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Penguin Michael Joseph snares WriteNow graduate Medrano’s ‘outrageously brilliant’ novel

9/28/2022

Penguin Michael Joseph has signed Nothing Serious by Emma Medrano, a “blistering and gripping” novel about two women who meet online under false pretences and form an unlikely connection.

Editor Madeleine Woodfield acquired world all languages rights to the book from Emily Glenister at D H H Literary Agency, who described Nothing Serious as “outrageously brilliant”. It will be published in hardback in early 2024.

Nothing Serious follows Nicki and Amber, two women who would never normally cross paths. Nicki is a thirty-something woman, always searching online for her next hook up. Seventeen-year-old Amber is equally lost, and in an attempt to win back her friends’ approval creates a fake dating profile for a man in his thirties. Nicki and Amber quickly “match”, and it soon becomes a friendship. But when one person is not who they say they are, how long can that last?

Medrano, one of the writers selected for Penguin’s WriteNow scheme in 2020 out of almost 3,000 applicants, said: “I feel so honoured and grateful that my little story will be on actual bookshelves thanks to my agent and the lovely team at Michael Joseph. I’m extremely excited for the rest of the world to meet these characters.”

Woodfield commented: “I feel like I haven’t stopped thinking about Emma’s novel from the day I first read it. Nothing Serious is a thought-provoking and unflinching novel about finding connection when you least expect it, and I cannot wait for readers to meet Nicki and Amber. Emma is a major talent, I couldn’t be happier to be welcoming her to the Penguin Michael Joseph list.”

Medrano has previously published short stories and is currently an editor at a literary journal at the University of Glasgow.

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DHH News Roundup 19th - 25th September 2022

9/25/2022

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Congratulations to Jo Thomas, who this week saw the eBook publication of her brand new book, Keeping A Christmas Promise (Transworld).

One Icelandic holiday
One snowstorm
The adventure of a lifetime

Told with Jo's trademark wit and humour, this gorgeous book promises to whisk the reader away on a Nordic love story you won't forget this Christmas...

The cover for E. V. Seymour's new book, My Daughter's Secrets (Joffe Books, September 2022), has been revealed:

Grace has the perfect life.

Then her husband replaces her with a younger, blonder version.
Three years later, Grace’s sixteen-year-old daughter is stabbed to death in a seedy hotel.

Grace’s life stops.

After a harrowing trial, Tara’s boyfriend is convicted of her murder. At least now it’s over.
Until someone breaks into Grace’s house and ransacks Tara’s belongings.

And now the questions have only just begun.

Grace thought she knew her daughter. But Tara had been keeping secrets from her. Very dark secrets.

The highly-anticipated March 2023 novel from Louise Swanson - also known as Louise Beech - End of Story (Hodder & Stoughton), has been pulling in some fabulous pre-publication quotes that we had to share:

"Inventive, original, moving. End of Story has a unique premise and a heart-wrenching drop-the-book twist."
Tammy Cohen

"A chilling 1984-style dystopian thriller which is also moving and hopeful. Absolutely stunning twist too."
Mark Edwards

"Absolutely enthralling, incredibly clever, brutal and heartbreaking. This deserves to be the book everyone is talking about in 2023. I loved it."
C. J. Tudor

"A compelling novel with an intriguing premise and a genuine didn’t-see-it-coming twist. It made me think about how we tell stories, how we occupy them and how stories can ultimately change us."
Araminta Hall

"A propulsive and incredibly creepy dystopian premise - I was hooked from the outset, and every twist was perfectly executed. A fantastic thriller."
Heather Darwent

It was announced last week that Penguin imprint, Michael Joseph, will be launching the Undiscovered Writers' Prize, the aim of which is to find exciting new authors from underrepresented backgrounds who we can bring to the widest possible audience.

On the judging panel will be none other than MD of DHH Literary Agency, David Headley!

The winner of the Prize will receive a publishing contract from Michael Joseph, representation from David and all shortlisted authors will receive one-to-one editorial feedback and guidance from either an editor or agent.

