Costa-winner Monique Roffey brings ‘electrifying’ new novel PASSIONTIDE to Harvill Secker

Credit: Marcus Bastel

Returning three years after the enormous international success of the Costa Book of the Year winner, THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH, we are thrilled to announce Monique Roffey’s new novel PASSIONTIDE, a timely and captivating women-led story about violence and revolution set in the Caribbean. Harvill Secker will launch the novel in the UK and Commonwealth in May 2024 with an “unmissable” marketing and publicity campaign, as part of the two-book deal agreed in 2021 between Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann and Vintage senior commissioning editor Alex Russell.

‘Written with much thought love and care, this is a book about women I’ve waited my whole life to write,’ says Monique. ‘It’s been a huge pleasure to work with a dream team at Harvill Secker.’

Speaking on behalf of Harvill Secker, Alex Russell said: ‘We are immensely proud to be publishing Monique’s new novel. It is an electrifying story about community and protest, courage and freedom, friendship and love. PASSIONTIDE speaks powerfully to our moment and brings us a remarkable cast of characters who live on in the mind. Monique is a vital, spellbinding storyteller and we look forward to sharing this major new book with her legions of fans.’

‘Monique Roffey writes with such insight about both tenderness and violence, an unforgettable depiction of a wounded community and the fierce belief in the possibility of creating a better future,’ added Isobel Dixon. ‘I am delighted that the exceptional Harvill Secker team are working with Monique on PASSIONTIDE.’

Set in the Caribbean, PASSIONTIDE follows four women as they spark a revolution in the aftermath of a shocking event. The synopsis reads: ‘Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri’s carnival, a young female steel pan player is found dead beneath a tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island. Vivid and fiercely alive, PASSIONTIDE is a novel of women daring to imagine a different world.’

About Monique Roffey

Monique Roffey is an award-winning Trinidadian-born writer. She is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her novel HOUSE OF ASHES was shortlisted for the COSTA Fiction Award, as well as the OCM BOCAS Award. ARCHIPELAGO won the OCM BOCAS Award for Caribbean Literature in 2013 and was shortlisted for the Orion Award 2014. In 2010, her novel THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Encore Award.

THE MERMAID OF BLACK CONCH was shortlisted for the 2020 Goldsmiths Prize and the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize, and won both the Costa Novel Prize and the Costa Book of the Year Award 2020. The book was first published in the UK by Peepal Tree Press in 2020, before reaching a wider audience with a new edition published by Vintage in 2021, becoming one of the imprint’s first ‘Vintage Earth’ titles the following year. It was also published in the US and Canada by Knopf in 2022. Translation rights have been sold in fifteen countries, it was featured as a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, and Film/TV rights were won (at auction) by Dorothy Street Pictures.

Praise for Monique Roffey

‘A unique talent and most daring and versatile of writers. I never know what to expect and I’m never disappointed.’ – Bernardine Evaristo        

‘A major contribution to the new wave of Caribbean writing… Roffey is a magical storyteller’ – Olive Senior, Commonwealth Prize-winner

‘Monique Roffey has established herself as a fearless writer with her choices of subject and her visceral style.’ – Kapka Kassabova, The Guardian

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

‘Roffey is a fantastic talent who, one hopes, will keep writing for years to come’ – Lisa Rohrbaugh, Literary Journal

‘One of our most exciting new Caribbean voices.’ – A.L. Kennedy

‘Monique Roffey has a sharp, original way of looking at the world.’ – Christina Hardyment, The Times

Visit Monique’s website

Follow Monique on Twitter

Double shortlisting for Joseph O’Connor at the 2023 An Post Irish Book Awards

We are delighted that Joseph O’Connor has been shortlisted for the Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year Award at the 2023 An Post Irish Book Awards. His latest novel, MY FATHER’S HOUSE, has been shortlisted for the Eason Novel of the Year Award. The An Post Irish Book Awards are a set of industry-recognition awards set up by a coalition of Irish booksellers to celebrate and promote Irish writing, with winners voted for by readers. Since 2011, an Irish Book Awards TV show has been aired on RTÉ.

Readers can vote for their favourites here: https://www.irishbookawards.ie/vote/. Voting closes at 5pm on 9th November 2023.

Winners will be announced on 22nd November 2023 at The Convention Centre Dublin with the An Post Irish Book of the Year TV show airing on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on 6th December.

MY FATHER’S HOUSE was published in the UK and Ireland by Harvill Secker and in the US by Europa Editions in January 2023. It flew straight to Number One in the Irish bestseller charts where it stayed for four consecutive weeks. It was also featured on BBC Radio 4 as Book at Bedtime. The novel is the first in the Rome Escape Line Trilogy.

