DARLEY ANDERSON'S NEW MONTHLY BESTSELLER QUIZ

Quiz Question: What do Lee Child and Voltaire have in common?

Be the first person to find out the right answer and we will send you a free copy of Lee Child's latest UK and US Bestseller Nothing To Lose.

Email your answer to competition@darleyanderson.com

The winner will be announced on September 3rd and a new quiz question and prize will go up!

RIGHTS ASSISTANT JOINS THE RANKS

We are delighted to announce that Kasia Behnke has now joined the Rights Department as 'Rights Assistant’.

Kasia joins us from HarperCollins, and will be working closely with Madeleine Buston, Head of Rights, to ensure continuing success in the Foreign Rights Department.  Kasia will also be looking after large print and audio rights and will assist with Film & TV rights

LESLEY'S LATEST CAPTIVATES

Lesley Pearse is enjoying her longest ever run on the hardback bestseller lists ever with her wonderful novel Gypsy, at No3 this week on The Sunday Times Hardback Bestseller List, in her third week.

Lesley Pearse's readership keeps growing. Gypsy was listed in Heat Magazine's Top 5 best books; and Yours Magazine which is aimed at plus 50 readers, ran a two page interview.

Lesley heads the Women of Courage Award - celebrating the extraordinary acts of courage done by ordinary women that can often go unnoticed. Her wonderful novels and success inspire readers old and new.

This is Lesley's seventeenth novel and tenth UK Bestseller.

Congratulations Lesley!

TANA'S US SMASH HIT

Tana French's debut novel In the Woods is going up and up on the New York Times Bestseller List - from No22 in its first week to No6 in it's eigth week!

She's taking America by storm.

The stunning debut novel also scooped The Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Novel.

The "Edgars" honour the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film and theatre produced or published in the last year in the US. The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (the "Edgars") are named after Mystery Writers of America's patron saint, Edgar Allan Poe, and are awarded to authors of distinguished work in various categories of the genre.

Rights have been sold in 24 territories.

Her next novel The Likeness is out in the UK in August and the US in July.

MARTINA GOES MOBILE

In a first of its kind promotion Martina Cole will give away chapters of her new paperback Faces via people’s mobile phones.

Part of a new deal between Headline and GoSpoken.com customers be able to download the chapters to their mobile phones in audio or text format.

Says Kerr Macrae, Headline Deputy MD: “This is a new and crucial element to allowing new and existing readers to access the stunning stories Cole tells.”

CARM’EN GET IT!

Carmen Reid launched two hot titles in one week – including her exciting debut YA novel New Girl which is part of a series called Secrets at St Jude’s.
Her adult title Late Night Shopping has gone in to the charts at No16 and is selling like hot cakes.

Congratulations Carmen!

Read more about Carmen’s books at: http://www.carmenreid.com/

A VINTAGE DEBUT

Debut author Jane Elmor My Vintage Summer garners some remarkable review coverage since publication in June and has been voted Debut of the Month by Lovereading.com

'A gloriously energetic and well-observed nostalgia fest' Eve

'A compulsive, bittersweet read' Closer

Says Sarah Broadhurst of The Bookseller:

“Alternating in time between teenage ambition and married boredom, our narrator tells each tale in real-time, building tension and compulsion as she goes. You badly need to know what happens in both decades. Spun round the music industry, the launch of a girl band and the highs and lows of a cut-throat business, this is a cut-above the norm. You get completely bound up in the lives of these desperate people, colourful characters that leap off the page. An addictive novel, unpredictable and very good indeed, I loved it.

THE ULTIMATE FRIENDSHIP AWARD

On Sunday four hundred Cathy Cassidy fans braved wind and rain to gather at Westminster Boating Base and Pimlico Gardens to celebrate friendship and to meet Cathy in person, many queuing for hours to get their brand new copies of Cathy's new title GingerSnaps siged – this week is at No 23 in the Bestseller List!

The winners of the 2008 Cathy Cassidy My Best Friend Rocks Award chosen from thousands of entries from young people who told Cathy why their best friend is one in a million were also announced and Cathy's Friendship Charter was unveiled asking all the young people attending to say NO to bullying and YES to friendship. Cathy was interviewed on BBC Breakfast News before the festival to talk about the Friendship Charter and the aim of the festival.

Fourteen-year-olds Laura Taylor and Kelly Simmonds of Norfolk were the well deserved winners of the 2008 My Best Friend Rocks Award. Laura was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and nominated her best buddy Kelly for the award because of the support and friendship Kelly has shown her since her diagnosis. Kelly was at the award ceremony to accept her prize from Cathy.

For an author who puts the power and importance of friendship at the heart of her books for young people, the Ultimate Friendship Festival was the perfect opportunity for ChildLine supporter, Cathy Cassidy, to share her anti-bullying message with hundreds of her loyal readers.

Fun was had by one and all at the festival, with Cathy Cassidy fans joining in all of the activities on offer including chocolate hand painting, bath bomb making, trampolining, badge making, friendship quizzes and much, much more.

THRILLING NEW VOICE JOINS AGENCY RANKS

Camilla Bolton and Amanda Punter, Puffin Senior Editor, have closed a two book deal (UK & Commonwealth) for debut Young Adult thriller writer Helen Grant.

Amanda Punter, Senior Editor at Puffin, says, “Puffin is very proud to be publishing Helen Grant's The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. This fiercely gripping, blackly comic, genre-defying first novel marks the arrival of a distinctive and thrilling new voice in teen fiction, reminiscent of acclaimed authors Meg Rosoff and Mark Haddon.”

Helen Grant says, “I’m delighted that my novel is going to be published by Puffin/Penguin – over half of all the books I own are Penguin or Puffin and it’s incredibly exciting to think that my book is going to be published by them too. It’s rather like knowing about somebody famous ever since you were a child, and then suddenly being asked to dinner with them! I’m thrilled.”

