Congratulations to clients Paul Joynson Hicks and Tom Sullam, as all three of the Comedy Wildlife Photography AwardsComedy Wildlife Photography Awards books (curated by the two) were in the Top 8 on Amazon's 'Photography Collections and Exhibitions' category. A fantastic achievement and, may we add, the perfect Christmas presents...

Congratulations to three of our clients, Jo Thomas, M.W. Craven and Linda Regan, all of whom had books published last week. 

Coming Home to Winter Island is the new novel from Jo we can't get enough of this gorgeous story. 

Black Summer, the second in M.W. Craven's Washington Poe series (that follows The Puppet Show) was published in paperback

Linda's The Terror Within is the next in the DCI Banham series. Linda also appeared on the Jo Good radio show last Friday, and you can catch up here.

Both Phillipa Ashley's A Perfect Cornish Christmas ("with its topical modern plot twist in a traditional winter setting, and a will they/won’t they/should they romantic dilemma simmering away on every page, this is a page-turner of a festive read") and Jo Thomas' Coming Home to Winter Island ("[a] perfectly pitched slice of Christmas romance... the recipe for a true delight") featured in MyWeekly and heat magazines respectively last week. 

These two gorgeous winter warmers are guaranteed to melt your heart and get you properly in the mood for Christmas!

It's been a very busy week for Jay Glennie, whose "behind the scenes" look at the film The Deer Hunter was published. 

Jay appeared on Robert Elm's BBC radio show to talk about One Shot: the Making of The Deer Hunter, and you can catch up here.

The Telegraph and Independent also ran pieces on the book, and finally Ventis magazine published an article, talking about the book and Robert de Niro's - one of the film's stars - willingness to participate in the book.

​You can buy a beautiful limited edition of this book here.

Julie Caplin's The Little Paris Patisserie has been sold to Libri in Hungary. 

Julie's gorgeous Romantic Escapes book are the perfect antidote to this chilly weather. Others in the series include The Little Brooklyn Bakery, The Little Cafe in Copenhagen, The Northern Lights Lodge and The Secret Cove in Croatia.

Huge congratulations to the man who puts the, er, 'DHH' in DHH Literary Agency - David Headley, who has been named as one of The Bookseller's Top 150 list of the most influential people in publishing. Congratulations, David!

Finally, it was fantastic to see both Adrian Magson's Terminal Black and Chris Simms' Marked Men appear on the blog Murder, Mayhem and Dogs as two of Jeff Popple's round-up of the Best Crime Books of 2019. An excellent end to the year!

Starting off this week's news roundup with a heartfelt thank you to all the pitchers that made the effort to come & see us in Liverpool on Saturday for our PitchDHH session. 

We loved meeting you all, and were bowled over by your enthusiasm and passion. 

​Thank you!

We'd like to wish R.C. Bridgestock a huge congratulations for the eBook publication of their brand new novel (in a brand new series, no less), Payback! 

This is a fantastic and gripping, female-led police procedural written by the storyline consultants to TV's Happy Valley and Scott & Bailey (basically, they know what they're talking about).

The paperback is out on the 9th January 2020 but in the meantime, they've picked up a brilliant Publication Day review over on bloglovin.com

"Payback is a cracker... An exciting new crime series from two authors who are really making their mark in the crime fiction world."

Looking for something exciting to read to get you through December? Then look no further than the folks over at Kobo who are laying on a brilliant 199 for £1.99, and DHH have not one, not two, but three titles in the coveted list. 

You can snap up Adrian Magson's Death on the Marais and Death at the Clos du Lac, as well as R.C. Bridgestock's Snow Kills​ for this excellent price until the 11th December. Click on the titles to take you to the deal!

Stuart Turton's second novel, The Devil and the Dark Water has been sold to Neri Pozza in Italy. 

The Creak on the Stairs, the debut Scandi-noir from Eva Björg AÆgisdóttir has been sold to Le Martinieres in France.

