Matt Harvey’s MANDRAKE to stream on Shudder

MANDRAKE. Image Credit: Deadline

The Northern Irish folk horror film MANDRAKE – written by Matt Harvey – has been acquired by Shudder for streaming in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and North America.

The film debuted at FrightFest Glasgow in March and follows a probation officer attempting to return notorious murderer ‘Bloody’ Mary Laidlaw to society after twenty years in jail – but her faith and resolve are tested when children go missing, and accusations of witchcraft begin to stir.

MANDRAKE was directed by debutant Lynne Davison for Village Films, and backed by Northern Ireland Screen’s New Talent Focus program. It will exclusively stream on the leading genre streaming service.

Praise for MANDRAKE:

‘This casts a particularly creepy spell… A few shock moments jar the nerves, but it’s the atmosphere of damp, earthy dread that’ll stick with you.’ – Kim Newman

‘The film doesn’t leave much room for hope, but it does present viewers with a shifting moral landscape in which motivations are tricky to pin down. There is witchcraft involved here, alright, but it’s not a simple matter of good versus evil – it’s much more uncomfortable than that.’ – Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

‘Matt Harvey’s screenplay is loaded with tensions and shocking surprises, and Davison wrings every possible bit of suspense from it, giving the film a brooding, dread-filled atmosphere… Unrelentingly bleak and absolutely mesmerizing, Mandrake gets my highest recommendations.’ – Joseph Perry, The Scariest Things

About Matt Harvey

Matt is a feature film and television writer specializing in thrillers and factual dramas. His credits include the award-winning AN ACT OF DEFIANCE, which tells the true story of the ANC Rivonia trial in Apartheid South Africa. Matt is represented by Conrad Williams.

HARPERCOLLINS WINS AUCTION FOR MY FIRST MEALS COOKBOOK FROM INSTAGRAMMER GRACE MORTIMER

We are delighted to announce that HarperCollins will publish MY FIRST MEALS: Fast, fun recipes for children with just five ingredients, the first cookbook from Instagram sensation Grace Mortimer. Louise McKeever, Editorial Director at HQ, acquired World All Language rights, at auction, from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.

Grace has amassed an impressive following of over 130,000 on Instagram since starting @_myfirstmeals during the first lockdown of 2020. She uses the platform to share her ingeniously quick, simple, and affordable five-ingredient recipe ideas for kids. In MY FIRST MEALS, Grace creates easy, delicious, and healthy recipes that take minimal effort to prepare and cook. With every dish requiring just five ingredients (or less), she makes quick and tasty lunches, snacks and dinners, that young children (and adults!) will love.

Grace Mortimer said: ‘I am beyond excited to be working with HQ on my first book. I wanted to create a book where the recipes were so easy to follow that anyone could confidently undertake them, whatever their level of experience in the kitchen, and without having to give their full concentration to cooking. I’m so pleased that HQ saw what I wanted to do with MY FIRST MEALS and gave me the opportunity to create this book for time-poor, usually exhausted, cooks!’

Louise McKeever said: ‘As soon as we met Grace and discovered the magic she could create with just a couple of ingredients in hand, we knew we had to publish her first cookbook. These are fast, fabulous and fun recipes that you can easily make and that your kids will absolutely adore.’

Juliet Pickering said: ‘From the minute Grace’s first email landed, I knew she had the most brilliant idea for a book – not least because I have a 3-year-old to feed at home myself! Grace is a joy to work with, and I have loved cooking her simple and delicious dishes - and there’s no harsher critic than a toddler, who’s loved them too. I’m so pleased to bring this book to more parents and carers, who want an easier mealtime and happy, well-fed children! I can’t wait to share copies of MY FIRST MEALS with friends and family.’