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden has also received huge foreign interest. Spanish rights have already been acquired by Planeta in an exciting good five figure pre-empt, whilst Italian rights have been snapped up for a nice sum by Mondadori.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden will be published under Penguin in Spring 2009.

GRAND SLAM

This week Lee's US publishers Bantam Press celebrated his fabulous quadruple No1 success at their offices in New York.

As well as a double hit on the New York Times paperback and hardback Bestseller List (and the same double on The Sunday Times Bestseller List) Lee was No1 on four other major US lists including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Indie hardcover and Publisher's Weekly.

Join Lee on his US Tour by clicking on this link:
http://www.leechild.com/tourblogs.php

***- COLE, MARTINA COLE***

Martina Cole's phenomenal success was highlighted again this week as she knocked Mr Bond off the No1 spot on the Sunday Times Paperback Bestseller List with her brilliant novel Faces.

Selling just under 70,000 copies since publication only two weeks ago - Martina Cole has re-affirmed her No1 status as one of Britain's favorite reads.

And Martina is being welcomed with open arms in the US where her novel Close will launch in July.

Says The Book Page about Close:" Think “The Sopranos” with a Cockney accent, and you would not be far off. And like “The Sopranos,” it is brutally hard-hitting, superbly crafted and deserving of a rabid fan base in America, as well as the rest of the world.”

Big congratulations.

*** LEE CHILD SETS THE WORLD ALITE***

Lee Child's success is unique.

This year he has topped both the London Sunday Times Bestseller Lists (Paperback and Hardback) and the New York Times Bestseller Lists (Paperback and Hardback) with Bad Luck and Trouble and Nothing to Lose.

Top US critic Janet Maslin calls the Jack Reacher books: " Electrifying" and "Utterly Compulsive" and with copies of his book flying of the shelves across 32 countries worldwide its a unique winning streak.

Huge congratulations Lee.

DEBUT NOVEL IS TRANS-ATLANTIC BESTSELLER

ANNE BAKER SERIALISED

The Dundee Courier will serialise Anne Baker's novel Carousel of Secrets, to run six days a week for six weeks, starting on July 28th 2008. It's a first for serialised fiction for the Agency.

REAPING REWARDS IN THE UK AND THE US

John Connolly's latest crime novel The Reapers debuted in The Sunday Times Hardback Fiction List at No3 and No2 on The Irish Times Bestseller List, on a partial week's sales.

And now he is sitting comfortably at No8 on the New York Times Hardback Bestseller List.

Just fantastic.

"It is great to see everyone's favourite hitmen massacring the opposition...". - Says his publisher Sue Fletcher at Hodder:

"Connolly's a unique talent" - The Sunday Telegraph

‘It’s a must-read...offering a rare insight into the background of the slightly dark and dangerous duo who have featured in this series, where death and demons go hand-in-hand.’ - The Evening Telegraph

"This painstaking recreation of realistic settings sets the former journalist’s works of fiction apart from many of his contemporaries." - The Evening Herald

JANE COSTELLO SKIPS DOWN THE AISLE

In the first two weeks of her writing career Jane Costello went straight to No23 with her fantastic debut novel Bridesmaids! After six weeks she's at No30 and continuing to sell strongly.

She's was No1 on the Fiction Heatseeker's List.

With less than an hour to go before her best friend, Grace, is to walk down the aisle, Evie is attempting to fulfil her most important bridesmaid role: to deposit the bride at the start-line at the appointed time. But with a bride famed for her chaotic sense of time, and the bride's daughter busy mashing Molton Brown into the expensive hotel carpet, minus underwear, the odds are stacked against her . . . At least she has her new 'chicken fillet' boob-enhancers to make her feel special. That is, until these are spotted poking over the top of her dress.

So spotted by Jack - the most ruggedly attractive man Evie has ever laid eyes on. Evie is twenty-seven; a sparkly, down-to-earth journalist. She has never been in love and has started to fret that she never will be.

Small wonder, then, that the prospect of being bridesmaid at no less than three impending weddings is one that fills her with trepidation. Things get worse when Evie learns that Jack is her friend Valentina's date. Valentina is beautiful, shallow and self-obsessed. Her dates tend to be mirror-images. Which can mean only one thing: Jack can't possibly be as good as he seems.

But as they sit together talking late into the night, Evie finds herself yearning to believe he's all real....

INSTANT SUCCESS IN TAIWAN

Patrick Woodrow's debut novel Double Cross has become an instant bestseller in Taiwan!

Double Cross was published last month in Taiwan (by Spring International) and went straight into the Top Ten in both the Kingstone List (Taiwan's biggest chain) and the mystery/thriller list on Books.com (Taiwan's biggest online bookseller).

MARTINA'S PAGE OF RAGE

This week Martina Cole reads a specially written piece for Radio 4's Week of Anger called So Many Things

The theme of the series is anger and the group of authors contributing includes Andy MacNab, Joanna Briscoe, Oliver James and Lord Falconer.

In this very personal piece Martina describes how she turned anger into a catalyst for positive action. Her own experience and righteous rage have led her to a campaigning role for the charity of one parent families.

Tune in to Radio 4 at 1998 LW on Wednesday 21st May at 3.30pm to hear it.

CRIME AUTHOR INTERVIEW PATRICK LENNON

FUN AT THE FAIR

It was another successful year for the Agency at this year's London Book Fair.

With over two hundred meetings with overseas publishers there were offers made at the table for translation rights and masses of interest in our fantastic looking Spring List 2008.  

Says Madeleine Buston, Rights Manager at the Agency : ‘It was the best fair I have had - we have such a fantastic list – every publisher wanted a piece out of it.'

we were the only Agency in the International rights centre who dedicated a table to displaying our author’s books – a real eye catcher for all foreign publishers passing by and a tribute to our wonderful authors.   

