Avon acquires three more books from bestselling author Sue Moorcroft

Helen Huthwaite, Publishing Director of Avon Books, has acquired WEL rights for three new novels by bestselling author Sue Moorcroft from Juliet Pickering.

Sue Moorcroft says: ‘In Avon, I have a wonderful home for my novels. We work closely and successfully together, and I'm absolutely thrilled we can bring three new books to my readers.’

Juliet Pickering says: ‘After the success of Sue’s UNDER THE ITALIAN SUN and re-publication of A HOME IN THE SUN this summer, I’m so pleased that Avon will be continuing to publish Sue’s fantastic novels. It’s gratifying to see Sue’s enthusiastic readership grow, and we have enjoyed working with the team at Avon to achieve this.’

Helen Huthwaite, Publishing Director says: ‘I couldn’t be happier to see three more wonderful books from Sue set to be published with Avon. Her publishing continues to go from strength to strength thanks to her wonderful storylines and memorable characters, with fans and retailers alike clamouring for more. It will be the greatest pleasure to be able to give them just that!’

Sue’s latest novel with Avon, UNDER THE MISTLETOE, was published in October, and this new deal will take their partnership up to 2023.

Praise for Sue Moorcroft:

‘A delight to read. Full of laughter and tears.’ – Katie Fforde

‘Sue Moorcroft has it all: gorgeous scenery, heartwarming friendships, secrets, twists and turns and a scorching romance.’ — Good Housekeeping

‘Sue’s novels are the perfect escape. You’re guaranteed a warm and sunny read whatever the weather.’ — Bella Osborne

‘Sheer, delicious escapism.’ – Fiona Gibson

‘Effortlessly engaging.’ – Heat

About Sue Moorcroft:

Sue Moorcroft writes contemporary commercial fiction in the vein of Katie Fforde, Trisha Ashley and Carole Matthews. She is a Sunday Times bestselling author, an internationally-bestselling author and has reached #1 in the UK Kindle chart. Her short stories, serials and columns have appeared around the world. Sue is a Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner, a past vice chair of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and editor of its anthologies. Sue also writes short stories, serials, articles, LOVE WRITING, a writing guide, and is a competition judge and creative writing tutor. Her novel A SUMMER TO REMEMBER won the RNA Contemporary Novel of the Year Award 2020.

Visit Sue’s website.

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FIONA FORD'S HISTORICAL SERIES, THE GOOD TIME GIRLS, WON AT AUCTION

We are delighted to announce that Fiona Ford has secured a three-book deal with Bonnier’s digital-first imprint, Embla Books. Following an auction, Hannah Smith, editorial director, acquired world English-language rights from Fiona’s agent, Kate Burke. The first title under contract, THE GOOD TIME GIRLS, is set for release in e-book and audio format in spring 2022. The second book in the saga will be published in autumn later that year. 

THE GOOD TIME GIRLS tells the story of four incredible women who come together at the legendary Hammersmith Palais de Danse in the shadow of World War Two. In the face of the Blitz, the show must still go on…

Ford has two other historical sagas to her name, the latest of which was a bestseller published by Penguin Random House under the imprint, Arrow.

Smith said: ‘I’ve long been a fan of Fiona’s historical fiction. She conjures the past brilliantly and her research is second to none. When THE GOOD TIME GIRLS hit my inbox, I was already bursting with excitement and wasn’t disappointed at all. Immediately I was drawn into the strong themes of female friendship and empowerment against the beautiful backdrop of the Hammersmith Palais.’

Ford said: ‘The moment I met the Embla team I knew I wanted to join them. Their passion for books was compelling as was their knowledge, professionalism and sheer dynamism. The whole package was like nothing I had ever found in publishing before and I knew Embla was the perfect home for my new saga series – THE GOOD TIME GIRLS.’

‘The absolute cherry on the cake is that I am now working with Hannah Smith again who is one of the most talented and enthusiastic editors I have ever had the pleasure to know. I can't wait to be a part of the Embla story and am so proud to be a part of their quest for success.’

Praise for Fiona Ford

‘Ford gets to the heart of what it was like to live through the dangerous war years in this warm, captivating, down-to-earth story which is brimming with engaging characters, adventure, romance and heartbreak.’ — Lancashire Post

'A Liberty treasure chest of silks, satin, lace and ribbons with gritty wartime passion at its very core. A gem!' — Daisy Styles, author of the Bomb Girls series

‘A delicious adventure’ — Daily Mail

About the author

Fiona Ford is an experienced freelance journalist and prolific novelist. She has written for weekly women’s magazines for the past fifteen years and is the author of two contemporary novels under the penname Fiona Harrison and six WW2 sagas, published by Orion and Penguin Random House.

