CONNOLLY IS IRISH FAVORITE

John Connolly is busy dominating the Irish Bestseller lists with his latest two novels.

The Unquiet is No1 on the Original paperback Irish Bestseller list after entering at No3 on only a partial week's sales.

The Book Of Lost Things rises is the Irish Paperback Bestseller List to No8 in its fourth week on the shelves.


TRANSATLANTIC SUCCESS

SWEET CHILD O' MINE...

Lee Child's The Hard Way is blazing a trail across the globe -in its third week on The New York Times Bestseller List at No8 and in its EIGHTH WEEK on The Sunday Times Paperback Bestseller List - The Hard Way entered the paperback list at No1.

Tenth in the Jack Reacher series - The Hard Way hit the NYT No3 slot in the first week and continues to be the bookshops' favorite : No1 in Borders US and No3 at Barnes & Noble.

Other BESTSELLER CHART LISTINGS to date are:

No5 on The Washington Post Bestseller List.

Two weeks at No1 on the Book Sense Bestseller List, currently at No3.

Voted No3 in prestigious trade rag Publishing Weekly - Lee's first top-five PW debut.

LONDON BOOK FAIR 2007


Another record year for the agency at the London Book Fair.

We saw more publishers from more countries than we've ever seen before. Over 3 days the agency's foreign rights team took over 120 meetings with publishers from over 20 countries. A number of deals were brokered at the tables and well over 400 of our author's titles will be sent out over the coming weeks.

Emma White, Head of Foreign Rights at the Agency, says: "It was a very enjoyable fair this year - back in West London the atmosphere was much more relaxed than last year in the Docklands! I'm happy to report that the Rights Department and had a record number of appointments with foreign Publishers that we've not seen before. I'm confident of a good number of deals in the coming months. I'd also like to congratulate Maddie on doing such a wonderful job at the fair. Having only joined the Agency 3 weeks before the fair, she was phenomenal!!"

JOHN CONNOLLY CONTINUES TO WOW READERS

The Book of Lost Things hits the Irish Mass Market bestseller lists at No9 this week - further proof of its continually growing popularity.

John Connolly's masterful work The Book Of Lost Things caused a stir among booksellers and literary judges at home in Ireland and the UK and across the Atlantic.

So far prizes and recommendations are as follows:

- Shortlisted for the Hughes & Hughes Irish Book of the Year Award.

- Selected to be The Times Book Club choice for April ’ 07.

In the US:

Winner of the Alex Award. These Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

The Book of the Month club will feature it in their main selection for the of the Book of the Month smart reader sub-club, in May.

Voted No1 Booksense Pick of the Month for December by The American Bookseller ’s Association.



NEW RIGHTS MANAGER
JOINS THE RANKS


 

 

We are delighted to announce that Madeleine Buston has now joined the Rights Department as a 'Rights Manager' as of the 26th March.

Madeleine joins us from Literary Agen
cy A P Watt, and will be working closely with Emma White, Darley Anderson's Head of Rights, to ensure continuing success in the Foreign Rights Department.

Madeleine will be a full time member of the Rights Team and replaces Lucie Whitehouse, who is sadly leaving us at the end of March after 5 years at the Agency to pursue her already successful writing career.



MARTINA AT THE NIBBIES


 

 

Biggest selling adult fiction writer Martina's latest novel Close has been nominated for the popular fiction award at the British Book Awards 2007.

The British Book Awards - the oscars of the publishing world - bring together and eclectic mix of literary giants, sports stars, comedians and bestselling mainstream authors.

The winners will be announced on the 28th March. See the action on Channel 4 on the 30th March.

Find out more at: http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/pnbb_index.asp?



Q&A WITH ANNE BAKER


 

 

Read an interview with prolific author Sunday Times bestseller Anne Baker who this year sees her 22nd novel in print...



JACK REACHER'Z THE TOP


Lee Child with hard-man series character Jack Reacher has shot straight to No1 in The Sunday Times paperback bestseller list with The Hard Way!

With sales of 42,000 copies in his first full week - a 40% increase on like for like sales last year - he sets a NEW RECORD at Transworld.

Janet Maslin in The New York Times calls Lee Child "THE BEST THRILLER WRITER OF THE MOMENT".

The Boston Globe say Child is "THE BEST THRILLER WRITER IN THE BUSINESS".


CONGRATULATIONS LEE AND JACK, WE SALUTE YOU!

Bad Luck and Trouble is published in the UK in April and the US in May this year.

To keep up with Lee and Jack sign up for the Reacher Report at: http://www.leechild.com/report.html



READER'S NO1
BOOKSELLER'S NO1
HEADLINE'S NO1


Not only was Martina THE NO1 BIGGEST SELLING ADULT HARDBACK FICTION WRITER OF 2005!

S
he is now also officially the THE NO1 BIGGEST SELLING ADULT HARDBACK FICTION WRITER OF 2006!

Close -Martina's latest novel she went into the lists at No1 AFTER ONLY THREE DAYS SALES...WHSmith boasted selling a copy of Close every thirty seconds setting a Fiction Hardback Record for Book of the Week!!!

Spanning forty years of the criminal underworld Close is intense, shocking, unsettling and utterly addictive and features one of her strongest and most appealing heroines yet - Lily Diamond.

CONGRATULATIONS MARTINA!

Find out more about Martina's gripping latest novel at: www.gettingcloser.co.uk



HOME GROWN ESSEX TALENT


This year Bernadine Kennedy takes part in both the Essex Book Festival and the Southend Libraries Book Festival where she will be talking about her latest novel Past Chances.

Both events highlight some of the best home-grown talent and feature readings, discussion and family events.

Book tickets for these events go to:http://www.harlow.gov.uk/news/events/events and http://www.southend.gov.uk/resources/SBFbookletlowresproof.pdf

In her compelling novel Past Chances Bernardine Kennedy brilliantly conveys how the damage caused in the past can cause one's life to spiral out of control.

Eleanor Rivington has always felt like an outsider. Abandoned by her mother and brought up in fear of her father, she's desperate to leave home and live like other girls in London in the seventies. When a barman from work invites her to share a flat with him and two of his friends, it is her chance to break free.

But when Eleanor confronts her father the terrible tragedy that follows haunts her forever. And, despite the support of her new friends, Eleanor's life seems destined for further disappointment!



