Kicking off this week's news roundup is some brilliant sales news from our clients:

• The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton has been sold its Arabic language rights to Noon Publishing
• Stuart's next book, The Devil and the Dark Water (October 2020) has been sold to Bungeishunju in Japan & Atico in Spain
• M.W. Craven's The Puppet Show has sold to Estonia's Kirjastus Pegasus and Kinneret in Israel (the follow-up to this, Black Summer was also chosen by Cumbria Life magazine as one of their Top 10 Books for Christmas!)
• The debut Scandi-Noir cracker from Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, The Creak on the Stairs has sold to De Fontein in the Netherlands

​Congratulations, all!

Congratulations to Ragnar Jónasson, as his book The Island (the second in the DI Hulda Hermansdóttir series) has been selected by The Sunday Times as one of their 'Books of the Year 2019'.

To celebrate the release of The Twelve Birds of Christmas by Stephen Moss, The Big Issue has published a fascinating piece written by Stephen, on the Yellowhammer bird and the irony of it lending its name to one Operation Yellowhammer (the Conservatives' No Deal plans). 

Read more here.

It's been a brilliant week for Phillipa Ashley, who shot to No.1 on the Heatseekers Chart with A Perfect Cornish Christmas. Phillipa also saw the same book, plus Summer at the Cornish Cafe​ sitting pretty in the Top Kindle 100. Congratulations, Phillipa!

The Lost Ones, the debut novel from Anita Frank, garnered more lovely reviews last week, this time from Woman magazine ("gripping"), and The Sun ("intriguingly plotted, this wartime tale is the perfect read as the nights draw in"). 

Finally, we'd like to give a big shout-out to our brilliant client, Anna Jacobs, who had a fantastic week!

• Allison & Busby have secured a new three-book deal with Anna, negotiated by Broo Doherty
• A&B have also acquired paperback rights for Tomorrow's Path​
• Cherry Tree Lane (the first in the Wiltshire Girls series) has been sold to Editora 2020 in Portugal

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• Anna's French publisher, Bragelonne, have secured an audiobook deal with Audible for Anna's Swan River saga: Farewell to Lancashire, Beyond the Sunset and Destiny's Path

Congratulations, Anna!

We had some rather exciting internal news at the agency last week, in that Harry Illingworth is making the move to being a full-time agent at DHH. 

This comes after working for six years at Goldsboro Books, as a bookseller, and working as an assistant agent at DHH. 

Harry's clients have had notable success, with Stuart Turton's debut The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle selling 130,496 copies across all print editions through BookScan, has been translated in to 30 languages and won the Costa First Novel Award. Earlier this year, Harry sold Femi Kayode's debut novel Lightseekers to Bloomsbury Raven, with rights selling in a further seven territories thus far. 

To read more about Harry and what he is looking for in his submissions please visit his page here.

The cover for G.S. Locke's forthcoming debut novel Neon was revealed last week and it's a cracker! 

A detective desperate for revenge.

Detective Matt Jackson has reached the end. His beloved wife, Polly, is the latest victim of 'NEON', a serial killer who displays his victims in snaking neon lights - and he can't go on without her. 

A hitwoman with one last job.

Unable to take his life, Jackson hires a hitwoman to finish the job. But on the night of his own murder, he makes a breakthrough in the case, and at the last minute his hitwoman, Iris, is offered an irresistible alternative: help Jackson find and kill NEON in return for the detective's entire estate. 

A killer with both on his list.

What follows is a game of cat and mouse between detective, hitwoman and serial killer. And when Jackson discovers it's not a coincidence that all their paths have crossed, he begins to questions who the real target has been all along...

This fast-paced, heart-stopping thriller will be out in 2020.

R.C. Bridgestock were on Vectis Radio last week talking about their new novel, Payback (out in eBook on 6th December and paperback on 9th January). 

Payback is the first in a new series starring D.I. Charley Mann, and we cannot wait for this fantastic female-led crime series to hit shelves. 

​Listen here.

Adrian Magson's new Harry Tate thriller, Terminal Black, received a lovely write-up from Kirkus Reviews last week:

"Magson adroitly shuffles a handful of desperate characters in his sixth Harry Tate thriller... Brisk and bracing."

Finally, another glorious review for Anita Frank's debut The Lost Ones, this time from the ​Sunday Mirror:

"A brilliantly gothic adventure - and the perfect winter page-turner."

Kicking off this week’s news roundup with the wonderful news that client Olivia Lara has signed a two-book deal with Head of Zeus imprint Aria, negotiated by Hannah Sheppard. Someday In Paris follows two people who are destined to fall in love again and again, but cannot find a way to be together. Beginning in 1950s France and spanning decades, it is about dreams, missed opportunities and the kind of love that survives time, distance… even death. It is due for publication in May 2020.

​We have some fantastic deal news in the wake of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair:
 
. Clare Boyd’s Three Secrets sold to Newton Compton, Italy
. Sky’s the Limit by Janie Millman went to Bragelonne in France
. Anita Frank’s gothic debut novel The Lost Ones has been sold to Portugal’s 2020
. Both of M.W. Craven’s Washington Poe books, The Puppet Show and Black Summer have sold to Jentas in Denmark
. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton has wracked up its 30th territory with Grupo Almedina in Portugal

​It’s been a busy week for Samantha Baines and her debut children’s novel Harriet Versus the Galaxy! The book was joyously selected as Booktrust’s Bookmark Book of the Month. Read her interview with them here.
 
