Beginning this week's DHH News Roundup, we're delighted to welcome Matt Johnson to the Agency. 

Matt, who joins Broo Doherty's list, served for 25 years as an army officer and Metropolitan Police officer, retiring as an Inspector in 1999. He began writing, quite by chance, as a result of therapy after being diagnosed with PTSD.

His debut novel Wicked Game – a spy/crime thriller - was published by Orenda Books in March 2016.

In other Zachary Cloudesley news, the book was included in the Metro's 'Best Novels to Read This Summer' feature - naturally, we concur...

"​Fans of eccentrically flavoured historical fiction with a touch of magic are in for a treat with this bustling Dickensian debut about a boy born with the ability to see into the minds of everyone he meets and which spans 18th-century Europe, from London to Constantinople."

Congratulations to Erin Green, who last week saw the publication of her new Shetland novel, Sunny Stays at the Shetland Hotel, published in paperback, eBook and audiobook. This is a perfect, feel-good read of friendship, love and changing your life.  

Staying with Erin's gorgeous series, the cover for its festive offering, A Shetland Christmas Carol​, was revealed over the weekend:

Last week, the official shortlist for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2022 was announced, and making the cut was Thomas Mogford's most recent novel, The Plant Hunter (February 2022, Welbeck), a daring adventure, set in uncharted lands in search of untold wonders...

​Launched in September 2015, the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation is a charitable organisation dedicated to empowering young writers, the advancement of the adventure writing genre and the promotion of literacy. The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize is an international prize that supports and celebrates the best adventure writing today. The Prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English.

Awards are presented in three categories: Best Published Novel, Best Unpublished Manuscript and Author of Tomorrow. 

​Winners will be announced on the 21st September 2022.

The paperback for Vikki Patis' most recent psychological suspense novel, Return to Blackwater House, was published last week & we couldn't be more excited for this atmospheric and evocative page-turner to hit shelves. 

If you like your reading with a generous side of things that go bump in the night, this one's for you...

We're kicking off this week's DHH News Roundup with the brilliant recent announcement for the Capital Crime line-up, featuring a smörgåsbord of fabulous DHH authors. 

If you nab your ticket for this hotly-anticipated crime festival in September later this year, you can expect to see:



Anita Frank, Brian McGilloway, Chris McGeorge, Clare Whitfield, David Fennell, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, Eve Smith, Graham Bartlett, Marina Palmer (aka Imogen Robertson), M. W. Craven, Paul Burston, Ragnar Jónasson, S. V. Leonard, Stuart Turton, Suzie Edge, Tom Hindle, Victoria Selman and Vikki Patis. 

More names are due to be announced, and with the "who's who" of the literary crime world, this is not to be missed! 

ICYMI, David Fennell appeared on Shine Radio's Talking Books segment last week, to talk about his new book, See No Evil (April 2022, Zaffre Books) and a few other titles in his backlist. 

You can catch up here.

The fourth in M. W. Craven's Washington Poe series, The Botanist, has been snapped up by Modernista in Sweden, the Nordic home of the first three in the series, The Puppet Show, Black Summer and The Curator.

The next picture book by Abi Elphinstone, and illustrated by Fiona Woodcock, has been announced. The Frost Goblin will be released in October 2022 from Simon & Schuster Children's and follows Abi's first picture book, The Snow Dragon (October 2019, S&S Children's).




​

​“The deepest frost has the power to rekindle hope in anyone who’s lost it…”

In Bertie Crash-Wallop's noisy family, it can sometimes feel like there is no room for a quiet boy like him. But when Bertie meets a family of goblins on the night of the deepest frost, is it possible he might make some magic and discover his own place in the world?

Join Bertie and the Frost Goblins on an exciting adventure in this beautifully moving story

The independent bookshop, Tea Leaves & Reads has selected Vikki Patis' latest psychological thriller, Return to Blackwater House as their Book of the Month for July. 