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JULIET PICKERING WINS RNA AGENT OF THE YEAR AWARD

We’re delighted that Juliet Pickering was named Agent of the Year 2021 at the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Winter Party and Industry Awards ceremony. Blake Friedmann founder, the late Carole Blake, took the RNA Agent of the Year trophy in 2016, and many agency clients have both won Awards, and been recognised on the RNA Awards lists over the years.

This annual award celebrates the literary agent who has supported, mentored, nurtured and promoted their authors’ careers, the genre in general and the RNA in particular.

Juliet has worked in publishing for 18 years. After graduating from university Juliet became a fiction buyer for Waterstones. She then joined AP Watt in 2003 and began to build a varied list there before joining Blake Friedmann in 2013. Since then, she has gone from strength to strength, becoming Vice Head of the Book Department in 2017 and stepping up to the Executive Board in 2020 – all the while supporting clients and staff alike with her expertise and encouragement. She represents an impressive range of clients, including RNA authors Sue Moorcroft and Annie Robertson.

See more about Juliet and her clients here.

DUCHESS OF CORNWALL VISITS SET OF GRACE AS PETER JAMES LANDS NINETEENTH NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER WITH LEFT YOU DEAD

Last week, Peter James hosted the Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to the set of ITV’s GRACE, based on the author’s number one bestselling Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series. The series is recommended by HRH’s Reading Room. Filming for the fifth title in the series, DEAD TOMORROW, is currently underway.

Roy Grace hit TV screens around the world for the first time this year when ITV’s much-anticipated adaptation GRACE, written by acclaimed screenwriter and Endeavour creator Russell Lewis, premiered in March. Two episodes have been filmed so far, with a further three episodes currently in production. The stellar cast includes John Simm  (Life on Mars, Strangers, Doctor Who) as Roy Grace, and Richie Campbell (Top Boy, Liar, Small Axe), as Detective Sergeant Glenn Branson. The first episode, based on the first Roy Grace book DEAD SIMPLE, was watched by 8.8 million viewers in the UK and has since aired in countries including the USA, Canada, Japan, Norway and Finland.

After its first full week of sale, LEFT YOU DEAD, Peter James’s seventeenth Detective Superintendent Roy Grace novel, reached Number One earlier this month in the Sunday Times paperback bestseller charts. This marks his nineteenth consecutive Number One in the British charts.

In LEFT YOU DEAD, Niall and Eden Paternoster start their Sunday the same way they always do – with a long drive, a visit to a country house and a quick stop at the local supermarket on the way home. But this Sunday ends differently – because while Niall waits and waits in the car park for Eden to pick up supplies, Eden never returns. She’s not waiting for him at home, and none of their family or friends have heard from her.

Gone without a trace, Niall is arrested on suspicion of her murder. When DS Roy Grace is called in to investigate, it doesn’t take long to realize that nothing is quite as it seems – and this might be his most mysterious case yet.

Praise for Peter James:

‘Superior plotting and edge-of-the-seat suspense.’ – The Guardian

‘Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business’ – Karin Slaughter

‘A master plotter who cunningly tunes into contemporary concerns. Peter James cannot fail to thrill.’  – Daily Mail

‘Memorable characters and nail-biting tension.’ –  Kathy Reichs

‘Peter James creates a world we can smell, touch and feel for his Brighton detective Inspector Roy Grace.’ – The Times

‘Probably the closest we’ll get to a British Stephen King’ – The Financial Times

‘With echoes of Thomas Harris, the closer analogue is to Jeffrey Deaver’s clock-racing thrillers. … James delivers the goods.’ — Kirkus Reviews

‘James just gets better and better and deserves the success he has achieved with this first-class series.’ — Independent on Sunday

About Peter James:

Peter James is the international bestselling author of many award-winning novels, repeatedly occupying the Number One slot on the Sunday Times bestseller charts in both hardback and paperback. Peter writes both thriller standalones and the hugely popular Brighton-set Roy Grace series, now adapted for ITV.

Peter’s books have been translated into thirty-eight languages, with worldwide sales of over twenty-one million copies and his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, set in Brighton, has given him 19 consecutive Sunday Times Number Ones. In 2015 WH Smith customers voted him the Greatest Crime Author of All Time and in 2016 he was awarded the coveted CWA Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award for sustained excellence. In 2018 he received a Specsavers Honorary Platinum Bestseller Award. Peter James has also written two books based on true crime stories, with former senior detective Graham Bartlett.