The Rights Department is now busy following up the huge amount of interest, sending out books, negotiating rights and tying up deals.

If you have any rights enquiries please email: rights@darleyanderson.com

AGENCY AUTHORS IN LIBRARY TOP 100

Three of the Agency's loved and longest standing authors Anne Baker, Tessa Barclay, Joan Jonker feature high in the Top 100 most borrowed books in the UK.

Between them they have written 48 books, well establishing them each as some of England's favorite writers of women's fiction.

LEE WEEKS TAKES THE TROPHY

Lee Weeks' debut novel The Trophy Taker is Harper Collins's biggest selling crime/thriller fiction title this week.

Hailed as The Female James Patterson Lee's stunning novel is No28 in the Bookscan Bestseller List.

Her books are flying out of the shops...

A serial killer is on the loose. His target? Lone Western women lured to Hong Kong by the promise of easy money.

As The Butcher's killing spree escalates, bags of mutilated body parts are found all over the island - and more girls are disappearing. Taking on his first homicide case, Detective Johnny Mann is determined to stop The Butcher's brutal reign.

Haunted by the memory of his father's death by the Triads, he's the only man who can track down a killer who's paralysing the city with fear.

Georgina Johnson has left her tragic past in England to start afresh in Hong Kong. But soon her life is in peril as she is sucked into the sinister world of the city's hostess clubs. Venturing into dark and dangerous places, Mann unearths chilling evidence about the killings.

And then another body is found, one which brings the murders closer to home! Bolt the doors, turn on the lights and pray for mercy.

PATRICK LENNON'S DEBUT NOVEL AWARD NOMINATION

Our very own Patrick Lennon’s Corn Dolls has been longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2008!

Patrick joins 19 other top crime writers including Reginald Hill, Peter James and Alexander McCall Smith.

Past winners are Mark Billingham and Val McDermid and 2007’s winner was Allan Guthrie.

The shortlist is decided by Waterstone’s customers online, so everyone get voting!

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=100

Read more about Patrick at:- http://www.patrick-lennon.com

And many congratulations Patrick!

CARMEN'S A FABULOUS REID

Carmen Reid is the proud author of six fabulous novels and the first book in her new YA series called Secrets At St Jude's, and New Girl will be published this summer!

SHEILA QUIGLEY'S MURDER INK

Another successful signing for Sheila Quigley at Murder Ink with fellow crime writers Martyn Waites and Ken McCoy.

Catch Sheila on the following dates: Tuesday April 22, 6.30 pm -Waterstones, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Wednesday April 23, 6.00 pm -Borders, Silverlink; Sunday May 4, 1.30pm - Borders, Teesside Park, Middlesbrough; Thursday May 15, 6.00 pm - Waterstones, Sunderland; Saturday August 30, 2.00 pm - Bookbarn, Houghton-le-Spring...

And look out for Sheila at CrimeFest in Bristol, 5 - 8 June.

MARTINA HITS OUR SCREENS

Martina will examine the stories of female serial killers in a new series for ITV3. In the six-part “Martina Cole’s Ladykillers”, each 60-minute episode will feature a high-profile case.

The show will include a criminological perspective and will feature both contemporary and historical stories and reconstructions.

The series is scheduled to air on ITV3 in autumn 2008.

It follows an announcement by Sky One that the channel is adapting two of Cole’s bestellers, The Take and The Graft.

Filming will begin later in the year, and The Take is to air first in 2009 in four 60-minute episodes.

A further two Martina Cole novels are also being developed by Sky One and the production company Warner Sisters.

We'll be glued to the screen...

JOHN CONNOLLY'S UNQUIET SUCCESS IN THE STATES

International bestselling crime writer John Connolly's novel The Unquiet this week sits at No7 on the New York Times Bestseller List, in his third week on the lists.

John's novels regularly make Bestseller lists around the World and this year has seen five separate film deals for John's novels and short stories... Kevin Costner is tipped to star in the film adaptation of New Daughter which filming starts in 2009.

To read an interview with John about The Unquiet click - here:http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/interviews_unquiet.php

It's a standing ovation for the Agency's own Master of Menace! !

LEE CHILD IS A TREBLE NUMBER ONE

Lee Child is No1 on the New York Times Mass Market Bestseller List with Bad Luck and Trouble.

Yes that's right. THREE UK and US Number ones.

An Emphatic Transatlantic No1 Success. Bad-a-bing!

Here's an excerpt of the biggest selling mass market novel this week by Lee Child: -

The man was called Calvin Franz and the helicopter was a Bell 222. Franz had two broken legs, so he had to be loaded on board strapped to a stretcher. Not a difficult maneuver. The Bell was a roomy aircraft, twin-engined, designed for corporate travel and police departments, with space for seven passengers. The rear doors were as big as a panel van's and they opened wide. The middle row of seats had been removed. There was plenty of room for Franz on the floor.

The helicopter was idling. Two men were carrying the stretcher. They ducked low under the rotor wash and hurried, one backward, one forward. When they reached the open door the guy who had been walking backward got one handle up on the sill and ducked away. The other guy stepped forward and shoved hard and slid the stretcher all the way inside. Franz was awake and hurting. He cried out and jerked around a little, but not much, because the straps across his chest and thighs were buckled tight. The two men climbed in after him and got in their seats behind the missing row and slammed the doors.

Then they waited.

The pilot waited.

A third man came out a gray door and walked across the concrete. He bent low under the rotor and held a hand flat on his chest to stop his necktie whipping in the wind. The gesture made him look like a guilty man proclaiming his innocence. He tracked around the Bell's long nose and got in the forward seat, next to the pilot.

"Go," he said, and then he bent his head to concentrate on his harness buckle.