In September 1943, German forces occupy Rome. SS officer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. An Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, dedicates himself to helping those escaping from the Nazis. His home is Vatican City, a neutral, independent country within Rome where the occupiers hold no sway. He gathers a team to set up an Escape Line. But Hauptmann's net begins closing in and the need for a terrifyingly audacious mission grows critical. By Christmas, it's too late to turn back.

Based on a true story, MY FATHER’S HOUSE is a powerful thriller from a master of historical fiction. It is an unforgettable novel of love, sacrifice and what it means to be human in the most extreme circumstances.

MY FATHER’S HOUSE was also recently chosen as part of the Irish Arts Council’s Read Mór project. To celebrate Culture Night (21st September 2023), the Arts Council gifted thousands of books by Irish and Irish based writers to patients in seven hospitals. The aim of the project is to gift the joy of reading and to bring Culture Night to those who cannot be part of the national event. Curated by three Laureates, MY FATHER’S HOUSE was selected along with 29 other titles and authors.

MY FATHER’S HOUSE will be published in paperback in the UK in February 2024 and in April 2024 in the US. Rights are also sold in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden.

About Joseph O’Connor
Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin, where he still lives. MY FATHER’S HOUSE is his tenth novel: he is also the author of film scripts, radio and stage plays, two collections of short stories, and several bestselling works of non-fiction.

2022 was the 20th anniversary of Joseph O’Connor’s novel STAR OF THE SEA which was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies in the UK alone and being published in 38 languages. It won France’s Prix Millepages, Italy’s Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Nielsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year.

He holds an honorary Doctorate in Literature from University College Dublin and received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature in 2012. He is the Inaugural Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

Praise for MY FATHER’S HOUSE
‘A spectacular, thrilling novel… MY FATHER’S HOUSE celebrates triumphant against-the-odds camaraderie. It would require a present-day Puccini to do operatic justice to its tremendous tale.’ – Peter Kemp, The Sunday Times

‘A literary thriller of the highest order. The incarnation of O’Flaherty, the Irish Oskar Schindler, is sublime. What often elevates a writer is compassion, and O’Connor has it in spades – paying tribute to the courage of those who resist tyranny. Beautifully crafted, his razor-sharp dialogue is to be savoured, and he employs dark humour to great effect. The plot twists keep on coming until the novel’s coda, where a final joyful conceit is revealed.’ – Lucy Popescu, The Observer

‘Joseph O’Connor’s new novel MY FATHERS HOUSE is a riveting tale about the power of community in the face of unfathomable evil… a seamless blend of fact and fiction by a master of the genre; a brisk polyphonic narrative that brings the heroism of ordinary people thrillingly to life... O’Connor is a visualist who revels in evocative cityscapes of a Rome under siege… readers will be too caught up in O’Connor’s writing, the delight in watching a plan come together, the tension of wondering whether it will succeed… MY FATHER’S HOUSE, the first in a trilogy, is a novel full of deft characterisation and knowledge, not just the historical facts, but the broader – grander? – wisdom to be found in excavating the past.’ – Sarah Gilmartin, The Irish Times

‘Riveting… Through wonderfully developed and varied characters, O’Connor conveys both the painful privations of life during wartime and the nobility of the Choir’s goals, and the unfolding of O’Flaherty’s marathon of undercover subterfuges that lay the groundwork for their mission is a storytelling tour de force. This is top-drawer WWII fiction.’ – Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

‘A gripping World War II-set drama featuring the unlikeliest of heroes, one whom the reader roots for every step of the way… His cat-and-mouse game with Hauptmann is expertly plotted; his desperate mission through the streets of Rome is brilliantly paced. It is hard not to be captivated by his presence throughout this hugely satisfying book, from its explosive opening to its bittersweet end.’ – Malcolm Forbes, The Washington Post

‘If the story were told in typical thriller style, emphasizing action over language, it would still be good, but O’Connor’s phrasings are a special joy… A deeply emotional read. And when the action is over, the coda could water an atheist’s eye.’ – Kirkus Reviews

‘A striking piece of historical fiction… Telling the story from multiple perspectives, O'Connor succeeds in integrating into the suspenseful plot numerous narrative voices that intersect class, gender, nationality and religion. In the process, he effectively explores the varied motivations of those who joined The Choir and their differing experiences… this novel's strength is its vivid imagery and intimate detail. With its daring hero and theme of pan-European collaboration, O'Connor's addition to the crowded corpus of Second World War fiction is immersive and thrilling.’ – Adam Ahmed-Mekky, Literary Review

Leeanne O’Donnell’s debut novel SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER snapped up by Eriu

Credit: Kevin Murphy

SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER, Leeanne O’Donnell’s debut novel, has been snapped up by Eriu, the Dublin-based imprint of Bonnier Books UK. Deirdre Nolan, publishing director of Eriu, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Sian Ellis-Martin.