Bastei Luebbe in Germany have snapped up rights to Jo Thomas' glorious My Lemon Grove Summer

Congratulations all!

Jay Glennie's One Shot: The Making of the Deer Hunter is published today! The Independent's article gives you a glimpse of what you can expect. 

One of the film's stars, Robert de Niro, spoke exclusively to Jay, and gives some fascinating behind-the-scenes details about the five-times Oscar winning film.

Black 13, the new thriller from Adam Hamdy is a Goldsboro Book of the Month for December and is available to buy now, one whole month prior to official publication. 

This gorgeous all-black version is signed, has sprayed edges, is numbered and is exclusive to Goldsboro Books. 

Buy your copy here.

This month's Woman & Home magazine featured a lovely 'How I Write' piece by Jo Thomas to celebrate the upcoming paperback publication of her new novel Coming Home To Winter Island. 

Top children's authors and illustrators have chosen their favourite books of 2019, for the BookTrust, and we were over the moon to see Abi Elphinstone's Rumblestar included in the list. 

Rumblestar is the first in Abi's new Unmapped Chronicles series and was published back in May 2019. 

To see the BookTrust's full list and read the article, click here.

To celebrate the publication of Stephen Moss' The Twelve Birds of Christmas (if you have yet to get your copy of this gorgeous festive treat, then we really must insist you rectify that immediately), Waterstones has published a blog post from Stephen, who recommends his Top 5 Nature Books for Winter. Have a gander here.

Congratulations to Amy McLellan who this week saw the eBook publication of her debut novel Remember Me​.

The paperback is released in April 2020, but in the meantime, if you like your psychological thrillers with an extra helping of twists and turns, this one is for you and you can download your copy here.

Lucinda Hawksley featured on BBC Radio's Today programme last week, to talk about the new Christmas Carol adaptation starring Guy Pearce and Stephen Graham. You can catch up here (2h 23m).

Lucinda is the great-great-great-granddaughter of the one and only Charles Dickens, and has grown up with a fervent interest in her family's history. In 2017, she published Dickens and Christmas (Pen & Sword), a look at, and celebration of, how the author changed forever the way Christmas is celebrated. It makes the *perfect* Christmas gift #justsaying

Speaking of new authors, welcome to Elizabeth S. Moore, who joins Hannah Sheppard's list. Elizabeth's debut novel, The Man on the Second Floor (Red Door) was published in 2018. We are very excited to have Elizabeth on board!

The Lost Outlaw, the eighth in Paul Fraser Collard's Jack Lark series has garnered a brilliant write-up from the Historical Novel Society. 

"If you are looking for nonstop high-octane adventure with lots of pulsating action, this is for you. Strap on a navy Colt, mount up - and enjoy. Recommended."

The third in Phillipa Ashley's Porthmellow series, A Perfect Cornish Escape is up now and available for pre-order. The cover is gorgeous and evokes all the wonderful things about summer that we have to look forward to. 

The second in the series, A Perfect Cornish Christmas hit No.10 in the Kindle Charts last week, was No.1 in the 'Parenting and Family' category, No.1 in 'Romantic Relationships' and No.1 in 'Saga'. Go Phillipa!

The fourth in M.W. Craven's Washington Poe series, Dead Ground is now up and available for pre-order. This follows The Puppet Show (2018), Black Summer (2019) and The Curator (2020). 

Dead Ground  is not published until 2021... You can't say the folks over at Little, Brown aren't organised...!

Today is the LAST day you can snap up these three fantastic books in Kobo's Black Friday sale for only 99p. Click on the book to take you to the link...

Stuart Turton's (The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) second book, The Devil and Dark Water has been sold to Dobrovsky in the Czech Republic, pre-publication. 

Finally, we have a bumper crop of news on forthcoming debut author Clare Whitfield.

​Clare is a graduate of the University of Winchester's MA in Creative and Critical Writing, has had a lovely write-up in their online journal regarding her novel People Of Abandoned Character (Head of Zeus, October 2020). You can read it here. 

