It is with huge sadness that we must share the news that our beloved mentor, colleague and friend Carole Blake died last night. The loss of such an incredible woman so soon is not something any of us feel prepared for, but we are grateful that she lived so fully to the last, and that she died swiftly and painlessly, on being readmitted to hospital last night, with Julian by her side.
Isobel and Julian and all at Blake Friedmann
Helen Garnons-Williams, Publishing Director at 4th Estate, has bought SLAY IN YOUR LANE: The Black Girl Bible by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene, in a hotly-contested auction involving nine publishers, from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann Agency. Rights secured are British Commonwealth excl. Canada. Publication is scheduled for Spring, 2018.
SLAY IN YOUR LANE is a guide to life for a generation of black British women inspired to make Lemonade out of lemons, à la Beyonce. Filling a keenly-felt void in books focused on their experiences, SLAY IN YOUR LANE touches on work, dating, representation, education and health, and takes a look at how being black and female affects each of these areas - as told by a bevy of successful black women. It’s about recognising and celebrating the strides black British women have already made, whilst inspiring those who want to do the same and challenging complacency and status quo to forge a better, visible future.
Infectiously smart, funny and furious, Yomi and Elizabeth are part of an ongoing conversation online about the recent crop of inspirational books, and the women that write them. For them, the question is: where is our voice? Between Sandberg's Lean In and Amoruso's #GirlBoss, what is out there for black British women trying to navigate their formative years in a world in which they're largely sidelined?
SLAY IN YOUR LANE is the answer. Yomi and Elizabeth jump into the conversation on behalf of their friends and themselves, tackling issues unique to being young, female and black. From 25 year-old beauty entrepreneur Florence Adepoju to BAFTA award-winning director Amma Asante, they have tracked down successful black British women across a variety of industries, and have interviewed them throughout the book, pulling them into the spotlight alongside their own experiences. Yomi and Elizabeth hope to highlight the stories of some of the country’s most accomplished and yet simultaneously underrepresented women.
The idea is to build a bright and brilliant campaign around SLAY IN YOUR LANE, utilising regular media, social media platforms (#SIYL), and spreading the word via the women involved. A call to action for black British women, the book not only aims to motivate and galvanise them but to inspire and enlighten all to the reality of their experiences.
Yomi and Elizabeth are well aware that black women may have been confined to a proverbial lane. But that doesn’t mean they won’t slay in and outside of it.
Twitter: @slayinyourlane
Peter James’ twelfth book in his enormously successful Roy Grace series is published in paperback in the UK 20 October 2016 by Pan Macmillan. Following YOU ARE DEAD, which spent 5 weeks at the top of the UK bestseller charts last year, LOVE YOU DEAD puts Roy Grace up against his most venomous adversary yet, a black widow whose ruthlessness is not to be underestimated. Earlier this month, Peter James was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger award, one of the most prestigious awards in crime writing.
An ugly duckling as a child, Jodie Bentley had two dreams in life – to be beautiful and rich. She's achieved the first, with a little help from a plastic surgeon, and now she's working hard on the second. Her philosophy on money is simple: you can either earn it or marry it. Marrying it is easy, it's getting rid of the husband afterwards that's harder, that takes real skill. But hey, practice makes perfect…
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is feeling the pressure from his superiors, his previous case is still giving him sleepless nights, there have been major developments with his missing wife Sandy, and an old adversary is back. But worse than all of this, he now believes a Black Widow is operating in his city. One with a venomous mind… and venomous skills. Soon Grace comes to the frightening realisation that he may have underestimated just how dangerous this lady is.
LOVE YOU DEAD has also recently been published in the US along with Peter’s latest standalone THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL, a thrilling ghost story, and A TWIST OF THE KNIFE, Peter’s first collection of short stories.
LOVE YOU DEAD is also sold in Russia, France, Finland, Israel, Norway and Holland, with many other options outstanding.
