Three gorgeous proofs landed last week, and we are excited about Every. Single. One. Of. Them. 

Firstly, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's debut Scandi-noir The Creak on the Stairs (winner of Iceland's Blackbird Award); then James Goodhand's debut YA Last Lesson and finally, Eve Smith's debut speculative thriller The Waiting Rooms. 

It's almost too much to handle! 

The cover for Private Moscow was revealed last week. The book is a collaboration with client Adam Hamdy and James Patterson (who hailed Adam's Pendululm  as "one of the best thrillers of the year" in 2016) and delves deep into the depths of Moscow's underworld. This is one geopolitical thriller you will not be able to put down. Published in September 2020, it is available for pre-order now.

It was announced that client Imogen Robertson will be collaborating with former deputy leader of the Labour party, Tom Watson, on his fiction debut The House, a political thriller set in... go on, guess.

The House will publish in October 2020, is available for pre-order, and has been hailed "the political thriller of a generation". Certainly one for your literary diary!

Six of our clients books were published last week. No, your eyes are not deceiving you - SIX! 

First off, we have the first in Adam Hamdy's new series, Black 13, featuring ex-MI6 agent Scott Pearce. 

Finding Cassie, the second in Anna Jacobs Penny Lake series was published in hardback. 

The paperbacks of both Out of the Woods, the non-fiction debut from Luke Turner, and The Maltese Herring, the eighth in L.C. Tyler's Elsie and Ethelred series were released in to the world.

Wartime for the Shop Girls, Joanna Toye's second book set in WW2-era Marlow's Department Store was published by HarperCollins. 

Finally, Erin Green's Taking A Chance On Love - the perfect book to get you in the mood for spring. 

We are so proud of each and every one of our clients, what an amazing week!

Finally, the blog tour continues for R.C. Bridgestock's Payback, the first in a brand new series starring DI Charley Mann, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the reviews coming in. 

"If you are looking for a well written and well rounded crime novel, with just the right amount of bite and heart then look no further." Bookbound blog
"Payback is an enthralling crime fiction novel that will bury itself under your skin... Spectacular!" Book Obsessed blog
"This is the sort of gripping book which is very hard to put down and it is very well constructed, with many loose ends tied up satisfactorily. I really hope that this is the first in a series of books which features DI Charley Mann." Northern Reader blog

Again, this is just a small number of the many brilliant reviews shared for this book and it's so deserved. Click on the title to read more.

Tom Watson, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party, is making his fiction debut with a political thriller for Little, Brown with The House, ​co-written with DHH client Imogen Robertson.

Sphere Fiction publishing director Ed Wood, who signed the deal for world rights with Rory Scarfe of The Blair Partnership for Watson’s début novel, said it would be "the political thriller of a generation". 

"Tom Watson is one of the most significant, influential and deep-thinking politicians in this country," commented Wood. "His insights into the workings of politicians’ minds and Parliament are eye-opening, dramatic and sometimes almost unbelievable, and his and Imogen’s story is one that will hold an iron grip on readers and undoubtedly generate headlines. This will be the political thriller of a generation."

The House will publish in autumn 2020.

Taken from The Bookseller article | Katherine Cowdrey

Kicking off this week's news roundup with this fantastic review for Adrian Magson's Terminal Black from Booklist:

Romance in the Court is back at Goldsboro Books!

We are delighted with the news that this May, confirmed authors at the event include DHH clients Jules Wake, Janie Millman, Jo Thomas & Phillipa Ashley. 

The evening celebrates all things romantic fiction, where readers can mingle with their favourite authors over a glass of something deliciously refreshing. Haven't got your ticket yet? Click this link to amend that terrible oversight.

We're welcoming two new clients to the DHH stable this week: Tom Hindle, who joins Harry Illingworth's lists and Jane Walker, who joins David Headley's. 

We will tell you more about these exciting authors in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, why not give them a follow on Twitter? Click their name to visit their page.

Phillipa Ashley's The Love Solution (writing as Ashley Croft) is, this week, featured in HarperCollins' US romance promotion, at only 99c! The promo will run 13th - 27th January. 

The blog tour for Joanna Toye's second ​The Shop Girls book, Wartime for the Shop Girls began yesterday and will continue throughout the week. See below for the tour details... 

The cover for Abi Elphinstone's second Unmapped Chronicles book was revealed last week, and it is a stunner!

Jungledrop is a breath-taking adventure story, that's also about being kind - to others, to our planet and, perhaps hardest of all, to ourselves.

Finally, we're wishing heart congratulations to client Kate Mallinder, who has signed a second book deal with Firefly, publishers of her debut YA novel Summer Of No Regrets. 

Click here to read more.

Firefly Publishing have acquired UK & Commonwealth rights for Asking For A Friend by Kate Mallinder (author of Summer Of No Regrets), in a deal negotiated by Hannah Sheppard.