M.W. Craven was fortunate enough to get his hands on an advance copy and has supplied a fantastic quote, which we can't help but agree with: "Astonishing... I'd be amazed if it's dominating the shortlists come next year's awards season." 

The cover for this absolutely superb book was revealed last week, and we think captures the feel and tone of the book to perfection. 

Marry in haste...
Murder at leisure?

London, 1888: Susannah Chapman rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes.

Thomas's behaviour becomes increasingly volatile and often violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets. The gentle caresses Susannah enjoyed on her wedding night are now just a honeyed memory.

When the first woman is murdered in Whitechapel, Susannah's interest is piqued. But as she follows the reports of the ongoing hunt for the murderer, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time Thomas stays out late, another victim is found dead.
​
Is it coincidence? Or is her husband the man they call Jack the Ripper?

Kicking off this week's news roundup is some brilliant sales news from our clients:

• The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton has been sold its Arabic language rights to Noon Publishing
• Stuart's next book, The Devil and the Dark Water (October 2020) has been sold to Bungeishunju in Japan & Atico in Spain
• M.W. Craven's The Puppet Show has sold to Estonia's Kirjastus Pegasus and Kinneret in Israel (the follow-up to this, Black Summer was also chosen by Cumbria Life magazine as one of their Top 10 Books for Christmas!)
• The debut Scandi-Noir cracker from Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, The Creak on the Stairs has sold to De Fontein in the Netherlands

​Congratulations, all!

Congratulations to Ragnar Jónasson, as his book The Island (the second in the DI Hulda Hermansdóttir series) has been selected by The Sunday Times as one of their 'Books of the Year 2019'.

To celebrate the release of The Twelve Birds of Christmas by Stephen Moss, The Big Issue has published a fascinating piece written by Stephen, on the Yellowhammer bird and the irony of it lending its name to one Operation Yellowhammer (the Conservatives' No Deal plans). 

Read more here.

It's been a brilliant week for Phillipa Ashley, who shot to No.1 on the Heatseekers Chart with A Perfect Cornish Christmas. Phillipa also saw the same book, plus Summer at the Cornish Cafe​ sitting pretty in the Top Kindle 100. Congratulations, Phillipa!

The Lost Ones, the debut novel from Anita Frank, garnered more lovely reviews last week, this time from Woman magazine ("gripping"), and The Sun ("intriguingly plotted, this wartime tale is the perfect read as the nights draw in"). 

Finally, we'd like to give a big shout-out to our brilliant client, Anna Jacobs, who had a fantastic week!

• Allison & Busby have secured a new three-book deal with Anna, negotiated by Broo Doherty
• A&B have also acquired paperback rights for Tomorrow's Path​
• Cherry Tree Lane (the first in the Wiltshire Girls series) has been sold to Editora 2020 in Portugal

​

• Anna's French publisher, Bragelonne, have secured an audiobook deal with Audible for Anna's Swan River saga: Farewell to Lancashire, Beyond the Sunset and Destiny's Path

Congratulations, Anna!

We had some rather exciting internal news at the agency last week, in that Harry Illingworth is making the move to being a full-time agent at DHH. 

This comes after working for six years at Goldsboro Books, as a bookseller, and working as an assistant agent at DHH. 

Harry's clients have had notable success, with Stuart Turton's debut The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle selling 130,496 copies across all print editions through BookScan, has been translated in to 30 languages and won the Costa First Novel Award. Earlier this year, Harry sold Femi Kayode's debut novel Lightseekers to Bloomsbury Raven, with rights selling in a further seven territories thus far. 

To read more about Harry and what he is looking for in his submissions please visit his page here.

The cover for G.S. Locke's forthcoming debut novel Neon was revealed last week and it's a cracker! 

A detective desperate for revenge.

Detective Matt Jackson has reached the end. His beloved wife, Polly, is the latest victim of 'NEON', a serial killer who displays his victims in snaking neon lights - and he can't go on without her. 

A hitwoman with one last job.

