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DHH News Roundup 16th - 22nd August 2021

8/23/2021

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Happy Publication Day to G. S. Locke, who last week saw publication of the paperback for Six, their brand new crime thriller and the first featuring criminal defence lawyer, Jon Shaw, who comes face to face with Danny Hallam, the man he tried to murder twenty-five years ago. 

​Click here to order your copy now. 
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We've got a couple of fantastic eBook deals for you now. Whether you're a Kobo or Kindle reader, there's something for everybody. Simply click on the images below to take you to the deal. 
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Released just over a week ago, Andrew Ewart's new book, Replace You, picked up a fantastic review in The Sun. 

Chosen as their Pick of the Week, and perfect for fans of Black Mirror, it was given 5*, and billed as "[a] clever, tense read."


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The first two in Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's 'Hidden Iceland' series, featuring Chief Investigating Officer Elma - The Creak on the Stairs and Girls Who Lie - has been sold to Eeasi Raamat in Estonia. 

With Girls Who Lie released last month, The Creak on the Stairs has garnered a number of accolades since its publication in March 2020 (Orenda Books):

​**WINNER of the Storytel Award for Best Crime Novel 2020**
**WINNER of the Blackbird Award for Best Icelandic Crime Novel**
**SHORTLISTED for the Amazon Publishing Readers Award for Best Independent Voice**
**SHORTLISTED for the Amazon Publishing Readers Award for Best Debut Novel**
**LONGLISTED for the CWA New Blood Dagger**

After seven novels, author Louise Beech last week wrote about her decision to give up the "day job" and begin writing full-time. The story was subsequently picked up by Hull Daily Mail and you can read the entire article here. 

While we are unable to divulge too much information at this stage, after already building up a successful writing career, the future looks even brighter for Louise, and we cannot wait to tell you more...
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Client and leading nature writer Stephen Moss is running a one-day workshop for budding writers of the same nature, on Sunday 5th September. 

The course, which will take place in the beautiful Cotswolds-grounds of Hawkwood, promises that:

"​This workshop is for anyone who has ever wanted to write about the world around them. You’ll focus on learning to see, hear, smell and above all feel a connection with the wild. Sharpen how to notice what is all around you, take notes to help you capture that special moment, find ways of describing the sights and sounds of nature and then set your thoughts down on paper to be read by others."

​To find out more and book your tickets, click here.


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Finally, we couldn't be happier to announce that Phyllida Shrimpton's first two adult novels have been sold to Head of Zeus imprint, Aria Fiction, in a deal negotiated by Broo Doherty.

Thorne Ryan of Aria bought World English Rights, and The Shape of Happiness will be published July 2022 in hardback and ebook, with the second novel following in 2023.

Phyllida Shrimpton’s novel Sunflowers in February (published February 2019) won the Red Book Award for YA Fiction. The Shape of Happiness is inspired by her relationship with her father, and a decades-old letter she found that introduced her to a forgotten side of the man she thought she knew.

​To find out more about this exciting acquisition, click here.

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Aria Signs Phyllida Shrimpton's First Adult Novel

8/17/2021

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Aria, Head of Zeus, is delighted to announce the acquisition of World English rights in two novels by Phyllida Shrimpton, from Broo Doherty at DHH Literary Agency. The Shape of Happiness will be published July 2022 in hardback and ebook, with the second novel following in 2023.

Suddenly uprooted from everything and everyone she knows, bubbly fifteen-year-old Anna Maybury and her mother are forced to move in with the grandfather Anna has never met – a bad-tempered old man who disapproves of her very existence. At ninety-four, every day of Algernon’s life is broken up into a routine governed by the relentless ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece. It gives his life the structure and order he craves, but he’s also incredibly lonely. And soon, so is Anna. Her colourful personality doesn’t seem to fit in at her new school and she begins to feel herself turning as dull and grey as the uniform. Surprisingly, it’s cranky old Algernon who is determined to do something about it. With a road trip to Cornwall on the cards and important life lessons to learn, it’s going to be a summer neither of them will ever never forget. The Shape of Happiness is an emotional, uplifting read perfect for fans of Mike Gayle, Eva Woods and Marianne Cronin.

