ELIZABETH CHADWICK STRIKES THREE-BOOK DEAL WITH SPHERE

Sphere has acquired three new historical novels by internationally bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick: two standalone untitled works of fiction and THE COMING OF THE WOLF – a prequel to Elizabeth’s first and bestselling novel THE WILD HUNT.

Viola Hayden, commissioning editor for Sphere Fiction, acquired UK & Commonwealth rights, including Canada, from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann.

The first of the two standalone novels will focus on William Marshal’s granddaughter Joanna, and her controversial marriage to King Henry III’s half-brother William de Valence, while her second will bring to life Eleanor of Castile, wife to Henry III's eldest son Edward.

Elizabeth Chadwick said: I am enormously pleased to be working on this new three book deal with my editor Viola Hayden and the fabulous team at Sphere.  The first novel, set in the thirteenth century, is the story of the remarkable, resourceful Joanna de Munchensey, and the dangers she faced when plucked from obscurity and placed centre stage at the heart of a power struggle that threatened to destroy her entire family.  It happened 700 years ago, but researching this fascinating woman, it became increasingly clear to me how much one society holds up a mirror to the other and that what happened then is happening right now. 

Viola Hayden said: I am thrilled to have three new Elizabeth Chadwick novels on the Sphere Fiction list. Elizabeth is an absolute queen of her genre, and Little, Brown are proud to be the publisher of all of her books. With these new novels I know Elizabeth will continue to do what she does best: uncover little known but fascinating historical figures and bring them back to life with her inimitable mix of impeccable research and captivating storytelling.   

Isobel Dixon said: It’s always exciting to ink a contract for new Elizabeth Chadwick books, awaiting the mix of exhilarating action, intrigue and emotion she delivers through her vivid characters. Her new heroine Joanna de Munchensey is no exception, and her courage in the face of challenge will also speak to contemporary times. I’m thrilled too that Sphere will bring readers a special treat with THE COMING OF THE WOLF, the prequel to THE WILD HUNT – which was one of the very first books I read (and absolutely loved) at Blake Friedmann when I joined (many years ago!).

THE COMING OF THE WOLF will publish in hardback, trade paperback, ebook and audio in August 2020 – thirty years after first publication of THE WILD HUNT – and the subsequent two novels are slated for publication in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Praise for Elizabeth Chadwick
‘This is historical fiction at its best.’ – The Bookseller

‘An author who makes historical fiction come gloriously alive.’ – The Times

‘Picking up an Elizabeth Chadwick novel is like having a Bentley draw up at your door: you know you are in for a sumptuous ride.’ — Daily Telegraph

‘One of Elizabeth Chadwick’s strengths is her stunning grasp of historical detail…Her characters are beguiling and the story is intriguing and very enjoyable.’ – Barbara Erskine

About the Author
A prize-winning historical novelist and New York Times bestseller, published in 22 languages, with over 1 million copies of her work sold in the UK alone, she regularly features in the UK bestseller lists. She was commissioned to write the novel to tie in to the film FIRST KNIGHT starring Sean Connery and Richard Gere (World: Newmarket Press, NY; sold to 9 languages). Member of the Royal Historical Society, her research is respected by scholars.

A hat-trick of longlistings for Edward Carey’s LITTLE, with foreign rights sold in 11 territories!

Edward Carey’s LITTLE, published in the UK by Gallic Books and in the US and Canada by Riverhead, has been longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, the Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize. The Walter Scott Prize celebrates “quality, innovation and longevity of writing in the English language, and is open to books first published in the previous year in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth”. The Rathbones Folio Prize is awarded to “works of literature in which the subjects being explored achieve their most perfect and thrilling expression”, and the Ondaatje Prize is given to a book of the highest literary merit “which best evokes the spirit of a place”.

Foreign rights to LITTLE meanwhile have been sold in 11 territories so far, including the Czech Republic (Argo), France (Cherche-Midi), Germany (Beck), Holland (Ambo Anthos), Hungary (Europa), Italy (La Nave di Teseo), Japan (Sogensha), Korea (Arcade Publishing), Poland (Proszynski), Russia (Eksmo) and Turkey (Ithaki).

LITTLE is the wry, macabre, unforgettable tale of an ambitious orphan in Revolutionary Paris, befriended by royalty and radicals, who transforms herself into the legendary Madame Tussaud.