Unable to take his life, Jackson hires a hitwoman to finish the job. But on the night of his own murder, he makes a breakthrough in the case, and at the last minute his hitwoman, Iris, is offered an irresistible alternative: help Jackson find and kill NEON in return for the detective's entire estate. 

A killer with both on his list.

What follows is a game of cat and mouse between detective, hitwoman and serial killer. And when Jackson discovers it's not a coincidence that all their paths have crossed, he begins to questions who the real target has been all along...

This fast-paced, heart-stopping thriller will be out in 2020.

R.C. Bridgestock were on Vectis Radio last week talking about their new novel, Payback (out in eBook on 6th December and paperback on 9th January). 

Payback is the first in a new series starring D.I. Charley Mann, and we cannot wait for this fantastic female-led crime series to hit shelves. 

​Listen here.

Adrian Magson's new Harry Tate thriller, Terminal Black, received a lovely write-up from Kirkus Reviews last week:

"Magson adroitly shuffles a handful of desperate characters in his sixth Harry Tate thriller... Brisk and bracing."

Finally, another glorious review for Anita Frank's debut The Lost Ones, this time from the ​Sunday Mirror:

"A brilliantly gothic adventure - and the perfect winter page-turner."

Kicking off this week’s news roundup with the wonderful news that client Olivia Lara has signed a two-book deal with Head of Zeus imprint Aria, negotiated by Hannah Sheppard. Someday In Paris follows two people who are destined to fall in love again and again, but cannot find a way to be together. Beginning in 1950s France and spanning decades, it is about dreams, missed opportunities and the kind of love that survives time, distance… even death. It is due for publication in May 2020.

​We have some fantastic deal news in the wake of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair:
 
. Clare Boyd’s Three Secrets sold to Newton Compton, Italy
. Sky’s the Limit by Janie Millman went to Bragelonne in France
. Anita Frank’s gothic debut novel The Lost Ones has been sold to Portugal’s 2020
. Both of M.W. Craven’s Washington Poe books, The Puppet Show and Black Summer have sold to Jentas in Denmark
. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton has wracked up its 30th territory with Grupo Almedina in Portugal

​It’s been a busy week for Samantha Baines and her debut children’s novel Harriet Versus the Galaxy! The book was joyously selected as Booktrust’s Bookmark Book of the Month. Read her interview with them here.
 
Also loving Harriet this month is Somerset newspaper Parent Talk, who have picked it as one of their Editor’s Choice in their Christmas edition. 

Phillipa Ashley’s A Perfect Cornish Christmas has been selected by Bookbub for a promo in their Women’s Fiction newsletter.
 
Phillipa was interviewed by Hot Brands Cool Places and you can read that here.
 
A Perfect Cornish Christmas has also landed itself at the very cushty placing of No.2 in last week’s Heatseekers Chart.

​M.W. Craven was also interviewed, this time by the Cumbrian News & Star, to celebrate his well-deserved win at the CWA Dagger Awards. Read the article here.

Thank you to Nina Pottell over at Prima Magazine who, rather wonderfully, chose The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone (illustrations by Fiona Woodcock) as one of her Children’s picks for the Christmas issue. 

​Eve Seymour appeared on BBC 4’s Everything Is Connected on Sunday 10th November at 9pm. This experimental film is made up of a diverse cast of people from different backgrounds. Catch up here.

We had a MAMMOTH week of publication days last week, so we’ll start with those on this week’s glorious news roundup!
 
First off, and perfect for this time of year, was Anita Frank’s debut novel, the gothic The Lost Ones. Emotional, haunting (and yes, a little bit scary).

​The new book from Abi Elphinstone, The Snow Dragon (6+), complete with beautiful illustrations, was also published last week.
 
Jo Thomas’ gorgeous new novel, Coming Home To Winter Island is out now in eBook. Set sail to a remote Scottish island and unlock the enchanting family secrets hidden away in an old house.
 
Adrian Magson’s back with a brand new Harry Tate thriller, Terminal Black and this time, the stakes have never been higher.
 