LUCKY NUMBER THIRTEEN


Tana French's stunning debut novel In the Woods has now been sold in THIRTEEN TERRITORIES.

To date In the Woods is sold in the UK, US, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Israel, France, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Romania and Lithuania...and all this before the book is even out in hardback!

This week
sees Tana at various London bookshops signing copies of In The Woods including: Waterstones (in Picadilly, Garrick street, Trafalgar Square, Oxford street, Notting Hill Gate, High Street Kensington and Harrods) Borders (in Oxford street and Charing Cross rd) and Foyles, Murder 1, Goldsboro books and Books Etc (Oxford street and Whiteleys). Pick up your signed copy this week!

Listen to an interview with Tan here:
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/fof/index.html#


MAN ALIVE - NUMBER FIVE


Clare Dowling's fabulous new novel No Strings Attached has now spent FIVE WEEKS IN THE IRISH TIMES TOP FIVE BESTSELLERS!

No Strings Attached was Easons Book of The Week and has been awarded a FOUR STAR **** rating from Heat magazine, Goodhousekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Candis aswell as being voted READ OF THE MONTH by Elle Magazine.

After a series of toxic bachelors, Mia finally meets David. But the night before their wedding, David's car is discovered on the top of a steep cliff, with his clothes neatly folded on the bonnet. To add insult to injury, his credit card number shows up two days later in the south of France. Has he got cold feet? Or has something more sinister happened to David? Mia sets off to France in search of answers, accompanied by David's best friend Lenny, the most toxic bachelor of them all. He's on a mission to convince Mia that relationships were never meant to last forever. And he's game if she is!

ANCIENT ROME CONQUERS US

Congratulations to David Wishart on publication of his ELEVENTH Marcus Corvinus novel - In At The Death hits the shelves in hardback on the 22nd March!

The surprise suicide of a young man with – apparently – everything to live for – prompts his family to ask Marcus Corvinus - THE PHILLIP MARLOWE OF ANCIENT ROME - to investigate. All they really want is an explanation. But Marcus’s sleuthing uncovers many contradictory elements in the tale, and he is forced to conclude that this wasn’t suicide at all, but murder.

FURTHER CONGRATULATIONS for breaking into the US with Ovid - the first in the Marcus Corvinus series. Paperback rights to Ovid and Germanicus have been licensed to Maggie Topkiss at Felony & Mayhem and Ovid will be published in Fall 07.

**Comic, bawdy and extremely engrossing, Ovid is an intriguing tale of mystery and suspense***

"Like Chandler's Marlowe, Corvinus wisecracks his way through a weary world of murder and intrigue until he hunts down the truth. A taut thriller in which ancient Rome springs to life."
- The Times

"Wishart is a fine Scholar and perfectly at home in the period." - The Sunday Times

"Ancient Rome's shrewdest and most sardonic detective...the best balance of hystery and mystery yet." - Kirkus Review.

"Innate humour and pace carry one through to the tragi-comic climax." - The Irish Times

NEW DARLEY ANDERSON DISCOVERY

Successful talent-spotting Agent Darley Anderson - who when it comes to animals is well known for his love of cats (His own cat – called ‘Little Cat’ is something of a media star having featured prominently in the work of two Agency clients: an hour long documentary of ‘Sunderland’s Granny’ Sheila Quigley, and in the paintings oft Kwon Kuen Shan whose cat books Anderson sold to Random House) is convinced he’s found a big bestselling dog book, and Val Hudson at Headline – who has done a number of successful dog books in her time – agrees and pre-empted in less than 24 hours with a high six figure offer.

The inception of the book was as follows: Darley, who is an avid reader of Country Life (“I’m a country house property voyeur” he says), came across a tiny piece about Graeme Sims – a clergyman, successful farmer shepherd and self-taught experienced dog trainer who had just come back from a successful US lecture tour on Dog Whispering. Darley Immediately sensed a bestseller – Graeme is so knowledgeable and so promotable – so signed him up and worked with him editorially until the manuscript was ready to submit.

Graeme says:“ When Darley Anderson rung to say that Headline had bought my book I had two sleepless nights (not through worry but for joy) Everyone at Darley Anderson's seem able to combine professionalism with bucketfulls of charm and my meetings with Val Hudson at Headline have been my idea of fun and productivity. If I was a footballer I would be over the moon and maybe that's just how I feel- it’s like signing on for a great club and being determined to score more goals than anyone thought I could.

It means that I can afford to do what I have always dreamed of which is to live in the most rural area spending my mornings training my dogs and the afternoons and evenings writing about them.

I learned about dogs as a shepherd among Celts now I shall return to sheepdog country where the place names have built in musicality and the valleys echo to the sounds of sheep and the whistles of the shepherds.

My first real job was writing blurbs at a publishing house; I never, in my wildest dreams , imagined that one day someone might write one about my book. It's a great feeling!”

Val Hudson says:“Thanks to Darley, we are now the proud publishers of the nation’s most renaissance author. Graeme Sims is an ex-advertising director, award-winning children’s book illustrator, country vicar and – most importantly – a man with the unique and uncanny ability to ‘speak dog’. His book tells you how you too can control, help and communicate with your best friend. His is a simple series of instructions, truly original and – quite simply – one that works like magic.

I’ve published quite a few books about man’s best friend in my time, but Graeme combines sparkle and instruction and sheer ‘trustability’ in a unique way, one that I know will appeal to the Great British Dog-owning public. His books will be at the top of the lists, and Headline will have a lot of fun getting him there.”

BORN IN THE USA

US rights to two of Martina's titles have been sold in the US for a high advance to Jamie Raab of Time Warner.

The first title is Close which American readers will be able to buy in 2008. Publication will be backed by a "far-reaching marketing and publicity campaign."

Close - which went into the No1 spot in the Hardback Bestseller charts AFTER ONLY THREE DAYS SALES - spent sixteen weeks in the Top Ten. WHSmith boasted selling a copy every 30 seconds.

ROMANTIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR

Carole Matthews has been shortlisted to win the Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2007 for her fabulous novel Welcome to the Real World.

A longlist of 22 titles was whittled down to six by a panel ffrom The Romantic Novelists' Association which organises the Award. The overall winner will receive an engraved glass trophy and a cheque for £5000 at the Award Luncheon, to be held on Friday 27th at the Savoy Hotel in London.

The Romantic Novel of the Year Award was established in 1960 by the associatin to recognise excellence in romantic fiction.