In 1761, a tiny, odd-looking girl named Marie is born in a village in Switzerland. After the death of her parents, she is apprenticed to an eccentric wax sculptor and whisked off to the seamy streets of Paris, where they meet a domineering widow and her quiet, pale son. Together, they convert an abandoned monkey house into an exhibition hall for wax heads, and the spectacle becomes a sensation. As word of her artistic talent spreads, Marie is called to Versailles, where she tutors a princess and saves Marie Antoinette in childbirth. But outside the palace walls, Paris is roiling: The revolutionary mob is demanding heads, and at the wax museum, heads are what they do…

Praise for LITTLE:

‘One of the most original historical novels of the year. By turns macabre, funny, touching and oddly life-affirming, LITTLE is a remarkable achievement.’ — Nick Rennison, The Sunday Times

‘An exquisitely disturbing treasure of a novel. Sensual, unassumingly poignant, hilarious, heartbreaking, cruel, joyous: a triumph and one of the most intoxicating novels I've read.’ — Sarah Schmidt

‘A brilliant love child of the kingdom of letters.’ — Immédiatement

‘Delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising.’ — Eleanor Catton

‘Carey, an artist and playwright who has worked at Madame Tussauds in London, has turned his experience into a startlingly original novel. He finds and treasures the ironies and macabre eccentricities of Tussaud’s world. The pages are also enriched by his beautiful and haunting illustrations of body parts and anatomical models.’ – The Times

‘Edward Carey’s Gothic tale is a wry meditation on a state between life and death… A rattling narrative is fleshed out with visceral detail and illustrations by the author… It is both clever and intriguing.’ — Daily Mail

‘Don’t miss this eccentric charmer.’ — Margaret Atwood

'LITTLE is that rare thing – a unique novel with a unique and fully-realised voice, rich in deadpan wit and surgically precise observation. By turns tragic, bizarre and deeply moving LITTLE introduces readers to a heroine like no other and a book that will truly last. It is an absolute delight.' — A.L. Kennedy

‘LITTLE is an amazing achievement. Devote yourself to its first few pages and you will be sentenced to finishing it. I was thrilled not just by the story and the human grotesquerie of it, but by the narrative gallop and the prose, so often quietly startling in the application of a solitary mot juste. A compulsively readable novel, so canny and weird and surfeited with the reality of human capacity and ingenuity that I am stymied for comparison. Dickens and David Lynch? Defoe meets Margaret Atwood? Judge for yourself.’ — Gregory Maguire author of WICKED

About the Author

Novelist, artist, playwright. His debut OBSERVATORY MANSIONS (with his illustrations) was sold in 15 languages and was described by John Fowles as ‘proving the potential brilliance of the novel form’. Born in England, he teaches at the University of Austin, Texas.

Follow Edward Carey on Twitter

Visit Edward Carey's website

Blake Friedmann is hiring!

Blake Friedmann is looking to hire an assistant to work with Isobel Dixon and Kate Burke in the agency’s book department.

Duties will include:

· Reading and providing editorial feedback on submissions and manuscripts

· Managing the company’s social media and maintaining the website

· Keeping files up to date including client material, Bradbury Phillips database, and other company documents

· Liaising with authors

· Processing royalty statements and contracts

· Scheduling meetings and managing agent and author schedules

· Receptionist duties including handling the post, answering phones and other admin

We are looking for keen readers with an eye for detail, and a real passion for the book trade and a career in a literary agency. Enthusiasm and a willingness to learn are essential, as well as strong organisational skills and a good team ethic.

Candidates should apply with a CV (educational qualifications not essential) and a 500 word personal statement about why you want this job, to hattie@blakefriedmann.co.uk by midnight on Wednesday 3rd April.

Anticipated Titles of 2019

We’re delighted to have so many exciting Blake Friedmann titles published in 2019 – many of these have already been recognised as books to look out for, so here’s a taster of what’s being said …

MANDALAY: Recipes and Tales from a Burmese Kitchen by MiMi Aye (Bloomsbury Absolute, June)

‘June sees the launch of MANDALAY, a new book by MiMi Aye featuring nearly 100 simple Burmese recipes – from the national dish of mohinga (a fish chowder with rice noodles and lemongrass, traditionally served at breakfast) to lahpet thoke, a classic Burmese salad of pickled green tea leaves.’ — Olive Magazine, The 2019 Foodie Trend Report

‘Burmese food is set to become more popular with the publication of Mimi Aye’s MANDALAY.’ — Evening Standard, Veganuary 2019