The pilot goosed the turbines and the lazy whop-whop of the idling blade slid up the scale to an urgent centripetal whip-whip-whip and then disappeared behind the treble blast of the exhaust. The Bell lifted straight off the ground, drifted left a little, rotated slightly, and then retracted its wheels and climbed a thousand feet. Then it dipped its nose and hammered north, high and fast. Below it roads and science parks and small factories and neat isolated suburban communities slid past. Brick walls and metal siding blazed red in the late sun. Tiny emerald lawns and turquoise swimming pools winked in the last of the light.

The man in the forward seat said, "You know where we're going?"

The pilot nodded and said nothing.

The Bell clattered onward, turning east of north, climbing a little higher, heading for darkness. It crossed a highway far below, a river of white lights crawling west and red lights crawling east. A minute north of the highway the last developed acres gave way to low hills, barren and scrubby and uninhabited. They glowed orange on the slopes that faced the setting sun and showed dull tan in the valleys and the shadows. Then the low hills gave way in turn to small rounded mountains. The Bell sped on, rising and falling, following the contours below. The man in the forward seat twisted around and looked down at Franz on the floor behind him. Smiled briefly and said, "Twenty more minutes, maybe."

Franz didn't reply. He was in too much pain.

#

The Bell was rated for a 161-mph cruise, so twenty more minutes took it almost fifty-four miles, beyond the mountains, well out over the empty desert. The pilot flared the nose and slowed a little. The man in the forward seat pressed his forehead against the window and stared down into the darkness.

"Where are we?" he asked.

The pilot said, "Where we were before."

"Exactly?"

"Roughly."

"What's below us now?"

"Sand."

"Height?"

"Three thousand feet."

"What's the air like up here?"

"Still. A few thermals, but no wind."

"Safe?"

"Aeronautically."

"So let's do it."

The pilot slowed more and turned and came to a stationary hover, three thousand feet above the desert floor. The man in the forward seat twisted around again and signaled to the two guys way in back. Both unlocked their safety harnesses. One crouched forward, avoiding Franz's feet, and held his loose harness tight in one hand and unlatched the door with the other. The pilot was half-turned in his own seat, watching, and he tilted the Bell a little so the door fell all the way open under its own weight. Then he brought the craft level again and put it into a slow clockwise rotation so that motion and air pressure held the door wide. The second guy from the rear crouched near Franz's head and jacked the stretcher upward to a forty-five degree slope. The first guy jammed his shoe against the free end of the stretcher rail to stop the whole thing sliding across the floor. The second guy jerked like a weightlifter and brought the stretcher almost vertical. Franz sagged down against the straps. He was a big guy, and heavy. And determined. His legs were useless but his upper body was powerful and straining hard. His head was snapping from side to side.

The first guy took out a gravity knife and popped the blade. Used it to saw through the strap around Franz's thighs. Then he paused a beat and sliced the strap around Franz's chest. One quick motion. At the exact same time the second guy jerked the stretcher fully upright. Franz took an involuntary step forward. Onto his broken right leg. He screamed once, briefly, and then took a second instinctive step. Onto his broken left leg. His arms flailed and he collapsed forward and his upper body momentum levered him over the locked pivot of his immobile hips and took him straight out through the open door, into the noisy darkness, into the gale-force rotor wash, into the night.

Three thousand feet above the desert floor.

For a moment there was silence. Even the engine noise seemed to fade. Then the pilot reversed the Bell's rotation and rocked the other way and the door slammed neatly shut. The turbines spun up again and the rotor bit the air and the nose dropped.

The two guys clambered back to their seats.

The man in front said, "Let's go home now."

LEE CHILD JOINS THE SUPER ELITE

Lee's latest novel Nothing to Lose - is No1 in The Sunday Times Bestseller List on a four day week - in its first week on the shelves with sales of over 14,000 (double those of the book at No2)!

Bad Luck and Trouble is in its second week at No1 in The Sunday Times Paperback Bestseller List with emphatic sales to date of more than 70,000 copies!!

Lee's books sell a copy a minute around the world and this year Lee's been shortlised for the Crime Novel of The Year at The British Book Awards. At last year's awards the nomination went to Martina Cole.

As part of an extensive two week tour you can catch Lee this week at Waterstone's in Manchester (on the 27th), Nottingham and Milton Keynes (28th), Bluewater (31st), Aberdeen (2nd April), Dundee (3rd April) and York and Lincoln (4th April). Also Books@Hoddesdon in St Albans (1st April) and Blackwell in Edinburgh (3rd April).

Lee will give interviews on TalkSport (25th March) and with Simon Mayo on BBC Radio Five Live ( 27th March).

And as if this wasn't enough Lee's six year old title Without Fail has just entered the New York Times Mass Market Top Twenty at No18!!

Bad-a-bing!

A LIFETIME OF NOVELS

This year sees the publication of Margaret Dickinson's 23rd novel Sing As We Go.

So its big congratulations from everyone at the agency and an interview for her army of fans!

BIRDS AND THE BEES MARKET LAUNCH

***BRIMFUL OF BESTSELLERS***

The Darley Anderson Agency shows itself again to be the Agency of Bestsellers...with three authors in the top echelons of the Bestseller Lists in the same week!

Lesley Pearse hits the lists with her TWELFTH UK BESTSELLER - Faith is in at No3 in the Top Ten Paperback Fiction Bestseller List selling nearly 25,000 copies this week.

"Master of Menace" John Connolly is at No8 in the Top Ten Paperback Fiction Bestseller List with The Unquiet selling over 16,000 copies this week.

And in the Top Ten Non Fiction Bestseller Constance Briscoe's Beyond Ugly sits at No2! Its prequel Ugly spent six months on the bestseller lists after it was published last year.

CONGRATULATIONS LUCIE!!

The Darley Anderson Agency congratulates Lucie Whitehouse on the publication of her debut novel The House at Midnight!

