Congratulations to James Goodhand, whose debut YA novel, Last Lesson has been sold to Penguin Random House Children's. 

Last Lesson is about Ollie Morcombe, a once star pupil who, following an accident, is now an outcast and a target of the school bullies who make his life hell. On the last day of school he brings those bullies a gift - a homemade bomb pipe.

James, who works as a car mechanic and wrote a lot of the book at his workbench, was one of DHH's original #PitchDHH-ers back in April 2017, and we couldn't be more thrilled for him. 

PRH Children's Ben Horslen bought world rights at auction from Harry Illingworth and the "eye opening" book is due for publication in spring 2020. 

​To read the full press release, click here. 

We’d like to start this week’s roundup with a huge congratulations to Luke Turner whose debut non-fiction, Out of the Woods was published this week. Searingly honest, the book has already gathered some wonderful praise, was featured in this week’s Books In the Media from The Bookseller,  and we know it is going to fly.
 
Similar congratulations go to M.W. Craven and the first book in his ‘Washington Poe’ series, The Puppet Show, also published last week in paperback.
 
Sainsbury’s launched its Romantic Fiction promo, which runs in selected stores for four weeks as of 24th January 2019. Included in this fab – and very timely, with Valentine’s Day round the corner – promo, are Lizzie Lovell’s The Juniper Gin Joint, Julie Caplin’s The Little Brooklyn Bakery and Jo Thomas’ A Winter Beneath the Stars. As the cold weather seems to be here for a while, these are the perfect books to curl up with in front of a fire – cup of hot chocolate and snuggly blanket not optional.
 
Also in a promotion this week is Stuart Turton’s The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which features in the Buy One Get One Half Price WHSmith High Street Stores promo, running until the 6th February. 

We’re thrilled with the French campaign for Anna Jacobs’ ‘Cassandra’ series, Cassandra et ses soeurs and Le destin de Cassandra. The campaign is featured in tonnes of railway stations across France, including Paris. Vive la France!

The cover for Anna Stephens’ Bloodchild, the third in the Godblind series was revealed this week, and it is a STUNNER. It follows in the same vein as the first two (Godblind and Darksoul) and would make a gorgeous addition to your bookshelf… hint, hint… Available to pre-order now. 

Picked up this week’s copy of MyWeekly yet? If not, all the more reason to, as Phillipa Ashley has written a gorgeous piece, My Life In Fiction, where she details the books that meant something to her, both as a child and adult. The cover for Phillipa’s new book will be revealed later today (Monday 28th January), so keep your eyes peeled!

Congratulations to R.C. Bridgestock, whose second DI Jack Dylan book, Consequences, was published last week. This follows the first, Deadly Focus and the third, White Lilies will be out at the end of January.
 
Luke Turner’s debut non-fiction, Out of the Woods was reviewed in both the Guardian “a book to get lost in”, and Caught By the River “A compelling account of the insidious power of shame”. This book is gathering more and more positive attention, and we are so happy for Luke, his agent Natalie Galustian and publishers Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Ahead of publication, we are thrilled to see Phyllida Shrimpton’s second YA novel, The Colour of Shadows has garnered over 140 first impressions over on readersfirst.co.uk. Readers First is a fantastic platform for readers to give their first impressions on a book based on the description, a “sneak peek” and cover. After the huge success of Phyllida’s debut YA novel Sunflowers In February, we cannot wait for her second to hit shelves on 7th February 2019. Fancy writing your own first impression? Click here. 

The cover for Anna Jacobs’ One Perfect Family, the fourth in the Ellindale series, was revealed last week. Looking for a heart-warming and gripping series of family, love and loyalty? Look no further. Ellindale awaits you…
 
We’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that Joanna Toye will be appearing at Wolverhampton Literary Festival on 3rd February at 12.30pm to discuss her debut novel A Store At War. If you want to know more about this event, click here. 

​Staying with Joanna Toye, we were thrilled to see her very special book get a mention in Yours magazine ‘Don’t Miss This’ feature… we heartily agree!