Also from Adrian Magson this week is the next in the newly republished Rocco series, Death at the Clos du Lac. This is the final Rocco book that the Dome Press have republished, complete with a revised text and new cover.
 
The next in L.C. Tyler’s John Grey series, The Bleak Midwinter is out now in paperback. Another perfect one for these shorter, darker days…
 
Stephen Moss’ delightful The Twelve Birds of Christmas is out now and if we may, we highly recommend you nab this one as part of your Christmas shopping. It is utterly gorgeous and fascinating in equal measure.
 
Another spot-on book for this time of year, Phillipa Ashley’s A Perfect Cornish Christmas is out now in both paperback and eBook. We’re going back to beautiful Porthmellow for another seasonal showdown - bring it on!

The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone (illustrated by Fiona Woodcock) has been announced as the BA Children’s Bookselling Group as its Independent Booksellers’ Children’s Book of the Month for November. Chosen by a panel of independent booksellers from a range of new children’s titles, the Book of the Month showcases independent bookshops’ expertise at promoting and selling children’s books.
 
Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting The Snow Dragon throughout November, both instore and on social media. The BA will be supporting the promotion of the Children’s Book of the Month through social media and promotional materials. Congratulations, Abi & Fiona!

​Delighted with the news that Stephen Moss’ The Twelve Birds of Christmas has been selected by Waterstones for their gift and humour highlights. See? We told you it was the perfect Christmas present…!

Reviews for The Lost Ones have been pouring in over the recent weeks, with these three coming in over the last few days:
 
“Spellbinding, elegantly written, immaculately plotted, and delivering a shocking twist in its ghostly tail, this is gothic with a wise and wistful heart.” Lancashire Evening Post
 
“[An eerie, emotionally supernatural tale.” S magazine
 
“The perfect chilling read as the nights turn colder and longer.” OK magazine
 
It was also selected by Red magazine’s as one of their ‘Books That Go Bump In the Night’!

Samantha Baines’ debut children’s book, Harriet Versus the Galaxy got given a lovely review from BookTrust this week: “A quirky, fast-moving adventure, rich with humour and heart.”

​The Bleak Midwinter by L.C. Tyler, out this week in paperback also received a great review from MyWeekly: “This thoroughly enjoyable story has all the elements of a good country murder mystery, but with an accurate historical setting too. What’s not to love?”

This is one for readers in both the UK & USA - Phillipa Ashley’s A Perfect Cornish Christmas is included in November’s Kindle Monthly Deal, and only 99p / 99c respectively - an absolute steal!

​Amy Beashel’s debut YA novel The Sky Is Mine is gathering some amazing reviews in the run-up to publication (February 2020, Oneworld):

​“Amy Beashel’s beautiful telling of Izzy’s story is a call to young girls everywhere to stand up and make themselves heard.” Antsey Harris, author of The Truths & Triumphs of Grace Atherton

​“A powerful page-turner with giant heart. A book that everyone needs to read.” Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe
 
“Unflinchingly honest, devastatingly raw, and utterly compelling.” Simon James Green, author of Noah Can’t Even
 
To see more reviews, and read more about the book, click here.

Phillipa Ashley appeared in last week’s Female First online magazine in a feature titled ‘Seven Things That Make My Christmas Complete’. It’s a lovely, warm piece designed to get you in the festive mood. Have a look here.

Finally, we were so excited to see the cover reveal for Darren Charlton’s debut YA novel Wranglestone, which will be published by Stripes in February 2020.
 
Winter was the only season every Lake-Lander feared…
 
In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there’s nothing to stop them from crossing the ice.
 
Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore and he’s forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he’s always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over.
 
But as love blossoms, a dark discovery reveals the sanctuary’s secret past. One that forces the pair to question everything they’ve ever known.
 
An action-packed and thought-provoking debut, for fans of Patrick Ness, Marcus Sedgwick, DREAD NATION and The Walking Dead.
​

Head of Zeus has snared Clare Whitfield’s “explosive” debut novel about a woman who suspects her husband is Jack the Ripper, in a two-book deal.