Phyllida Shrimpton’s novel Sunflowers in February (published February 2019) won the Red Book Award for YA Fiction. Having lived in London, The Netherlands and the Cotswolds with her husband, daughter, giant Saint Bernard and grumpy old terrier, she now lives on the Essex Coast in a place she likes to describe as being where the river meets the sea. Her firm belief is that there are two sides to every story in life and that is what inspires her to write. The Shape of Happiness is her first adult novel and is inspired by her relationship with her father, and a decades-old letter she found that introduced her to a forgotten side of the man she thought she knew.

Shrimpton says: ‘I’m positively beaming that my venture into the world of adult fiction has resulted in a publishing deal with Aria, Head of Zeus and that I shall be working with their dynamic team. Who knew that finding a letter written over seventy years ago would form the basis of my uplifting book about the relationship between an old man and his teenage granddaughter?’

Thorne Ryan, Editorial Director of Aria, says: ‘As soon as we started reading ​The Shape of Happiness, the whole team knew it was something truly special. It made us smile, cry and want to call our grandparents. We cannot think of a better book to mark Aria’s transition from Head of Zeus’s digital list to our all-format centre of women’s fiction excellence.’

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DHH News Roundup 9th - 15th August 2021

8/15/2021

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We're welcoming Valerie Jack to the Agency this week, who joins Tom Drake-Lee's list.

Valerie, who lives in the Chilterns with her family, studied at Oxford, York and Brunel before going on to teach English and Classical Civilisation for 12 years, alongside writing poetry and plays. 
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Client Henrietta Heald appeared on Dublin's radio channel, NewsTalk, on their show Talking History. 

Henrietta discussed with host Patrick Geoghan her book, Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines. 

You can catch up here.


Released a little over a week ago, Chris McGeorge's new brian-scrambling book, Half-Past Tomorrow received a fantastic quote from author, Judith O'Reilly:

​"Original, compelling and mind-bending fun, Chris McGeorge is writing some of the most interesting fiction out there. What time did you say it was? Half-Past Tomorrow time. And I loved it."
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Henley Literary Festival is joyfully going ahead and appearing on the sixth day of the festival (8th October) is client Lucinda Hawksley, who will be talking about her forthcoming book, Letters of Great Women.

​From some of the most significant moments in history to everyday joys and sorrows, Letters of Great Women combines biography, archival images and transcribed letters by everyone from Katherine of Aragon, Cleopatra and Florence Nightingale to Nina Simone, Greta Thunberg and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Having previously written books on the Queen, Lizzie Siddal and her great-great-great-grandfather Charles Dickens, the March Women March author joins Daniel Hahn to discuss her carefully curated collection of compelling correspondence.

To book your tickets, click here. 


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Congratulations to Stuart Turton and Clare Whitfield, who have both been long listed for the HWA Awards 2021.

The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart, is up for the HWA Gold Crown Award, and Clare Whitfield's People of Abandoned Character is up fo the HWA Debut Crown Award. 

​The 2021 Crown Awards (Debut, Gold and Non-Fiction) are for full length books published for the first time in English in the UK between the 1st April 2020 - 31st March 2021. The shortlist will be announced on the 5th October, with the winner's ceremony on the 24th November 2021.

The cover for Thomas Mogford's forthcoming book, The Planthunter (Welbeck, February 2022) was released last week and it is a beauty!
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1867. King's Road, Chelsea, is a sea of plant nurseries, catering to the Victorian obsession with rare and exotic flora. But each of the glossy emporiums is fuelled by the dangerous world of the planthunters – daring adventurers sent into uncharted lands in search of untold wonders to grace England's finest gardens.

Harry Compton is as far from a planthunter as one could imagine – a salesman plucked from the obscurity of the nursery growing fields to become 'the face that sold a thousand plants'.

But one small act of kindness sees him inherit a precious gift – a specimen of a fabled tree last heard of in The Travels of Marco Polo, and a map.

Seizing his chance for fame and fortune, Harry sets out to make his mark. But where there is wealth there is corruption, and soon Harry is fleeing England, rounding the Cape of Good Hope and sailing up the Yangtze alongside a young widow – both in pursuit of the plant that could change their futures.


​To pre-order, click here.


