SLUMMY MUMMY TOP TEN DEBUT

Congratulations to Fiona Neil whose novel The Secret Life Of A Slummy Mummy has gone straight into The Sunday Times Hardback Fiction bestseller list at Number 10 in its first week of publication. It is a hilarious debut novel about modern motherhood from the writer of the hugely popular and entertaining Slummy Mummy column in The Times Magazine.

STRIPED PYAJAMAS TRIPLE SHORTLISTING

John Boyne’s global phenomenon THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYAJAMAS has been shortlisted in three categories of the Irish Book Awards. John’s book has won hundreds of thousands of fans around the world and is being translated into upwards of 28 languages and a feature film is about to go into production with Disney/Miramax/Heyday.

PFD Announce New Foreign Rights Agent

The Peters Fraser and Dunlop Group Limited have appointed Jessica Craig as foreign rights agent for adult books to work from their London offices in Covent Garden.   She will be selling rights in translation worldwide on behalf of PFD London and will start on February 5th. Jessica was most recently Associate Rights Director at Canongate Books and prior to that worked in her native America at the agency Burnes and Clegg and for the scouts Franklin and Siegel.

EXCEPTIONAL YOUTH

Catherine Banner, whose trilogy THE EYES OF A KING will be launched around the world in 2008, is one of the 14 subjects of Emma Hardy’s exhibition EXCEPTIONAL YOUTH at the National Portrait Gallery in London which runs until 8 April 2007. It is supported by Teen Vogue and has been curated by its European editor Jenny Dyson.

Patrick Neate Shortlisted For An EDGAR

I am delighted that Patrick’s startlingly good novel CITY OF TINY LIGHTS has got the recognition it deserves in the U.S. He has been shorlisted for an EDGAR – the most important Crime fiction awards in the U.S.A

THE RAW SHARK TEXTS ARE ALMOST UPON US

Steven Hall’s debut novel THE RAW SHARK TEXTS is one of those curious beasts – a phenomenon before it is even published – rights sold in 25 countries (and counting), film rights optioned to Film4, worldwide author tour already underway and, underpinning it, a book so original that it will more than underpin the exposure Steven is getting at the beginning of his career.

Check out Steven’s page on MySpace and THE RAW SHARK TEXTS website. And if you want something really special check out the amazing Dave Headley’s bookshop Goldsboro Books where a very special limited edition will be available shortly.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CLIFF RICHARD

 We were delighted to take Sir Cliff Richard into Headline Publishing Ltd to celebrate their acquisition of his book which they will be publishing to celebrate his 50th year in showbusiness – an exciting project that will be published in 2008. We agented the project on behalf of Malcolm and Bill at the Cliff Richard Organisation.

GUS AND WALDO WADDLE ONWARDS

Massimo Fenati’s wonderful creations – Gus and Waldo- have signed a new deal with Ian Marshall at Orion for the follow-up to their cult bestseller GUS AND WALDO’S BOOK OF LOVE. Their new tome – to be published in October 2007 – is called GUS AND WALDO’S BOOK OF FAME. For Penguin-related jollity visit their website www.gusandwaldo.com

STUFF FROM THE DEEP AND DISTANT PAST……

Postings made earlier than this have been transferred over from my previous Home Page. They are hilariously out of date but they will give you a broad overview of some of the projects from the deep and distant past that I have been involved in.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO…..

ROMANITAS by Sophia McDougall.

‘The year is 2756 AUC and the Roman Empire has lasted for over 2000 years. Magnetic railways span Roman territory from Persia to Terranova and mechanized crucifixes are ranked along the banks of the Thames…’

ROMANITAS is the first novel of an epic trilogy of novels. They are set in a contemporary world but one very different from the one we are familiar with. The Roman Empire still exists and the globe is carved up into three power blocs – the Romans, the Nihonians (Japanese) and the Chinese. Slavery, crucifixion, and the divine Emperor are the three pillars of this modern Roman society while everyday life is a mixture of ancient culture and modern technology. Christianity has ceased to exist, and Jupiter still rules most people’s religious lives.

Against this remarkable backdrop, Sophia has built an amazing adventure story that spans the globe and intertwines three lives with the future of the Empire. Sulien and Una are brother and sister, both with strange abilities to affect the world around them. They are also escaped slaves. Sulien was heading for death on the cross when his sister rescued him from his prison ferry on the Thames. They must now travel through Gaul to a kingdom of renegades deep within the Pyrenees where they will be safe.

Marcus Novius Faustus Leo is the heir to the empire – the only son of dead parents. When he survives an assassination attempt he has no choice but to flee. These three people meet and a temporary alliance is formed, a pact to restore Marcus to Rome and to bring down the whole edifice of the slave empire.

I found this one of the most accomplished and impressive partials that has ever come across my desk. Not only is Sophia an amazing writer she is also has a soaring imagination. She has visualized every aspect of this alternate world and that knowledge is implicit in everything she writes. Comparisons are tricky with something this unique. But if I were a Hollywood agent I would draw parallels with the scope and detail of Robert Harris’s Fatherland and the familiar but alien feel of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

We are publishing in the spring of 2005 and already have impressive marketing plans underway. Romanitas has just been bought by Bantam in the USA through Emma Parry at Carlisle and Company.

Amazingly, Sophia herself is just 23 and this is her debut. She is an Oxford English graduate and also a playwright. Simon Trewin said ‘Sophia is an extraordinary writer and ROMANITAS is the most exciting commercial debut to have crossed my desk since the year MM.’