CHRISTOPHER NICHOLSON’S CAPTIVATING AMONG THE SUMMER SNOWS LONGLISTED FOR THE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE 2017

Christopher Nicholson’s AMONG THE SUMMER SNOWS, a contemplative journey to discover the last snows in the Scottish Highlands, has been longlisted for the 2017 Highland Book Prize. AMONG THE SUMMER SNOWS, published by September Publishing in 2017, was also one of six books shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature last year. The judging panel described the book as ‘lyrical and elegaic’.

The Highland Book Prize is an annual prize established in 2017 to promote high quality published works that recognise the Highlands for its strong cultural heritage and its magnificent landscape. Presented by the Highland Society of London and facilitated by Moniack Mhor Writers’ Centre, the prize aims to bring recognition to literature created in or about the Highlands, and is open to fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

The shortlist will be announced in April. The winner will be revealed in May at the Ullapool Book Festival and will receive £1000 and a writing retreat at Moniack Mhor.

As the summer draws to a close, a few snow beds – some as big as icebergs – survive in the Scottish Highlands. Christopher Nicholson's AMONG THE SUMMER SNOWS is both a celebration of these great, icy relics and an intensely personal meditation on their significance. A book to delight all those interested in mountains and snow, full of vivid description and anecdote, it explores the meanings of nature, beauty and mortality in the twenty-first century. Chris Townsend of Outdoors Magazine describes it as ‘Superb’ and ‘Destined to be come a classic of mountain literature.’

Christopher Nicholson is the author of three novels, including THE ELEPHANT KEEPER (Fourth Estate, 2009), shortlisted for the Costa Prize in 2009. In 2011 the novel was adapted for BBC Radio 4 and shortlisted for the Encore Award. His novel WINTER, about Thomas Hardy’s later life and the young actress who became his last muse, was published in 2014 by Fourth Estate and dramatized for BBC Radio as TESS IN WINTER. He has lived near Shaftesbury in Dorset for the past thirty years.

AMONG THE SUMMER SNOWS was selected by The Telegraph as one of the best Christmas books for armchair travellers in December.

Visit Christopher’s website or follow him on Twitter.

Praise for AMONG THE SUMMER SNOWS:

‘Destined to become a classic of mountain literature. Superb.’ – Chris Townsend, Outdoors

‘Lyrical and elegaic, this debut is a tender account of an unusual fascination with the remaining snows of the Scottish Highlands. Nicholson offers us a wry, self-aware take on the relationship between humans and the changed (and changing) natural world.’ – Boardman Tasker

‘It’s a long while since I read a book that made me laugh and cry within just a few pages … A wrong-footing marvel of a book … touching both death’s void, and love, and the beauty of the natural world at one and the same time and in a way that is all the more powerful for its restraint.’ – Books from Scotland

‘A beautiful book about love and loss, fragility and chance, the wide world and the near world . . . full of intense light and colour, extraordinary glimpses, moving insights and subtle humour.' – Richard Kerridge, author of Cold Blood

‘This is a startlingly beautiful book… There’s a sense of quiet resilience and hope throughout, the renewal of life even in the blinding awareness of one’s own fragility…AMONG THE SUMMER SNOWS is at once haunting, moving, silent, and profoundly beautiful. An essential read for chionophiles and lovers of good landscape and nature writing.’ – Alex Roddie, The Great Outdoors

‘A glorious little book, beautifully produced’ – Michael Kerr, The Telegraph, The best Christmas books for armchair travellers

CITY WITHOUT STARS published today!

‘Too gripping to put down’ – Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express S Magazine

CITY WITHOUT STARS, the epic follow up to Tim Baker’s sensational debut, FEVER CITY is published by Faber today. FEVER CITY was shortlisted for the CWA’s John Creasey New Blood Dagger award, and nominated for the Private Eye Writers of America’s 2017 Shamus Award.