​Asking for a Friend is a feel-good friendship story following three school friends over the Easter holidays as they confront their fears, including loneliness, fear of illness and social media bullying, in a character-driven story about valuing the friends who value you.

Agnes, Hattie and Jake travel on the school bus together, but don’t know each other well. They plan a week in Weston-super-Mare, as a ‘study break’ before exams, but none of them admit the real reasons they need to get away. Agnes must find her sister. Hattie can’t bear being home now all her friends have ghosted her. And Jake is afraid he’s ill and has absolutely no idea how to tell anyone. In one amazing week, they’ll risk their lives, face their fears and find themselves.

Kate says: ‘I’m thrilled that my second book, Asking for a Friend, is being published by the fantastic Firefly Press team. I’ve loved writing new characters and can’t wait for readers to meet Agnes, Hattie and Jake.’

Firefly editor Janet Thomas says: ‘We are so excited to have a new book from Kate on the Firefly Press list. Asking for a Friend is a hugely entertaining, character-driven story about how friends can be found in surprising places, and how they can help you face your greatest fears.’

Taken from Firefly's article | January 2020

Happy New Year, everyone! 

It's a brand new decade, but you'll be thrilled to hear that our clients, are just as awesome as they were in 2019 (as if there were any doubt!). ​

We're kicking off the first DHH news roundup of 2020 with the excellent news that David Wragg's debut SFF novel The Black Hawks, has been selected as the Sci-Fi Book of the Month for indie chain, the Book Centre. Congratulations, Dave!

Excitement abound last week, as R.C. Bridgestock's brand new book, Payback, was published last week (Dome Press). 

Payback is the first in the new, female-led, D.I. Charley Mann series. 

Charley Mann left Yorkshire for the Met and a fast-track career - but now she's back, she's in charge and the area's first young, female DI. Her hometown, the Yorkshire countryside, and her old friends all seem unchanged, but appearances can be deceptive. When a brutal murder is discovered, Charley is forced to question everything, and the interest of her ex - reporter Danny Ray - doesn't make it easier.

Celebrating the release of Payback, the Eastern Daily Press ran an article focused on the "star" of the book, (now retired) police horse Wilson, the only horse in West Yorkshire with a Blue Cross. In his crime-fighting days, Wilson patrolled at EDL rallies, Leeds United matches and the Bradford Riots of 2001, where he was tragically stabbed in the line of duty. 

He made a full recovery and later became the first West Yorkshire Police horse to receive the  commendation for his bravery. 

Client Lucinda Hawksley wrote an article for BBC Culture on Lizzy Siddal, the muse of Pre-Raphaelite artists Rossetti, Holman and Deverell. To read, click here.

It's a fascinating look at the tragic beauty who inspired, and modelled for, so many iconic paintings and if you're keen to read more, then Lucinda's book on Lizzy, is one for you.

Finally, the publication of Adam Hamdy's next nail-biting thriller, Black 13, is fast approaching (23rd January to be exact) and is already garnering fantastic praise.

As well as collecting some excellent quotes ("Adam Hamdy is a worthy successor to Ludlum and Cussler - James Patterson; "A scorching thriller" - Anthony Horowitz), The Times has now listed the book in their recommended thrillers for January. 

You can pre-order here.

It's that time of year when Books of the Year lists are published, and our clients have seriously cleaned up. 

• Abi Elphinstone's The Snow Dragon was included in the Daily Mail's Best Children's Books of the Year and The Observer's Best Children's Books of 2019, and was also one of Waterstones Piccadilly's Top 4 bestselling children's books last week
• The Snow Dragon and Samantha Baines' Harriet Versus the Galaxy were included in iNews' Children's Books of the Year
• Out of the Woods, the debut non-fiction book from Luke Turner is also one of iNews' Books of the Year

Congratulations all!

COMPETITION ALERT!

Do you fancy winning yourself a copy of Stephen Moss' The Twelve Birds of Christmas plus a festive hamper from Fortnum and Mason? Thought you did. 

Waterstones are running this excellent giveaway, and all you need to do to enter is hit the 'Sign In' button on this link. Good luck...!

Congratulations to the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards - curated by Paul Joynson Hicks and Tom Sullam - who saw all THREE of their books in the Top 4 of Amazon's 'Photography Collections and Exhibitions' category. 

Dramatic rights to Stephen Gregory's creepy horror novel The Cormorant have been sold to SUMS films. 

The Cormorant was Stephen's first novel, published in 1986, and to critical acclaim, winning the prestigious Somerset Maugham Award and earning comparisons to the works of Edgar Allan Poe. 

Finally, two fantastic pieces on Jay Glennie's One Shot: the Making of The Deer Hunter were published last week. The first, in Little White Lies and the second in GQ magazine. 

​Delve in to these fantastic articles to discover some little-known facts about the five-time Oscar winning film. 

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!