Lucie spent four and half years at the Agency as Foreign Rights Manager and Associate Agent and we wish her the very best of luck with her writing career.

An eery country-house location sparks a downward spiral of chaos...

A group of university cohorts arrives at Stoneborough Manor, the spooky country pile left to their friend Lucas after the suicide of his uncle. And after the house has left its malevolent mark with a clutch of unravelled relationships, sexual tensions, deadly feuds and disturbing familial revelations, the bunch wish they'd stayed away. Reminiscent of Donna Tartt's brooding The Secret History, this is an eerily atmospheric debut.

'Psychological suspense as elegant as a Swiss watch but as powerful as a locomotive ... subtle, intelligent, accessible and highly recommended' - Lee Child

AGENCY AUTHORS NOMINATED FOR BEST ROMANTIC NOVEL

BOOK OF LOST THINGS AT THE TOP OF THE TREE

It is officially announced today that The Book of Lost Things has been chosen as Books.com's Fiction Book of the Year and sold 1,049 copies in only one day.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN CRIME AT THE DARLEY ANDERSON AGENCY

Former journalist and crime buff Camilla Bolton will be working closely with Darley Anderson in an editorial and agenting role to develop the careers of other talented new crime and thriller writers.

SCARLETT WINS AWARD

Cathy Cassidy has won the Royal Mail Scottish Children's Book Award in 'older readers' category. Winners were announced at a spectacular ceremony in Glasgow.

This award is voted for by young readers all across Scotland. Congratulations Cathy!

DEBUT NOVEL THRILLS ON THE SUNDAY TIMES LIST

TOP US CRIME WRITER MOVES TO THE DARLEY ANDERSON AGENCY

In a major coup for the Agency the Boston-based bestselling thriller writer Chris Mooney has moved from the William Morris Agency in New York to Anderson for Worldwide representation.

Published by Atria in the US and Penguin in the UK, Mooney has just delivered his new novel The Secret Friend featuring his series character Darby McCormick for 2008 publication.

Says Anderson: “Chris Mooney is rightly regarded as one of crime fiction’s rising stars. A master of suspense and mystery, his writing is often scary and always thrilling. He’s also a lovely man, a highly promoteable author and a delight to work with.”

HOLLYWOOD IN LOVE WITH LEE CHILD

Paramount Pictures has renewed its option for Killing Floor and the Jack Reacher franchise and plan to co-produce it with an impressive group of Hollywood notables.

The project will be a co-production between C/W Productions and Mutual Inc, and the film will be produced by Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, Don Granger, Gary Levinson and Kevin Messick.

Watch this space for updates ***

TV TURNS ONTO MARTINA

Two of Martina’s bestselling novels The Graft and The Take will be adapted for television by Independent production company Warner Sisters Productions.

As is usual for megaseller Martina both books went straight to Number 1 in the UK’s Sunday Times Bestseller list with The Graft topping the hardback charts for a record-breaking ten weeks.

Lavinia Warner founder of Warner Sisters and creator of the drama series Tenko comments: “We’re really excited about the project. It is high time for more of Martina’s work to be available to television viewers. Her honest and tough novels, vividly revealing the effects of violence and crime on family life in the UK today, are absorbing and addictive. Her talent for strong characters and storylines makes the books perfect for TV adaptation.”

Martina Cole adds, “I am thrilled to see two more of my books adapted for television. It really feels like I’m coming home - working and collaborating with Warner Sisters again.”

Says Anderson who negotiated the deal: ”Lavinia Warner has a sure touch when it comes to overseeing the dramatisation of Martina’s books for TV. Dangerous Lady and The Jump - both four part ITV dramas drew viewing figures of nearly 10 millions an episode".

NEW SIX FIGURE DEALS FOR AGENCY AUTHORS: ALEX BARCLAY & ANNIE MURRAY

Darley Anderson has negotiated a high six figure deal for another three books by bestselling Irish crime writer Alex Barclay. Alex’s debut novel Darkhouse was a Top Ten Sunday Times Bestseller and also made No3 in the French Top Ten list – a very rare achievement for a foreign debutant in that market.

Wayne Brookes, her Harper Collins editor says of the new deal: “Alex has the unique ability to not only shock her readers but drag them screaming into a world filled with subtle, unnerving twists, menace and murder. She’s a genius at the thrill and I’m delighted that the relationship between Alex and Harper Collins will continue a long time into the future.”

Another six figure deal negotiated by Anderson is for long time Saga writer Annie Murray who over the years has established herself as one of the top saga writers in the country. Her first novel Birmingham Rose hit The Sunday Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995

Imogen Taylor, her editor at Macmillan says:” I’m delighted to be in the lucky position of being Annie’s editor for her next three books.  The first, Hopscotch Summer, tells the story of Emma Brown an eight-year-old girl living in one of the poorer areas of Birmingham in the 1930s.  Through her we also meet her two friends, Katie and Molly, who become pivotal in the next two titles, taking us through the second world war and times of great change.  Annie is one of those lovely authors who knows her characters well, embracing their foibles as well as their virtues.  She researches the historical and social background meticulously, and understands the readership for whom she is writing. I can’t wait to publish Hopscotch Summer in May 2009”

NEW ANDERSON CRIME DISCOVERY

Darley Anderson’s uncanny ability to spot talent early has brought many top bestselling writers to the Agency. Now he believes he’s discovered another future bestselling crime writer in Lee Weeks.

Maxine Hitchcock, the Editorial Director of the new commercial Avon list at Harper Collins (UK) agrees and has bought Lee’s first novel The Trophy Taker and the follow up The Trafficked for a good five figure sum.

Foreign publishers, scouts and US film agents are currently reading the manuscript which features, tough,Triad-hating, Hong-Kong detective Johnny Mann who will feature in all Lee Weeks future novels.