***Fern Kendal has the voice of an angel but, as a badly paid barmaid and pub singer, she's going nowhere. Then she enters the TV talent show Fame Game and this could be her big break. If only, in the real world, things were that simple.

Evan David's exquisite tones have enthralled opera buffs throughout the world. His agent, his coach, his chauffeur and his chef are just a few of those who pander to his every need. But what Evan needs now is a break - from it all.

When Fern is picked to be Evan's assistant their two worlds collide and neither one is prepared for the dramatic effect they will have on each other. For something happens when they are together - and it's more than just music...

Welcome to the Real World is an irresistibly romantic story of what happens when two people from totally different worlds can't help falling in love....

Vote by visiting: http://www.rna-uk.org

LESLEY PEARSE'S
WOMEN OF COURAGE WINNER


Nicole Gallagher is the proud winner of the inaugural Lesley Pearse Women of Courage Award.

The announcement was made at a special Awards lunch attended by the five Award finalists, their friends and family, representatives of Penguin Books, Love It!, Woolworths and of course Lesley's agent Darley Anderson.

Nicole Gallagher (44) from Kent was nominated by her best friend, Anne Bunning, because of her care, courage and devotion to her two children; Aishling (5), who was born with internal malformations and Niamh (7), who suffers with Arnold Chiari malformation – where parts of her brain protrude into the spinal column. Both children have endured almost 20 operations between them and her love and support for them has never faltered.

Lesley Pearse said: ‘Nicole is an inspiration to all mothers. To have two children with severe medical problems, the endless sleepless nights, the agony of waiting by hospital beds, the fear and the anxiety, must be terrible. Yet Nicole has taken it in her stride without complaint, she sparkles and bubbles and doesn't ask 'Why Me?' I think she is marvellous and a truly courageous woman.’

Elizabeth Smith, Penguin's Commercial Marketing Director, said:'We have been incredibly moved by the stories we have received; all the women nominated have shown such bravery and sacrifice in their lives. Nicole's story touched us all. Her selfless and positive approach to dealing with such a heart-breaking situation is incredibly inspiring; she is a deserving winner of the first Lesley Pearse Women of Courage Award.

Karen Pasquali Jones, Editor of Love It!,said: ' Reading about how Nicole has loved and cared for both her children was an incredibly moving story. Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world. All any mum wants for her children is that they can lead healthy and happy lives. Nicole is making sure that both her beautiful children manage to live fulfilled, contented lives, despite the challenging medical problems they face. The fact Nicole has managed to do so with such selflessness and grace shows that she is a true woman of courage, and an inspiration to us all.'

Gerry Berkley, Woolworths' Books Trading Managersaid: ‘We at Woolworths are incredibly proud to be associated with the Woman of Courage Award and are delighted that the prizes went to such worthy and deserving winners’.

Lesley's latest novel Hope is the portrait of a remarkable woman who will never let the world - or injustice - bring her down. And is in its fifth week on the paperback bestseller lists at No7.

Read more about Lesley and her bestselling books at: http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/lesleypearse/books.html#hope



WHITE HOT FOREIGN RIGHTS TEAM


 

Emma White has been promoted to Head of Rights at the Agency effective from the beginning of this year.

White joined the Darley Anderson Agency in May 2004 as Rights manager.


JOHN CONNOLLY IS ITALIAN NO1

ITS A FIRST FOR JOHN CONNOLLY. AND A FIRST FOR THE DARLEY ANDERSON AGENCY.

The paperback edition of The Black Angel - L'Angelo Delle Ossa -has gone straight to No1 in the Italian Bestseller Lists....

***The Black Angel was a Sunday Times and Irish Times Bestseller***

A young woman goes missing from the streets of New York. Those who have taken her believe that nobody cares about her and that no one will come looking for her. They are wrong.

She is “blood” to the killer Louis, the man who stands at the right hand of private detective Charlie Parker and Louis will tear apart anyone who stands in the way of his attempts to find her. But as Louis’ violent search progresses, Parker comes to realize that the disappearance is part of an older mystery, one that is linked to an ornate church of bones in Eastern Europe, to the slaughter at a French monastery in 1944 and to the quest for a mythical prize that has been sought for centuries by evil men: the Black Angel.

Yet the Black Angel is more than a myth. It lives. And men are not the only creatures that seek it...

Congratulations John!



RACE OF THE MINI YORKSHIRES


Simon & Schuster is holding a competition to celebrate publication of The Yorkshire Pudding Club by debut novelist Milly Johnson.

Anyone who is pregnant and working in the publishing industry is eligible to enter to join the Yorkshire Pudding Publishing Club prize draw and win vouchers for Mothercare.

There will be even be a bonus prize for the first 'publishing' baby born in 2007! And one name will be selected at random to win a mother-to-be Pamper Parcel.

To enter email Amanda Shipp (amanda.shipp@simonandschuster.co.uk) with your name, work address and job position and the approximate baby due date.

Entry closes 31st December 2006.

The Yorkshire Pudding Club will be published on the 7th March 2007.



BAD MEN TO HIT SILVER SCREEN


Sobini films in association with Lionsgate have bought the film rights to John Connolly's bestselling thriller Bad Men.

Bad Men which topped the Irish and Australian bestseller lists and was a Sunday Times Top Five Bestseller tells the story of a mysterious woman who takes refuge on a haunted island off Maine.

The screenplay is being written by hot Hollywood talent Stephen Susco famed for his work on The Grudge and Cirle of Confusion.

Sobini most recently produced Peaceful Warrior which was released by Lionsgate.



CLARE DOWLING IN THE HOT SEAT


 

 

Read about Clare's books, where she gets her inspiration from, her heroes and favorite reads and what's in store for the 2006/2007!



FIRST OF ITS KIND AWARD


 

 

The UK's No1 selling hardback adult fiction author Martina Cole is the FIRST EVER WRITER TO SPONSOR AN AWARD at the Bookseller Retail Awards.

The Martina Cole General Retailer of the Year 2006 award was won by Tesco.

The winners can boast a sales uplift of 52% in 2005 - as well as that one in five of their 15 million customers now buys books in their local Tescos.



JOHN CONNOLLY
A US SUCCESS


John Connolly's dark and magical novel The Book of Lost Things is proving a massive hit in the US where it has been picked as December's Book of the Month by Booksense as well as starred and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by the Library Review.