Praise for LOVE YOU DEAD and Peter James
‘Sinister and riveting… Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ – Lee Child
‘James has said he aims to make each book better than the last, and he has definitely achieved that with his latest work. With cliffhanger endings to each chapter keeping the reader in suspense and the gripping cat-and-mouse relationship between the cops and criminal, LOVE YOU DEAD is another hit in the author's career.’ – Herald Scotland
‘Quite brilliant… Peter James’s latest Roy Grace novel is to die for!’ – Arnie Wilson, Huffington Post
‘By the straightforward expedient of using carefully crafted, well-honed narratives with a strong sense of place and a sure grasp of character, James has slowly but surely worked his way towards an almost unassailable position as one of Britain's best-loved crime writers.’ – Barry Forshaw
Find out more about Peter James at Blake Friedmann's, Pan Macmillan's and Peter’s websites and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
A new novel from award-winning poet and novelist Achmat Dangor will be published in southern Africa under the PICADOR AFRICA imprint next year, alongside a new edition of the Booker-shortlisted novel BITTER FRUIT, which will be published as part of the Picador Africa Classics series.
Dangor, whose works include KAFKA’S CURSE (1997) and the 2004 Booker-shortlisted BITTER FRUIT, and STRANGE PILGRIMAGES (2013), an acclaimed collection of short stories, lives and works in Johannesburg. His novels have been translated into 14 languages.
‘I am honoured that Pan Macmillan is to publish my new novel and reissue BITTER FRUIT. Both books explore, through eyes of ordinary people, the unresolved legacies of our troubled past.’ – Achmat Dangor
Andrea Nattrass, Dangor’s publisher at Pan Macmillan said: ‘I am delighted that Pan Macmillan will have the opportunity to work with Achmat Dangor to publish his new novel in 2017, as well as to bring an absolute classic, in BITTER FRUIT, back to our local bookstores and readers. Achmat’s writing is a national literary treasure.’
His agent, Isobel Dixon, added ‘BITTER FRUIT is one of the great classics of South African literature, a searing novel still so relevant in so many ways. I’m thrilled that it will reach new readers under the Picador Africa Classics banner, and that Pan Macmillan will also be publishing an exciting new novel by Achmat next year.’
For more information on Achmat and his work, click here.
This week, acclaimed British writer Peter James has received one of the most prestigious awards in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. The award is given out annually to one writer in recognition of excellence and success across their whole career.
Author of the bestselling, much-loved Roy Grace series as well as a number of gripping standalone novels, Peter has been published in 37 languages and has won a number of many international awards including the US Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel in 2012. In 2015 he was voted by WH Smith readers as The Best Crime Author of All Time.
James Runcie, making the opening speech of the Crime Awards evening, managed to reference almost all of Peter’s Roy Grace titles in a very funny sequence that had the whole room laughing.
Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association Len Tyler said that Peter James combines up-to-the-minute accuracy with tight plotting and a fast pace and he considers James to be the King of the Police Procedural.
Peter said he was ‘thrilled and immensely proud’ to win the award, adding: ‘Thanks to all of you at the wonderful Crime Writers Association for giving me an honour which, when I was first published all those years back, was one I could only dream of and never ever believed could one day become a reality.’
Following YOU ARE DEAD, Peter’s 11th novel in the bestselling Roy Grace series which sat for five weeks at the top of the UK bestseller chart, Peter’s new novel LOVE YOU DEAD will be published in paperback 20 October 2016. This new gripping read sees Roy Grace come up against black widow Jodie Bentley, perhaps his most venomous adversary yet.
Peter has also recently launched his own ‘author crime-hub’ YouTube channel, Peter James TV. The channel will feature exclusive interviews with household names in crime including RL Stine, Martina Cole, Lee Child and Paula Hawkins, as well as behind the scenes research footage for his bestselling Roy Grace series.
Praise for Peter James
'Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business.' – Karin Slaughter
'Exceptional, knock-your-socks-off.' – Washington Post
‘Sinister and riveting… Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ – Lee Child
Find out more about Peter James at Blake Friedmann's, Pan Macmillan's and Peter’s websites and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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