TO DEFY A KING wins the RNA Historical Novel Prize!

TO DEFY A KING by Elizabeth Chadwick has won the Romantic Novelists' Association's Historical Novel Prize. This year's judges were Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Association, Elizabeth Hawksley, author and creative writing teacher, and Diane Pearson, president of the RNA since 1987.  

TO DEFY A KING was shortlisted alongside TRADE WINDS by Christina Courtenay, THE GOLDEN PRINCE by Rebecca Dean, WAYWARD GOVERNESS by Joanna Fulford, THE JEWEL OF ST. PETERSBURG by Kate Furnivall and HEART OF STONE by Jane Jackson.

VILLA PACIFICA by Kapka Kassabova to Alma Books

Kapka Kassabova's darkly evocative novel VILLA PACIFICA, will be published by Alma Books on 1 August 2011. Described as 'seductive and unsettling' by author Mary McCallam, VILLA PACIFICA was a Top 5 bestseller in New Zealand where it was published by Penguin NZ last year.

In the novel travel writer Ute and her husband Jerry travel to a remote area on the west coast of South America, and decide to visit a recently established eco retreat called Villa Pacifica. The resort, run by a group of eccentric expatriates, offers a luxuriant refuge - in the middle of an arid, poverty-stricken region - to an exotic menagerie of large cats, monkeys, giant turtles and birds of paradise rescued from traffickers. When a huge storm descends on the coast, travellers and locals are left to fend for themselves and as the hot-house world teeming below the surface of Villa Pacifica threatens to engulf them, Ute and her companions begin questioning themselves and their own sanity…

Alma publisher Elisabetta Minervini says: "I am truly excited to be publishing Kapka's new book, which kept me totally hooked from beginning to end. The description of the exotic paradise is perfect, and it made me want to go there."

Kapka Kassabova has travelled widely and won prizes for her travel writing. See here for her recent piece in the Guardian on Quito, Ecuador.

Alma have World English Language rights, and VILLA PACIFICA is also sold to Ciela in Kassabova's native Bulgaria.

Kapka Kassabova's memoir STREET WITHOUT A NAME, published by Portobello, won praise from Jan Morris, Clive James, Misha Glenny, Vesna Goldworthy and Pico Iyer. It was also shortlisted for the European Book Prize and the Authors' Club Dolman Travel Prize in 2009.

Portobello will publish Kapka Kassabova's memoir about tango TWELVE MINUTES OF LOVE: A TANGO STORY in November 2011. See here for a diary piece by Kapka in The Scottish Review of Books Diary on her year writing the memoir.
 
Praise for VILLA PACIFICA

Seductive and unsettling, the tropical world of VILLA PACIFICA has a primal howl at its core that echoes long after reading.' -- Mary McCallam, author of THE BLUE

'Tangled with darkness like its lush, decaying setting, VILLA PACIFICA had me gripped to the very end.' -- Emily Perkins

Praise for Kapka Kassabova

'If her finely pitched lyricism is the first thing that strikes you, the second is the richness of sympathy that lies behind it. She has already established a unique literary identity.' -- Clive James

'Like Isabel Allende… a gift for measured, eloquent, no-frills storytelling.' --Scotland on Sunday

TO DEFY A KING on two shortlists for the RNA’s Pure Passion Awards today

Elizabeth Chadwick's TO DEFY A KING has been shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the Historical Novel Prize. The winners will be announced later today (Monday 7 March) at a champagne reception at The Royal Horseguards, Whitehall Place, London.

These prestigious awards, organized by the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA), celebrates the very best of romantic fiction and each year more than one hundred novels are submitted by publishers. Previous winners include bestselling authors Rosie Thomas, Cathy Kelly and Freya North.

TO DEFY A KING, Chadwick's 18th novel, entered the Sunday Times hardback bestseller charts at no 28 less than a week after its publication by Little Brown in May 2010. Featuring Mahelt Marshal, the privileged daughter of one of the most powerful men in medieval England William Marshal, TO DEFY A KING is a story of huge emotional power. It will be published in paperback in August this year.

This is Chadwick's 5th time on the list, with the four previous novels THE FALCONS OF MONTABARD (2004), THE WINTER MANTLE (2003), THE LORDS OF THE WHITE CASTLE (2002) and THE CHAMPION (1998).

Praise for TO DEFY A KING:

'Elizabeth Chadwick is frequently referred to as the supreme master of medieval fiction - and this latest offering does not disappoint, and further underlines her very well deserved reputation in this field ... As always, Chadwick simply dazzles the reader with her superb characterisation, her ability to bring the period alive ... I cannot commend the work of Chadwick's highly enough - if you enjoy historical fiction, she will surely become a firm favourite, if she isn't already ranking highly in your 'favourite authors' list!' -- The Bookbag (online)

'Elizabeth Chadwick is to Medieval England what Philippa Gregory is to the Tudors and the Stuarts, and Bernard Cromwell is the the Dark Ages. Elizabeth captures the reign of King John perfectly ... the atmosphere is staggeringly good, the characters brilliantly realised - this is more than an historical romance, it's a lesson in history, which for me is absolutely brilliant. Elizabeth's finest yet!' --  Books Monthly UK

ALWAYS THE CHILDREN out in paperback now

Anne Watts's powerful and moving memoir of nursing in war zones, ALWAYS THE CHILDREN, is out in paperback from Simon & Schuster now. The Manchester Evening News called her book 'a tale of real courage and devotion to other people's children' and the Daily Express described it as 'intensely moving'.