Finally, we were over the moon last week to hear that Jo Thomas' Escape to the French Farmhouse (Transworld, July 2020), has now sold 100,000 copies!

We couldn't be more delighted for Jo and this well-deserved landmark. 

Jo's new book, Chasing the Italian Dream, is out now!
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Turton & Whitfield Longlisted for HWA Awards 2021

8/12/2021

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Congratulations to Stuart Turton and Clare Whitfield, who have both been longlisted for the Historical Writers' Association Crown Awards 2021 for the respective novels, The Devil and the Dark Water and People of Abandoned Character. 

The 2021 Crown Awards (Debut, Gold and Non-Fiction) are for full length books published for the first time in English in the UK between the 1st April 2020 - 31st March 2021.

People of Abandoned Character is Clare's debut novel and has been longlisted for the Debut Crown Award; while Stuart Turton's The Devil and the Dark Water is longlisted for the Gold Crown Award. 

The shortlist will be announced on the 5th October, with the winner's ceremony on the 24th November 2021. 

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DHH News Roundup 2nd - 8th August 2021

8/9/2021

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Kicking off this week with the utterly brilliant news that the screen rights for Ragnar Jonasson's Dark Iceland series - comprising of Snowblind, Nightblind, Blackout, Rupture, Whiteout & Winterkill and starring Detective Ari Thor - has been acquired by Warner Bros. International Television Production Germany (WBITVP Germany), and will co-produce with Herbert L. Kloiber's Night Train Media.

​To read the full announcement, click here.
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Published just over a week ago, Adam Simcox's debut, The Dying Squad, picked up a fantastic review in The Sun:

"[A] ​thrilling ride with dark humour, action and a touching side that’s hard to forget."


Congratulations to Chris McGeorge and Andrew Ewart, who saw their new novels published last week:
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Replace You was also given a lovely write-up in the Daily Mail:

"[A] riveting set of twists and turns before reaching a starkly devastating denouement. Original storytelling with bags of tension based on contemporary themes, it informs and intrigues."

We're welcoming two clients to the Agency this week:

A. J. West, author of The Spirit Engineer, joined David Headley's list and Gareth Brown joined Harry Illingworth's list. 

To read more about these authors, click on their names above. 
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Congratulations to Maddie Please, who has seen her new book, The Old Ducks' Club hit the top 10 bestselling eBooks in both Australia and Canada and has broken in to the top 100 in the UK. 
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Adding to the list of pre-publication translation rights sales, Victoria Selman's Truly, Darkly, Deeply (July 2022) has been snapped up by Eksmo in Russia. 

If you haven't heard about this jaw-dropping novel, click here to find out more...


Finally, we're sending clients Stuart Turton and Clare Whitfield GIANT congratulations, for being shortlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2021, for their respective novels, The Devil and the Dark Water and People of Abandoned Character. 

The winner will be announced on the 30th September at the Goldsboro Books shop in their first event back since the start of the pandemic. 

​To read more about the shortlistings, click here.
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Turton & Whitfield Shortlisted for Glass Bell Award

8/8/2021

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A Booker-longlisted exploration of the Israel-Palestine conflict; the second novel from the Costa-winning Stuart Turton and a British Book Award-shortlisted story of a young Nigerian girl’s struggle for an education are amongst the six titles shortlisted for the 2021 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, announced today (Thursday 5th August).

Critically acclaimed novelist Colum McCann leads the shortlist for his powerful seventh novel Apeirogon, which was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. Also shortlisted is The Devil and the Dark Water, the highly anticipated second novel from Stuart Turton, whose debut The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was longlisted for the 2019 Glass Bell, as well as winning the Costa First Novel Award

They are accompanied by four celebrated debut novels across a range of genres: Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi, acclaimed as an inventive and exciting reworking of the detective novel; The Girl with the Louding Voice, Abi Daré's New York Times bestseller about a young Nigerian housegirl fighting for her freedom and her education; People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield, a historical thriller about a woman who suspects that her husband could be Jack the Ripper; and The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant, a fantastical reimagining of the French Revolution featuring the characters of Les Misérables.