Some lovely deal news now. Stuart Turton’s The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has sold to Thailand (Maxx Publishing), Ukraine (Vivat) and Bulgaria (Ednorog), making that over 20 territories that book has been sold in.
 
We are welcoming two news authors to the DHH stable this week: Linda Regan (represented by David H Headley), and Bethan James (represented by Harry Illingworth). 

Finally, you may have seen on social media that the opening Abi Elphinstone’s World Book Day title (and prequel to her new Unmapped Chronicles series), Everdark is now available to read on Book2Look. Abi is known for her staggering ability to create truly magical worlds, allowing children to dream big and refuse to let anything stand in their way. If you’d like to read the beginning of the introduction to her new series, click this link and spend some time in Crackledawn. 

​We’re kicking off this week’s news roundup with the fantastic news that The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton has won the Costa First Novel Award 2018! We are over the moon for Stuart, his agent Harry and the whole team at Bloomsbury Raven. A superb beginning to the year. The overall winner of the Costas will be announced on the 29th January 2019.
 
Congratulations to Rachael Featherstone, whose debut novel Puzzle Girl was published in paperback earlier this week by the Dome Press. It has already garnered some fabulous praise during the blog tour “hugely entertaining”, “an hilarious but considered storyline” and possibly our favourite so far: “I’m just going to say this… I love, love, love, LOVE this book! The end”.
 
A Store At War, the debut novel by Joanna Toye, was also published this week by HarperCollins. This gripping wartime drama that has been described by Veronica Henry as “a real page-turner”.
 
The Guardian has selected their ‘ones to watch’, and Luke Turner’s Out of the Woods is sitting firmly on their list for January. Described as a “powerful memoir”, the book is centred on Epping Forest, about sexual abuse, a religious upbringing and life as a bisexual man. It will be published on the 24th January 2019. To see the full article, click here.
 
Staying with Out of the Woods, The Spectator’s Ben Myers reviewed it this week, and what a fantastic review it is! “Out of the Woods is a book full of poetry and pathos. More than anything it is a bold and beautiful study of how to be a true modern man.” To read the full review, click here.

​The cover for Kate Mallinder’s debut YA novel, Summer Of No Regrets, has been revealed and it’s already got us in the mood for the warmer seasons! Simply stunning, this thought-provoking & moving novel will be released by Firefly Press on the 2nd May 2019.
 
Also revealed this week, was the cover for Tania Crosse's new novel The Street of Broken Dreams, the second in the Banbury Street series. Perfect for fans of Elaine Everest and Daisy Styles, this is a poignant story, which will tear at your heart-strings.

​eBook platform Kobo are having a January sale, and you can snap up J.D. Fennell’s Sleeper: The Red Storm, Jean Levy’s What Was Lost and R.C. Bridgestock’s Deadly Focus, all for a fraction of the price. Click here to find out more.
 
Andrew Ewart’s forthcoming debut novel Forget Me (February 2020, Orion) has been sold to Dobrovsky in the Czech Republic.
 
Both The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Anna Stephens’ Darksoul (the second in the Godblind trilogy) have been longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Award. The Awards are awarded each year to the best Novel, Short Fiction, Artwork and work of Non-Fiction, and is voted for by the members of the British Science Fiction Association. To find out more about the Awards, click here.
 
Finally, DHH agent Hannah Sheppard is taking part in the Girls Can Do Anything, Write? event (part of the larger Girls Can Do Anything event in conjunction with London’s Big Read 2019) on the 6th February at the Library Club on St. Martin’s Lane. The event will be a discussion and panel talk (along with fellow panellists Charlie Morris, senior publicity and marketing exec at Stripes Books, Little Tiger and Sunday Times bestselling author Gillian McAllister) centred around understanding the relevance and importance of strong female voices in publishing and books 2019. To find out more about the event and get your ticket, please visit this site.  

We're having a small (okay, HUGE) celebration in the DHH office this morning as Stuart Turton's "mind-blowing" and "audaciously inventive" debut novel, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has won the First Novel Award at the Costa Awards 2018! 

