titles (or ‘comps’) – these are published titles by other authors which the book might fairly be compared with, to help give the editor a sense of where the book would fit within the publishing marketplace.

When an editor makes an offer for a book, an agent will inform all the other editors who have it, and this is often the point when an agent will set a deadline for receiving offers. If a number of editors make offers, the agent (after speaking to the author) could choose to hold an auction. An auction isn’t an in-person event, but instead takes place over email and phone calls. The agent decides the number of auction rounds, and in each one the publisher must at least match the highest offer made during the previous round, or drop out. The agent’s goal is to encourage the publishers to offer a higher advance each time. The agent also seeks to get publishers to offer for the same package of rights. When selling a book to a UK publisher, an agent will typically try to sell the rights to publish the book in English in the UK and Commonwealth countries. But larger rights packages are also possible, including ‘World English’ (the right to publish in English throughout the world), and simply ‘World’, (the right to publish in all languages throughout the World).

The last auction round is called ‘best and final’, in which publishers are asked to provide their very best terms, including in their royalty rates – the percentage an author receives on each sale of a book. The agent also asks publishers to provide information on how they will market and publicise the book on publication, and for any commitments the publisher can make for this. If possible, the agent will arrange in-person meetings between the author and the publishing teams, to receive more information and give the author a sense of the team they could be working with on their book.  

At the end of an auction, the agent presents the publishers’ best and final offers to their author and the author makes their choice. The agent will offer clear advice, but ultimately it is always the author’s choice to make. They do not have to accept the offer from the publisher that offered the highest advance, and can consider a wide range of factors – for e.g. the publisher’s editorial vision for the book, their sense of the editor’s enthusiasm for it, the plans for marketing and publicity, etc.

 After an offer is accepted

When the author makes their choice, the agent accepts a publisher’s offer on the author’s behalf. It is accepted ‘subject to contract’, which means the author can later withdraw if mutual agreement isn’t reached on all the aspects of a publishing contract. The agent will have asked the publisher to provide their major terms when making their offer, but there can still be finer points to agree at contract drafting stage – a publishing agreement typically has more than twenty sections. The goal of the publishing agreement is to lay out both parties’ rights and responsibilities and provide clarity on what to expect throughout the publishing process.

While the contract is being finalised, the editor will start to draw up their editorial notes, and send these to the author. The agent will ensure the author feels comfortable and confident about the editorial work requested.

Months before publication day, the agent will ask the publisher for their detailed plans for marketing and publishing the book, and schedule meetings between the author and the publisher. As well as the editor, we will seek contributions from other members of the publishing team, including the marketing manager and publicity manager, and perhaps sales managers as well. Opportunities for bookshop events, writers’ festivals, digital marketing and promotions, traditional media coverage, social media and more will all be discussed. The list of people (for e.g. authors, reviewers, influencers) who will receive a proof of the book ahead of publication will be agreed upon.

One especially exciting discussion is over the cover design! Usually, the publisher will present a number of designs to the author for their feedback and input, although the final decision is typically the publishers. If the publisher holds audio rights, the choice of narrator will be discussed too, and the author could have the opportunity to listen to audio samples by different narrators.

After publication

Shortly before publication, the agent will ask the publisher to confirm the number of orders received for the book from major book retailers. The agent will ask for further sales updates in the weeks following publication, and discuss marketing and publicity activities in the context of the plans. At the end of each six-month royalty period, the agent will ensure the publisher provides a detailed royalty statement, giving the figures for unit sales and income for each edition of the book. If money is due to the author, the agency will collect this on behalf of the publisher and promptly pay this onward to the author.

And then it’s…on to the next book!