THE LAST PILOT longlisted for The Authors Club Best First Novel Award

Benjamin Johncock’s compelling debut THE LAST PILOT has been longlisted for The Authors Club Best First Novel Award. The prize is for the debut novel of a British, Irish or UK-based author, first published in the UK.  This is the 62nd year of the prize. Other longlisted titles include THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET by Natasha Pulley, THE LONEY by Andrew Hurley and THE GOOD SON by Paul McVeigh.

 THE LAST PILOT was published in July 2015 both in the UK (Myriad Books) and in the US (Picador), assembling an enthusiastic following with a rave review in The Washington Post, who say ‘the effect is supercharged Hemingway at 70,000 feet’; People magazine call it ‘ingeniously plotted, deftly written and engrossing,’ and Jane Ciabattari from BBC Culture says ‘Johncock is superb at crafting suspenseful scenes’. Mail on Sunday also praised THE LAST PILOT, ‘a remarkably accomplished debut'. It has been selected as Amazon’s Best Book of July 2015, shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards 2015, chosen as a Barnes & Noble’s 2015 Discover Great New Writers Pick and one of SJ Watson’s Best Summer Reads for The Independent. There's a full list of his many and incredible reviews on Ben's blog. The paperback will be published in the US on 3rd May 2016.

Early October, 1947, Jim Harrison is a test pilot in the United States Air Force, flying flimsy aircraft high above the Mojave desert. When a terrible tragedy befalls his young family, Harrison's life grinds to a halt - so when he's offered a ticket to the moon, he takes it, and joins NASA's new training programme. Set against the backdrop of one of the most emotionally-charged periods in modern history, THE LAST PILOT is a mesmerising story of loss and finding courage in the face of it.

Benjamin Johncock was born in England in 1978. His short stories have been published by The Fiction Desk and The Junket. He is the recipient of an Arts Council England grant and the American Literary Merit Award, and is a winner of Comma Press's National Short Story Day competition. He also writes for the Guardian. He lives in Norwich, England, with his wife, his daughter, and his son.

Praise for THE LAST PILOT

‘The dense layering of real events, seriously technical language and sustained US vernacular makes for a big, muscular novel, but this is tenderly undercut by the quite different theme of a marriage and a family under unbearable stress... A cowboy in a silver suit he may be, but Jim Harrison’s descent into hell is convincing and moving.’ – Jane Housham, Guardian

‘Jim’s story is fascinating, and the author writes with a strong ear for dialogue, which rattles the pages with intensity. A marvellous, emotionally powerful novel.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Benjamin Johncock has written one of the most American novels of the year … With remarkable accuracy, capturing the emotional weight of a time in history … The story is well paced and chock full of an array of inspirational characters … exuberant life beaming from the gorgeous prose. Johncock follows in the footsteps of the impressive list of writers that have been capable of creating lifelike dialogue by eliminating quotation marks and a large amount of tags in what is often pages of back forth between its characters. … reminiscent of the great Cormac McCarthy … The exposition is packed with detail, word choices and sentence structures that add up to equal a distinct and unique new voice in fiction … shows the careful and precise guidance of the authorial voice that can be trusted fully and wholeheartedly. Johncock writes paragraphs that are often only seen by master craftsman with many books already to their name … This debut novel is undoubtedly one of the most authentic pieces of fiction set in America in years.’ – Steven Petite, The Huffington Post

Visit Benjamin’s website and follow him on Twitter.

Sally Andrew, Finuala Dowling and Henrietta Rose-Innes longlisted for Sunday Times Ficton Prize

We are delighted to announce that three of our authors have been longlisted for the Barry Ronge Sunday Times Fiction Prize in South Africa.

 

RECIPES FOR LOVE AND MURDER: A TANNIE MARIA MYSTERY by Sally Andrew, GREEN LION by Henrietta Rose-Innes (both published by Umuzi) and THE FETCH by Finuala Dowling (published by Kwela) are on the longlist for The Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize, formerly the Sunday Times Fiction Prize. Now in its sixteenth year, this prize is awarded annually to a novel that is of ‘rare imagination and style, evocative, textured and a tale so compelling as to become an enduring landmark of contemporary fiction.’

