JOSEPH O'CONNOR'S RADIO PLAY THE VAMPYRE MAN SHORTLISTED FOR THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS TINNISWOOD AWARD 2016

THE VAMPYRE MAN by Joseph O’Connor is one of three plays shortlisted for the prestigious Society of Authors Tinniswood Award

Deft, inventive, consummately elegant, dark and light, here is a play that is both gripping and thought-provoking. With a cast of multi-layered characters, it asks questions about time, art and the bond of friendship. It will stay with us for a long time.

Joe’s dramatic work encompasses radio, film and stage work. His novels include COWBOYS AND INDIANS (shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize), THE SALESMAN (in development with Tiger Aspect for ITV) and STAR OF THE SEA (currently being developed as a feature by Parallel Films).

The Tinniswood Award was established by the Society of Authors and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain in memory of Peter Tinniswood and to celebrate high standards in radio drama. Previous winners include Stephen Wyatt, Murray Gold, Morwenna Banks and Christopher William Hill. The other nominations are: FAR SIDE OF THE MOORE by Sean Grundy, DREAM OF WHITE HORSES by Linda Marshall Griffiths, FUGUE STATE by Julian Simpson and TOMMIES: 14th October 1914 by Nick Warburton

The Tinniswood Award is presented annually to the best original drama script. The judges this year are Mike Bartlett, Rachel Joyce and Nell Leyshon. 

The winner will be announced at the BBC Audio Drama Awards on the 31st January 2016

NICHOLSON'S AMONG THE SUMMER SNOW TO SEPTEMBER PUBLISHING

September Publishing have acquired WAL to a non-fiction book in the nature writing genre by Christopher Nicholson, author of acclaimed novels THE ELEPHANT KEEPER and WINTER, from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann.

AMONG THE SUMMER SNOW is an account of a summer's journey through the Highlands of Scotland in search of the snow patches that remain. Interwoven are meditations on the science of snow, the art of observation, the legacy of other walkers such as Boswell and Johnson and the lure of the mountains themselves. As Christopher Nicholson says: 'The summer snow patches of the Scottish Highlands are magical things. They're beautiful, thought-provoking and enigmatic, not least because of their strange survival. They ought to have melted, but they're still here, like icebergs that have floated and settled high in the mountains.' The book will be illustrated and published as a hardback in Spring 2017.

Hannah MacDonald, Publisher of September, says, 'Christopher Nicholson is a singular writer. I relished his beautifully skilful, immersive novels WINTER and THE ELEPHANT KEEPER and am therefore thrilled that Christopher will be publishing his first non-fiction book with September. We look forward to working with Christopher to publish his unique book about an immensely popular landscape.'

Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann says, 'I was fascinated by Christopher's pursuit of the enduring summer snow patches, and am thrilled that September have acquired this special book. I admire Hannah MacDonald's thoughtful approach to publishing books of quality and look forward to the beautiful edition that I know she will produce.'

Christopher Nicholson lives in the countryside on the border between Wiltshire and Dorset. His second novel THE ELEPHANT KEEPER (Fourth Estate) was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and the Encore Award and his third novel WINTER (Fourth Estate), about the late life of Thomas Hardy, has been adapted for radio as TESS IN WINTER and recently published in the US by Europa. French and theatrical rights are also sold.

 For more information, please contact: Sue Amaradivakara, PR Collective sue@prcollective.co.uk

 Praise for Christopher Nicholson’s novels:

 On WINTER:

 'A wonderful novel, moving, gripping and illuminating.' David Lodge

 'Nicholson's understated prose perfectly suits this account of Thomas Hardy's unrequited love ....a superfine, thistledown novel about a novelist, a place and about love and loss.' The Guardian

 ‘Quietly intelligent and compassionate, but what stands out most is that it is gorgeously, gorgeously written in prose so elegantly crafted that it becomes, paradoxically, almost invisible.’ – Minneapolis Star Tribune

 ‘Gently elegiac...ravishing...Hardyesque....' The Sunday Telegraph

 'A superb novel...beautifully written, very moving.' John Boyne

  On THE ELEPHANT KEEPER

 'An unforgettable picture of an elephant/human relationship so close that, as the elephant learns to think like a human, she teaches her human to think like an elephant. This is one of the best books of the year.' BookPage

 'Endearing...a rich meditation on the Enlightenment. Like the elephant at its centre, Nicholson's book is gentle, profound and sweet-natured.' The Observer

 ‘An absolute gem … delightful but often darkly disturbing …The result is a joy.' The Guardian

 See more on Christopher Nicholson's website.

