The first of two utterly stunning cover reveals for you, to kick this week's news roundup off with! The Book of Doors is the debut by Gareth Brown, and will be published by Transworld in February 2024. 

A Fatal Crossing author Tom Hindle is now officially the second bestselling crime debut of 2022, with over 65,000 copies sold! His second novel, The Murder Game has now sold in excess of 8,000 hardbacks. 

An enormous accomplishment, and we could not be happier for him. Congratulations, Tom! 

The second cover reveal this week comes in the form of Frances White's fantastical debut, Voyage of the Damned, due for release from Penguin Michael Joseph in January 2024.

The McIlvanney Prize is Bloody Scotland’s annual prize awarded to the best Scottish Crime book of the year. It provides Scottish crime writing with recognition and aims to raise the profile and prestige of the genre as a whole. The prize was renamed in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the Godfather of Tartan Noir, in 2016.

While similar to the McIlvanney Prize, the debut Award asks that Scottish roots for authors are a must, either being born in Scotland or living there, and setting their books there. Judged by members of the Bloody Scotland board and different participants each year, the winner is awarded a cheque of £500 and a trophy sponsored by The Glencairn Glass.

Winners for both prizes will be announced in September this year. ​

Massive congratulations to Heather Darwent, whose debut novel, The Things We Do To Our Friends, has been both longlisted and shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize and Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year, respectively. 

​The McIlvanney Prize is Bloody Scotland’s annual prize awarded to the best Scottish Crime book of the year. It provides Scottish crime writing with recognition and aims to raise the profile and prestige of the genre as a whole. The prize was renamed in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the Godfather of Tartan Noir, in 2016.

While similar to the McIlvanney Prize, the debut Award asks that Scottish roots for authors are a must, either being born in Scotland or living there, and setting their books there. Judged by members of the Bloody Scotland board and different participants each year, the winner is awarded a cheque of £500 and a trophy sponsored by The Glencairn Glass.

Winners for both prizes will be announced in September this year. 

Huge congratulations to M. W. Craven, who has seen The Botanist shortlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2023.

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 receives a cheque for £3000, and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.

Cast your vote here.

The cover for bestselling author Becca Day's unmissable new psychological thriller, The Secrets We Buried​, was revealed last week:

Some foreign rights news for you now:

Escape to the French Farmhouse by Jo Thomas has been sold to Bastei MOBA in the Czech Republic, while The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir has been sold to Nordiq in Serbia.

Finally, we were over the moon to see Sean Lusk's debut novel, The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley, longlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award

The debut novel from Sean Lusk, The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley​, has been longlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2023.

David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and MD, and founder of the Glass Bell Award says: “2022’s debut game was incredibly strong and so when we started having conversations about putting together our Glass Bell longlist – coupled with established authors putting out some of their best works yet – I knew we had a challenge ahead of us. However, my team and I work very closely to make sure that we are all in agreement about what goes on the longlist and once again, I am delighted with the outcome. The aim of the Glass Bell Award is to acknowledge incredible storytelling – and this year is no exception!” 

The Glass Bell Award is judged by David and his team at Goldsboro Books. It is the only prize that rewards storytelling in all genres – from romance, thrillers and ghost stories, to historical, speculative and literary fiction – and is awarded annually to ‘a compelling novel with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised’. The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 27th July, with the winner – who will receive £2,000 and a beautiful, handmade glass bell – announced on Thursday 28th September 2023. 

The book was selected for BBC 2's Between the Covers and was a Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month.

In addition, crime heavyweight David Baldacci had this to say:

"Craven has unleashed Ben Koenig into the thriller world. Long may he raise hell in the pages. A superb thriller that will have everyone talking and gasping."

​Want to see what all the fuss is about? Pre-order your copy here!

Published last week was Paul Burston's sensational memoir, We Can Be Heroes, which was fittingly celebrated with an intimate gathering at London's Heaven nightclub. 

​Activist. Journalist. Survivor. One man’s journey from prejudice to Pride.

Paul Burston wasn’t always the iconic voice of LGBTQ+ London that he is today. Paul came out in the mid-1980s, when ‘gay’ still felt like a dirty word, especially in the small Welsh town where he grew up. He moved to London hoping for a happier life, only to watch in horror as his new-found community was decimated by AIDS. But even in the depths of his grief, Paul vowed never to stop fighting back on behalf of his young friends whose lives were cut tragically short.

It’s a promise he’s kept to this day. As an activist he stormed the House of Commons during the debate over the age of consent. As a journalist he spoke up for the rights of the community at a time of tabloid homophobia and legal inequality. As a novelist he founded the groundbreaking Polari Prize.

But his lifestyle hid a dark secret, and Paul’s demons—shame, trauma, grief—stalked him on every corner. In an attempt to silence them, he began to self-medicate.
​
From almost drowning at eighteen to a near-fatal overdose at thirty-eight, this is Paul’s story of what happened in the twenty years between, and how he carved out a life that his teenage self could scarcely have imagined. Emotional but often witty, We Can Be Heroes is an illuminating memoir of the eighties, nineties and noughties from a gay man who only just survived them.

​Paul will also be appearing on BBC Radio 4 this Tuesday, 6th June, at 4.30pm on the channel's A Good Read programme.

Finally, we were completely and utterly over the moon to see that Thomas D. Lee's debut novel, Perilous Times, hit the Sunday Times top ten bestsellers list within its first week on sale. 

An incredible achievement - congratulations, Tom!