THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH BY MONIQUE ROFFEY SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD

THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH by Monique Roffey has been shortlisted for the 2020 Costa Novel Award, one of the UK’s most prestigious awards. Eric Karl Anderson, one of the judges of the Costa First Novel Award category, commented in a blog post that he is ‘especially thrilled to see Monique Roffey's novel THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH shortlisted for the Novel Award’ and that it is one of his favourite books of the year. Also shortlisted for the Novel Award are Susanna Clarke, Tim Finch and Denise Mina.

THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH was published to wide acclaim by Peepal Tree Press in the UK and by W F Howes in audio. Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo has also included the novel in a round-up of her five favourite books of 2020. Praising Monique Roffey as ‘the most adventurous of writers’, Evaristo adds that THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH is ‘packed with layers of meaning around womanhood, alienation, masculinity, toxic attitudes towards women, and inter-female rivalry, as well as love, compassion and the search for home.’  THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH was also shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize earlier this year, an award established to celebrate fiction which ‘extends the possibilities of the novel form’.

A vivid, moving story of love and trust, family and friendship in a Caribbean island community, THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH is a world brought to unforgettable life by a master storyteller. A fisherman sings to himself in his boat, but attracts an unexpected sea-dweller — Aycayia, a beautiful young woman cursed to live as a mermaid, swimming the ocean for centuries. Theirs becomes a calm, unspoken bond. But when she hears David’s engine again one day and follows the vessel, she finds herself in a fierce battle for her life. Caught by American sports fishermen, she is strung up on the dock as a trophy, but David rescues her, and gently wins her trust as she starts to transform, painfully, back into a woman. But jealous eyes are watching them…

Interwoven with David and Aycayia’s love story is that of Miss Arcadia Rain, a white landowner bringing up her deaf son on a dwindling estate. As her young son connects with fellow outsider Aycayia, an old lover of Arcadia’s returns to the island and she too begins to feel her way into love and trust again.

See more about THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH on the Peepal Tree Press site.  

The category winners of the 2020 Costa Book Awards will be announced on Monday 4th January 2021, and the Costa Book of the Year winner, chosen from one the category winners, will be announced on Tuesday 26th January 2021 and awarded a prize of £30,000. The Costa Book Awards was established in 1971 and is awarded to ‘the most enjoyable books of the year by writers resident in the UK and Ireland.’ Past winners of the Novel Award include Jonathan Coe, Sally Rooney, Jon McGregor, Sebastian Barry, Kate Atkinson and Ali Smith.

Praise for THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH

‘THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH arrives bearing tragedy and beauty. Monique Roffey has created a new myth for an age of ruined oceans. She continues to be one of our most exciting new Caribbean voices.’ — A.L. Kennedy

‘Monique Roffey is a unique talent and most daring and versatile of writers.’ — Bernardine Evaristo

‘Monique Roffey is a writer of verve, vibrancy and compassion, and her work is always a joy to read.’ — Sarah Hall

THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH is wonderfully written, with both soul and intense drama – it glistens almost, like the mermaid! I love its all-round charisma and also its great compassion for both humanity and the natural world.’ — Diana Evans

‘THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH is like a lost myth, found, and made fresh again for our times.’ —  Tessa McWatt, author of Shame on Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging

Photo: Marcus Bastel

About Monique Roffey

Monique Roffey is an award-winning novelist. House of Ashes (Scribner UK) was shortlisted for the Costa and the BOCAS Prize. Archipelago, winner of the OCM BOCAS prize for Caribbean Literature, was published by Scribner in the UK, Viking in the US, and translated into 5 languages. Her second novel The White Woman on the Green Bicycle was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Encore Prize, among other accolades.

Read an interview with Monique Roffey here

Visit Monique’s website

Follow Monique on Twitter

Matt Harvey's screenplay MANDRAKE going into principal photography

Principal photography began this week on Matthew Harvey’s original screenplay MANDRAKE, the latest feature film backed by Northern Ireland Screen through its New Talent Focus scheme, directed by Lynne Davidson.

Produced by Village Films, MANDRAKE is a supernatural thriller about a probation officer (played by Deidre Mullins) tasked with rehabilitating a witch killer after two-decades of imprisonment. Derbhle Crotty as the witch co-stars with Paul Kennedy as the cop.

Previous to MANDRAKE, Matt’s work includes the 2017 film AN ACT OF DEFIANCE about the trial of Nelson Mandela and nine others accused of sabotage against the government during the apartheid era in South Africa. The film won five awards including the Golden Calf for Best Feature Film.

Matt’s three-part TV thriller CRACKED SCREEN, co-written with Hamish Wright, is in development with the BBC

MANDRAKE is financed by Northern Ireland Screen and post-production house Yellowmoon. It will film entirely on location in Northern Ireland for three weeks.

Click here for more information on MANDRAKE

Matt Harvey is represented by Conrad Williams in the media department.

