The Art of Standing Still

Just a note to say Yahoo, Hooray and Yippee-de-do for Ian Critchley whose Art of Standing Still was taken on by agent Sarah Such some time back. (I've only just learned about it; and take a bow, Ed Fenton, for helping out on this one).

SS hasn't yet sold the book, but then again today's market is so awful, so absolutely dire, that failing to sell something means hardly anything about quality. The fact that Ian C secured the services of a really capable agent means that his work passed muster. He's at work on another novel now and - fingers crossed - by the time he's finished it, publishers may have woken up to the fact that if they don't buy books they won't have any to sell.

Not counting on it, though. These things have only ratcheted downwards for years now. There are abrupt downturns (as now), but then where's the bleeding upturn?

Pop, fizz, hooray!

Well done to Martyn Murray whose excellent travel MS about Africa (The Storm Leopard) has been taken up by Whittles, a mid-sized Socttish publisher. Whittles is just the right outfit for this job - with a strong focus on wildlife, which is the theme at the heart of Martyn's book.

Huge congrats to MM, and slightly smaller but still robust congrats to Linda Proud, who helped martyn with this one.

Frank Dunne is reading ...

... his book on Radio 4, May 7th at 3.30pm. That's his Going to Ireland that we (and specifically Tim Binding) helped him with. Hooray - and well done you, Frank.

More congrats ...

Yay! for Beverley Jones, who is just inches away from tying up a deal with Peter Buckman of Ampersand. Bev has a terrific young female voice and a good sense of crimey darkness (without the gore or dissected body parts). She's gonna do great. I can also mention that we've secured a finder's fee from Ampersand: a glass of ginger beer and a warm chorizo salad. Thanks, Peter!

I can also reveal that Poppy W's deal (see below) is with Susan Smith at MBA, who is quietly gathering in some of our best clients.

And last but not even a wee bitty least, the brilliant Silvia Rossi has found a home with Kate Allan, who's acting as her agent. Silvia's got a huge talent, a literary voice with a nice line in gritty crime, and I'm delighted that she's found a home. Hope a huge deal follows before too long.

Congratulations x 3

HB: This blog is, you'll have noticed, more or less dying off for lack of love. The reason is that I've got a new love in my e-life - the Word Cloud. Pop over if you want to have a look.

But in the meantime, dear old TN is still the place where we pop our congrats notices - and we've got a whole load of those.

Louise Sharif's Pomegranate Nights has just been taken on by Sonia Land @ Sheil Land - very posh agent that. Big congrats to Louise.

Poppy Wellby is meeting a very good London agent, and I'm hopeful that they'll be striking a deal very soon. The book in question is Incense & Blood - a terrific travel book about the living goddesses of Nepal. More info when I have it.

And Leela Attfield has been offered a serial rights deal in a magazine. Big salaams and congrats to her too. Champers all round.

The Deep Freeze

HB: Just thought you should look at these pictures. (Or images, as them metropolitan types say nowadays. Can't see the difference, meself.)

Pretty, aren't they?

Dragons Come to Gloucestershire

HB: Just to let y'all know, our own Geraldine Harris will be giving a workshop on how to write Fantasy Fiction at the New Brewery Arts Centre in Cirencester on 18th April. More info here: http://www.newbreweryarts.org.uk/

If you've got something to say, and need to say it with dragons, then G's workshop will set you straight.

In the meantime, we're working to set up workshops in London as well as Oxford this year, and I'd hope Glasgow and maybe Belfast and B'ham too. If bookings look OK, we'll start running some genre-specific workshops as well. Fantasy, for those who need to say it with dragons. Crime, for those who need to say it with corpses. Historical, for those who need to say it with togas ...