Commissioning editor Madeleine O'Shea bought world rights from David Headley at D H H Literary Agency. The first book in the deal, People of Abandoned Character, will be published in October 2020 as Head of Zeus’s lead crime debut for that year.

The synopsis explains: “When Susannah Chapman rushes into marriage with wealthy surgeon Thomas Lancaster, she believes her future is set. But after the honeymoon things start to turn sour at home, and as Susannah follows the newspaper reports of the terrifying killer stalking the streets of Whitechapel, her suspicions over where her errant husband has been spending his time take the darkest route possible.”

O’Shea said:  “This book has the biggest, most explosive central hook – a new bride suspects her mysterious husband of being the notorious killer, Jack the Ripper. How could you not be gripped? People of Abandoned Character is page-turning for sure, but it also engages with important questions on gender, class and mental health, making it a book for crime-lovers and reading groups alike.”

According to HoZ, Whitfield lives in a UK suburb where the main cultural landmark is a home store/Starbucks combo. She is the wife of a tattoo artist, mother of a benign dictator and relies on a black Labrador for emotional stability. She has been a dancer, copywriter, amateur fire breather, buyer and mediocre weight lifter.

She said: “I’m fascinated by characters that tread a fine line between right and wrong. Can a bad deed ever be right if it’s necessary to survive? My main character, Susannah, has to navigate Victorian London in the 1880s, a chaotic and unequal society, and I’m beyond thrilled she’s found a home at Head of Zeus.”

From The Bookseller article | Mark Chapman

​We are kicking off this week’s news roundup with the Very Exciting News that M.W. Craven won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for his novel The Puppet Show, the first in the Washington Poe series.
 
This is the highest accolade awarded by the Crime Writers’ Association, for Best Published Novel.
 
Naturally, we are over the moon, but not surprised. We knew this one was special from the get-go, and couldn’t be prouder of Mike.
 
If you’ve yet to read this superb book (perfectly understandable if you live under a rock) then now is the perfect time to start. It is followed by Black Summer, which was released in June 2019, and The Curator will be out in summer 2020.

M.W. Craven, David Headley (agent), Krystyna Green (publisher at Little, Brown)

​Lovely news from Iceland last week, with Ragnar Jónasson’s White Death hitting the No.1 spot in the country, with critics hailing it as “Ragnar’s best book yet”.

​We were honoured to be sponsoring this year’s Polari Prize for a new Award, celebrating the best LGBT writing, to run alongside the Polari First Novel Prize and in its inaugural year, it was awarded to poet Andrew McMillan for his collection playtime. Andrew received the Polari Prize from 2019 joint-Booker winner Bernadine Evaristo, who hailed McMillan for “exploring coming of age, masculinity and sexuality in ways that move and surprise. His poetic voice is completely natural and free, with no pretence or attempts to obfuscate meaning, yet the work has emotional complexity, power and depth.”
 
Congratulations, Andrew!

(L-R): David Headley, Andrew McMillan, Bernadine Evaristo, Angela Chadwick, Paul Burston & Fiona McMurrough

​Anna Jacob’s next Peppercorn series book, Christmas In Peppercorn Street, was released last week and just in time for the clocks going back - the perfect time to snuggle down with a good read.

Finally, we cannot wait for the release of Anita Frank’s debut novel The Lost Ones, this Thursday. And neither, it seems, can the Sunday Times, who chose it as part of their historical round-up for October, labelling it “unsettling”.
 
If you love your novels with a touch of the gothic, then this bone-chiller is the one for you.

This weekend, S Magazine reviewed the book, labelling it an "eerie, emotionally supernatural tale" and also ran a short story written by Anita. 
 
Also this weekend, Anita sat down with TalkRadio’s Penny Smith to discuss all things ghostly. To listen again, click here (09.30 - 10.00 slot, approx. 14 minutes in).
 
Read Anita’s ‘My Road To Publication’ feature over on booksbywomen.org here.