THE OTHER EXILE: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF FERNÃO LOPES, THE ISLAND OF ST HELENA AND THE MEANING OF HUMAN SOLITUDE

Abdul Rahman Azzam's incredible book is published today by Icon Books. THE OTHER EXILE is an historical adventure story, a tale of a real-life Robinson Crusoe and his total retreat from society.

Azzam presents, through an expertly-paced narrative, the largely untold story of 16th Century Portuguese nobleman Fernao Lopes. In 1506 Fernão Lopes, a member of his country’s minor nobility, travelled to Goa in search of honour and wealth. There he converted to Islam, married a Muslim, fought his former countrymen, and was eventually captured – his nose and hands publicly cut off for treachery. Eventually sailing for home, he jumped ship at St. Helena, off the coast of Southern Africa, becoming the island’s first inhabitant, with only a black cockerel for company.

Based on ground-breaking research by A R Azzam, author of the acclaimed SALADIN (Longman, 2007), THE OTHER EXILE is at once a historical adventure story and a meditation on solitude, remoteness and the soul’s inward journey. It is a story about redemption in one of the darkest periods in Europe and the tale of the haunting relationship between man and wild nature.

Tom Webber, commissioning editor at Icon Books says, ‘the extraordinary story of Fernao Lopes immediately captures the imagination, and Abdul Rahman Azzams’s careful and lyrical narrative voice is perfectly suited to telling it. Lopes lived a life of amazing contrasts, and his remarkable journey from adventurer to desert-island dwelling hermit is a fascinatingly resonant one of a longing for peace and self-knowledge that has instant appeal.’

Follow the author on Twitter here

About the author

Dr Abdul Rahman Azzam is a graduate of Oxford University where he completed his BA and PhD in history. He is the author of RUMI AND THE KINGDOM OF JOY (Muhammadi Trust, 2000) and in 2007 Longman published his biography of Saladin to critical acclaim.  The Edinburgh Evening News called it ‘a comprehensive survey not just of the man, but of the age in which he lived’, the FT Weekend described it as ‘absorbing’ and The Irish News praised the book as ‘timely and well-written'. SALADIN was a bestseller when published in Arabic and was selected in Jordan as one of the top one hundred books on Islam.

Born in Egypt, Abdul Rahman is currently based in Qatar where he works as an advisor to the Royal Family. Currently completing his next book, THE OTHER EXILE, he has begun research on another: BEYOND THE OCEAN OF FOGS: Abu Bakkari and the Quest to Discover the Americas.

Absolute Press acquires Leah Hyslop’s debut cookbook, Made in London

Jon Croft, Publisher at Absolute Press, has acquired World rights to Made in London, at auction, from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann Agency. The book will be published on 3 May 2018.

The first book from Sainsbury’s Magazine’s Food Director, Leah Hyslop, Made in London offers a joyful celebration of the city and its food, past and present. Featuring recipes invented in the city, such as the 18th century treat Chelsea buns (a favourite of King George II) and Omelette Arnold Bennett (created for the famous writer while staying at the Savoy Hotel), the book also includes exciting new dishes inspired by Leah’s culinary adventures around the capital, entertaining histories about London’s food – including the tale of the 18th century 'gin craze', a profile of the East End’s most beloved greasy spoon and why Scotch eggs might have actually been invented in a London department store – and creates a fresh look at London’s vibrant food scene and its incredible history.

Jon Croft describes Made in London and Leah as ‘great additions to the Absolute list. Food and drink flow through London’s history like the Thames, and Leah expertly weaves together tales of this history with enticing recipes’. 

Leah Hyslop was born in London and is a food journalist and editor. After seven years at The Telegraph, where she wrote the weekly Saturday column Readers’ Recipes, she joined Sainsbury’s Magazine as Food Director in 2016. She now lives in East London, where she is the proud mother of a vast collection of cake tins.