The Book of Lost Things which is being hailed as a feat of modern storytelling tells the story of a young boy mourning his mother. David is angry and he is alone, with only the books on his shelf to keep him company.

But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness and as he takes refuge in the whispers and fairytales so beloved of his dead mother he finds that the real world and the fantasy world have begun to meld. The Crooked Man has come, with his mocking smile and his enigmatic words: " Welcome your majesty, all hail the new King."

As war rages across Europe, David is violently propelled into a world that is both a construct of his imagination and frighteningly real. A strange reflection of his own world composed of myths and stories, populated by hybrid wolves - the Loups, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a legendary book of lost things...

"For a most unique flight of fantasy, The Book Of Lost Things is a powerful testament of growth, change and acceptance in a world of endless possibilities." -The Clarion Ledger

"A tale sure to be a hit with adult and teen readers of Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl" - The Poisoned Pen



RECORD YEAR AT THE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR 2006


 

t was another great year for the agency's Foreign Rights department who had over 150 meetings with scouts and foreign publishers.

Highlights included a substantial pre-empt from the Italians for new children's author Adrienne Kress's Alex and the Ironic Gentleman and a heated Greek auction which started at the fair and concluded the following week with a record breaking advance for three books - the largest the agency has ever had in this territory.

Another new agency author Jane Costello's debut novel Bridesmaids was met with great enthusiasm and Italian rights were snapped up for a very good sum by Mondadori in Italy.

The Foreign Rights team say:

Emma White:"Frankfurt is the highlight of the Rights calendar, and the increased number of appointments we have with a wider range of Foreign Publishers from far-flung territories gives us exciting opportunities for the year ahead."

Lucie Whitehouse: "The foreign editors were certainly in a buying mood and there were offers at the table from publishers already enjoying overseas success with Agency authors. Frankfurt remains critical for keeping up to date with developments in all of the many markets in which our authors are published."



FROM BUSES TO BOOKS


 

 

The Agency's oldest author Elizabeth Waite has just celebrated her 84th birthday!

Her first book was taken on by Darley Anderson and bought by Little Brown when she was seventy years old.

Elizabeth - ex driver of the No18 Tooting bus has written fifteen books in fourteen years and has already started on her next one!

To add to her wonderful writing career, Elizabeth is in the TOP CATEGORY of the most borrowed books from libraries nationwide - for the FOURTH YEAR running.

CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST BIRTHDAY WISHES ELIZABETH!



SUN SEA AND SAGAS


 

 

Bestselling writer Lynda Page shone brightly at her first ever spanish book signing in Costa Blanca!!

Recently named No5 FAVORITE SAGA WRITERS, Lynda was met with a resounding Ole by hordes of loyal fans buying copies of Onwards and Upwards and For What it's Worth and was in her element discussing their favourite characters, plots and surprise endings.

Lynda says:" I couldn't believe I'd been named in a list which included such amazing authors as Agatha Christie and Josephine Cox, I was stunned. Even better was that it was a people's poll. That's what is the most important to me, what the actual readers think. That's why days like this are fantastic, I get to meet the readers and I get completely honest feeldback."


DARKHOUSE IS HUGE INTERNATIONAL HIT

 

 

Alex Barclay's debut crime novel Darkhouse is now published in FIFTEEN languages!!!

As well as UK and US editions Darkhouse has so far been sold to fifteen other territories including France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Russia, The Czech Republic, Poland, Taiwan, Turkey, Portugal, Brazil, Norway, Japan, Greece and Bulgaria.

Darkhouse hit both the UK AND Irish Hardback Bestseller Lists on publication last year.


FRIENDS RE-UNITED

 

 

Darley Anderson catches up with Harper Collins Managing Directors Sally Gritten and Amanda Ridout at their wonderful annual author party at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington gardens.


LESLEY PEARSE LAUNCHES
WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD

 

 

It's official. The Lesley Pearse Women of Courage Award in association with The Sun and Woolworth's has been launched!

This FIRST OF ITS KIND AWARD will celebrate the achievements of ordinary women who have lived extraordinary lives - real Women of Courage. Inspiration comes from Lesley's own incredible life story - risen from an orphanage to become one of the nation's favorite bestselling authors.

Lesley says:'I'm so thrilled to be involved with this award and whether you win the prizes or not the nomination will mean so much to someone. You simply can't have too many opportunities to tell a friend or a loved one that you think they are - or something they've done - is special. Simply by registering nomination you are bringing somebody to wider recognition - and I can't imagine not being moved by that.
'

Nomination period starts in July when Lesley's wonderful new novel Hope will be on the shelves!

To find out more visit: www.womenofcourageaward.co.uk

SCARLETT SOARS INTO
TOP TWENTY

 

 

Cathy Cassidy flies into the Top Twenty Bestseller list at No17 with her latest novel Scarlett !!

Scarlett's not red like a sunset, she's red with rage. She cannot believe her mum's sunk so low as to pack her off to Ireland to stay with the dad who left them. Surely he's the reason for everything going wrong, her never being able to stay in a school, rules always just, somehow, seeming to get broken? Ha! They won't get round her so easily.

But she hasn't reckoned on the gorgeous Kian. He might just find a way to change Scarlett's mind. There's a chance that – this time – things will be different...

Can Scarlett manage her anger or will she die of boredom?

Find out more about Cathy Cassidy at: www.cathycassidy.com

ANNE BAKER CELEBRATES A SPECIAL CAREER AT HEADLINE

 

 

Headline Books will throw a lavish lunch party for bestselling saga writer Anne Baker to celebrate publication of her 21st book!

Anne's editor Marion Donaldson says: "I'm thrilled to be celebrating publication of Anne's 21st book with Headline with her agent, Darley Anderson. Carousel of Secrets is the latest in a series of wonderfully evocative, page-turning sagas from an author who has won the hearts of legions of readers over the years, and we are thrilled and proud to have been her publishers from the very first one.We look forward to the next 21!"

Carousel of Secrets was published on June 5th 2006.


AGENCY AUTHORS MAKE BIG IMPRESSION ON BESTSELLER LISTS WORLDWIDE

 

 

 


Agency authors are featuring strongly on Bestseller Lists AROUND THE WORLD...

*** Martina Cole's latest crime thriller The Take has taken the No1 slot on the Sunday Times Paperback Fiction Bestseller List IN ITS FIRST WEEK OF PUBLICATION!***

***Constance Briscoe's memoir Ugly has now been on The Sunday Times Hardback Bestseller list for TWENTY WEEKS. ***

***Cathy Cassidy's Scarlett has entered the Bestseller List at No17 with her wonderful novel Scarlett***

***Lincolnshire's queen of the romantic saga, Margaret Dickinson spent SEVEN weeks on the Heatseeker's list with Pauper's Gold - her latest heart rending story of love and survival .***

***Lee Child's The Hard Way is now A COAST TO COAST BESTSELLER, listed on TWELVE BESTSELLER LISTS ACROSS THE US including the New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, the Dallas Morning News, the Independant Mystery Booksellers association,The NAIBA, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Denver Post, the Washington Post, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Rocky Mountain News and the San Francisco Chronicle.***

***The Hard Way also celebrates a TOP TEN rating in the New York Times Book Review.***

***Lee Child's thriller One Shot spent SIX weeks in The Sunday Times Top Ten Paperback Bestseller List.One Shot hit the lists at No2 in only its second week***.

***And John Connolly's latest offering The Book Of Lost Things featured as a TOP TITLE in The Bookseller's literary, historical and general listing.***

It may be the World Cup scoring goals this summer but authors on Darley's list are the true winners.....


PAUL CARSON HITS US

 

 

 

US rights to Paul Carson's thrillers Ambush and Betrayal have been sold to Daniela Rapp at St. Martin's Press in the US.

Betrayal will be published in Hardback in Spring ' 07 - followed up by Ambush in Spring 08.


HOLLYWOOD ZAPPED

 

 

 

Bruckheimer and Disney have bought the film rights for Ahmet Zappa's The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless for a monstrous $1.5 million through Helen Breitwieser of the Cornerstone Literary Agency,an associate to the Darley Anderson Agency.

Walt Disney emerged victorious after the feverish auction with Buena Vista Motion Pictures and Warner. The screenwriter is Tim Firth - who's latest screenscript was Kinky Boots.

Watch this space for more news on The Monstrous Memoirs' mighty screen appearance!


WILD RIGHTS BONANZA

 

 

 


We've had a flurry of sales for Kate Wild's The Hercules Gene, published in Spring 2007 by Chicken House.
 
Taiwanese rights go to Crown, Italian rights to Salani and Danish rights to Sesam, all in record breaking deals for the agency.

Watch this space for further news...

TANA FRENCH IS HOT PROPERTY

 

 

 

Exciting new talent Tana French has been snapped up by publishers Hodder in the UK, Hodder Headline in Ireland and Viking/Penguin in the US for her stunning debut novel In The Woods.

Jointly acquired for a large six figure sum by Sue Fletcher at Hodder UK and Ciara Considine of Hodder Headline Ireland In The Woods is SET FOR GREAT THINGS.

Darley Anderson says: "Tana has a great talent. Her characters are absolutely superb. So is her plotting. She will be a BESTSELLER."

Emma White, who sells US rights at the agency, negotiated a six-figure sum with Viking/Penguin US for two thrillers by Tana including In The Woods. Viking's Kendra Harpster says: "Everyone at Viking was absolutely floored from the very first page of Tana's novel. We have a massively appealing masterpiece that readers are sure to love.This is a very exciting addition to the Viking list."In The Woods is a haunting psychological crime thriller that starts with the discovery of a little girl's body on an archealogical site just outside Dublin.

Investigating the crime is detective duo Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox. What Rob hides from his colleagues is that the murder brings back memories of a traumatic event in his own past, and the investigation becomes inextricably entangled with that long-ago event.

Sue Fletcher says: "It's hard to believe this is Tana 's first novel, because it is so confident and assured. She has superb plotting skills and the gift of creating sympathetic, flawed characters."

Ciara Considine says: "From the first page this stands out from the crowd, completely engaging and full of surprising twists and turns. This surely marks the BEGINNING OF A BESTSELLING CAREER for Tana."

LOCAL STAR KICKS OFF TOUR

SHEILA QUIGLEY

 

 

 

Thursday 6th April saw the hugely successful signing and launch of Sheila Quigley's latest thriller - Living On A Prayer at Ottakars in Sunderland.

The event was a lively mix of fans, friends and family - with Sheila signing well over hundred copies!

Sheila really is a local star and the enthusiasm and excitement from everyone at the party was tangible. Among Sheila's family were her three daughters Dawn, Janice and Diane and son Micheal. Also in attendance were Susan Sandon, Alex Hippisley-Cox and Dave Westwood from Random House and Emma White and Zoe King from the Darley Anderson Agency.

Over the forthcoming weeks Sheila will be touring bookshops nationwide!
See where Sheila will be next and get your copy signed - www.randomhouse.co.uk/events

A GOLDEN CELEBRATION FOR

MARGARET DICKINSON

 

 

 

On 7th April Pan Macmillan hosted a celebratory champagne tea at Ottakars in Lincoln for Margaret Dickinson - Lincolnshire's queen of the romantic saga.

The party celebrated publication of Margaret’s 21st novel Pauper’s Gold and 50 years of writing – a staggering achievement!

The party was attended by a wonderful mix of people. Philippa McEwan, Catriona Row and Sandra Taylor were there from Pan; Julia Churchill from the Darley Anderson Agency; Sue Coley, Dawn Bradley, Sue Walker and Sue McNair from Skegness Library; Gill Hart and Peter Lord were there from Ottakars. Friends and family also came, and of course Dennis, Margaret’s husband.

The Mayor of Lincoln also came to toast Margaret’s success!

Two of Margaret’s biggest fans were there too, having won a competition run in The Lincolnshire Echo.

They had both read all of Margaret’s books – one of the winners even shares names with one of Margaret’s characters.

That morning Margaret signed 250 books at WHSmith Skegness, with queues out of the door, and the following day she signed 115 books at Ottakars in Lincoln. She has a promotional tour of nearly 30 events and signings, on top of her normal busy schedule. She really is indefatigable...

Find out where Margaret's next signing is at: www.panmacmillan.com/events

MONSTROUS ADVANCE FOR

AHMET ZAPPA

 

 

 

Ahmet Zappa's thrilling debut children's novel - The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless has been sold to Puffin after a very hard fought auction for an almighty six figure advance.