Find out more, and apply here.

Finally, we'd like to let you know who from the DHH Agency will be at this year's Capital Crime festival (29th September - 1st October), taking place in London's Battersea Park.

To see the full schedule, click here.

THURSDAY 29th SEPTEMBER

2.45pm
You're Killing Me: Ask the Agent panel with David Headley, Camilla Bolton, Victoria Haslam and Emad Akhtar (moderated by Craig Sisterson)

3pm
Pitch An Agent session with David Headley, Emily Glenister, Camilla Bolton and Philip Patterson

David Headley

Emily Glenister

FRIDAY 30th SEPTEMBER

9am
Sinister Storytellers: What motivates a 'monster'? Horror, mystery and things that go bump in the night with Clare Whitfield, Chris Carter, Catriona Ward, Matt Wesolowski (moderated by Yrsa Sigudardóttir)

Clare Whitfield

Chris McGeorge

9am
A Return to the Golden Age with Chris McGeorge, Nicola Upson, Louise Hare and Dominic Nolan (moderated by Sam Brownley)

10.05am
Three policeman walk into a crime festival ... and solve a crime with Graham Bartlett, John Sutherland and Colin Sutton (crime provided by Erin Kelly)

Graham Bartlett

Adam Simcox

10.05am
Whose Crime Is It Anyway? Capital Crime's unique debut quiz pits teams of debut crime and thriller authors together with Adam Simcox (1/5 of team 'High Concept Heroes')

11.10am
Home is where the crime is: the domestic sphere as the perfect and unsettling for horrible events with Stuart Turton, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir and Nicci French (moderated by Lesley Kara)

Stuart Turton

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

11.10am
Hubble, Bubble, Ghosts and Trouble: gothic fiction and ghost stories (moderated by Anita Frank) with W. C. Ryan, Johana Gustawsson and Zoë Somerville.

Anita Frank

Eve Smith

12.15pm
A Taste of Medicine: pharmacists, doctors and crime authors discuss society's fascination with medicine in crime fiction with Eve Smith, Rachelle Atala and Claire Allan (moderated by A. K. Turner)

1.20pm
Hook, Line and Twist: entering the 'warped' minds of crime fiction's biggest authors with Stuart Turton, Tim Weaver and Alice Feeney (moderated by S. J. Watson)

1.20pm
Whose Crime Is It Anyway? Capital Crime's unique debut quiz pits teams of debut crime and thriller authors together with S. V. Leonard and Tom Hindle (2/5 of team 'Global Goliaths' and Sarah Bonner (1/5 of team 'Domestic Dynamos')

S. V. Leonard

Tom Hindle

Sarah Bonner

2.25pm
Dynamic Duos: sidekicks, saviours and symbiant relationships with M. W. Craven, S. A. Cosby and David Beckler (moderated by Mari Hannah)

M. W. Craven

Suzie Edge

3.30pm
Drama, Tension & Murder Throughout History (moderated by Suzie Edge) with Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Abir Mukherjee, Jessica Fellowes and Anna Mazzola

5.40pm
Crime Across the Continents (interviewed by Victoria Selman) with Mark Billingham, Jeffrey Deaver and Michael Robotham

Victoria Selman

Carys Jones

5.40pm
A Thrilling Ride: discussing the versatility and addictive nature of thrillers with Carys Jones, C. L. Taylor, Stephanie Merritt and Caroline Mitchell (moderated by Kia Abdullah)

SATURDAY 1st OCTOBER

10.05am
Polari Panel (moderated by Paul Burston) with A. J. West, Alex Reeve, Beth Lewis and Francesca May

Paul Burston

A. J. West

11.10am
Brian McGilloway and Steve Cavanagh "in conversation" with Steph McGovern

Brian MCGilloway

David Fennell

1.20pm
Titans of the Terrifying: missing limbs, people, and the art of the spine-tingling thriller with David Fennell, Lars Kepler and Nadine Matheson (moderated by Doug Johnstone)

3.30pm
Ragnar Jónasson and Katrin Jakobsdóttir (the Prime Minister of Iceland) "in conversation" with Joe Haddow

Ragnar Jónasson

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DHH News Roundup 11th - 18th September 2022

9/18/2022

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It has been announced that client Ragnar Jónasson will pen a crime thriller, Reykjavik, alongside Icelandic Prime Minister, Katrin Jakobsdóttir, centred around the Reagan and Gorbachev summit in 1986.