Says Anderson: “Lee Weeks writes with fascinating authority about Hong Kong’s seedy underworld from first hand experience. And she writes with great pace. The Trophy Taker is a gripping, shocking, page-turning novel reminiscent of the early James Patterson.”

Maxine Hitchcock says: “I’m hugely excited to be publishing Lee Weeks. In The Trophy Taker she invites us into the murky underbelly of Hong Kong – a world of hostess bars, corruption and Triad-ruled terror. Pacey chapters, nerve-jangling suspense and wonderfully drawn characters combine for a captivating adrenalin-fuelled read which left me thirsting for more.”

The Trophy Taker will be published as a paperback original in the UK in March 2008.

A BRITISH KIND OF MUSLIM - PURDAH AND LIPGLOSS -

Another new author to join the ranks at the Agency is Almas Khan whose stunning memoir charts the heart-wrenching and often hilarious struggles and conflicts she faced as a young muslim girl growing up in 1970s Bradford.

The unique insight into the truth about being a muslim girl in a Western society was snapped up by Kerri Sharp at Simon & Schuster. Says Kerri: I’m delighted to be publishing Almas Khan’s dazzling, hilarious debut. Her refreshingly original memoir sizzles with rebellious energy.’

It was agented by Zoë King who says: “This absorbing memoir has all the ingredients for commercial success: brilliantly well-drawn characters, high drama and complete authenticity all against a backdrop that couldn’t be more relevant to readers in this day and age. Almas also has a wonderful ability to turn situations on their head and make us roar with laughter.”

The memoir, provisionally entitled The Trouble With Almas, will be published in the UK in Spring 2009.

CLARE DOWLING SOARS WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED

Clare Dowling's latest novel No Strings Attached has hit the No1 position in the Irish Bestseller Lists for the second week running!

She scooped the No1 slot in her first week of publication -selling nearly double the book at No2 and ranking fifth across all categories.

Tesco selected No Strings Attached for their book of the week for two weeks running and Asda included it in their weekly charts promotions!

Borders and Books Etc are marketing it in their Best of Year campaign and it will be part of Waterstones' Paperback of the Year promotion.

Clare Dowling is flying high with no strings attached!

CONGRATULATIONS CLARE!

KEVIN COSTNER TO STAR IN JOHN CONNOLLY FILM

Hollywood heavyweight Kevin Costner will star in the film adaptation of the New Daughter by John Connolly - part of the stunning collection of short stories called Nocturnes.

Gold Circle will produce the film which is to be directed by Luiso Berdejo and will also star Ivana Baquero (of Pan's Labyrinth) and plan to commence filming in Spring of 2009.

TANA FRENCH IS EDITORS' PICK

Amazon.com has chosen In The Woods as No13 for their Editors’ Picks Top 100 Books of the Year!  And she's No3 in the Top 10 mystery and thriller category!

JOAN JONKER'S LEGACY OF FRIENDSHIP

The winner of the Joan Jonker 'Molly and Nellie' award for outstanding friendship has been announced!

The winner is Hazel Rowen and she was nominated by her best friend Lorraine Woodstock who described her as "A remarkable person with a heart of gold."

The award was created by Headline Books in memory of Joan who was known not only for her wonderful novels but also for her work in setting up the charity Victims of Violence in Liverpool, which over a period of 23 years helped 12,000 people and opened the first shelters for victims in the country.

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: ‘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.’

***MEGABESTELLING MARTINA***

Martina has shown she is the emphatic No1 with her FOURTEENTH BESTSELLER Faces which has exploded onto the lists at No1 with sales of over 40,000 hardbacks in the first ten days on the shelves!

She is now in her second week at NO1 in the Hardback lists. Congratulations Martina!

TV Adverts ran for three consecutive Fridays starting on the 5th in Coronation Street's mid-break.

Coronation Street has 10 million viewers.

Says Kerr Macrae, Deputy MD of Headline:

"Our campaign for Faces was deisgned with a certain result in mind - to alert fans to the new book and bring the message to new readers and budding Martina fans. The aim is to stagger the profile with full blown activity from just before publication right through to December the 24th and beyone - we wanted to make it clear that the experience of reading Martina Cole's books was like a rough and tumble roller coaster right, where the reader has to draw breath before moving on...

..the combination of TV, Bus Sides, Posters nationwide and PR via all medias will ensure there are not many people around who will not know about this book or that Martian is THE only person who tells it like it really is."

DOG WHISPERER GIVES CAPTIVATING PERFORMANCE

It was a rapt audience that witnessed Dog Whispering extraordinaire Graeme Sims' incredible performance at his beautiful medieval home last week.

With his publishers Headline, Graeme hosted a wonderful day for Bookbuyers from all around the country giving them the chance to see his unique dog training techniques in action. TEN DOGS OBEYED HIS EVERY COMMAND and the love and respect Graeme has each one was apparent to everyone.

There followed a grand supper attended by senior book buyers from Amazon, WHSmith, the National Trust, Darley Anderson Agency and Headline Books.

Says Graeme's publisher Val Hudson:

“Publishing events don’t come more amazing than Graeme Sims’…….   Watching our customers watching Graeme talk to fourteen dogs at a time, you realize what an extraordinary hold he has – over man as well as beast! We’re over the moon that Headline are Graeme Sims’ publisher.   He’s such an extraordinary man, with such extraordinary skills – we can’t wait to share his knowledge with dog lovers all over the world when we publish The Dog Whisperer in March next year”

Says Agent Darley Anderson: "Graeme and his dogs have real star quality'.

BEST FICTION AWARD FOR DEBUT IRISH AUTHOR

New author Tana French has won the Best Fiction Award at this year's Clarion Awards for her stunning debut novel In the Woods.

The Clarion Awards are sponsored by SkyArts to recognise 'Excellence in the communication of Social Inclusion, CSR, Sustainable Development and Ethical Debate'. 