Zappa, son of legendary rock star Frank Zappa, says it was his childhood obsession with monsters that provided the origins of The Monstrous Memoirs - the story of monster hunts, a kidnap and a daring rescue.

Brother sister duo Max and Minerva McFearless set out to save their father - a renowned monster hunter - from the most loathsome diabolical monster in the universe.

"Scientific data" on all the things that go bump in the night and recipes for keeping bloodthirsty beasts at bay abound in this fabulously illustrated hysterical adventure story.

Sarah Hughes at Puffin says:"It has such direct child appeal, it's the kind of book that turns non readers into readers. This kind of distinctive talent doesn't come along every day."

The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless will be published in the UK and US in August 2006.


MARTINA COLE TAKES ON THE LISTS

 

 

Martina Cole takes on both the The Sunday Times paperback Bestseller List AND the Irish Bestseller List with her latest page-turning thriller The Take going straight in at No2!!!

The Take was the biggest selling hardback adult fiction title of 2005 and continues to receive rave reviews.


LEE CHILD HITS LISTS THE HARD WAY

Lee Child's highly acclaimed latest thriller The Hard Way is now in it's THIRD WEEK in The Sunday Times Hardback Bestseller List - after going straight in at No2.

The Hard Way - also a New York Times Bestseller is proving itself to be a A COAST TO COAST TRANS-ATLANTIC BESTSELLER - listed on TWELVE BESTSELLER LISTS ACROSS THE US including the New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, the Dallas Morning News, the Independant Mystery Booksellers association,The NAIBA, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Denver Post, the Washington Post, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Rocky Mountain News and the San Francisco Chronicle.


***IF YOU HAVEN'T MET REACHER....YOU DON'T KNOW JACK.***


HIGH HOPES FOR LESLEY'S LATEST

 

 

This week long term Agency author Lesley Pearse climbed to No4 in The Booktrack HARDBACK Bestseller Lists with her latest novel Hope - her highest hardback position yet!

Lesley has previously pipped the top spot at No1 in The Sunday Times paperback Bestseller lists...

Lesley was also the most borrowed romantic fiction novelist in 2004/5!!

CONGRATULATIONS LESLEY!


AGENCY'S ANNUAL VISIT TO HAY FESTIVAL

 

 

 

It was another great year for the Agency at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival with Cathy Cassidy a favorite nominee for the Red House Children's Book Award.

The Agency got together with authors, publishers, booksellers, and friends for a culinary feast and champagne, organised by Julia Churchill.


THE HARD WAY

TAKES OFF LIKE A SHOT

 

 

 

IT'S STANDING ROOM ONLY AT EVERY LEE CHILD EVENT across the US on his tour to talk about and promote his new book The Hard Way now in its second week in THE NEW YORK TIMES HARDBACK FICTION LIST. The Hard Way debuted at No3!!

The highly influential New York Times critic Janet Maslin says The Hard Way : "TAKES OFF LIKE A SHOT...Jack Reacher is the rough, tough superman of the crime-busting genre...as smart and charismatic as he is unbeatable"

More praise for The Hard Way includes:

"Electrifying" - Entertainment Weekly

Lee Child's Thrillers are "the BEST written, BEST plotted, BEST in just about every way." -The Boston Globe

Late at night in a New York café, army-cop-turned-drifter Jack Reacher orders coffee in a foam cup so that he can move on at a moment’s notice. He owns nothing, carries less. He has never met a female colleague he can’t seduce, or a case he can’t solve.

But now Reacher is confronted by a situation so disturbing and deceptive that the truth eludes him. Has he painted targets on the good guys’ backs?

The Hard Way is published in the UK on 3rd July 2006.

MARTINA TELLS IT LIKE IT REALLY IS AT THE NIBBIES

 

 

 

Martina Cole's bestselling novel The Take has won the prestigious Crime Thriller of the Year award at the British Book Awards 2006 - the Oscars of the publishing world.

The Take - which went straight to No1 in The Sunday Times hardback Bestseller List - was the biggest selling HARDBACK ADULT FICTION title in 2005.

Find out more at www.britishbookawards.co.uk

LEE CHILD HITS WORLDWIDE

BESTSELLER CHARTS

 

 

 

Lee Child's thriller One Shot spent SIX weeks in The Sunday Times Top Ten paperback Bestseller List.One Shot hit the lists at No2 in only it's second week.

'Sharp... addictive...a first rate thriller' - One Shot is our annual, much awaited Reacher-fix.

'Jack Reacher is irresistible.’
Observer

‘Hot, indomitable… knockout...pure escapist gold.'
New York Times

Read about the man behind Jack Reacher at www.jackreacher.co.uk

DOUBLE WHAMMY FOR DARKHOUSE

 

 

 

It was a double whammy for Alex Barclay's stunning debut novel Darkhouse which went into both The Sunday Times Bestseller List at No7 AND Irish Bestseller List at No4 - quickly rising to No1 (ahead of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code).

A DECADE OF JACK REACHER

 

 

 

Monday 6th March 2006

Lee Child and Darley Anderson jointly hosted a lavish party to celebrate TEN YEARS OF WORLDWIDE PUBLICATION at the exclusive Westminster Penthouse overlooking the Houses of Parliament.

Hailed as THE PARTY OF THE LONDON BOOK FAIR it was a lively mix of Lee's worldwide publishers, movie people, friends and fans from the industry.

The atmosphere was buzzing - with champagne on tap and delicious canapes - and both Lee and Darley made a point of thanking the various guests for their hardwork and contribution to what will soon be the Jack Reacher phenomenon. Lee encapsulated the mood saying :"This party is for all of you".

And there was huge excitement when Lee's Hollywood agent Steve Fisher proudly announced the sale of the Jack Reacher Book Series Film rights to Paramount.

In his speech Darley looked back on what has been an amazing success story and recalled his excitement on reading the first manuscript about 'sex-on-legs' Reacher with that universal theme of "feared by the bad loved by the good, Robin Hood, Robin Hood."

To further set the mood was an enormous world map showing in red the countries where Lee is currently published and the bold insignia - THE SUN NEVER SETS ON JACK REACHER.

Click here to view the party snaps.

Read more about Lee in his interview with The Bookseller at www.thebookseller.com

LONDON BOOK FAIR 2006

 

 

 

Another record year for the agency at the London Book Fair.