The book will be published in Iceland in October this year.

The soon-to-be-released, The Darlings of the Asylum, from Noel O'Reilly, has received a gorgeous endorsement from fellow gothic author, Essie Fox:

"O'Reilly's skill as a writer in creating his central character is to convince his readers that this is a one kind story, before dragging the carpet from under their feet as shocking secrets are revealed ... This novel will lure your imagination into the darkest realms of torment, before the door finally closes on the breath-taking denouement."

The book is set to be published by HQ in December later this year.

The cover for Force of Hate (February 2023, Allison & Busby), the second in Graham Bartlett's CS Jo Howe series has been revealed:

When a night-time firebomb attack at a Brighton travellers' site kills women and children, Chief Superintendent Jo Howe has strong reason to believe the new, dubiously elected, neo-nazi council leader is behind the murders. Against the direct orders of her chief constable, Jo digs deep into the killings secretly briefing the senior investigating officer of her suspicions.

As she delves further, Jo uncovers an underworld of human trafficking, slavery and euthanasia all leading to a devastating plot which threatens thousands of lives and from which the murderous politician looks sure to walk scott-free. Having narrowly survived a plot to kill her, where another was not so lucky, she realises that only by facing near-certain death once more can she thwart this terrorist outrage.

Congratulations to Adam Hamdy, who last week saw the publication of his highly-anticipated new novel, The Other Side of Night (Pan Macmillan).

Also published last week was Rachael Featherstone's Puzzle Girl (Canelo), a gloriously uplifting read about finding love in the most unique of places: a crossword magazine.

Also revealed this week, was the cover for the newly-reissued, The Judas Tree (November 2022, HQ), by Amanda Jennings (originally published as The Judas Scar in 2014), a devastating thriller set in a Cornish boarding school.

At a bleak boys’ boarding school in Cornwall in the eighties when bullying is rife, Will and his best friend, Luke, are involved in a horrific incident that results in Luke leaving.

Twenty-five years later their paths cross again and memories of a painful childhood come flooding back to haunt them both.

Will’s wife, Harmony, is struggling after a miscarriage that has hit her hard, and wishes Will would open up about what happened. But as Will withdraws further, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic stranger from her husband’s past, Luke, and soon all three are caught in a tangled web of guilt and desire...

From Amanda Jennings, author of The Cliff House, comes a haunting thriller about betrayal and revenge.

We are delighted to be welcoming esteemed author, A. A. Dhand, to the Agency.

Dhand, who is the author of the Harry Virdee series, set in Bradford, joins David Headley's list.

Finally, the news was finally announced last week, that client Ronnie Turner has struck a two-book deal with Orenda Books.

Orenda bought World English Language rights from Emily Glenister and the first in the deal, So Pretty, an haunting and contemporary gothic thriller, will be published in January 2023.

Read the full press release here.

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Orenda Books nets Turner's 'visceral' novel in a two-book deal

9/13/2022

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Orenda Books has netted So Pretty, a "hypnotic" modern gothic thriller in a two-book deal with Ronnie Turner.

Publisher Karen Sullivan acquired world English language rights from Emily Glenister at DHH Literary Agency. The novel will be published in January 2023.

"I have been dying to work with Karen Sullivan for a long time and when Ronnie sent me So Pretty, it had Orenda’s name all over it, so it made perfect sense that Karen loves it as much as I do," said Glenister. "Ronnie is a fiercely talented writer, whose star is well and truly on the rise. She excels at the weird, wonderful and downright unsettling. Watch this space, publishing!"