David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and MD, and founder of the Glass Bell, says: "For five years now, the Glass Bell Award has sought to celebrate the best of contemporary fiction, regardless of genre or stage of the author’s career, and this year is no exception. The 2021 shortlist may be the most innovative and outward-looking yet, with its international focus and the way it plays with the literary canon. Our judging discussions are always lively, but with these powerful literary novels, imaginative historical thrillers, whirlwind bestsellers – and four superb debuts which deserved more attention in a very busy year, I’m sure we’ll all have a lot to say this year!”

Judged by David and his team at Goldsboro Books, the Glass Bell is awarded annually to a compelling novel, of any genre – from romance and thrillers, to historical, speculative and literary fiction – with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised. The winner, who will be announced on Thursday 30th September, wins £2,000 and a beautiful, handmade glass bell.

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DHH News Roundup 26th July - 1st August 2021

8/2/2021

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If you're lucky enough to be going away this summer, then we've got a couple of fantastic eBook deals to lie back and relax with, as part of August's Kindle Monthly Deal:
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To take advantage of these incredible prices (99p each!), simply click on the book cover above.
Also on pre-order sale at the low-low price of 99p, is Carys Jones' forthcoming We Are All Liars (September 2021, Orion).
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We Are All Liars is a terrificly twisty tale surrounding old friendships and deadly secrets - all set at a remote Scottish cabin. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley. Click on the cover above to pre-order.

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Happy Publication Day to Claire Dyer and her new book, The Significant Others of Odie May, published last week. 

​On the night Odie May and her married lover are due to celebrate him leaving his wife, Odie goes out to buy a bottle of his favourite wine and, on her way home, is murdered by a woman in a lime green coat. But Odie’s story does not end there…

Next, she finds herself in a waiting room with a man who introduces himself as Carl Draper and who tells her he is her Initial Contact. He is carrying a clipboard and invites her into an interview room. Over the course of her interview, Carl guides Odie back through the years, asking her about the significant others in her life in a quest to work out what she’s done wrong, who might have murdered her and why.

As Odie comes to realise the truth about herself, the life she’s led and her death, she's given a choice: Carl can put her back to the moment before she was murdered and prevent it from happening, but this comes at a price Odie doesn't know if she can pay and, as she decides, she not only begins to understand what she has to do to become the person she should have been all along, but who is her most significant significant other.


We are delighted to welcome new client, Robin Laurance, to the Agency. 

Robin - who began his media career as a photographer with the Guardian newspaper - joins Tom Drake-Lee's list. Robin's feature writing has taken him from the Oval Office in Washington to the production facilities of Toyota in Japan, the sugar plantations of Brazil and the studio of Erno Rubik in Budapest. 

To find out more about Robin, click here.
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Two very exciting cover reveals took place last week. 

Commander ​(October 2021, Headline) is the tenth in Paul Fraser Collard's Jack Lark series, and this time, takes place in Egypt, 1869. It is historical military fiction at its finest, and fans of Bernard Cornwell and Matthew Harffy will fall hook, line and sinker for Jack: soldier, leader, imposter.
Also revealed last week was the cover for A Special Cornish Christmas (November 2021, Avon), by our reigning Cornish Fiction Queen, Phillipa Ashley. 

At a local summer fete, Bo and her friends meet the mysterious fortune teller Madame Odette, and they are each given the same prediction: You will meet the love of your life by Christmas Day. The last thing she imagines is that she’ll be ready to open her heart again. But will fate – and perhaps a sprinkle of Christmas magic – change her mind?
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The Art of Death by David Fennell has picked up a number of endorsements from incredible authors from the crime fiction world, and last week, none other than Lynda La Plante (yes, THE Lynda La Plante) joined that list and we're still working on picking our jaws up off the floor. 

"This is a truly extraordinary crime novel that I honestly had to read in the afternoon as it was too chilling to read in the evening. It is a gritty, dark thriller with a serial killer of frightening proportions."
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Finally, the acquisition of Sarah Jackson's dystopian debut novel, Not Alone, was announced last week. 

Commissioning editor Gillian Fitzgerald-Kelly acquired world all language rights, excluding the US, for Not Alone from Harry Illingworth at DHH Literary Agency. US rights were pre-empted by Carolyn Williams at Doubleday from the Helen Edwards Rights Agency. It will be published in the UK and US simultaneously in spring 2023.

To read more about the sale, click here.

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