See here for an interview on the BBC Wales site.

Extract from interview: 'Anne is now working on her second book about her experiences working with the world's first nations, including the Australian Aborigines and American Inuits. She also has a third, about the Middle East, in mind.  "As a nurse, you really get to know people," she said. "You nurse kings and Bedouins and everybody in between, and people talk to nurses. It's a wonderful profession."'

See here too for the Independent's feature on Anne and Solina Chy, a Cambodian woman Anne first met when Solina was a young girl in a refugee camp, fleeing the Cambodian Killing Fields.

Anne has been a recent guest on Roger Phillips's BBC Radio Merseyside show and has a busy year of appearances ahead, including the Royal Congress of Nursing in Liverpool, The Charles Causley Literary Festival, and various talks at Women's Institutes and the University of the Third Age.

Unieboek published ALWAYS THE CHILDREN in Holland, and Anne is completing a second book for Simon & Schuster.

See Anne's website for photos, a map of places around the world where she has worked and more information on her and her writing.

Praise for ALWAYS THE CHILDREN

'In reading the book, I lived with Anne Watts through her experiences, full of admiration for her grit and compassion. It's the most touching testimony to the pity of war and she is such a natural story-teller.' -- Lyndall Gordon, author of LIVES LIKE LOADED GUNS: EMILY DICKINSON AND HER FAMILY'S FEUDS

'A magnificent life story. I feel humbled by Anne Watts' experiences.' -- Jennifer Worth, author of CALL THE MIDWIFE and FAREWELL TO THE EAST END

'Intensely moving' -- Daily Express

'A vivid, humbling memoir' -- Clare Richardson, Yours

'Anne Watts chose a life of dedication as a nurse, and entered deeply into the new international empire of suffering. In Vietnam, Cambodia, the Lebanon and in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm she had to deal with human wreckage at its most heart-rending…She writes at the same cool level of intensity that she must draw upon when she goes to work. Her subject matter is enough to make you believe that there is no hope for the world, but the devotion and sympathetic force she brings to dealing with it suggest that there just might be some hope yet.' -- Clive James

'Sometimes a person's life story will bring you up short and put things in perspective. This is one such book…Anne Watt's memoir has so many impressive elements, it's hard to give it the praise it, and she, deserves…her memories of that time are heart-rending and inspirational…This is a tale of real courage and devotion to other people's children; the word heroine has rarely been used so pertinently.' -- Abigail Kemp, Manchester Evening News

BEYOND THE CORPORATION published today

David Erdal's new book about employee ownership, BEYOND THE CORPORATION: Humanity Working is published on Thursday 3 March by Bodley Head with a launch event at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

BEYOND THE CORPORATION, published by Bodley Head on Thursday 3 March 2011, is a book for our times. Offering inspiration and vision in the wake of financial meltdown, it is the story of ordinary people who share the ownership of the businesses where they work. David Erdal  has a wealth of experience in the field: he led his family paper company Tullis Russell into all-employee ownership and as MD of Baxi Partnership he helped other companies make the same transition.

David Erdal is the author LOCAL HEROES: How Loch Fyne Oysters Embraced Employee Ownership and Business Success (Viking 2008; Penguin ppbk 2009). Spectator Business described this as 'a touching tale of struggle and triumph…Amid the gloom of the credit crunch and the glower of the Scottish weather, Erdal's book is a welcome beacon of hope.' Now in BEYOND THE CORPORATION: Humanity Working he tells the stories of success in many companies owned by their employees, in the UK, the US, Spain, Germany, Italy and other countries. Korean rights have already been sold to The Dong-a Ilbo.

Erdal takes a hard look at those who insist, in the teeth of the evidence, that shared ownership will never work. The book contains detailed case studies as well as interviews with a range of people whose inspiring stories of success fly in the face of received wisdom. These successes include high levels of productivity; sustained rapid growth; fast-moving, innovative responses to changing worlds; high levels of investment aimed at long-term prosperity; and, above all, the sheer happiness employees experience in working in businesses that they own together, sharing the wealth that they create. At a time when the 'orthodox' corporate economy has been badly shaken, BEYOND THE CORPORATION makes essential reading.

The event to accompany the launch will take place at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh on the evening of 3 March. For more information on the now sold-out event, click here.

Praise for BEYOND THE CORPORATION:

'This is by far the best book to explain democratic employee ownership to business people and to the owners of family firms who might be considering a sale to the employees. David Erdal has "walked the walk" by arranging for the successful sale of his large family business to the employees so he speaks with a convincing authority on the matter. He now works with other firms to make that transition so his narrative is further enriched with a wide variety of practical experience together with extensive interviews with managers and employee-owners. In addition, he masterfully spells out the arguments on economic, managerial, political, and social psychological grounds for democratic worker ownership. This combination of real world experience and interdisciplinary understanding of the issues makes this "the book" on democratic employee ownership.' -- David Ellerman, philosopher and economics expert, author of HELPING PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES