AGAAT - #1 for five consecutive weeks on Swedish Bestseller list!

Marlene Van Niekerk's compelling story of love and family loyalty in apartheid South Africa, AGAAT (UK title: THE WAY OF THE WOMEN) was number one for five consecutive weeks on the Swedish Bestseller charts.

Marlene van Niekerk has received wide recognition for AGAAT since it was first published in South Africa - by Tafelberg  in Afrikaans in 2004, and in English by Tafelberg with Jonathan Ball in 2006, translated by prize-winning translator and novelist Michiel Heyns.  AGAAT was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2008 and won the South African  Sunday Times Literary Award in 2005, and Heyns was awarded Outstanding Translation Award in 2009 as well as the Sol Plaatje Award for Translation in 2008. It was listed as a Best Book in 2010  by both Publisher's Weekly, and Booklist. AGAAT was brought out in the UK by Little Brown in 2007 under the title THE WAY OF THE WOMEN and Tin House published AGAAT under its original title in 2010. It has been published to great praise by Neri Pozza in Italy, Querido in Holland, and Svante Weyler in Sweden. Gallimard will publish in France, btb in Germany and film rights are sold to Mutz-Media.

Praise for AGAAT:

'I was immediately mesmerized by Ms. van Niekerk's novel. Its beauty matches its depth and her achievement is as brilliant as it is haunting.' -- Toni Morrison
 
'Van Niekerk follows the widely lauded TRIOMF with a dark, innovative epic .' -- Publishers Weekly starred review

'This novel stuns with its powerful sense of the rigors of farm life, desolation of a failing marriage, and comfort of a long and complex relationship.' -- Vanessa Bush, Booklist starred review

Photographs from the set of Andy Briggs’ LEGENDARY

Shooting on Andy Briggs' $12 million 3D action movie LEGENDARY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON is well under way, and some excellent photos have come back from the set. Last month the cast and crew held a launch ceremony for the production in Beijing (you can find all the images here) and since then we've received great photos of stars Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren filming out in China, which can be seen below.

LEGENDARY, directed by Eric Styles (Relative Values, True True Lie), sees cryptozoologist Travis Preston travel to China to investigate a series of mysterious killings that might or might not involve a legendary beast.

Peter James’ NOT DEAD YET shoots straight to No.1 in the UK hardback chart!

After only three days of sales Peter James has once again shot straight to No. 1 in the hardback sales chart with his latest novel NOT DEAD YET selling 8,500 copies. This is the fifth consecutive No. 1 for the Roy Grace series, which is a great achievement. PERFECT PEOPLE, published in paperback on the same day has gone straight to No. 11, again, also only after three days sale - selling nearly 12,000 copies.

NOT DEAD YET was launched with a fantastic party in Brighton on 7 June. The series is published in 35 languages.

Praise for NOT DEAD YET:

'James's thrillers... have attracted a massive following - and, reading this, it's not hard to see why. NOT DEAD YET is brilliantly paced and plotted... I'm now a Peter James addict. You'll gulp this book down in three infatuated sittings, deaf to the telephone, indifferent to any distractions.'  -- A N Wilson, Reader's Digest

13 HOURS named Best Thriller of the Year in Holland's Vrij Nederland Magazine

One of seven titles to be awarded the maximum five star rating, 13 HOURS was voted by a jury headed by Frits van Exter as Vrij Nederland Thriller of the Year in their Thriller and Detective Guide - the reference book for lovers of the genre in the Netherlands.

The King of South African Crime Fiction beat off the likes of RJ Ellory, Jo Nesbo and Stephen King to take the crown.

The honour is another accolade added to the already extensive list 13 HOURS has built up internationally, including winning the Barry Award Best Thriller 2011 and being shortlisted for the Macavity Award and CWA International Dagger in 2010.

For more info, click here. (Dutch)

Praise for 13 HOURS:
Winner of The Barry Award in the Best Thriller category 2011
Shortlisted for the Macavity Award in the Best Mystery Novel category 2011.
Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger 2010.
Shortlisted for the Boeke Prize 2011.
Winner of the ATKV prize for suspense fiction 2009
Shortlisted for the Svenska Oversatta Kriminalroman (Martin Beck) Award 2011

'Deon Meyer has written six novels and THIRTEEN HOURS is probably the best (not taking anything away from its predecessors). It is taut, moving and deeply memorable, and is highly recommended.' -- Theodore Feit, Crimespree and Spinetingler Magazines

'Superbly accomplished chase thriller by a South African writer now gaining deserved international recognition.' -- Financial Times

'Meyer's powerful work, set in a violent, post-apartheid South Africa combines edge-of-seat suspense with memorable characters and plot.' -- The Sunday Times

'This terrific, action-packed thriller has superbly drawn characters and an enthralling setting. Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.' -- Mail on Sunday

'Deon Meyer's novel is one of the most exciting thrillers I've read for a long time. Take it on a journey which may involve delays, but you won't even notice them as THIRTEEN HOURS, as it were, passes in a flash...You get insight into the political situation quite apart from an exceptional narrative...I shall look out for Deon Meyer in future, and meanwhile, the tapestry that is South Africa has gained in richness for me.' -- Antonia Fraser, The Lady

'THIRTEEN HOURS has breathtaking suspense, psychological understanding, and one of the most inspiring detectives ever. Deon Meyer deserves his international reputation.' -- Thomas Perry

'Try picking up THIRTEEN HOURS and setting it down. Try. You can't do it. I'm a pro, and I couldn't do it.' -- Don Winslow, author of THE POWER OF THE DOG and SAVAGES

Praise for Deon:
'Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.' -- Mail on Sunday

'Deon Meyer's novels...are absolutely worthy of Hammett and Chandler, the great North American Masters of the Thirties and the Forties' -- Carmen Méndez, Expansión

'Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.' -- Emma Rodriguez, El Mundo

'Without a doubt, Deon Meyer is one of the greatest contemporary crime novelists.' -- Alexandre Fillion, Livres Hebdo

'In his native South Africa…Meyer is a bigger hitter than his namesake TWILIGHT author…His books regularly slay the vampire romances in the charts, with their gritty realisations of the seamier side of South African life.' -- Catherine Neilan, The Bookseller Blog

'Deon Meyer is the best of the best.' -- The Mail & Guardian

'I've been reading a new book by Deon Meyer, a South African, writer of crime fiction, set in his homeland. I love crime fiction and I'm always on the lookout for a new talent and Mr Meyer certainly fits the bill.' -- Michael Parkinson

Crime On Tour with Mari Hannah and David Mark

As part of the 10th anniversary programme for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the organizers are going beyond Harrogate and taking the country's most promising debut crime writers on the road.

This June both David Mark and Mari Hannah will be appearing in Crime on Tour events in Newcastle and Yorkshire alongside other debutants and hosted by an established crime writer.

Click here for dates and more information.