Film/TV rights to Ros Anderson’s debut THE HIERARCHIES optioned by Margot Robbie’s company LuckyChap, SK Global, and Mazur Kaplan

After a fiercely fought auction, film/tv rights in Ros Anderson’s debut novel THE HIERARCHIES were acquired by SK Global and Mazur Kaplan, who will will co-produce with Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara under their LuckyChap Entertainment banner. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Ros Anderson by Conrad Williams of Blake Friedmann and Steve Fisher of APA Agency.

With a unique and compelling voice, THE HIERARCHIES is the diary of Sylv.ie, a synthetic woman designed to please and serve her human ‘Husband’ from the moment she comes to life. She lives in a single room at the top of his luxurious home, her existence barely tolerated by his human wife, and concealed from their child. Deeply curious about the world beyond her room, between the Husband’s visits Sylv.ie watches the family through her window, absorbing all she can. She keeps a diary, and through this learns that she cannot rely on her memories, or on what the Husband tells her. When she is taken to the ‘Doll Hospital’ it is not for her benefit, but to be altered. Sylv.ie needs to escape, but what will the world hold for her?

THE HIERARCHIES is a literary and speculative voice-driven novel that asks what it really means to be human. Set in a recognisable near future, and laced with dark, sly humour, THE HIERARCHIES is less about the fear of new technology than humans’ age-old talent for exploitation. From its outsider’s perspective, the novel explores notions of memory, consent, artifice, and ‘femininity’. It asks what it means to be ‘natural’ and celebrates the power of female friendship. Sometimes startling, often moving, and always unforgettable, readers will be gripped by THE HIERARCHIES from its very first page. It’s been described as perfect for fans of Never Let Me Go, I, Westworld, Ex Machina, Black Mirror and The Testaments.     

THE HIERARCHIES was published by Dutton in North America in August 2020, and will be published by Dead Ink and Bolinda in the UK in June 2021.

Praise for THE HIERARCHIES:

“Fascinating…Anderson gracefully executes the process of Sylv.ie’s self-discovery, making her feel real and deeply sympathetic…Readers will be drawn in by Sylv.ie’s emotional story.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“In The Hierarchies, Anderson has constructed a novel that goes beyond common conversations about what we will do, and what will happen to us, if robot women come into being…It’s a shocking and eye-opening debut, one that has me looking at my coffee maker a little differently.” — Bitch Media

‘A quiet triumph…Anderson’s prose — Sylv.ie’s voice — offers a beautiful combination of naivete and wisdom, full of nonhuman puzzlements, off-kilter observations and limpid poetry.” — Paul Di Filippo, Washington Post

DEON MEYER’S NEW NOVEL DONKERDRIF TOPS SOUTH AFRICAN CHARTS AS TRACKERS FEATURES ON SKY ATLANTIC

International bestseller Deon Meyer is enjoying both chart and screen success with the Afrikaans launch of his new novel DONKERDRIF propelling him straight to another South African Number One, while in the UK the TV series TRACKERS, inspired by Meyer’s novel of the same title, has premiered on Sky Atlantic. As the Guardian wrote, this ‘full-speed South African thriller ratchets up the tension’, calling it ‘gripping’ and  ‘a solid drama set against an action-packed backdrop of espionage, terrorism and political intrigue’ which ‘should raise heart rates.’

Human & Rousseau have sold more than 600,000 copies of Deon Meyer’s novels in Afrikaans and DONKERDRIF is the latest in the bestselling series featuring his much-loved detective characters, Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido. Deon’s novels are published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton and in the US by Grove Atlantic, who brought out the most recent title THE LAST HUNT (Afrikaans title PROOI). Deon Meyer is also an international prize-winner and bestseller, published by Gallimard in France, Bruna in Holland, Aufbau’s Rütten & Loening in Germany and more than 20 other languages.

You can see more about Deon’s books and the various editions on his website here. DONKERDRIF will be out in English (again superbly translated by K.L. Seegers) and other languages in 2021.

TRACKERS is also published in the UK by Hodder and in the US by Grove Atlantic. The TV series, starring James Gracie, Sisanda Henna, Rolanda Marais and Ed Stoppard, is a co-production between Cinemax, South Africa’s M-Net and Germany’s ZDF, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23. The TRACKERS series was created by Deon Meyer, scripted by Robert Thorogood and others, and directed by Jyri Kähönen, with Ivan Strasburg director of photography.  Full credits here.

The adaptation of TRACKERS interweaves three story strands into a sophisticated action-packed thriller that covers the length and breadth of South Africa, explosively colliding in Cape Town in a violent conspiracy involving organized crime, smuggled diamonds, state security, Black Rhinos, the CIA and an international terrorist plot.

Gracie plays Lemmer, a man who is seeking revenge while rebuilding his life in a small town after his career was destroyed in an earlier intelligence operation. Marais is Milla Strachan, a Cape Town housewife who has finally gathered the courage to walk out of her emotionally abusive home. She finds herself a new apartment and a job as a low-level data analyst for the Presidential Bureau of Intelligence and becomes an unlikely heroine as her new life and love puts her at the centre of a dangerous plot. Stoppard is Lukas Becker, an international man of mystery and alleged CIA operative who enters the PBI’s radar when Milla finds a major lead in her research. Sisanda Henna also won acclaim for his portrayal of Inkunzi Shabangu.