Set in 18th century London and Cork, SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER tells the story of the last alchemist, Peter Woulfe. Torn between magical thinking and rational thought, Peter Woulfe seeks enlightenment, but instead he falls in love with the fascinating Sukie, is diverted by lust and embroiled in a dangerous Jacobite plot involving a mysterious book, the Mutus Liber, and a cat-and-mouse chase across London.

Leeanne O'Donnell says: ‘The characters in SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER jumped into my heart and mind and insisted on having their stories told. They took me back to 18th Century London and even further back in time into the mythical landscape of West Cork. I had such fun resisting straight forward romantic plotlines and resolutions, going back and forth through time and following these characters the long way around through experiments in Alchemy, obsessive lust and the echoes of ancient family curses as they try to find out what really matters. I’m excited to have SPARKS going out into the world so that readers can meet these characters and share in their painfully human, messy and joyful journeys.’

Deirdre Nolan says: ‘What an honour it is to be publishing this remarkable book by an Irish debut writer. It is sure to be loved by all fans of historical fiction, with its intriguing plot and fascinating characters. I was hooked from the first line.’

Sian Ellis-Martin says: ‘I’m so pleased that Eriu and Deirdre Nolan will be publishing Leeanne O’Donnell, especially at such an exciting time for the imprint. SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER is a book that sparkles with life and possesses a rare and numinous quality. I know readers will be completely entranced by Leeanne’s storytelling and her vibrant characters, as I have been.’

SPARKS OF BRIGHT MATTER will publish on 11th April 2024 in hardback, eBook and audio.

About Leeanne O’Donnell

Leeanne O’ Donnell was born in Dublin and now lives in an old farmhouse on the foothills of a mountain in the remote south west of Ireland. She feeds her cats, dogs, chickens, daughters and wife reasonably regularly – and occasionally waters her poly-tunnel. She has yet to learn to write a proper shopping list but has managed to finish her first novel while hiding in an old caravan in the garden.

She started her storytelling career working in radio with RTE and BBC - and has made a number of award-winning documentaries for RTE’s Doc on One series. Notably THE LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN about two Irish aristocrats who ran away together in the 18th century and DIVING AND FALLING about dancer and artist Lucia Joyce. She is also a trained psychotherapist and is frequently awed by the sacred work of helping people to understand and transform their own real-life stories.

THE MILK TART MURDERS by Sally Andrew triumphs at the 2023 SA Book Awards

THE MILK TART MURDERS, the fourth in Sally Andrew’s much beloved Tannie Maria series, has won the Adult Fiction category at the 2023 SA Book Awards.

The awards recognise bestselling books written and published in South Africa, with the winners voted for by South African booksellers. The titles are selected from a longer list of bestselling South African titles, as measured by Nielsen BookScan South Africa in 2022. The winners for each category were announced at a virtual ceremony on the 3rd of October 2023, with THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FRYER COOKBOOK by Louisa Holst winning the Non-Fiction category and MY FIRST AFRICAN ADVENTURE by Riaan Manser with Murray Williams & Chantal Tarling, illustrated by Martinus van Tee, winning the Children’s Titles category as well as the most votes overall.

Sally commented: ‘Thank you, Nielsen, PASA and SA book sellers and book readers for giving me this award. I have been blessed to receive this award more than once. Some may think that one award leads to another, but in truth it is as unlikely as lightning striking twice in one place. But each of us, every day, walks a path of miracles, with miracles all around us. A rainbow has the power to blow your mind and light up your soul every time you see it. But so many of us will barely glance and pass on by. I am still learning so much. Today I am grateful for this particular miracle.’ 

In THE MILK TART MURDERS Tannie Maria, Ladismith’s famous crime fighter and agony aunt, once again finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation… but that is not all that troubles her. Newly estranged from her policeman boyfriend, Tannie Maria must wrestle with the complex feelings she has for him and for food…

The Tannie Maria series titles are all bestsellers in South Africa – regularly in the Top 5, with THE MILK TART MURDERS shooting straight to the top of the combined fiction and non-fiction charts on publication in March 2022. Sally is now working on a Tannie Maria Cookbook, which Penguin SA will publish in April 2024.

TV rights for a 10-part series based on the Tannie Maria books were bought by French-South African Both Worlds Productions, with the support of Edinburgh-based Pirate Productions and with Creative Scotland contributing to funding. The series was selected for the Berlinale ‘Series Markets Selects’ in February 2022, and began broadcast in South Africa on M-Net in March 2022 to brilliant reviews and social media praise. The series has been nominated for three awards at the 2023 South African Film & Television Awards (Best Supporting Actress in a TV Drama, Best Achievement in Editing in a TV Drama, and Best Achievement in Directing in a TV Drama), Best Writing for a Television Series at the 2023 WGSA Muse Awards, Best Cinematography at the 2023 Venice TV Awards, and was also shortlisted for a Rose d’Or Award. Acorn TV distributes the series to the rest of the world. Watch the trailer here.