‘Compared with its Thai neighbour, Burmese food is relatively unknown in the UK. That’s about to change, thanks to MANDALAY: Recipes and Tales from a Burmese Kitchen, a sumptuous cookbook by MiMi Aye, published by Bloomsbury in June.’ — The Times, The Biggest Food Trends of 2019

LOWBORN: Growing Up, Getting Away and Returning to Britain’s Poorest Towns by Kerry Hudson (Chatto & Windus, May)

LOWBORN will be a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4

‘Kerry Hudson looks back at her impoverished childhood, and travels around Britain asking what being poor means today.’ — The Guardian, 2019 in Books: What You’ll Be Reading This Year

‘Kerry Hudson’s memoir LOWBORN: Growing Up, Getting Away and Returning to Britain’s Poorest Towns… arrive[s] with a sense of urgency.’ — New Statesman, Back to the Future: What to Read in 2019

'Powerful and moving... An emotional and important read.' — iNews, 10 Best Books to Read in 2019

THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL by Peter James (Stage Production)

Peter James’s THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL has now been adapted for stage, starring BAFTA nominated actor and 2017 winner of BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing Joe McFadden as Ollie Harcourt, alongside Rita Simons (who played Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders) as Caro. The chilling sequel, THE SECRET OF COLD HILL, will be published in hardback by Pan Macmillan in October 2019.

See more about the tour schedule for THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL here.

‘There is an argument to be made that Peter James should have been on our “people who have had a great 2018” list. Two books out, including one to add to his famed Roy Grace series, Peter has certainly been busy in the past 12 months. This year is sure to be no different as the HOUSE ON COLD HILL show, based on his 2015 novel, goes on tour. While Peter may not be part of the show itself there is no doubt that the touring production will shine a further light on the book and the success or failure of the tour will affect him hugely. That is why he makes this list.’ — The Argus, Five Sussex Stars Who Will Have a Great 2019

SHADOWPLAY by Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker, June)

‘Fans of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, meanwhile, will be keen to get hold of Joseph O’Connor’s SHADOWPLAY which follows Stoker as he wanders the fog-bound streets of Victorian London.’ — Irish Times, Books to Look Forward to in 2019

SAFE edited by Derek Owusu (Trapeze, March)
‘In an impressive roster of contributors, journalist Musa Okwonga’s chapter “The Good Bisexual” is a long overdue – and delicate – insight into the challenges black bisexual men face, from queer puberty, the double burden of racism and homophobia, homophobic harassment in the workplace, and ultimately, self-acceptance. A refreshing insight, given that black, bi men’s experiences are routinely rendered invisible.’ — Dazed, 11 New LQBTQ Books to Read in 2019

EAT IT ANYWAY by Eve Simmons and Laura Dennison (Mitchell Beazley, January)

‘In EAT IT ANYWAY, journalists Simmons and Dennison – founders of the website Not Plant Based – aim to dispel dietary myths and help others, who like them, have suffered from eating disorders, to rediscover their love of food.’ — The Irish Independent, The 72 Books We’ll Be Talking About in the First Half of 2019

THE CATALOGUE OF SHIPWRECKED BOOKS: Christopher Columbus, His Son, and the Quest to Build the World’s Greatest Library by Edward Wilson-Lee (Scribner, March)

‘This isn’t only a biography of Christopher Columbus and his son Hernando; it’s also a paean to the family library, which at its peak contained 20,000 printed materials, including music and images, obsessively collected from all over Europe.’ – Publishers Weekly, ‘Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2019’

And here’s a reminder of the Blake Friedmann titles and authors mentioned in Best of 2018 lists.

Marteinn Thorrison’s SILENT WITNESS episode broadcast to critical acclaim

Parts 1 and 2 of Marteinn Thorisson’s first SILENT WITNESS episode, DEATHMAKER , were broadcast this week to critical acclaim.

Marteinn’s ‘intricate’, ‘sensitively done’ drama sees Nikki and the forensic team embroiled in a case which has the Irish Troubles at its heart, and involves two retired IRA men, a decades old grudge, and a desperate desire for retribution.

You can read a review here: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/silent-witness-deathmaker-review-episode-8-bbc-emilia-fox-liz-carr-a8752446.html

You can catch both parts of Marteinn’s episode on iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0c1tq4b/silent-witness-series-22-7-deathmaker-part-one

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0c1tr0k/silent-witness-series-22-8-deathmaker-part-two