3 OF A KIND – the latest in Rohan Gavin’s KNIGHTLEY & SON series - published today!

Despite trying to leave his detective ways behind to lead a normal teenage life, when his father's loyal housekeeper, Bogna, goes missing, Darkus Knightley must return to the family fold and follow the clues to America and the bright lights of Las Vegas. Alongside his father, Alan, and stepsister, Tilly, Darkus must once again face the deadly criminal organisation, the Combination - and this time, all bets are off. With danger at every turn, Knightley and Son will need an ace or two up their sleeves in order to win this game. Will the odds be in our detective duo's favour? Or will this be the Knightleys' final roll of the dice?

Bloomsbury US will publish 3 OF A KIND in August 2017. In France, Gallimard have published the first two titles in the series.

Check out Rohan Gavin’s brand new site and trailer and get some New Years’ detective training under your belt with the Dark Files

Praise for the KNIGHTLEY & SON series:

K-9 was chosen as one of Sunday Express Summer Picks for Older Children in 2014 and KNIGHTLEY & SON was a Kirkus Best Children's Book of the Year 2014, a Sunday Times Pick of the Week, as well as Guardian Best Kids’ Book and a Daily Mail Summer Book Choice. The Guardian described KNIGHTLEY AND SON as “full of intrigue, suspense and humour ... a modern day classic detective mystery” and the Daily Mail wrote “the tweed-loving Doc is a young Holmes for our times.” KNIGHTLEY & SON was Shortlisted for the Stockton Children’s Book Awards 2014 and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2014, longlisted for Fantastic Book Awards 2014, and received an honour from the International Literary Association Children’s and Young Adults' Book Awards.

Rohan Gavin is an author and screenwriter, and father. He lives in London.

Praise for KNIGHTLEY & SON and KNIGHTLEY & SON: K9

‘Full of suspense, intrigue and humour this is a modern day classic adventure story.’ – Louise Haines, The Guardian

'The perfect case for father-and-son detective team, Knightley & Son' — Sunday Express, Best Children’s Novels Summer 2014

'Young fans of Sherlock Holmes will be happy to see this' — The Bookbag

'A teeth-gnashing thriller... it will have readers howling for a third' – Kirkus

‘A hair-raising adventure… I would highly recommend the trilogy to anyone who loves to get stuck into a great mystery or an action-packed thriller.’ – Louise Haines, The Guardian

Christopher Nicholson's WINTER warmly received in the US

Christopher Nicholson’s ‘moving, gripping and illuminating’ novel WINTER is out now in the US from Europa Editions. Having received fantastic reviews in the UK and France, the novel is now charming readers across the Atlantic.

John Boyne called it ‘a superb novel, beautifully written, very moving’ and David Lodge wrote that ‘WINTER is a wonderful novel, moving, gripping, and illuminating. Keeping closely to the known facts about the triangular relationship between the elderly Thomas Hardy, his second wife Florence, and the beautiful young butcher’s wife and amateur actress, Gertrude, Nicholson has used the resources of fiction to represent their emotional lives with intensity and depth.’

Pre-publication, Publisher’s Weekly gave it a Starred Review: ‘As in his two previous novels, Nicholson (THE ELEPHANT KEEPER) presents an impossible, inappropriate passion. This effort proves most remarkable for its deliciously archaic prose and portrait of the artist as an old man falling in love partly with a girl, partly with the disappearing countryside and the lost youth she represents, and mostly with his own creation.’

This week Carmela Ciuraru of The New York Times called it ‘ an elegiac, beautifully restrained novel, a meditation on ageing, marriage and loss’ and Patricia Hagen wrote as follows in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: ‘A lovely, understated novel, which evokes the best of Hardy’s own prose with nary a whiff of pastiche…Nicholson tells the story from the perspectives of all three characters – Hardy, Florence and Gertie. All three are portrayed unsentimentally, though with empathy and understanding; Florence’s narrative is especially fine…WINTER is quietly intelligent and compassionate, but what stands out the most is that it is gorgeously, gorgeously written in prose so elegantly crafted that it becomes, paradoxically, almost invisible. It never shouts, never startles, just moves lithely along with an almost miraculous sense of rightness.’