We saw more publishers from more countries than we've ever seen before. Over 3 days the agency's foreign rights team took over 100 meetings with publishers from over 30 countries. A record number of deals were done at the table and well over 400 of our author's titles were requested and will be sent out over the coming weeks.

**CHANCE ENCOUNTER **

In a chance encounter Darley Anderson gave one aspiring author Linda Chapple some key insights into the trade. Here's what she wrote:

I'd been harbouring a grudge against Darley Anderson for eight years. Ever since he'd dismissed my phone call - and rather pathetic first attempt at a novel with 'I don't do issue books.'
Now sitting opposite him at table 331 at the London Book Fair, he laughs at me and says, 'Did I really say that?'
For the next forty minutes, I watch him eating ciabatta and drinking coke and he gives me something that few busy agents would be willing to give. His time. As he talks, I realise he's not the gruff, fob-you-off agent I first thought. He's a darling. He probably wouldn't thank you for that description, because, after all, he hasn't got where he is today by being nice to people. But he did take time out to talk. And what he said made so much sense.

He tells me that around 150,000 titles are published a year. But how many of these authors can you actually name? I agree perhaps no more than ten, off the top of my head. Darley Anderson's mission is to build careers, to make names, and unashamedly to make money.

In the bestseller market, he explains, people read books in bits, they're multi tasking. Watch any popular television programme and you can see this. So keep your chapters short. He shakes his head when I tell him mine are around thirty pages.

Another important thing is to keep the drama happening - every five pages or so. The reader must have a reason to keep turning those pages. Whether it's romance, sex or violence. He smiles again, ' particularly violence.'

And then there's the title. It's so important. Less is more. One word can say it all - like one of his most recent author's books,'Ugly' - a true story about overcoming child abuse - by Constance Briscoe.
He's always on the look out for a new story - a buzz - something to capture the imagination. I guess that's really the meaning of the word 'novel.'

Last but not least, you have to like the main character. He has a twinkle in his eye when he tells me. But then that's Darley Anderson. What a Darling.

NEW YORKSHIRE WRITER RISES NICELY

MILLY JOHNSON

 

 

 

One of the Agency’s newest authors, Milly Johnson, is celebrating going international with her debut novel The Yorkshire Pudding Club

The manuscript was submitted to overseas publishers to coincide with this year’s London Book Fair and German and Italian rights have subsequently been snapped up in heated auctions. 

Full of heart and humour The Yorkshire Pudding Club is the story of three Barnsley friends whose lives are turned upside down when they all become pregnant – shortly after a picnic on a prehistoric fertility symbol. At the centre of the book are moving stories about love and family.

Early readers have compared Milly’s powerful, warm and funny writing to the books of Marian Keyes and The Full Monty.

The Yorkshire Pudding Club will be published in the UK by Simon & Schuster and in March 2007.

THRILLING NEW CHILDREN'S AUTHOR

KATE WILD

 

 

 

We are delighted to announce the arrival of a major new talent in children’s fiction.

Kate Wild's first two books have been acquired by legendary talent spotter Barry Cunningham at Chicken House. The Hercules Gene is the first in a series of adventure thrillers for 10+ featuring gypsy boy Freedom Smith.

Two hundred years ago, legendary bare-knuckle champion Hercules Smith passed on a dangerous inheritance to his descendents - a rogue gene giving phenomenal strength and fighting skills. Sixteen year old Freedom has inherited it but all it does is cause him trouble. And things are about to get worse.

Barry Cunningham says: 'Kate Wild is a great new writer - bold, exciting, and with a real grasp of terrific 'all action' plotting, plus a feel for unusual and colourful characters who will hook right in to children's imagination.'

The Hercules Gene will be published in the UK and US in Spring 2007.

BURGLAR ON THE BOX

 

 

 


A major new deal will see Agency novelist Danny King's The Burglar Diaries transformed into a TV sitcom. 

The Burglar Diaries (first published by Serpent's Tail in 2001) have been bought by the BBC and will be turned into a six part series to be screened on BBC3 early 2007 with Pete Thornton producing.
 
BBC3 is described by the BBC as an outlet for "New drama, New talent, British comedy, top films and accessible news". Danny King's The Burglar Diaries will be in good company at BBC3, the home of Little Britain, The Smoking Rooms and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
 
BBC Creative Head for Mainstream Comedy, Michael Jacob who commissioned the show said ' We're all very excited ... Burglar has the same feel as 'The Smoking Rooms' - classy writing, a bit out of the ordinary, great characters and very funny.'
 
Danny King's latest novel Milo's Run was published by Serpent's Tail on 15th March.

Watch this space for more news about 'Burglar' screening dates...

CONSTANCE BRISCOE TOPS THE BESTSELLER LISTS

 

 

 

Constance Briscoe's childhood memoir, Ugly, made the hardback fiction No1 spot after only one week of sales. Ugly is now in its EIGHTEENTH week in the charts holding strong at No3 (UGLY Spent nine weeks at No2).

Constance has appeared on numerous television and radio programmes, from GMTV to Newsnight and her story has also featured in most national newspapers including The Daily Mail, The Sunday Times,The Guardian, The Financial Times and The Independent.

As a child, Constance was beaten and mentally abused by her mother, yet went on to become one of our first black female judges. Her autobiography, Ugly, tells how the injustice she suffered as a child fuelled her determination to climb to the top in the legal world.

BLACK ANGEL SWOOPS TO CONQUER

 

 

 

John Connolly's latest crime novel The Black Angel flew to No1 in the Irish Bestseller List after going in at No2 in its first week of publication.

The Black Angel swooped into the the Sunday Times paperback Bestseller List at No4 in it's first week on the shelves.

MUCH LOVED AUTHOR DIES

 

 

 

Joan Jonker died on Monday 13th February.

Joan was a remarkable woman quite apart from being a bestselling writer.

In 1976 Joan set up the charity Victims of Violence in Liverpool and over a period of 23 years she and her charity helped 12,000 people and opened the first shelters for victims in the country.

She was recently voted one of the Greatest Merseysiders in a BBC poll.

Her long term editor and close friend at Headline Books, Clare Foss, said ‘Joan was an incredibly special woman whose novels touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and of all walks of life. A day seldom went by without a letter arriving from one of Joan’s adoring fans and it was little surprise when a few years ago Joan was voted “Lancashire Woman of the Year”. She was a treasured friend as well as favourite author and she will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with her family’.