Previous Blake Friedmann winners of these prizes include Ivan Vladislavić (who has won both the fiction and non-fiction prizes for PORTRAIT WITH KEYS and THE RESTLESS SUPERMARKET), Marlene van Niekerk for AGAAT (translated by Michiel Heyns), Zakes Mda (HEART OF REDNESS) and Hugh Lewin for STONES AGAINST THE MIRROR.

The shortlist will be announced at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in May. For more information on the prize, click here.

For more information on the authors, please see their individual author pages on our website, or their own websites.

Three Teresa Crane novels reissued as ebooks by Canelo

Grab yourself a bit of Mediterranean sunshine this Easter by picking up one of three ebook re-issues of Teresa Crane’s classic saga novels from Canelo. Canelo have published THE ITALIAN HOUSE, SIENA SUMMER and ICON OF GOLD this month with beautiful new covers.

THE ITALIAN HOUSE Canelo Website.jpg

THE ITALIAN HOUSE is a riveting story of passion and family secrets in a glorious Tuscan villa. When Carrie Stowe unexpectedly inherits her eccentric grandmother’s Italian villa, she sets her heart on going to Tuscany. It could be her only escape from the mundane and suffocating routine of life with Arthur, her repressive husband. Arriving late at night and in the midst of a violent storm, she discovers that she is not alone. A young man is there before her, an enigmatic figure from the past: her cousin Leo, who had been missing for years, believed dead.  As Carrie reads the secrets of her grandmother’s diaries and the enchantment of the house exerts itself, Carrie finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. But what of her husband? And is Leo really who he appears to be?

ICON OF GOLD tells the story of a forbidden love torn between 1950s Britain and Greece. Cathy Kotsikas is as unsettled as anyone in postwar Britain. A hasty marriage has become an exhausting clash of personalities. Leon, her Greek husband, as charming as he is ruthless and self-centred, understands neither her mildly eccentric character nor her need for freedom. Cathy’s sanctuary is Sandlings, a remote cottage on the barren Suffolk coast left to her by her grandfather. For Leon, however, his business in London and the restoration of his family home in Greece are of paramount importance. When Nikos, Leon’s son, arrives from New York, he is drawn to Cathy from the first, and she to him. Neither sees the danger of the attraction until it is too late. Their chemistry becomes a spiral of passion and betrayal culminating in the wild sunlit beauty of the Greek countryside. But how will it end…?

SIENA SUMMER is a gripping tale of love and revenge in the Tuscan sun. Poppy Brookes receives a troubling letter. A decade after her sister Isobel eloped with an artist, she pleads with Poppy to visit their neglected country estate a few miles from the ancient and beautiful city of Siena. When Poppy arrives, she finds a disturbing undercurrent in Isobel and husband Kit’s relationship, then accidentally uncovers a terrible secret. Against the backdrop of a verdant 1920s Tuscany, Poppy’s own journey into love is overshadowed by the insanity of a war long-ended, and a desire for revenge that, with tragic consequences, inevitably damages the innocent…

Teresa Crane had always wanted to write. In 1977 she gave herself a year to see if she could, and since then has published numerous short stories and several novels published in various languages. She now lives in the beautiful mountains of central Portugal.

Praise for Teresa Crane:

'Teresa Crane is a smashing storyteller' – Irish Times

‘A wonderfully rich web of intrigue and romance, love and betrayal … I couldn’t put the book down’  - Barbara Erskine

‘Beautifully written’ - Woman and Home

Two Beryl Matthews titles reissued in paperback today

Two of Beryl Matthew’s novels, A FLIGHT OF GOLDEN WINGS and THE UNCERTAIN YEARS, are published in the UK today by Allison & Busby. The books are available as paperbacks and ebooks. Beryl has previously published 12 novels in hardback with Severn House.