HQ will publish My First Meals in the UK in August 2022 in hardback and eBook: https://amzn.to/3KKDFkn

About Grace:

Grace Mortimer is the 29-year-old mother to Harry. She lives in Gloucestershire with her long-term partner, Tom. She studied law at university and worked in sales for years but decided to start working part-time when Harry turned one. Grace is originally from Essex and grew up with extremely foodie parents but didn’t develop her passion for cooking until her third year of university.

Follow Grace on Instagram

PAN MACMILLAN ACQUIRES SARAH LEE’S DEBUT NOVEL

Gillian Green, Publishing Director for fiction at Pan Macmillan, has acquired World rights to Sarah Lee’s debut novel, AN OCEAN APART, from Senior Agent Kate Burke.

Set in the 1950s, AN OCEAN APART follows the lives of three young Caribbean women who come to England and train to be nurses in the then fledging NHS. The book is partly inspired by the author’s mother who originally came to the UK in the Sixties to become a nurse and the stories she has told the author about her training and experiences as a Windrush nurse.

Gillian Green says: ‘Sarah Lee’s debut – as well as being a wonderful story – is a complete love letter to the NHS and the Windrush Generation of nurses who came from the Caribbean to work for it. We’re so proud to be publishing this lovely slice of important historical fiction at Pan.’

Sarah Lee says: ‘I felt compelled to tell this story as many of the experiences of the characters in AN OCEAN APART resemble those of the proud, strong, caring women I grew up around, including my own mother. These pioneering young people left their homes, families and all that they knew to come to the ‘Mother Country’ and help lay the foundations of the NHS, with many giving over their entire working lives to the service. It is a privilege to be able to bring these little known stories to light.’

Kate Burke says ‘Gillian’s vision and passion for this novel has been evident from the start, and I’m delighted to be working with Sarah and the Pan team on this historical gem.’

Pan Macmillan will publish AN OCEAN APART in a library hardback in August, with the paperback to come in September 2022.

About Sarah Lee

Sarah Lee is a journalist and editor of 25 years, across news and features, and has written for regional and national newspapers as well as commissioned for women’s true life magazines. More recently, she has focused her attention on the world of travel, creating luxury blog, LiveShareTravel.com. She also works with destinations and brands worldwide on storytelling marketing campaigns and conferences through her company, Captivate.

Visit Sarah’s website and follow her on Twitter.

THE LAST THING TO BURN LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD

Will Dean’s highly acclaimed first standalone novel, THE LAST THING TO BURN, has been longlisted for the 2022 Theaktson Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK’s most prestigious crime-fiction awards, with its annual winner announced in a prize ceremony at the Harrogate Crime Festival. Members of the public can vote for their favourite crime novel over at https://harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com/.This year’s winner will be announced on the 21st of July.

On a remote farm Jane is kept under close surveillance by her husband. If he catches her doing something he doesn’t like, then she is punished. One day, though, everything changes, and she sees her chance to escape…

THE LAST THING TO BURN is an extraordinary story of resilience and determination in the most dire of circumstances. As well as winning praise from both readers and reviewers, THE LAST THING TO BURN has been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger 2022 and was voted International Book of the Year by the Rick O’Shea Book Club.  It was first published by Hodder Books in January 2021, and is now available to buy in paperback.

Will’s most recent standalone, FIRST BORN, was published by Hodder on 14th April 2022. He is also the author of the Tuva Moodyson Mysteries, a crime series set in Sweden and published by Oneworld.

Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN

‘This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year’ — Jane Casey

‘MISERY meets ROOM ... a triumph’ — Marian Keyes

‘Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse’ — Liz Nugent

‘Brilliantly written... Terrifying’ — Ruth Ware

‘Outstanding. The best thriller in years’ — Martina Cole

‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the best thrillers I have read in years: I consumed it in great gulps, desperate to find out how Thanh Dao’s story played out, and then read it again, more slowly, savouring her courage and her unvanquished sense of self, despite everything.’ — Alison Flood, Observer

 

About Will Dean

Photo credit: Rosalind Hobley

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

Follow Will on Twitter and Instagram, and visit his YouTube channel.