The shop boxes up their BOTM with some extra treats pertinent to the story nestled inside. With July's box, you can get:





​
​

• A brand new paperback copy of Return to Blackwater House signed by Vikki Patis.
• Four delicious beverages – A mixture of tea and coffee.
• A Tasty Treat – Meredith & Drew Biscuits (dietary requirements? Let us know at checkout).
• A Beautifully scented wax melt bar from Hampshire Candles.
• A Bookish Postcard – perfect for framing or displaying in your home!
• A hand poured wax seal to finish it all off – great for keeping and putting in a journal or scrapbook as decoration!

​

Vengeance is the next in R. C. Bridgestock's DI Charley Mann series (September 2022, Canelo) and the last week, the cover was revealed...

Another cover reveal for you, and this time for the paperback of Tom Hindle's debut novel, A Fatal Crossing (August 2022, Century):

Orion Fiction has scooped two more thrillers by Carys Jones, author of We Are All Liars and The List, with the first, She Had It Coming, scheduled for publication in January 2023. 

Editorial director Rhea Kurien acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the two books from Emily Glenister at D H H Literary Agency, describing She Had It Coming as a “cracking thriller full of twists and turns”.

“I just know thriller readers are going to love She Had It Coming,” she said. “Heather is the girl everyone loves to hate … so whose side will you take? The victim’s or the killer’s?” 

The synopsis reads: “When Pippa’s best friend goes missing on a school run, no one thinks twice. Heather is pretty, popular and more than a little wild. Some say girls like her always get what’s coming to them. Pippa’s mother, Abbie, has never liked Heather. Or her mother Michelle, a successful doctor who thinks she’s too good for the school mums’ group.

“But when Heather turns up dead, everything changes. Because Pippa was the last person to see Heather alive... and now Abbie’s own house of cards is about to come tumbling down.”

Jones said she was “so excited” to be working with Orion again, thanking Kurien for helping turn She Had It Coming into “such a sinister and satisfying read, one I can’t wait to share with readers”. 
​
Glenister added: “Carys is a dream of an author to work with; so full of imagination and stories. She also has a deliciously dark mind, which I love and I cannot wait to see her star continue to rise with Orion.”

Congratulations to Thomas Mogford, who last week saw his latest novel, The Plant Hunter, longlisted for the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation Prize 2022. 

​Launched in September 2015, the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation is a charitable organisation dedicated to empowering young writers, the advancement of the adventure writing genre and the promotion of literacy. The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize is an international prize that supports and celebrates the best adventure writing today. The Prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English.

Awards are presented in three categories: Best Published Novel, Best Unpublished Manuscript and Author of Tomorrow. 

​Winners will be announced on the 21st September 2022.

To celebrate the publication of M. W. Craven's forthcoming The Botanist, both Mike and clients R. C. Bridgestock will all be appearing at the Crime At the Old Courts event in Wigan, on Saturday 11th June, for an afternoon of conversation with some of the most respected and bestselling authors in the genre.

Author conversation will be held from 12-6pm, and tickets are £15 (£30 to include a hardback copy of The Botanist). 

For more information and to book your tickets, click here.

Tania Crosse has signed a new contract with Joffe Books for the tenth novel in her Devon saga series. 

All nine books in the series are only 99p - £1.99 on Kindle, so now is the perfect time to get caught up...!

Two fabulous paperbacks were published from the DHH stable last week:

• Commander by Paul Fraser Collard (Headline)
• The Long Road From Kandahar by Sara MacDoSara MacDonaldnald (HarperCollins)

If you're in the mood for pure escapist fiction, then you really couldn't get better than these two fantastic page-turners.

A little bit of rights sales news for you now...

The latest two books in M. W. Craven's Washington Poe series, Dead Ground and The Botanist, have been acquired for the Spain by Roca Editorial, the home of the first three in the series. 

Jo Thomas' glorious Escape to the French Farmhouse has been picked up by Forlaget Zara in Denmark. 