 The 16th Roy Grace, FIND THEM DEAD, was a UK Number 1 in both hardback and paperback, spending four consecutive weeks at Number 1 in paperback, and reaching Number 5 in Australia and Canada too. In 2021 Peter James repeated the hardback and paperback Top Ten double with LEFT YOU DEAD and standalone thriller I FOLLOW YOU.

Successful nationwide tours of the stage plays of THE PERFECT MURDER (2014), DEAD SIMPLE (2015,) NOT DEAD ENOUGH (2017) and THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL (2019) have packed theatres in dozens of British cities, and garnered magnificent reviews. The stage play of LOOKING GOOD DEAD toured the UK in 2021, with a further run planned in early 2022. Several other Peter James novels are optioned for film and in further development.

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CANONGATE ACQUIRES LATEST HARRY MCCOY THRILLER

Francis Bickmore, Publishing Director of Canongate Books, has acquired World English rights to MAY GOD FORGIVE by Alan Parks from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.

The fifth in the bestselling Detective Harry McCoy series – following BLOODY JANUARY, FEBRUARY’S SON, BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER and THE APRIL DEAD – MAY GOD FORGIVE follows McCoy as he has twenty-four hours to find two kidnapped boys before they turn up dead in Glasgow’s city centre. In a city where tempers are frayed and sentiment is running high after a devastating arson attack, this does not prove to be an easy task – especially when he discovers that the one of Glasgow’s most prominent gang bosses may be responsible…

Alan Parks says: ‘I am delighted that McCoy and Canongate are continuing their relationship, and looking forward to working with Francis and all there on MAY GOD FORGIVE.’

Francis Bickmore says: ‘Alan Parks’ coal-black noir novels always have a moral knot at their core and I’m thrilled Canongate has taken on Book 5 in the McCoy series. That sense of justice and morality in a fallen world is what keeps resonating with his readers and this plot promises to be the tightest yet. Space needs to be made on bookshelves alongside William McIlvanney.’

Isobel Dixon says: ‘Harry McCoy is one of the great characters in crime fiction, and 1970s Glasgow, seen through his eyes, is unforgettable. Alan Parks always delivers: peeling back the city’s layers in taut, gripping novels with supremely satisfying plots and real emotional depth. I’m thrilled that Canongate will bring this new gritty beauty to readers in May 2022.’

The McCoy series has already received significant international prize recognition. BLOODY JANUARY was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, FEBRUARY’S SON was nominated for an Edgar Award, BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER was picked as a The Times Best Book of the Year and THE APRIL DEAD was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The Harry McCoy series is optioned for television. Translation rights are sold in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Spain (both in Spanish and Catalan), Sweden and Turkey.

Praise for the Harry McCoy series:

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

‘Bloody and brilliant.’ — Louise Welsh

‘The meticulously described setting is so suggestive readers may even catch whiffs of stale cigarette smoke and patchouli. Fans of Scottish noir will be satisfied.’ ― Publishers Weekly

‘Parks’ sprawling plot offers not tidy whodunit puzzles but a wide-angle view of a gritty city in the grip of crime, home to an entertaining cross section of characters. Broad-shouldered McCoy is suitably unflappable as he walks Glasgow’s mean streets.’ ― Kirkus Reviews

‘McCoy is so noir he makes most other Scottish cops seem light grey. The novel also contains some of the most inventive swearing in crime fiction.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times, Book of the Month

‘A series that no crime fan should miss: dangerous, thrilling, but with a kind voice to cut through the darkness.’ ― Scotsman

‘Pitch-black tartan noir, set in 70s Glasgow . . . Compelling . . . with an emotional heart that’s hard to ignore.’ ― Daily Mail

About Alan Parks:

Photo: Euan Robertson

Alan Parks was Creative Director at London Records in the mid 1990’s, then at Warner Music, where he created ground-breaking campaigns for artists including All Saints, New Order, The Streets, Gnarls Barclay and Cee Lo Green. He was also Managing Director of 679 Recordings, a joint venture with Warner Music. His debut novel BLOODY JANUARY propelled him onto the international literary crime fiction scene immediately and his work has been hailed by contemporary writers and critics alike.

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 that is so vividly depicted in the 1970s setting of his Harry McCoy thrillers.

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