It’s Friday the 13th, but we’re feeling extremely lucky – our authors have been smashing it this week!

There’s no way we could begin without mentioning our sensational featured cover. Screen Time (Bonnier) is Becca Caddy‘s non-fiction debut, and will provide readers with a much-needed re-education on how to interact with our devices in a healthier way. We definitely recommend you pre-order a copy, prior to its release on the 7th January 2021.

If you didn’t know, today is World Kindness Day! To commemorate the day, Beth Morrey and her team have been getting up to all sorts of fun, as the paperback campaign for her smash-hit debut, the warm and uplifting Saving Missy (HarperCollins / HarperFiction), has officially kicked off , prior to its release on the 4th March 2021. Well into the weekend, they’ll be engaging in wonderful acts of kindness, including sending out gift bundles to nominated ‘local heroes’, gifting hundreds of early print copies of the book, and having a special Kindle Daily Deal sale of the eBook. Do watch out for Beth on Instagram Live tonight at 8pm, where she’ll be joined 5 influencers, to finish off the day’s events.

We were over the moon to see Inga Vesper‘s The Long Long Afternoon  (Bonnier / Manilla Press) featured in The Motherload Book Club‘s round-up of early 2021 releases to watch. This visceral, winding historical crime drama is sure to be an instant  hit with readers – especially if bestselling author C.J. Tudor‘s glowing review is anything to go by:

And make sure you pick up this month’s Glamour magazine, where you’ll find the book featured as the perfect “fireside read” in their ‘Glamifesto’!

We’re also super pleased that Clare Pooley’s The Authenticity Project (Penguin Random House / Transworld) has been longlisted for Bert’s Books’ Book of the Year 2020, alongside great company. You can peruse the full list here – and be sure to vote!

The remarkably talented Christi Daugherty gave a brave and moving account on BBC World Service of how literature provided a vital source of a escapism for her, as a child growing up in an abusive home. You will definitely want to listen back to the full recording, if you didn’t catch it live.

We hope that C.L. Taylor is somewhere celebrating – we’re so thrilled to confirm that her latest suspense novel, Strangers (HarperCollins / Avon) has surpassed 100,000 in sales across all formats! We can absolutely see why this gripping story of the intersecting lives between three strangers has captured the attention of so many readers. You can also catch her this Saturday at 8pm, in a live ‘Room 101′ crime writers’ special, hosted on the Crime Waves YouTube channel.

We’d like to congratulate Teresa Driscoll for hitting an outstanding milestone this week – I Am Watching You, (Amazon Publishing / Thomas & Mercer) her consuming psychological thriller released in 2017,  which unravels the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl, has now sold into its 23rd territory!

T.A. Willberg‘s Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder (Orion / Trapeze) has been included in Book Riot‘s round-up of books strikingly similar to Netflix’s Enola Holmes – you’ll soon see why after reading this fantastically quirky mystery.

It’s been excellent to see the Ben Creed duo storming the Amazon charts this week – their captivating debut thriller, City of Ghosts (Welbeck), peaked at no.3 on the UK  ‘Hot New Releases’ chart, in the Political Thrillers and Suspense subcategory.

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Katherine May has been having quite a time! Her widely celebrated latest book, Wintering, has recently been released in UK paperback and in US hardback by Penguin Random House. The book is a fascinating and deeply engaging account of how Katherine used practices of retreat and hibernation, to get her through a difficult season of life – and you can read all about her writing her process in her recent author interview.  In the US, the book is currently receiving major attention – we were delighted to announce its selection as the no.1 December pick by US independent booksellers.

And in more publication news – Jenny Bayliss‘ The Twelve Dates of Christmas  (Pan Macmillan) is finally out in UK paperback! This is a fun, festive and flirty Yuletide romcom that’s been getting heaps of buzz already, following its UK eBook and US paperback release last month. Just this week, it’s been featured in Bookshop.org‘s list of Christmas titles to watch this year, as well as Good Housekeeping’s feature on the best November releases. And Jenny, by the looks of things, is definitely in good spirits – as she should be!

And of course, Ella Carey‘s From a Paris Balcony (Bookouture) –  which is the third and final instalment to her outstanding Secrets of Paris trilogy – has been re-released with its beautiful new cover. This is a skilfully woven piece of emotional historical fiction, that you’ll certainly want to add to your reading list.

Jane Healey‘s gorgeously gothic The Animals at Lockwood Manor (Pan Macmillan / Mantle), a romantic wartime drama, has been included in Waterstones’ esteemed list of  the best debut books of 2020, alongside stellar company – do take a look at the full list (and her outstanding book) when you get the chance!

Here’s a lovely treat for you – bestselling historical fiction writer Fiona Valpy has an exclusive short story in this week’s My Weekly magazine – given the time of year, it’s got a festive twist…  let us know what you think once you’ve read it!

 

In International Rights news, our outstanding IRD released their full Frankfurt Book Fair update this week, where they detailed everything they got up to amidst the revamped virtual format. They did a phenomenal job  – and, as always, they continue to make brilliant deals. We’re so excited to announce the following:

Italian Rights to Stephanie Wrobel’s The Recovery of Rose Gold  have gone to Fazi Editore  in a two-book deal.

Chinese rights to Abbie Greaves‘ The Ends of the Earth have gone to Fan Deng Reading Club.

Chinese rights to Sara Nisha Adams‘ The Reading List have gone to Fan Deng Reading Club.

Finnish rights to Lizzie Pook‘s Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter have gone to Bazar in a two-book pre-empt.

Bulgarian rights to Teresa Driscoll‘s  I Am Watching You have gone to Hermes.

Hungarian rights to Jack Jordan‘s Do No Harm, plus two back list titles, have gone to Alexandra.