A tale of corruption, cartels and crime, CITY WITHOUT STARS,  explores Mexico’s criminal underworld and the secrets that lurk there.

In Ciudad Real, Mexico, a deadly war between rival cartels is erupting, and hundreds of female sweat-shop workers are being murdered. As his police superiors start shutting down his investigation, Fuentes suspects most of his colleagues are on the payroll of narco kingpin, El Santo. Meanwhile, despairing union activist, Pilar, decides to take social justice into her own hands. But if she wants to stop the killings, she’s going to have to ignore all her instincts and accept the help of Fuentes. When the name of Mexico’s saintly orphan rescuer, Padre Márcio, keeps resurfacing, Pilar and Fuentes begin to realise how deep the cover-up goes.

Be sure to check out the blog tour which has already begun, with Raven Crime Reads calling CITY WITHOUT STARS:

‘An intense, emotive and completely absorbing read, suffused with a violent energy, and with an unrelenting pace to its narrative. It heightens the reader’s senses and imagination throughout, completely enveloping the reader in this corrupt and violent society, with instances of intense human frailty and moments of strength, underpinned by precise description, and flurries of dark humour.’

Follow Tim on Twitter

Born in Sydney, Tim Baker lived in Rome and Madrid before moving to Paris, where he wrote about jazz. He has worked on film projects in India, China, Mexico, Brazil and Australia, and currently lives in the South of France with his wife, their son, and two rescue animals, a dog and a cat.

Praise for CITY WITHOUT STARS

'Beautifully plotted, with excellent characterisation and a highly developed social conscience, CITY WITHOUT STARS is an intelligent thriller that moves at a breath-taking pace.' Nicholas Searle, author of THE GOOD LIAR

'One of those books that just won't let you go ... An exhilarating and kaleidoscopic novel that will also break your heart.' Stav Sherez author of A DARK REDEMPTION and THE INTRUSIONS

‘Intricately plotted…a fascinating, immersive page-turning read’ – Purity Brown, Crime Fiction Lovers

Praise for FEVER CITY:

‘[A] remarkable first novel …inspired writing, memorable characters and an exhilarating, all but overpowering story.’ – Patrick Anderson, Washington Post

‘Ambitious debut… a bare knuckle take… a noirish storm of corruption, violence and depravity…’ —The New York Times, USA

An inventive take on the great American conspiracy theory...’ —The Sunday Times, Crime Club Newsletter January Picks 2016

‘Sprawling, ambitious and atmospheric…this debut author is the natural successor to such hallowed crime writers as Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy.’—Stylist UK

'Tim Baker paints a lurid, sinister portrait of mid-century America, skilfully layering fact and fiction in a way that will forever change the way you think about the Kennedy assassination. An impressive debut.' – Peter Swanson

SISONKE MSIMANG’S ‘FIERCE’ MEMOIR OF EXILE, POLITICS AND HOME TO BE PUBLISHED BY WORLD EDITIONS & TEXT BOOKS

World Editions have beaten off competition to win rights to Sisonke Msimang’s debut ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY, a ‘frank, fierce and insightful book’ inspired by the author’s global upbringing. World Editions publisher Judith Uyterlinde bought World English Language rights (excluding Southern Africa and ANZ) from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann and will publish in the UK and the US in September 2018. Michael Heyward of Text Publishing also won an auction for ANZ rights and will publish in Australia in August 2018. Translation rights are handled by Blake Friedmann.

ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY is already a bestseller in South Africa, published by Jonathan Ball, who won an earlier multi-publisher auction there. It featured in Quartz and Books Live ‘best of’ lists as one of the most popular South African books of 2017.

Sisonke is an acclaimed writer, journalist and political commentator. Her TED Talk on storytelling and what to do when a story moves you has been viewed more than one million times.

ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY is a memoir of ‘soul and survival’, of a young girl’s path to womanhood, and from displacement to engagement, via many homes.  From her peripatetic childhood in a family of political exiles – from Zambia to Kenya to Canada and beyond – the book tracks formative moments in her personal and political life, including the euphoria at return to the new South Africa, the disillusionment at new political elites, and the ugly face of racism and xenophobia. ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY is also an intimate story, a testament to family bonds and sisterhood.

Taiye Selasi selected ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY in The Guardian as one of her favourite reads of 2017. She described it as ‘my favourite kind of memoir, so lyrical and dreamlike that it reads like a novel. It’s an artful meditation on exile and return, womanhood and motherhood unfolding against the backdrop of post-apartheid South African politics. Graça Machel writes, ‘Brutally and uncompromisingly honest, Sisonke’s beautifully crafted storytelling enriches the already extraordinary pool of young African women writers of our time.’

Judith Uyterlinde says, ‘We are thrilled to be publishing ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY.  Sisonke has an incredibly strong voice – the voice of a new generation of World Citizens. She tells a unique story that has it all: it’s intelligent, honest, moving, compelling, funny, philosophical and, above all, inspiring. The comparison with writers as Arundhati Roy and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is no exaggeration. Sisonke Msimang truly is an important author – I just love her book from the bottom of my heart.’

Michael Heyward says: 'ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY is more than Sisonke Msimang’s inspiring story – it’s a bracingly honest and powerfully written account of politics and culture, family and love which describes the life of a wanderer who now calls Australia home. We have no doubt about the contribution that Sisonke can make to the Australian conversation and could not be more thrilled to be publishing her remarkable book.'
 

More Praise for ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY

‘A lyrical and admirably subtle exploration of how elusive our place in the world is ... a reader’s delight.’ – Eusebius McKaiser

‘Sisonke Msimang kindles a new fire in our store of memoir, a fire that will warm and singe and sear for a long, long while.’ – Njabulo S. Ndebele, author of Fools and Other Stories and The Cry of Winnie Mandela

‘A brave and intimate journey. Msimang delivers a deep call for fierce courage in the face of hypocrisy and compassion when faced with our shared humanity.’ – Yewande Omotoso, author of Bom Boy and The Woman Next Door

‘If you appreciate the dance between memory, fiction, history and nostalgia (with a dash of vulnerability for good measure), ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY is highly recommended.’ – Anthambile Masola, Mail & Guardian

‘ALWAYS ANOTHER COUNTRY is a chronicle of a coming of age, for both a woman and a young democracy. Sisonke Msimang is one of the celebrated voices commenting on the South African present – often humorously, sometimes deeply movingly.’ – Essays of Africa

 
See Sisonke’s website

Follow Sisonke on Twitter

Ted Allbeury’s Spy Classic THE TWENTIETH DAY OF JANUARY Republished Today

Hodder & Stoughton are publishing a new edition of Ted Allbeury’s Cold War conspiracy thriller THE TWENTIETH DAY OF JANUARY today in paperback, as well as the first unabridged audiobook of the novel. First published in 1980, the period in which the spy classic is set, THE TWENTHIETH DAY OF JANUARY explores the consequences of a presidential campaign influenced by Russian forces. Its reissue is set 'to coincide with the current political climate'.

What if the Soviet Union gained control over the US Presidency?

SIS agent James Mackay fears that this may already be happening when he realises the newly elected president's press secretary is a former communist radical with links to the KGB.

When the witnesses who support his suspicions are systematically eliminated, MacKay must race against time to prove that the President-Elect is not his own man before Inauguration Day and avoid a national catastrophe.

THE TWENTIETH DAY was re-published in the US last year by Dover Editions.

Ted Allbeury was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the UK Intelligence Corps during World War II, and later an executive in marketing, advertising and radio. He began his writing career in the early 1970s and became well known for his espionage novels, but also published one general novel, THE CHOICE, and a short story collection, OTHER KINDS OF TREASON. His novels have been published in twenty-three languages, including Russian. He died in 2005. 