In the UK The Times called it ‘pitch perfect…it is brave to set yourself up for comparison with an author as great as Hardy but this poetic and unashamedly literary book is good enough not to be embarrassed by the company it seeks to keep.’ Jane Shilling of The Sunday Telegraph wrote that ‘a gently elegiac tone permeates the novel, with its ravishing, appropriately Hardyesque sense of the intimate connection between landscape and emotion.’

La Table Ronde published L’HIVER in France, and BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation, TESS IN WINTER, dramatized by Sara Davies, in December 2015. Theatrical rights are also sold.

Christopher Nicholson lives in the countryside on the border between Wiltshire and Dorset. WINTER is his third novel. His second novel THE ELEPHANT KEEPER (Fourth Estate) was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and the Encore Award. 

See more on Christopher Nicholson's website.

‘MAGICAL, MESMERIZING’ THE CHILDREN’S HOME OUT NOW IN US

Charles Lambert’s ‘genre-defying dream of a novel’ THE CHILDREN’S HOME is published in North America today. Pre-empted by Nan Graham and John Glynn of Scribner, Lambert’s first US publication is an independent booksellers’ Indie Next Pick and has received praise from writers and reviewers alike.

Nuala O’Connor writes: 'Charles Lambert’s muted, beautiful prose leads the reader through THE CHILDREN'S HOME on a chain of burning questions: Who? When? How? Why? More delicate than Dickens and stranger than Snicket, this is a novel of odd, canny children; life-like wax figures; a wicked mother and her disfigured boy-man of a son. Sometimes heart-stopping, sometimes heart-warming, it is a provocative tale, ripe with intrigue and atmosphere. I loved every weird moment of it.’ Owen King describes it as ‘a not-nice sort of fairy tale, where the Prince has a face of tatters, where the children take grown-up revenge on their monsters. It's also, somehow, a searching, empathetic narrative about forgiveness’

Jenny Offill called it ‘a beautiful and uncanny novel by a writer who never ceases to surprise’ and Amelia Gray writes: ‘Dark and nuanced, eerie and quiet, THE CHILDREN’S HOME creeps behind the curtains of your imagination. This book stays with you.’

Pre-publication, both Kirkus and Booklist gave THE CHILDREN’S HOME Starred Reviews:

‘A thoroughly original entry into the tradition of ghost stories, eschewing convention. … Compulsively readable, a one-of-a-kind literary horror story.’ Kirkus

‘A magical, mesmerizing tale about the courage it takes to confront the unknown.’ – Booklist  

And the first wider reviews are equally glowing:

‘This disquieting novel is surely one of the year’s most bizarre stories… Mr. Lambert’s subtle prose enhances the novel’s creepiness, as does his refusal to fully resolve or explain its many mysteries.’ – The New York Times

 ‘THE CHILDREN’S HOME is a powerful construction of creeping dread which skilfully keeps the reader off-balance at every turn. … Much of the joy of THE CHILDREN’S HOME is the uncertainty at its heart, the uncanny nature of the experience which lingers long after the novel concludes. It’s a genre-defying dream of a novel, enigmas wrapped around deeper questions, rooted in the deepest mysteries of all: what is the truth within any of us? What connections do we have to those around us? What hold does the past keep fast on our hearts?’ – Robert Wiersema, The Toronto Star

 ‘THE CHILDREN’S HOME reads like a dream … a truly unique and memorable experience. If this novel signifies what my reading in 2016 will be like, then it is going to be a wonderful year indeed.’ – Christopher Shultz, LitReactor

A piece by Charles Lambert on stately homes and class, to mark the end of Downton Abbey in the US, also ran in the New York Times this week.

THE CHILDREN’S HOME will be launched in the UK by Aardvark Bureau on 2 March and French rights have been acquired by Éditions Anne Carrière.

Born in England, Charles Lambert lives in Fondi, near Rome, working as a university teacher and freelance editor. He is the author of several novels including LITTLE MONSTERS and ANY HUMAN FACE (Picador) and the autobiographical work WITH A ZERO AT ITS HEART (The Friday Project). He has won an O. Henry Award and other prizes for his short fiction.

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