Beating off stiff competition, the book has already garnered high praise from the likes of literary heavyweights Sophie Hannah "utterly original and unique", Sarah Pinborough "darkly comic, mind-blowingly twisty" and Ragnar Jonasson "an incredibly enjoyable read", and was the winner of the Books Are My Bag Novel Award 2018, and shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown 2018. 

The overall winner of the Costa Book of the Year Award 2018 will be announced on the 29th January 2019. 

​Congratulations, Stu!

The cover for Kate Mallinder's debut novel, Summer of No Regrets has been revealed, and it is drop dead gorgeous. 

The good folks over at @CHCCYAFest did the honours on behalf of Firefly Press and we can safely say it is on the most eye-catching YA covers we've seen in a while!

Want to have a look for yourself? Click here. 

​SYNOPSIS
​
After their exams, four sixteen-year-old best friends pledge to live a summer regret-free, doing what they want to do however much it scares them.

Sasha agrees to spend the holiday with her father in Geneva, having not seen him for six years, but is not expecting his new girlfriend, or the young man in the cafe.

Shy Hetal decides to go to science camp, and finds a new competitive spirit.

Nell gets a summer job, but after her accident her mother is scared to let her out of the house - so to do what she wants she will have to lie to her parents.

Cam goes to look for her birth father, scared of the future when she can no longer stay with her foster family. What will she find? As all these choices become difficult, even dangerous, they will need to turn to each other for the strength to face the future.

​Gosh, 2019 came around rather quickly, didn’t it?
 
Well, here we are: at the beginning of a whole new year, and with twelve months of exciting bookish news ahead of us!
 
We’re going to kick the first news roundup of 2019 off with a gorgeous cover reveal. International bestselling author Wilbur Smith has teamed up with client Imogen Robertson for his new book, King of Kings, the long-awaited sequel to his worldwide bestseller, The Triumph of the Sun. It’s a beautiful cover and captures this epic story of love, betrayal and courage perfectly. The book is available for pre-order now and will be published in hardback on the 4th April 2019. 

​Julie Caplin’s The Little Café in Copenhagen has been selected for the January Kindle Monthly Deal, and for the rest of the month, you can snap up this gorgeous, hygge-inspired romantic comedy for only 99p! This is the first in Julie’s ‘Romantic Escapes’ series, with The Little Brooklyn Bakery and The Little Paris Patisserie following soon after.
 
An author’s work is never done it seems, not even over Christmas! L.C. Tyler’s new John Grey historical mystery, The Bleak Midwinter, was published on the 27th December 2018. The fifth in the series sees John Grey in his newly appointed role as a Justice of the Peace, but ‘peace’ is the very last thing knocking on Grey’s door. “Unusually accomplished” (Helen Dunmore); “A dizzying whirl of plot and counterplot” (Guardian).
 
Congratulations to R.C. Bridgestock whose debut novel Deadly Focus, which was revised and republished by The Dome Press, was published in paperback on the 3rd January 2019. The third in the ever-popular DI Jack Dylan series, White Lilies, was also published on the 3rd, as an eBook. The paperback will be released on the 31st January.
 
Client Joanna Toye appeared in the January edition of Wolverhampton Magazine to discuss her debut novel, Store At War, which will be published by HarperCollins next week. Jo will also be appearing as part of the Wolverhampton Literature Festival on February 3rd, at 12.30pm, in the Art Gallery. If you find yourself in the West Midlands at the beginning of February, why not go along?
 
Finally, we’re inching ever closer to the publication of Luke Turner’s debut non-fiction Out of the Woods and a very pleasing start to the year: it has been selected by both the Independent and Observer as a One To Watch 2019. With glowing endorsements from the likes of Amy Liptrot (“refreshing, frank edifying, courageous”), Cosey Fanni Tuttie (“hauntingly exquisite writing”), and Olivia Laing (“brave and beautiful”), we couldn’t agree more! Out of the Woods is published by W&N on 24th January 2019.