The Awards ceremony took place at London's BFI Southbank (formerly the NFT) before an audience of 450 guests - from the Communications Sector, the Arts, Government and the Media - Sir Roy Strong, Hadyn Gwynne, Moira Stuart, Margaret Tyzack and Floella Benjamin joined with many other leading figures from business, to give their personal congratulations to the winners.

RICHARD AND JUDY LOVE CATHY CASSIDY

Cathy Cassidy's Sundae Girl has been picked by Richard and Judy to feature in their Top Reads for the 9+ category!

The chosen few will feature in a ONE-OFF CHILDREN'S BOOKS SPECIAL this Autumn. Broadcast on 28th October as part of the channel's literacy season, "Richard & Judy's Best Kids Books Ever" will feature 19 books, divided into four ability groups, with two winning titles in each category revealed during the programme.

HOMICIDE IN HOUGHTON PART 2

In Houghton-le-Spring it's Feast week, a time when all hell is let loose as the fair comes to town, and a frenzy of celebration and decadence provides a temporary distraction from the grim realities of everyday life.

Join author Sheila Quigley and local historian Paul Lanagan on an investigation of the fictional murder scenes from Sheila's best selling books Run for Home, Bad Moon Rising, Living on a Prayer' and Every Breath You Take.

The tour departs from Houghton Library and refreshments will be served at the end, when Sheila Quigley will be signing copies of her books and reading an exclusive preview from Book 5: Road to Hell.

Book by Telephone 0191 520 5092
Numbers strictly limited.

To find out more click on http://www.houghtonfeast.co.uk

US SUCCESS WITH DEBUT NOVEL

Tana French's debut novel In The Woods has hit the New York Times Extended Bestseller List! Congratulations Tana!

When he was twelve years old, Adam Ryan went playing in the woods one day with his two best friends.He never saw them again.

Their bodies were never found, and Adam himself was discovered with his back pressed against an oak tree and his shoes filled with blood. He had no memory of what had happened.

Twenty years on, Rob Ryan - the child who came back - is a detective in the Dublin police force. He's changed his name. No one knows about his past. Then a little girl's body is found at the site of the old tragedy and Rob is drawn back into the mystery. Knowing that he would be thrown off the case if his past were revealed, Rob takes a fateful decision to keep quiet but hopes that he might also solve the twenty-year-old mystery of the woods.

READERS' FAITH IS AS STRONG AS EVER

Bestselling favorite Lesley Pearse' fantastic new novel Faith is at No5 on the Hardback Fiction Bestseller List!

LESLEY'S ELEVENTH UK BESTSELLER!!

It is 1995, Scotland. The prison of Cornton Vale. And Laura Brannigan is in jail for a murder she claims she didn't commit.

For two years she's been battling for justice - insisting the police made a terrible mistake; pleading that she didn't kill her best friend, Jackie. With her spirits at their lowest ebb, she's resigned to her miserable fate - until, out of the blue, a letter is delivered to the prison.

At the sight of the letter's handwriting, Laura's heart lurches - taking her back to a different, happier time and memory of an old love... 1972 was the year Laura met Stuart and experienced her first summer of love.It was a heady time as she'd only recently been able to stop running. For Laura had always been a survivor: leaving an abusive home at fifteen and then life on her own - until she met Jackie.

She and Jackie became best friends, swore they'd be sisters for ever. So what went wrong in the intervening years? And why is Stuart writing to Laura now? Does he have faith in her innocence? And can he help free Laura from prison - and her past?

CATHY CASSIDY HAS LUCKY STAR QUALITY

This Saturday was the grand finale of Cathy's MY BEST FRIEND ROCKS competition for which thousands of fans wrote in to tell Cathy what made their best friends rock and!

The finalists and their nominated best friends attended a very glamorous award ceremony, where Cathy announced the lucky winner.  The ceremony was also attended by Rachel Airey from WHSmith and Jess Tadmor from Mizz who were on the judging panel!

They were all then whisked off for an afternoon of Friendship Festivals and fun at the Innocent Village Fete, with Cathy and her van in residence.

The magic doesn't end there however and this month sees the launch of Cathy Cassidy's first ever hardback, Lucky Star AND an exciting new competition with Top Teen magazine Mizz , WHSmith, cathycassidy.com and the brand new Planetarium at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

Girls are being asked to explain what their star quality is, whether it's being a good listener, being able to run the fastest or being able to draw with their feet!

The prize will be a VIP tour of the sights of London, with an exclusive dinner and Planetarium show with Cathy that evening. more details to follow!

BOOK OF LOST THINGS FINDS FANDOM IN TAIWAN

John Connolly has been busy wowing readers across the globe on a promotional and book signing tour for The Book of Lost Things.

Following a highly successfully tour of Australia, John hit Taiwan where the critically acclaimed The Book of Lost Things has debuted at No1 in Books.com ASWELL AS BEING VOTED THE BOOK OF THE YEAR.

A special afternoon tea, reading and Q&A was arranged and was a complete sell-out.

To view pictures click on this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_bear/sets/72157600932754751/

The Book of Lost Things also went straight in at No5 in the Top Two Taiwan bookstores Eslite and Kingstone.

'John was so friendly and charming, shaking every reader's hand, chatting and personalizing every signature, with drawings even! I don't think there's any foreign author who has been as friendly with the readers.' said Gray Tan, the Agency's sub-agent:

***EXCLUSIVE PEAK INTO LESLEY'S NEXT STORY***

***A STARRY LAUNCH ***

THE UNQUIET MAKES A BIG BANG IN OZ

John Connolly's latest thriller The Unquiet made a very unquiet impact in Australia where he hit FOUR TOP TEN BESTSELLER LISTS including The Australian, The Sunday Morning Herald, Cairns Post, and The West Autralian.

"The Unquiet puts the seal on his reputation as one of the most original crime novelists around" - Courier Mail.