The synopsis reads: "Teddy Colne arrives in the small town of Rye, hoping to settle down and leave his past behind him. But fear blisters through the streets, and the locals warn him to avoid a shop known only as Berry & Vincent, where people have been known to come to a bad end. Teddy, however, is desperate to discover why everyone fears the proprietor of this establishment, and takes a job behind its dusty, creepy windows.

"Ada moved to Rye with her young son to escape a damaged childhood and years of never fitting in, but she’s lonely, and ostracised by the community. Ada is ripe for affection and friendship, and everyone knows it.

"As old secrets bleed out into this town, so too will a mystery about a family who vanished 50 years earlier, and a community living on a knife-edge. Teddy looks for answers, thinking he is safe, but some truths are better left undisturbed, and his past will find him here, just as it has always found him before. And before long, it will find Ada too."

"I am beyond excited to share this disturbing, idiosyncratic and wonderfully lyrical novel with readers worldwide," said Sullivan. "As they say, I have ’history’ with Ronnie. I met her when she was just 16, at the Penzance Literary Festival and, even then, saw the huge potential in her writing. When So Pretty was sent in on submission, I read it instantly and remain awed and fully mesmerised by Ronnie’s extraordinary writing and blown away by this original, elegant, quirky and gloriously visceral novel. There is a pervasive, brooding tension that is both unsettling and deeply compelling, and its complex themes continue to provoke thought long after the final page is turned. Ronnie is an Orenda author if ever I saw one, and I am truly thrilled to publish her sublime work. Still in her early 20s and now a Waterstones bookseller, Ronnie is an exciting and original talent, and I have no doubt that readers will be as entranced as we are."

Turner added: "I am super excited to join the Orenda family and work with the mighty Karen Sullivan. She is an utter powerhouse, and I have been in awe of her and all of Orenda for many years. I feel very lucky to have her championing my work, and to have found the perfect home for So Pretty, a novel which looks at identity, obsession and the perilous bonds of family. I know Karen, West Camel, Emily and I will make a great team and I’m so looking forward to this journey together, and to seeing So Pretty in the hands of readers very soon."

From The Bookseller article | Katie Fraser

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DHH News Roundup 5th - 11th September 2022

9/11/2022

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The recently-published second instalment of the Joe Lazarus, from Adam Simcox - The Generation Killer - received a fantastic review in a recent edition of The Sun:

"This is a supernatural cop thriller that features all the excitement these two genres can throw at us. It's a worthy sequel to The Dying Squad and elevates Simcox to a new level."

The cover for Carys Jones upcoming psychological thriller, She Had It Coming (Orion Books, January 2023), has been revealed:

'Someone needs to bring her down a peg or two...'

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.

Most people think she ran away for the attention ... Others 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 her alive... and now Abbie's own house of cards is about to come tumbling down.

Congratulations to Morgan Owen, who this week saw her YA debut, The Girl With No Soul, shortlisted for the Great Reads Awards shortlist. The GRA are judged by readers, and shortlisted by school librarians.

Find out more here.

Another cover reveal this week, was for bestselling author Becca Day's second book, All Her Little Lies (Embla Books, October 2023):

Everyone's convinced her son is a killer, but Alex Forrester knows him best, doesn't she?

Cynthia and Alex have always been like sisters. Living and working for years on Cynthia's mother's sprawling farm, they've raised their families together. It was the perfect life until the fateful night that Alex finds Hannah, one of Cynthia's eighteen-year-old twins, inexplicably murdered in her own home.

Soon Alex's life is spiralling out of control as she questions everything she knows and everyone she trusted. And when local detective, Stefani Warner starts investigating Hannah's murder, one prime suspect quickly rises to the fore: Daniel, Alex's nineteen-year-old son.

As Alex fights to protect him, she starts to uncover disturbing truths. Friendship, family bonds, even her own marriage are not what she thought, and threats seems to come from every direction, both invisible and way too close to home...