Beryl Matthews is an accomplished novelist, writing in the genre that Catherine Cookson made her own, but with stories set in London. As a young girl her ambition was to become a professional singer but lack of funds drove her into an office, where she worked her way up from tea-girl to credit controller. After she retired, she began to pursue her dream of becoming a published author.

In A FLIGHT OF GOLDEN WINGS, Ruth Aspinall is an accomplished pilot. When war breaks out and the Air Transport Auxiliary is formed she is anxious to join them. In America, brother and sister, Jack and Lucy Nelson, experienced pilots, make their way to England, also determined to become part of the ATA. Jack and Ruth meet, but with danger all around them, Jack won't commit himself to a serious relationship. By D-Day, Jack has a Spitfire to deliver to France, but his plane never arrives. Ruth is heartbroken but cannot accept that she will never see Jack again.

In THE UNCERTAIN YEARS, tomboyish Becky plans to join the ATS, her neighbours Bob and Jim the navy and army respectively. Only Becky's brother Will is left out of the excitement; because of a slight physical disability, he is forced to stay behind. As the friends are separated, their youthful enthusiasm is tempered by the grim newspaper headlines and their own experiences, and they will feel both joy and pain before the war is over.

Allison & Busby are giving these re-issued novels a fresh cover style. They have already re-issued four of Beryl’s earlier novels and published her new novel THE DAY WILL COME in hardback last year with the paperback coming this summer.

‘A skillfully wrought thriller that exposes the dangers of secrecy’, TWISTED RIVER is published today

TWISTED RIVER is published today IN THE US by Viking (Penguin). A compelling new ‘domestic noir’ set in Manhattan and Limerick, TWISTED RIVER tells the story of a dream holiday house-swap that goes tragically wrong. Kate and Mannix O'Brien live with their two children in a quirky house overlooking the Curragower Falls on the Shannon River in Limerick – a city where the haves and have-nots live side by side. Meanwhile, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the Harveys own a fashionable brownstone on Riverside Drive. For their family vacations this year, they’ve both booked in for a house-swap – and it’s one they will never forget. At the novel’s start, Oscar Harvey is opening the trunk of the car his hosts have loaned him – and finds the body of a woman. From this shocking beginning the story spools back to the roots of the house swap, taking us on a gripping journey that never lets up.

Praise for TWISTED RIVER:

‘TWISTED RIVER is a superb thriller – gripping, surprising, and terrifically rewarding.’ – Chris Pavone, author of THE EXPATS

‘Evocative and richly detailed, TWISTED RIVER is a page-turning mystery about the tragic consequences that result when the tightly held secrets of two families collide.’ – Kimberly McCreight, author of New York Times bestseller RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA and WHERE THEY FOUND HER

‘MacDonald's dark and twisted tale of American tourists caught up in recession-hit Limerick's underworld will change the way you look at Ireland forever’ – Alex Marwood, author of THE WICKED GIRLS

‘This thrilling tale about secrets that lie beneath a seemingly tranquil marriage will be a strong choice for readers who enjoyed Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train and authors such as Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies).’ – Library Journal

‘MacDonald toys with the reader, leading right then feinting left with plot twists that genuinely surprise. Infidelity, deception, revenge, and murder all come into play, but the big thrill here is the constant undermining of assumptions.’ – Kirkus Reviews

‘MacDonald gradually reveals the secrets of the two families, each with a preteen daughter and younger son, as the identity of the killer—seemingly so obvious—is brought into question, and suspense builds toward a potentially lethal climax. A skillfully wrought thriller that exposes the dangers of secrecy.’ – Booklist

‘Siobhán MacDonald's gripping novel commands your attention from the very beginning’ – InStyle

 About the author:

 Born in Cork, Siobhan studied in Galway, worked as a technical writer in Scotland for ten years, and then in France, before returning to Ireland. She lives in Limerick with her husband and two sons.

Her previous novel THE BLUE POOL was published in 2015 by Piper, in Germany to.

Visit Siobhan's Website

Siobhan on Twitter