Peter James is No.1!

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DEAD MAN’S TIME by Peter James is No. 1 in the UK Paperback Fiction charts in its first week. The ninth instalment in the Roy Grace series has shot to number one position after just three days. We all congratulate Peter on his success!

Roy Grace investigates a savage burglary in Brighton, in which an old lady is murdered: although £10m of antiques have been taken, it is only a rare vintage watch that the family wants back. Grace has kicked over a hornet’s nest of new and ancient hatreds. Gavin Daly, the dead woman’s 95-year-old brother, has a score to settle and a promise to keep.

Praise for the Roy Grace series:

'Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business.' -- Karin Slaughter

'The rapid-fire suspense builds to a terrifying, graphic conclusion that leaves tantalizing room for future instalments in the series.' -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

'What makes his books better than other people's books I think is that the ordinary people in these books react in the way they would react.  They have absolute emotional credibility.' -- Jeff Park, 'Front Row' BBC Radio

'Exceptional, knock-your-socks-off.' -- Washington Post

Sandstone Press Acquire Striking Arctic Novel by Cormac James

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 Robert Davidson has agreed Sandstone Press’s first deal with the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, for a breathtaking literary historical novel by Irish writer Cormac James. Currently titled THE SURFACING, the novel is set largely on board a ship in the 1850s, searching for Franklin’s lost expedition. It’s a challenging and dangerous endeavour in a very male world – that is until Morgan, the second-in-command of the Impetus, realises there is a pregnant stowaway on board and that he is the father. It is too late to turn back, the ice is closing in, and the child will have to be born into the vast and icy wilderness of the Arctic. Sandstone Press, who have had two Booker-longlisted titles in two years, bought UK and British Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Isobel Dixon.

Robert Davidson of Sandstone says: ‘It is rare to come across such an original and perfect novel as Cormac James’ tale of the Impetus, her crew and stowaway. Their enormous bravery, conflicts and fate, are going to stake out a unique and permanent place in 21st century fiction.’

Cormac James says: “I am delighted to be joining the list of such an exciting independent publisher. Sandstone follow their own particular orbit, but year on year now are exercising more and more of a gravitational pull. They certainly drew me in. They’re not only independent but independent-minded, and in that spirit the editors showed a real affinity for the novel’s ideas and approach. I know it’s going to be a pleasure working with them.”

Isobel Dixon says: ‘I was hooked from the first page by this unusual story of determination, courage and the desperate will to survive. The ship and the ice are powerful and characterful forces in the novel, and the journey of the Impetus and those who live out their struggles on board will haunt me – and many readers to come – for a very long time. I’m thrilled that Sandstone are on board.’

Born in Cork, Ireland, Cormac James now lives in France. He is a graduate of the UEA Creative Writing course and received a Literature Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland in 2010, based on the opening section of this novel. For more information click here.

For a selection of images from the time and world of THE SURFACING, click here.

Sandstone will publish THE SURFACING in September 2014.

Praise for Cormac James:

‘An extraordinary novel, combining a powerful narrative with a considered and poetic use of language in a way that is not often seen these days. Reading the book, I recalled the dramatic natural landscape of Jack London and the wild untamed seas of William Golding. Cormac James' writing is ambitious enough to be compared with either.'-- John Boyne

‘Cormac James’s writing is very assured, with a harsh poetic edge. His evocations of barren landscape, sea weather, pack ice and frozen skies are powerful and compelling.’ – Rose Tremain

 

Young child in furs (Stefansson Expedition 1913-16),

Young child in furs (Stefansson Expedition 1913-16),

Setting out from ship (Stefansson Expedition 1913-16) 

Setting out from ship (Stefansson Expedition 1913-16) 

Monique Roffey at the Hong Kong Literary Festival

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Monique Roffey, author of the Bocas Prizewinning novel ARCHIPELAGO, will be at the Hong Kong Literary Festival, which takes place from the 1st to the 10th November. Featured guests this year include Jung Chang, author of WHITE SWANS, Guo Xiaolu, one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2014, and Graeme Simsion, author of THE ROSIE PROJECT.

The Hong Kong International Literary Festival celebrates creative writing in English and emphasises writing with an Asian connection. The Festival features both established and emerging authors and includes works in translation, literary fiction and non-fiction, poetry and scriptwriting. 

Monique Roffey will be talking at a panel discussion at the Kee Club, Nov 2, 4.30pm-6pm, as well as her own event at the Fringe Club, Nov 2, 6pm-7pm.

For more information visit The Hong Literary Festival website.

Manu Joseph Longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

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Manu Joseph’s second novel THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE has been Longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2013. This $50,000 prize has previously been won by M Naqvi for Home Boy, by Shehan Karunatilaka for Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew and by Jeet Thayil for Narcopolis.

Others on the longlist include Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, Philip Hensher, Mohsin Hamid and Nadeem Aslam.  The shortlist for the DSC Prize will be revealed on Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at The London School of Economics in London. The winner will be announced at the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2014.

Set in Madras in the 1990s, where every adolescent male is preparing for the toughest exam in the world, THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE is a powerful and darkly comic story involving an alcoholic's probe into the minds of the sober, an adolescent cartoonist's dangerous interpretation of absolute truth, an inner circle of talented schizophrenics and the pure love of a 12-year-old boy for a beautiful girl.

THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE is published by John Murray in the UK, Norton in the US and HarperCollins in Canada and India. Earlier this year it was a Top Ten bestseller in Holland, where Podium publish, and it has just been released as a lead title for C.H.Beck in Germany.

Manu Joseph’s first novel, SERIOUS PEOPLE, won the Hindu Best Fiction award, and was shortlisted for various prizes including Man Asian Literary Prize and the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize.

In November he will be in Belgium, with events including a Public interview in Leuven on 26 November and a Reading Club in Passa Porta on 28 November.

Praise for Manu Joseph:

'Manu Joseph really is a fine storyteller. His narrative is rich with detail.' - Antara Dev Sen, The Asian Age

'Manu Joseph is brilliant' - Tom Sutcliffe, BBC Radio 4

'A searing new voice.' --  Megan O'Grady, Vogue

Praise for THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE:

'A cocktail of character, culture and religion … exquisitely phrased without an excess of sentimentality.' -- The Daily Telegraph

'Tense and intriguing … [with] striking observations… THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE is an engaging read that leaves readers with plenty to think about afterwards.' -- David Hebblethwaite, We Love This Book

'Both wittily funny and darkly serious.' -- Harry Ritchie, Daily Mail