The cover for the paperback of Sarah Bonner's runaway debut, Her Perfect Twin, has been revealed and we cannot wait to see it hit shelves in July later this year. 

Finally, congratulations to two superb clients, who have been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger Awards 2022:
​

• Dead Ground by M. W. Craven (Ian Fleming Steel Dagger)
• When I Grow Up in the 'Afraid of the Shadows' Anthology by Robert Scragg (Short Story Dagger)

​Winners will be announced at the CWA Gala Dinner on Wednesday 29th June. Congratulations, both!

Thomas Mogford's novel, The Plant Hunter, has been longlisted for the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation Prize 2022. 

​Launched in September 2015, the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation is a charitable organisation dedicated to empowering young writers, the advancement of the adventure writing genre and the promotion of literacy. The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize is an international prize that supports and celebrates the best adventure writing today. The Prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English.

Awards are presented in three categories: Best Published Novel, Best Unpublished Manuscript and Author of Tomorrow. 

​Winners will be announced on the 21st September 2022.

We are very happy to be kicking this week's DHH News Roundup off with a look at the final hardback cover for Victoria Selman's forthcoming Truly, Darkly, Deeply (July 2022, Quercus).

Staying with Victoria Selman, a very exciting event has been announced, to celebrate the book's publication. 

On Tuesday 12th July, Victoria will be appearing 'in conversation' with Before I Got To Sleep author, S. J. Watson. 

The event will take place at the Brighton branch of Goldsboro Books and tickets can be bought here.

Last week, we received the fantastic news that client Eva Björg Ægisdóttir is the No.1 bestselling hardback author in Iceland for Þú sérð mig ekki (You Don't See Me).

The second in Eva's Forbidden Iceland series, Girls Who Lie, was recently longlisted for the CWA Dagger Awards in the 'Crime Fiction in Translation' category.

Congratulations, Eva!

And finally, a huge congratulations to three DHH clients, all of whom have been longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award:

• M. W. Craven for Dead Ground
• Brian McGilloway for Blood Ties
• Stuart Turton for The Devil and the Dark Water

The award celebrates excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors. A highlight in the literary calendar, past winners include Denise Mina, Steve Cavanagh, Val McDermid and Chris Brookmyre. Awarded annually as part of Harrogate International Festivals’ Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the winner of the most wanted accolade in crime fiction receives a cheque for £3000, and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.

​Voting is open now!

Congratulations to our clients, M. W. Craven, Brian McGilloway and Stuart Turton, all of whom have been longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

To kick the month off to an excellent start, we have a plethora of excellent books included in May's Kindle Monthly Deal, and available to buy for a fraction of their usual price!

Simply click on the cover above to take you straight to the deal.

Brian McGilloway's recent release, The Empty Room, has picked up a fantastic review from the Irish Independent:

"An utterly gripping and propulsive read, as one would expect from one of Ireland's finest thriller writers." 

The cover for Paul Fraser Collard's new Jack Lark book, Diamond Hunter​ (October 2022, Headline)​, was revealed last week:

Four fabulous Agency books were published last week - congratulations to our clients!

• Outside by Ragnar Jónasson (hardback - Michael Joseph)
• See No Evil by David Fennell (hardback - Zaffre Books)
• The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox (paperback - Gollancz)
• The Wednesday Morning Wild Swim by Jules Wake (eBooks - One More Chapter)

We are delighted to be welcoming two new clients to the Agency this week: Jennifer Jones joins Broo Doherty's list, while Stephen Edger's joins Emily Glenister. 

To read more about these exciting signings, simply click on the names above.

Finally, it was revealed over the weekend that client Ragnar Jónasson and fellow crime heavyweight, Anthony Horowitz, have teamed up to write a theatre play together. 

The play will be set in a bookshop and feature just four suspects, taking inspiration from Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.

Watch this space for more on this deadly​ exciting news!