Follow Leah on Twitter @LeahHyslop 

For further information contact Ellen Williams in the Bloomsbury press office

T: 020 7631 5723, E: ellen.williams@bloomsbury.com

Changing the Story: The Booktrade Charity and Hachette.

As part of its Changing the Story initiative (launched in 2016), Hachette UK has partnered with the Book Trade Charity (BTBS), to offer subsidised accommodation in London to people starting their careers in publishing for whom London is otherwise prohibitively expensive. This offer will also be open to successful applicants for the Hachette BAME trainee programme, the first of whom will begin their 12-month paid internship in September.

In January, Hachette made a donation to BTBS in memory of Carole Blake - a past President and a huge supporter of the charity. This donation will help fund the complete refurbishment of one of the four blocks of The Bookbinders’ Cottages in Barnet about to be undertaken by the charity. Work is due to be completed on the cottages by September, when the first five trainees will begin their year with Hachette. In addition to being paid entry-level salaries, the trainees will be offered subsidised accommodation in the London flats for up to a 6-month fixed period. Hachette will consider other applications for the subsidised accommodation from people starting out on their careers, on a needs basis.

Changing the Story is an ongoing project focusing on diversity and inclusion, chaired by David Shelley, devised and run by staff at Hachette.  In addition to the 12-month trainee scheme, other initiatives include Hachette’s outreach programme into schools, its diverse mentoring programme and 8-week paid internship programme. Further initiatives arising from the project will be announced in due course.

David Shelley commented: ‘I am so thrilled that Hachette and BTBS are working in partnership on this project. The cost of accommodation in London can be such a barrier to entry to our industry, and I hope this will help some talented people get a start in publishing who would otherwise not have been able to do so.’

David Hicks, of BTBS, said: ‘This is a very exciting time for The Book Trade Charity. We have long been conscious that we need to do more to support younger people entering the trade. Over the last two years we have launched two initiatives, helping to fund interns on work placement, and a wide-ranging scheme to cover a variety of costs young people have in finding employment.  Our partnership with Hachette builds on this to address the fundamental issue of affordable housing, and with the resources of Bookbinders Charitable Society, following the merger last October, this support can now become a reality.’

The Carole Blake Open Doors Project is also supported by BTBS, and will offer at least six days of work shadowing to a selected applicant over a two-week period, including funding for travel and up to eight nights’ accommodation in London. The programme, which will run twice a year, will include close mentorship with Blake Friedmann’s book agents, the opportunity to attend selected meetings with editors and clients, and the chance to be involved in every aspect of day-to-day life as an agent. It is intended that candidates will come away from the project with varied knowledge of working for a leading literary agency, the beginnings of new and essential relationships in the publishing industry, and some excellent experience to include on their CVs.

To find out more about the CBODP, and apply for future placements, click here:
http://blakefriedmann.co.uk/carole-blake-open-doors-project

To find out more about Hachette’s Fresh Chapters internship initiative, click here: http://freshchapters.co.uk/index.php

JESSE LONCRAINE'S IN THE FIELD published by blue mark books today

IN THE FIELD, the remarkable debut novel by Jesse Loncraine, is published today by Blue Mark Books. The launch was celebrated recently at Daunt Books in Marylebone, where the audience enjoyed hearing Jesse read, and a speech by Jesse’s editor, Toby Fountaine.

IN THE FIELD follows Orin Perth, who disappears in East Africa after delivering a devastating article on Christine Lokeka, whose 12 year-old son, Paul, has been snatched by the militia that left her husband dead. Orin’s mother Liz, a hardened war reporter, embarks on a search to find her estranged son, enlisting the help of Christine. As Liz and Christine deal with their sons’ disappearances, Orin and Paul struggle to stay alive without losing their humanity in the process. IN THE FIELD grapples with the dilemmas of conflict journalism, and how far familial bonds will stretch when lives are at stake.

W F Howes publish the audiobook, and we have just received a first offer for Dutch rights.