Her agent, Darley Anderson, said: ‘It was always a pleasure, a privilege and an education to be involved with Joan as her literary agent which I was for many happy and successful years. You don’t meet many truly special people in your life. Joan was one of the very few special people I have been fortunate to know. She touched so many people's lives and made them better.’

 

LESLEY PEARSE STRAIGHT INTO THE BESTSELLER LISTS

 

 

 

A Lesser Evil, Lesley Pearse's latest bestseller, went straight into the paperback lists at No3. Lesley's sales are up 30% on the Secrets paperback published last year.

To win a copy of this latest book, send an email to enquiries@darleyanderson.com with the subject line "A Lesser Evil". Two winners will be picked at the end of the month..

NEW YEAR/OLD SCORES

Read about Bernardine's books, where she gets her inspiration from and what's coming up in 2006.
Old Scores is out now in hardback and will be published in paperback in March '06.

ARTINA COL

COSTA DEL BESTSELLER

 

 

 

SPAIN’S COSTA DEL Sol became the Costa del Bestsellers when it played host to Headline’s top crime author Martina Cole, as she undertook a series of signings for holidaymakers and expats at resorts along the Mediterranean coast for the international launch of the hardback of The Take.

Headline is planning a global “brand-building” strategy, to be launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair, when Cole will meet foreign publishers, booksellers and distributors.

Read more about this story at www.publishingnews.co.uk

Visit Martina's website at http://authorpages.hoddersystems.com/MartinaCole

FIFTY YEARS FOLLOWING HER DREAM

 

 

 

Fifty years ago this year, at the age of fourteen, Margaret Dickinson sent her first short story to Woman’s Own. For as long as she can remember, Margaret dreamed of being a published author, determined that one day she would walk into a book shop and see her own paperback book there on the shelf.

It was not accepted and neither were many more short stories and a first novel written between the aged of sixteen and twenty. But the rejections acted not as a deterrent but as a spur. Margaret was resolved to become a writer, typing out scripts on a portable typewriter in the evening after a full day’s work as a secretary.

In 1968 Robert Hale accepted her novel Pride of the Courtneys. Between 1969 and 1984, seven other titles followed, but success was tempered by more rejections and today, seven novels (each representing at least a year’s work) lie unpublished in her loft. ‘And there they will stay,’ Margaret says. ‘If they weren’t good enough for publication then, they certainly aren’t now! But I look upon them as a learning curve.’

There then came a seven-year gap when Margaret had to set aside her writing ambitions because of family commitments. But in 1991 with her dream still unfulfilled – she hadn’t yet achieved paperback publication - Margaret had that piece of luck that everyone needs at some time in their life. She found Darley Anderson. It was the turning point for her. Darley advised her to write a regional saga and, eighteen months later, he was able to hold an auction between five paperback publishers for Plough the Furrow. A week of bidding followed when Margaret describes herself as being “on cloud nine” when Pan Macmillan won the auction and offered a two book contract. Plough the Furrow was published in September 1994 and a month later, Margaret walked into WHSmith in Cardiff (a fair distance from her home in Lincolnshire!) and the paperback was on the shelf. It had taken thirty eight years, but at last it was there! The dream had come true,

2006, as well as celebrating her fiftieth year as a writer, sees the publication of Margaret’s twenty-first novel, Pauper’s Gold, which is also her thirteenth for Pan Macmillan.

And her future ambitions? ‘Ah well, now that would be telling, but Darley will be the first to know,’ Margaret says and then adds, ‘Of course, I could try another short story for Woman’s Own…’

MARTINA COLE TAKES CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONE

 

 

 

Martina Cole has taken the prestigious Christmas number one spot for the second year running.

She sold 25,000 of The Take harback in one week to bring her back up to the top spot in 2005.

Congratulations Martina! M

AGENCY SIGNS NEW CRIME AUTHOR

The Agency is delighted to announce the arrival of a brand-new major crime talent.

Patrick Lennon has signed with Hodder & Stoughton for the first books in a new series of Cambridge crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Tom Fletcher.

The first novel in the series is Corn Dolls which Hodder will publish in August. Tom Fletcher begins to investigate a pair of suspicious deaths in an isolated fenland community and discovers a trail that leads him back to a trio of suspicious deaths in the 1970s and an enigmatic Russian gangster hell-bent on revenge.

Corn Dolls is extremely accomplished, announcing Patrick as a writer of enormous originality and style. He has a unique voice, a real understanding of character and psychology and the ties that bind father to son, country to city, past to present…

ALEX BARCLAY DEBUT IN TOP TEN


Alex Barclay's outstanding thriller, Darkhouse, debuted at number seven in The Sunday Times hardback besteller list.

Darkhouse caused a real stir when the Agency started to sell translation rights at last year’s London Book Fair, with some seriously hot bidding for the rights to publish. Successful bidders included Hakurosha of Japan, Luebbe in Germany and Editions Michel Lafon in France.

Alex has since been invited to sales conferences across Europe to introduce her book to foreign booksellers. Her adventures have included a day of go-karting with German booksellers at the Schumacher brothers’ track!

Read all about the author and her bestselling book in this month's author interview. Click on the Q&A to hear about how she got started and the bones of her latest work...

 

 

20 LANGUAGES FOR THE RICE MOTHER

Rights in Rani Manicka’s sweeping epic debut, The Rice Mother, have now been sold into TWENTY languages. Russian rights were sold to the Ukraine-based Family Leisure Club.

The Rice Mother has captured the imaginations of readers across the world. In particular, the Dutch edition has sold more than 100,000 copies and the Portuguese edition has been a number two bestseller this spring.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW


This month's author interview is with Lesley Pearse. Click on Q&A to hear about her latest offerings and insights.

 

VILLAGE LIFE'S A 'SHAW' THING


21st March 2005

Rebecca Shaw, author of the hugely successful Turnham Malpas and Barleybridge series, proved that tales of village life are as popular as ever with her latest novel, Whispers in the Village, entering The Sunday Times hardback Bestseller List at an impressive No 8.

The eleventh book in the Turnham Malpas series, Rebecca has been steadily climbing up the lists since the publication of her first novel, The New Rector, in 1994.

Her enchanting tales of village life have secured her place as one of the most popular writers on Orion’s list.

 

ORANGE PRIZE NOMINATION FOR AGENCY'S YOUNGEST AUTHOR


21st March 2005

The Agency is delighted to announce that Kira