About Sally Andrew
Sally Andrew divides her time between Muizenberg on the Cape Town coast and a nature reserve near Ladismith in the Klein Karoo, South Africa, where she lives with her artist partner and various wildlife (including a giant eland and a secretive leopard). Sally has published a number of non-fiction books on adult and environmental education.

Her first novel, RECIPES FOR LOVE & MURDER: A Tannie Maria Mystery was a Kirkus Best Book of 2015, A Wall Street Journal Best Mystery Book 2015, The Bookseller Fiction editor’s Choice 2015 and A Good Housekeeping Book of the Month. It was recently adapted for television and is available to stream on Acorn TV in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand, and Latin America.

Praise for THE MILK TART MURDERS

‘Sally Andrew is baaaack! This time with THE MILK TART MURDERS. Tannie Maria and Henk are at the movies when Oom Frik dies, and it might be murder because the Oom had many sought-after treasures. A second death occurs and there is a clue – a letter addressed to Tannie Maria asking for advice and a milk-tart recipe.’ – Jennifer Platt, Sunday Times, ‘Books To Look Out For This Year’

‘The characters in THE MILK TART MURDERS will have you laughing out loud at some of their antics. Andrew has a magical way with words, creating characters we are all acquainted with: The grumpy old man, the town flirt, the rule-breakers… this book features them all! But Andrew does more than perfectly capture small town life, she has created a cast of characters who tug at your heart strings with their flaws and troubles... The mystery is compelling and has many twists and turns that will have you hooked from the first page.’ – Carmen Coetsee, The South African

‘For me this was one of those rare, comfortable, easy, stay up after midnight reads that I devoured with a few giggles along the way… Andrew's storytelling, pace and attention to detail are delicious. Every chapter ends with a cliff hanger that had me wanting to finish that elusive “one more chapter”.’ – Karen Watkins

‘Sally Andrew’s unexpected turns of phrase leave one laughing out loud, along with several “didn’t see that coming” plot twists and turns. Her characters are larger than life – some much larger – but all totally believable… THE MILK TART MURDERS is truly recommended as a wonderfully entertaining novel.’ – Barry Meehan, ArtSmart

‘Twists, turns, suspicions, ‘journalistic investigations’, agony aunt recipes – all falls into place, as expected. In a crazy world, Tannie Maria is the coziness you need right now.’ – Roelia Schoeman, The Life and Times of a Boozy Foodie

Visit Sally’s website
Follow Sally on Instagram and X (previously Twitter)

Sam Clafin to star in Greg Latter's adaptation of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, directed by Billie August

As reported by Variety, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, a new series adapted from the classic Alexandre Dumas novel by Greg Latter, is now in production. Directed by legendary Danish Director Billie August, whose 1987 film PELLE THE CONQUEROR won the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the series will star Sam Clafin (DAISY JONES & THE SIX) in the lead role.

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is the first television series produced entirely by the Mediawan group. Palomar in Italy, best known for its INSPECTOR MONTALBANO series, is lead producer, in collaboration with DEMD Productions in France. The show will be distributed through Mediawan Rights and has been commissioned by broadcasters RAI Fiction in Italy and France Televisions in France.

The series follows Edmond Dantes, played by Clafin, a nineteen-year-old sailor who is wrongfully accused of treason. After years of imprisonment in the Château d’If, a frightening fortress on an island near Marseille, Dantes escapes and assumes the persona of the Count of Monte Cristo. He soon plots his revenge on those who had him imprisoned.

Carlo Degli Esposti, Palomar’s co-founder and veteran producer, told Variety he was confident that “quality of the script” written by Greg Latter, along with “the creative vision of August and performance of Sam Claflin in the title role” would give THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO “a modern edge while remaining faithful to the legacy of Alexandre Dumas’ work.” 

The series is currently filming across France, Italy, and Malta. The five-month shoot will wrap in December.

About Greg Latter

Greg is an award-winning South African writer and director who has worked all over the world. He is the recipient of the Thomas Pringle Award for Creative Writing (1982), the Sithengi Best Screenplay Award (2005), the SAFTA Best Screenplay Award (2007) and the Naledi Best Play Award (2011). In a career spanning 35 years, he has had 22 feature films, 11 television series and 5 plays produced.

Greg has worked with director Billie August several times before, including on his highly praised feature NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON, which starred Jeremy Irons as the lead. Their most recent collaboration, the feature film ME, YOU, went into production in September 2022 and stars Tom Hollander and James Franco.