Praise for IN THE FIELD

‘In The Field packs a real punch. Jesse Loncraine leads you confidently through a dark and often desperate world. His writing is unsparing and unsentimental yet, at times, moves you close to tears’ -  Michael Palin

‘The world of In the Field is dangerous, very dangerous.  It is Jesse Loncraine’s gift to take you there, scary as it is, but reassure you that love and humanity can survive. His characters, however bizarre their experiences, are all perfectly believable. The reader wants them all to survive and thrive. Hence the excitement to the very last page of this fully-achieved début: a page-turner par excellence.’ – Ian McKellen

‘Terrifying, heartbreaking and essential — IN THE FIELD is a stunning achievement. Loncraine’s prose is precise and beautiful; his scope and ambition extraordinary. A timely novel about a forgotten war, IN THE FIELD does what good fiction is supposed to: reveal the truth without flinching. It will squeeze your heart until it bursts. A remarkable new talent.’ – Benjamin Johncock

About the Author

Jesse Loncraine studied English at Bristol, and Violence and Conflict at SOAS. He moved to New York at 24 where he worked variously in documentary film, international criminal law, and as a gardener. His work for Skylight Pictures (in conjunction with the International Criminal Court) disseminating information about the prosecution of war crimes took him to Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lebanon. Jesse was born in London in 1985. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in Oakland, California. The White Review has previously published his short stories. IN THE FIELD is his first novel.

THE GHOST WHO BLED published today by Comma Press

THE GHOST WHO BLED, Gregory Norminton's collection of ‘sublime’ short stories, is published out now in the UK, published by Comma Press. 'Witty, intelligent, crunchily written, Norminton’s collection is pure reading pleasure.”  says Neel Mukherjee, the Booker-shortlisted author of The Lives of Others.

Spanning centuries and continents, the stories in this collection amount to a tour de force of literary worldbuilding. From deeply insecure time travellers to medieval mystics and futuristic body modification cults, Norminton’s characters find themselves torn between conflicting impulses – temptation and fortitude, hubris and shame, longing and regret. By turns sad, strange and darkly comic, THE GHOST WHO BLED reveals a master storyteller of incredible range.

Listen to Gregory chatting about the book on BBC Radio Sheffield here.

Gregory’s new novel THE DEVIL'S HIGHWAY will be published by 4th Estate in Spring 2018.

Visit Gregory’s website here.

Follow Gregory on Twitter here.

Praise for THE GHOST WHO BLED:

'This is a sublime collection of short stories by a writer whose breath-taking flexibility of style gives life to an array of different voices... Unfailingly beautiful, deceptively simple and lyrically powerful' — Claire Looby, The Irish Times

'There is a yesteryear quality to much of Gregory Norminton’s writing, at least in these stories, several of which look backward in style to classics of the genre.' — Peter Gordon, Asian Review of Books

'Witty, intelligent, crunchily written, Norminton’s collection is pure reading pleasure.” - Neel Mukherjee (Booker-shortlisted author of The Lives of Others)

'All the doors of the imagination are open to Gregory Norminton, the author of micro-fictions and exuberantly long novels; this collection roves magnificently from one side of the world to the other, bringing together people and their predicaments as only its author can. Read it and be transported, too.' — Michael Caines (The TLS)

‘Gregory Norminton’s tautly written, mordant short stories make the reader sit up and think. Startlingly original imagery and that rare thing, moral and political bite.’ – Maggie Gee

‘Norminton's beautifully written stories capture the range and complexity of life with wit and compassion, insight and pathos: hugely enjoyable, very much recommended.’ — James Miller (The Lost Boys, Sunshine State)

‘These wonderfully accomplished stories range over time and place, but what holds them together, other than the mastery of the language and the sheer gift of storytelling displayed, is their constant, complex humanity, and the sense that being human is only part of being something larger, what the narrator of the title story calls "the sufficient planet of home."' — Charles Lambert (The Children's Home)

‘Anything by Gregory Norminton is a pleasure to read.’ — Time Out