Kerry Hudson longlisted for the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award

TONY HOGAN BOUGHT ME AN ICE CREAM FLOAT BEFORE HE STOLE MY MA by Kerry Hudson has been chosen as one of twelve longlist titles for the Author Club's esteemed Best First Novel Award. The annual prize was first awarded in 1954, and has since been won by acclaimed writers such as Brian Moore and Paul Bailey. The full shortlist of six will be revealed week beginning 29 April with the winner announced at a National Liberal Club drinks reception on 3 June. For more information, please click here.

TONY HOGAN... was published in July 2012 by Chatto & Windus, and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and Scottish First Book of the Year. Kerry's second novel THIRST will be published by Chatto. Kerry is part of the judging panel for the Green Carnation Prize 2013.

Praise for TONY HOGAN...:

'What a brilliant thing to turn the chaos and trauma of a hectic childhood into a debut novel as colourful, funny, joyful and compelling as this.' -- The Guardian

'This is a remarkable debut novel of love and loyalty, of fierce passion and scabrous wit.' -- Foyles

'From the (unrepeatable) hilarious first sentence, this debut sucks you in with its idiosyncratic style... Kerry Hudson's writing is very funny, and her deft touches give the book a reality that makes it all the more powerful. Hudson certainly has a bright future.' -- We Love This Book

STAND BY ME is at no 5 on the paperback bestseller list!

STAND BY ME by Sheila O'Flanagan is at no 5 on the paperback bestseller list in its first week of publication. STAND BY ME is published by Headline, and Sheila's next title, ALL FOR YOU is due to be published in July later this year. She was the recipient of the prestigious Irish Tatler Literary Woman of the Year award in 2003 and more than 3 million copies of her novels are in print. Please click here to view her website.

Praise for STAND BY ME:

'Fast-paced, warm story' -- Image magazine

'Romantic and charming, this is a real must-read.' -- Closer magazine

'A story that delivers on so many levels and which will never stop surprising you.' -- The Northern Echo

Prize-winning debut novelist Martin Sutton joins Blake Friedmann

The judging committee of the Historical Novel Society International Award (Matthew Bates, Fiction Buyer for W.H. Smith Travel, Heather Lazare, editor at Simon & Schuster, New York and Carole Blake, joint managing director of Blake Friedmann) were unanimous in being impressed by Martin Sutton's LOST PARADISE. The powerful First World War novel concerns William Pascoe, a young gardener on the Heligan estate in Cornwall, who is wrenched away from a blossoming but difficult romance, to fight at the front on the Somme. The book contrasts the horror of trench warfare with the terror of those left behind in Britain.

Carole Blake and the author immediately agreed to work together, and she will introduce the book to editors at next week's London Book Fair.  This is the first client Carole has added to her list since she took on Liz Fenwick three years ago, whose debut novel has been so successful with Orion that they have now contracted her for a second two-book deal.

Submissions of LOST PARADISE will be made after the Fair. Martin Sutton has already completed another novel set against the occupation of Paris during the Second World War.

Praise for LOST PARADISE:

'The best novel I have read about the Great War since Birdsong.' -- Richard Lee, Historical Novel Society

'A haunting, generational novel of war, love, secrets and lies…will appeal to a wide and varied pool of readers… Has the scope of a Kate Morton.' -- Matthew Bates, Fiction Buyer for W.H. Smith Travel

Paul Bassett Davies at Brixton Book Jam

"The Brixton Book Jam is an eclectic gathering for people who are passionate about books and the written word. It's a mix of readings, talks and panels, chatting and socialising. From people who love to read through to A-list authors, ghost writers, erudite editors, self-effacing self-publishers and aspiring scribes, everyone is welcome and many of them will be speaking. A congenial, intelligent, unpredictable free event for readers and writers."

Paul will be reading from his new novel, DEAD WRITERS IN REHAB, alongside a great list of fellow writers. More information is available at www.brixtonbookjam.com.

The Brixton Book Jam takes place on Monday 6th May 2013, at The Hootananny, 95 Effra Road, Brixton SW2 1DF

Doors: 7.30pm.

Tatamkhulu Afrika’s BITTER EDEN sold to Picador USA

Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann is delighted to announce a new deal for the Estate of Tatamkhulu Afrika, the acclaimed South African poet and novelist who died in 2002.

Stephen Morrison of Picador USA has acquired North American rights to Bitter Eden, a powerful autobiographical novel which was first published in the UK by Arcadia in 2002, shortly before the 82-year-old author's death.

Isobel Dixon says: 'Stephen and I first corresponded about this extraordinary novel more than a decade ago, when he said he had read the novel "in one fell swoop on a cold Saturday afternoon and was unable to put it down".  He described it as "powerful, provocative and incredibly moving" - but added regretfully that he wouldn't be able to offer. But it made such an impact that he asked to keep the copy for his personal library and we've spoken about it at intervals since, at several different publishing houses. I'm thrilled that as publisher of Picador US, he's now been able to return to this truly unforgettable story and acquire it for the 2014 list.'

Tatamkhulu Afrika was born in Egypt of Arab/Turkish parents who moved to South Africa while he was still a baby, but died in the influenza epidemic of 1920. He was adopted, but later, after learning the full details of his history, he converted to Islam, became active in his opposition to apartheid, and changed his name to Tatamkhulu Afrika ('Grandfather Africa' in Xhosa). Starting to write in earnest late in life, he published seven prize-winning volumes of poetry and several novellas. He was included in the Carcanet anthology Ten South African Poets. Bitter Eden was his last novel. A new edition has recently been published in Italy by Playground.

Praise for BITTER EDEN:

'Bitter Eden is one of those rare books that is both tender and tough, that is a punch to the stomach and a caress to the face. This is an exploration of men in war, and though it rings absolutely true to the experiences of Allied prisoners in the Second World War, it also transcends the specific and the historic to be a moving and unsettling chronicle of the ferocious bonds and dangerous conflicts that emerge when any group of men are pushed to extremes. Bitter Eden is earthy and lyrical,  caustic and moving. It is a thrilling read.' -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of THE SLAP

'Harsh, exquisite and concise, an astonishing story about men in close quarters forging relationships that border on trust and betrayal - and how love, in war, is an ambivalent bond.' -- The Independent

'An extraordinarily powerful novel… it reads like an epic prose poem - or a kind of deathbed confession.' -- Mark Simpson, Independent on Sunday  (Books of the Year, 2002)