Praise for Ted Allbeury

‘No one since le Carré has mapped the lonely lunar landscape of espionage better than Allbeury.’ – Observer

'The doyen of contemporary spy writers.' – Daily Telegraph

‘The most consistently inventive of our novelists of espionage, the one that other thriller writers point to as the finest craftsman among them.’ – The Guardian

'Certain things are constants, and Ted Allbeury is one. Book after book, the prolific British writer of espionage tales has maintained a superior level.' – New York Times

‘No one picks through the intelligence maze with more authority or humanity than Allbeury.’ – The Sunday Times

SENSATIONAL DEBUT, BLOODY JANUARY BY ALAN PARKS, PUBLISHED TODAY

Published by Canongate today in hardback and ebook, Alan Parks’ debut is Tartan Noir at its best. BLOODY JANUARY is the first in a new crime series set in 1970s Glasgow, revealing the dark underbelly of the city and the people who control it. Fans of Ian Rankin, Louise Welsh and William McIlvanney will be riveted by this gritty crime novel and its hard-edged detective.

When a teenage boy shoots a young woman dead in the middle of a busy Glasgow street and then commits suicide, Detective Harry McCoy is sure of one thing. It wasn’t a random act of violence.

With his new partner in tow, McCoy uses his underworld network to lead the investigation but soon runs up against a secret society led by Glasgow’s wealthiest family, the Dunlops.

McCoy’s boss doesn’t want him to investigate. The Dunlops seem untouchable. But McCoy has other ideas …

In the lead up to its publication, an extraordinary amount of praise has flooded in for BLOODY JANUARY from the likes of Ian Rankin, Peter May, Louise Welsh, Alex Gray and many more. Lesley Kelly (author of THE HEALTH OF STRANGERS) pronounced it as ‘a deliciously dark read’ and Ian Rankin described it as ‘an old-school cop novel written with wit and economy . . . Think McIlvanney or Get Carter.’

After a packed out event at Edinburgh literary festival, Alan was featured in a Bookseller double-page interview, with BLOODY JANUARY a pick of the month for the December Fiction preview. The novel also featured on Netgalley’s Cream of Crime newsletter, and Pigeonhole began to serialise the book in the two weeks leading to its official release.

There will be more appearances from Alan in 2018, with panels booked for several writing festivals, a Glasgow book launch, and several national radio interviews planned.

The excitement surrounding this phenomenal debut has led to deals with Euromedia in Czech, Ikar in Slovakia and Nemesis in Turkey. In the US, Europa Editions will publish BLOODY JANUARY as a lead title for their crime-list relaunch.

Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city as well as spending time in London.

Follow Alan on Twitter

Praise for BLOODY JANUARY

‘An old-school cop novel written with wit and economy… Think McIlvanney or Get Carter’ – Ian Rankin

‘Vivid and evocative. 1970s Glasgow hewn from flesh and drawn in blood.’ – Peter May

‘Bloody and brilliant. This smasher from Alan Parks is a reminder of how dark Glasgow used to be’ – Louise Welsh

‘BLOODY JANUARY firmly sets Alan Parks in the same league as
Ian Rankin and Louise Welsh’ – Sarah Pinborough

‘A brilliant debut. Taut, violent and as close as you'll get to 1970s Glasgow without a TARDIS. Parks is a natural successor to William McIIvanney’ – John Niven

‘A deliciously dark read. One to be read with the lights on and the doors locked, this book is a must-have for lovers of McIlvanney and all things noir’ – Lesley Kelly

‘An authentic freefall through Glasgow’s criminal underworld from a great, intriguing new Scottish voice’ – Jenni Fagan

‘BLOODY JANUARY is seriously good’ – Alex Gray

‘So well written I couldn’t believe it was a debut’ – Russel McLean

‘A gripping and well crafted debut’ – Quintin Jardine