As Len Amato, President, HBO Films, Miniseries, and Cinemax said in a Deadline report: ‘Cinemax is delighted to partner with M-Net and ZDF in bringing Deon Meyer’s unforgettable characters and storytelling—all so richly rooted in the people and spectacular geography of South Africa—to screens around the world.’

TRACKERS has also been broadcast in the US, Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe.

Praise for Deon Meyer:

‘Deon Meyer should be on everyone's reading list.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is not just South Africa’s greatest crime writer, he’s up there with the best in the world.’ —Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Praise for TRACKERS

'TRACKERS is a cut way above the rest... a top-class thriller...' – The Bookseller

‘Critics were struggling to come up with new adjectives to praise Deon Meyer's TRACKERS, a menacing tale of smuggling and disappearances on a sprawling canvas of post-apartheid South Africa.’  – Barry Forshaw, Best Crime & Thrillers 2011, The Independent

'An ambitious, multi-threaded tale...comprehensively pulling the reader into the melee of modern South Africa... this is a book that tells a cracking story and captures the criminal kaleidoscope of a nation.' – TLS

Praise for THE LAST HUNT

‘In word, deed, and spirit, Mr. Meyer’s humane and engaging characters are indeed among “the best of the best.”’—Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

‘Superb’ – Publishers Weekly Starred Review

‘A relentless political thriller, as complex as it is dynamic.’ – Le Figaro Magazine

‘If he is wary of power and its excesses, Deon Meyer always trusts humanity. Even wounded and damaged by life, his heroes are magnificent.’ – Le Temps

Follow Deon Meyer on Twitter and on Instagram.

FILM RIGHTS TO THE ENGLISHMAN BY DAVID GILMAN OPTIONED BY AGC STUDIOS

Rights to THE ENGLISHMAN, the first novel in best-selling author David Gilman’s new book series, have been optioned by AGC Studios, Stuart Ford’s fast-growing independent studio, to be developed into a feature film.

Gilman is known for tension-filled, action-packed books that rise above standard adventure novels with smart and insightful writing informed by the acclaimed author’s life.  His biography rivals the plots of his books and imbues them with an up-to-the-moment reality against a global backdrop.  Gilman has been a paratrooper in the British Army, a firefighter, a professional photographer, a truck driver, a farm worker, a marketing executive for an international publishing company and a world traveller before the time he turned 30.  That experience is on every page of his latest book of which writer and journalist William Shaw said, “THE ENGLISHMAN is thrilling proof that high-tension international thrillers are back – and with an absolute vengeance” and The Times’ Jeremy Dun said, “THE ENGLISHMAN is a sweat-inducing tour-de-force.” Other works informed by Gilman’s extraordinary life include his tenure as one of the lead writers on the BAFTA® award winning ITV television series A TOUCH OF FROST, and as the author of the MASTER OF WAR historical novels and  YA adventure series, DANGER ZONE.

Published by Head of Zeus, THE ENGLISHMAN centres on Raglan, a former soldier whose work in the French Foreign Legion taking on terrorists in sub-Saharan Africa brings him to the attention of MI6.  He is soon recruited for a secret, undercover mission that takes him on a relentless search through the network of a dangerous international organized crime operation.  He finds out just how dangerous the mission is when he lands in a Siberian penal colony.  His physical and mental strength, and help from Yefimov, a fellow inmate, are keys to his survival through perilous and life-threatening dangers.  In Raglan THE ENGLISHMAN introduces us to an intelligent, complex and strong globe-trotting hero made for the challenges of the 21st Century.

Ford says, "We're thrilled to have acquired the right to make a film or maybe multiple films from David Gilman's compelling, enigmatic action hero Raglan and are looking forward to introducing some top tier writing and directing talent to the project in the near future".

The deal was negotiated by Conrad Williams on behalf of Gilman and by Stuart Ford and Vice President of Legal & Business Affairs Anant Tamirisa on behalf of AGC.

Translation rights to THE ENGLISHMAN have also already been acquired by Bulgarian publisher Delphin and Romanian publisher Lebada Neagra, emphasising its global appeal. Rights in David Gilman’s other titles have been sold in more than a dozen translation markets, and his MASTER OF WAR series has featured on German bestseller lists.

Praise for David Gilman

‘Verve, pace, shocks and intrigue, this is spy thriller writing by an author at the zenith of his powers.’ – Peter James

'Incisive prose – and the pulse-pounding pace just never lets up.’ – Peter May

‘The ENGLISHMAN is thrilling proof that high-tension international thrillers are back – and with an absolute vengeance.’ – William Shaw

‘A sweat-inducing tour de force.’ – Jeremy Duns, Thrillers of the Month, The Times

‘What Gilman does superlatively is heart-pounding action.’ — Amanda Craig, The Times

‘NIGHT FLIGHT TO PARIS is a magnificent war spy thriller. I couldn’t read it fast enough. Clever, complex, gripping, emotionally engaging, terrifying. And so much more. A stand-out novel of the year for me and one that kept me reading late into the summer night.’ — For Winter Nights

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