"Spine tingling... will keep you up all night" - The Daily Advertiser

"Suspense and revelation are masterfully handled by Connolly. IN A WORD: Macabre" -
- The Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin.

CARMEN REID'S PERSONAL SHOPPER AT TESCOS

To celebrate the launch of Carmen Reid's fabulous new novel The Personal Shopper Tesco is running a competition with clothing line Florence & Fred to win up to £250 of F&F vouchers!! With a total prize fund of £1000, 14 lucky winners will win between £50 and £250 of F& F vouchers to redeem at a store of their choice. 

The Personal Shopper which hits the shelves of 440 Tesco stores was afforded a higher chart position than several other authors, including David Baldacci, Dean Koontz and Alexandra Potter, which is indicative of Tesco's enthusiasm for the new package.

The Personal Shopper hit No16 and No15 in the English and Irish Bestseller Lists respectively in its first week on the shelves!

CATHY CASSIDY WOWS HAY FESTIVAL

***TRANSATLANTIC*** BESTSELLERDOM

Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble was an instant New York Times Bestseller List going straight in at No2 with number twelve in the Jack Reacher series.

Bad Luck and Trouble - the thriller Janet Maslin, the top New York critic, calls 'Electrifying' has seen top bestseller listings coast to coast including The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, The Rocky Mountain News, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle and Publishers Weekly.

This outstanding success follows hot on the heels of ELEVEN WEEKS spent on The Sunday Times Hardback Bestseller List.

AGENCY OF BESTSELLERS

This week the Agency celebrates FOUR AUTHORS on The Sunday Times Bestseller Lists.

Martina tells it like it is nabbing the No1 spot in the Paperback Bestseller List ONLY A PARTIAL WEEK'S SALES with her novel Close .

Cathy Cassidy is sitting pretty at No10 in the Children's Bestseller List with Sundae Girl.

In the Hardback Bestseller List John Connolly's The Unquiet is at No6 closely followed by Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble at No8.

Lee Child is No1 in New Zealand AND No6 on the Italian paperback bestseller lis with Bad Luck and Trouble...closely flanked by John Connolly is No7 on the Italian paperback bestseller lists!

CONGRATULATIONS MARTINA, CATHY, LEE AND JOHN!

READERS CRY OUT FOR LATEST BY SHEILA QUIGLEY

CATHY'S SUND-AE TIMES BESTSELLERDOM

Cathy Cassidy latest novel Sundae Girl has been storming the Children's Bestseller List this week in its fourth week!

She went in at No10 in her first week, rising to No6 with a fanbase growing by the day....

Cathy was the first children's author to be signed by Darley Anderson whose prediction from the beginning was that she was going to become a top bestseller.

His enthusiasm and belief was shared by Puffin MD Francesca Dow who originally acquired Cathy in a highly competitive auction.

Cathy Cassidy's warm, funny, tender fiction has won her an army of dedicated fans, both boys and girls. Her fan club now has 5,000 members and counting. Watch out for a new star!

Find out more at: http://www.cathycassidy.com

DARLEY TAKES HIS 'ANGELS' SHOPPING WITH HEADLINE

Last week The Darley Anderson Agency took a day out to learn about how books are bought and sold in various book outlets outside of London.

UK Sales Director at Headline James Horobin and Regional Manager Tony McGrath accompanied the Agency to Milton Keynes' Waterstones, WHSmith, Woolworths, Tescos and Costco.

Steph Bateson, the book buyer for Asda, generously gave up her time to introduce Darley and the team to Asda's book aisles.

It was a valuable insight and an exciting day for the self-proclaimed ruthlessly commercial Agent Darley Anderson and his 'Angels', Julia, Emma, Zoe, Maddie and Ella.

Many thanks to Headline and Asda.

CONSTANCE'S MAGIC HALF MILLION

Constance Briscoe has now spent RECORD SIX MONTHS IN THE BESTSELLER LISTS and has sold OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES of her stunning debut memoir Ugly in the UK alone.

Constance's bestselling memoir sold over a quarter of a million copies in hardback. It was a No 1 bestseller that stayed in the charts for TEN WEEKS.

The paperback stayed in the charts for FOURTEEN WEEKS - and continues to sell well all over the country.

Constance is now published in NINE territories.

The chart topping autobiography tells how the injustice Constance suffered as a child fuelled her determination to climb to the top in the legal world.

Constance's sales are anything but Ugly...

GET BOOKED WITH ALEX AND LEE

Bestselling agency writers Alex Barclay and Lee Child will take part in Booked For Breakfast - on online mystery and crime book club that sends a you a portion of a new crime, thriller, or mystery every Monday morning.

Subscribe and read an extract from Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble and Alex Barclay's The Caller.

To find out more or subscribe visit: www.bookedforbreakfast.com

LEE CHILD'S TREBLE NO1

Lee Child has hit No1 THREE TIMES in The Sunday Times Bestseller List with two titles - in the last three weeks!!!

The Hard Way is in its third week in the paperback charts hitting the top spot in its very first week. Total sales now exceed 110,000 - a 27% increase on sales of One Shot in the same period last year.

Bad Luck and Trouble grabs the No1 spot for hardback fiction for the second week selling more copies than the No2 and No3 spots combined.

Two books. Two lists. Two No1s. In less than a month. Congratulations Lee!

In Australia Bad Luck and Trouble hit the list at No5, the highest position ever reached in that territory.

And in New Zealand Bad Luck and Trouble has hit the No1 spot!

AGENCY AUTHORS ARE MOST BORROWED

SEVEN of the Agency authors areong the most borrowed from libraries in the UK!!!

Joan Jonker, Anne Baker, Martina Cole, Rebecca Shaw, Freda Lightfoot, Janet Macleod Trotter and Elizabeth Waite prove they're among of the