Victoria Selman's most recent publication, and Sunday Times top ten bestseller, Truly, Darkly, Deeply, has been selected as Book of the Week by The Sun:

Finally, we are delighted to welcome two new clients to the Agency this week.

Both Nicole Robinson and Becky Rhush have joined Emily Glenister's list, and we can't wait to hear more from these exciting new authors soon...!

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DHH News Roundup 29th August - 4th September 2022

9/4/2022

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Victoria Hawthorne's recently published, The House at Helygen, has picked up a fab review in Choice magazine and was a 'Pick of the Paperbacks':

"The death of Harry Fox at his ancestral home, Helygen House, is regarded as suicide by the police, a verdict disputed by his pregnant wife, Josie, who suspects foul play. As Jodie starts digging into the history of Helygen, she stumbles on its mysterious past. Once you adjust to the interlocking timelines, it's a compelling read."

A new month, and a plethora of new eBook deals to see you right through until the end of September.

Simply click on the book jacket below to take you directly to the Kindle Monthly Deal:

Happy Publication Day to L. C. Tyler, who last week saw his eighth John Grey mystery book, The Summer Birdcage, published last week.

Duke's Company actress Kitty Burgess has a stunning future before her - until she vanishes after the opening performance of Aminta Grey's new play, The Summer Birdcage.

One of her fellow actors swears he saw her being bundled into a black coach driven by six black horses outside the theatre. Then no more is heard of her - until the body of a young woman is found dead beside the road in Hertfordshire. It appears to be Kitty, so Aminta and her husband Sir John Grey, travel to Bishop's Stortford to identify her.

The girl has been so badly beaten it is impossible to tell who she is, but there are three clues - the dress she is wearing, a ring and a copy of the script of Aminta's play, left (perhaps a little too conveniently) in the victim's hands.

Back in London Aminta catches sight of a young woman who looks exactly like Kitty but before she can do anything, the woman runs off and is lost in the crowd. Meanwhile, rumours abound at court that Kitty was about to become the king's new mistress and all fingers are being pointed at Lady Castlemaine for having arranged for her rival to be spirited away and killed. And now John Grey finds that is no longer just his wife who is determined to prove Kitty Burgess is alive. It would seem her disappearance - and possible reappearance - is part of some much wider conspiracy, and that Kitty may be about to play the most dangerous, and possibly deadly, role of her life. A role from which there may be no escape...

Every Shade of Happy, the most recent novel from Phyllida Shrimpton, has picked up some wonderful reviews in the past week:

"A lovely, intergenerational tale, well-told, that's both moving and uplifting."
Choice magazine

"Exploring lost dreams, loneliness and the unlikely but soulful commune ... it's captivating."
Sunday Post

In addition, Phyllida spoke to the Daily Mirror about her inspiration for the book, and you can catch up here.

Finally, and with his debut, A Fatal Crossing, still sitting pretty in the paperback top 10, the cover for Tom Hindle's new book, The Murder Game, was revealed last week:

One house. Nine guests. Endless motives for murder...

In the seaside town of Hamlet Wick, nine guests assemble for a New Year's Eve party to remember. The owner of Hamlet Hall has organised a murder mystery evening with a 1920s twist, and everyone has their own part to play. But the game has barely begun when one guest is found dead - killed by a fatal injury to the head. With no phone signal and no way out of the house, the others are trapped with a killer in their midst.

Someone is playing by their own rules. And in a close-knit community, old rivalries run deep...

The book will be published by Century in February 2023.

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Penguin Michael Joseph snares WriteNow graduate Medrano’s ‘outrageously brilliant’ novel

DHH News Roundup 19th - 25th September 2022

DHH News Roundup 11th - 18th September 2022

Orenda Books nets Turner's 'visceral' novel in a two-book deal

DHH News Roundup 5th - 11th September 2022

DHH News Roundup 29th August - 4th September 2022

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