Also loving Harriet this month is Somerset newspaper Parent Talk, who have picked it as one of their Editor’s Choice in their Christmas edition. 

Phillipa Ashley’s A Perfect Cornish Christmas has been selected by Bookbub for a promo in their Women’s Fiction newsletter.
 
Phillipa was interviewed by Hot Brands Cool Places and you can read that here.
 
A Perfect Cornish Christmas has also landed itself at the very cushty placing of No.2 in last week’s Heatseekers Chart.

​M.W. Craven was also interviewed, this time by the Cumbrian News & Star, to celebrate his well-deserved win at the CWA Dagger Awards. Read the article here.

Thank you to Nina Pottell over at Prima Magazine who, rather wonderfully, chose The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone (illustrations by Fiona Woodcock) as one of her Children’s picks for the Christmas issue. 

​Eve Seymour appeared on BBC 4’s Everything Is Connected on Sunday 10th November at 9pm. This experimental film is made up of a diverse cast of people from different backgrounds. Catch up here.

We had a MAMMOTH week of publication days last week, so we’ll start with those on this week’s glorious news roundup!
 
First off, and perfect for this time of year, was Anita Frank’s debut novel, the gothic The Lost Ones. Emotional, haunting (and yes, a little bit scary).

​The new book from Abi Elphinstone, The Snow Dragon (6+), complete with beautiful illustrations, was also published last week.
 
Jo Thomas’ gorgeous new novel, Coming Home To Winter Island is out now in eBook. Set sail to a remote Scottish island and unlock the enchanting family secrets hidden away in an old house.
 
Adrian Magson’s back with a brand new Harry Tate thriller, Terminal Black and this time, the stakes have never been higher.
 
Also from Adrian Magson this week is the next in the newly republished Rocco series, Death at the Clos du Lac. This is the final Rocco book that the Dome Press have republished, complete with a revised text and new cover.
 
The next in L.C. Tyler’s John Grey series, The Bleak Midwinter is out now in paperback. Another perfect one for these shorter, darker days…
 
Stephen Moss’ delightful The Twelve Birds of Christmas is out now and if we may, we highly recommend you nab this one as part of your Christmas shopping. It is utterly gorgeous and fascinating in equal measure.
 
Another spot-on book for this time of year, Phillipa Ashley’s A Perfect Cornish Christmas is out now in both paperback and eBook. We’re going back to beautiful Porthmellow for another seasonal showdown - bring it on!

The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone (illustrated by Fiona Woodcock) has been announced as the BA Children’s Bookselling Group as its Independent Booksellers’ Children’s Book of the Month for November. Chosen by a panel of independent booksellers from a range of new children’s titles, the Book of the Month showcases independent bookshops’ expertise at promoting and selling children’s books.
 
Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting The Snow Dragon throughout November, both instore and on social media. The BA will be supporting the promotion of the Children’s Book of the Month through social media and promotional materials. Congratulations, Abi & Fiona!

​Delighted with the news that Stephen Moss’ The Twelve Birds of Christmas has been selected by Waterstones for their gift and humour highlights. See? We told you it was the perfect Christmas present…!

Reviews for The Lost Ones have been pouring in over the recent weeks, with these three coming in over the last few days:
 
“Spellbinding, elegantly written, immaculately plotted, and delivering a shocking twist in its ghostly tail, this is gothic with a wise and wistful heart.” Lancashire Evening Post
 
“[An eerie, emotionally supernatural tale.” S magazine
 
“The perfect chilling read as the nights turn colder and longer.” OK magazine
 
It was also selected by Red magazine’s as one of their ‘Books That Go Bump In the Night’!

Samantha Baines’ debut children’s book, Harriet Versus the Galaxy got given a lovely review from BookTrust this week: “A quirky, fast-moving adventure, rich with humour and heart.”

​The Bleak Midwinter by L.C. Tyler, out this week in paperback also received a great review from MyWeekly: “This thoroughly enjoyable story has all the elements of a good country murder mystery, but with an accurate historical setting too. What’s not to love?”

This is one for readers in both the UK & USA - Phillipa Ashley’s A Perfect Cornish Christmas is included in November’s Kindle Monthly Deal, and only 99p / 99c respectively - an absolute steal!

​Amy Beashel’s debut YA novel The Sky Is Mine is gathering some amazing reviews in the run-up to publication (February 2020, Oneworld):

​“Amy Beashel’s beautiful telling of Izzy’s story is a call to young girls everywhere to stand up and make themselves heard.” Antsey Harris, author of The Truths & Triumphs of Grace Atherton

​“A powerful page-turner with giant heart. A book that everyone needs to read.” Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe
 
“Unflinchingly honest, devastatingly raw, and utterly compelling.” Simon James Green, author of Noah Can’t Even
 
To see more reviews, and read more about the book, click here.

Phillipa Ashley appeared in last week’s Female First online magazine in a feature titled ‘Seven Things That Make My Christmas Complete’. It’s a lovely, warm piece designed to get you in the festive mood. Have a look here.

Finally, we were so excited to see the cover reveal for Darren Charlton’s debut YA novel Wranglestone, which will be published by Stripes in February 2020.
 
Winter was the only season every Lake-Lander feared…
 
In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there’s nothing to stop them from crossing the ice.
 
Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore and he’s forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he’s always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over.
 
But as love blossoms, a dark discovery reveals the sanctuary’s secret past. One that forces the pair to question everything they’ve ever known.
 
An action-packed and thought-provoking debut, for fans of Patrick Ness, Marcus Sedgwick, DREAD NATION and The Walking Dead.
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