News
Alderman nabbed by Fourth Estate W
WORDS Heloise Wood
OMEN’S PRIZE FOR Fiction winner Naomi Alderman has been poached by Fourth Estate in a four book-deal, aſter more than
a decade with Penguin Random House, with publish- ing director Helen Garnons-Williams signing a collec- tion of short stories, a work of non-fiction and two novels, the first of which is due next year. The deal, for UK and Commonwealth rights, was negotiated by Veronique Baxter of David Higham Associates. Alderman won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2017 for her feminist dystopian novel The Power (Viking), which was also the fiction choice for Foyles’ Book of the Year. Her début, Disobedience, has been adapted into an upcoming film and The Power is currently being developed for TV. Executive publisher of Fourth Estate, David Roth-
Ey, described the London-born author as “one of the most exciting, ambitious and subversive writ- ers working today”. He added: “Her inventive and immersive storytelling brings together deep intel- ligence and a thrilling stle to challenge us all to see the world, and ourselves, in entirely new ways. I’m enormously pleased.” Alderman added: “I’m incredibly excited to be working with Helen, and to become part of such a fantastic list. The roster of novelists at Fourth Estate
is truly inspiring, and I hope to write books that will hold their heads high among such starry company.” Alderman, the author of four novels to date, has won numerous prizes and was named as one of Gran- ta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2013. She is a professor of creative writing at Bath Spa Universit and has sold 240,624 books (for £1.7m) in the UK, according to Nielsen BookScan.
Nicci French finds Room at S&S
Simon & Schuster UK has poached thriller writing duo Nicci French from Michael Joseph in a “substantial” six-figure deal after an eight-way auc- tion. S&S will publish three standalone novels from Suffolk-based hus- band-and-wife crime-writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, after Jo Dickinson, publishing director for fiction and audio, bought UK and Commonwealth rights through Sarah Ballard at United Agents. The first novel in the deal, The Lying Room, is scheduled for publication
in October 2019. “I’m absolutely over the moon to work with Nicci and Sean, whose writing I have long admired,” Dickinson said. “This is a hugely exciting opportunity and we have focused and ambitious plans in place to ensure The Lying Room will be unmissable.” French added: “We’re embarking on a new chapter with The Lying Room. We’ve got some dark stories to tell and we’re thrilled to be joining the inspiring, passionate team at Simon & Schuster.”
LBF International Awards for Latvia and Sweden
The National Library of Latvia, a Swedish Bookshop and Penguin Random House were among the winners at The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards last night (Tuesday 10th April). Bookstore of the Year, sponsored by Gardners,
went to The English Bookshop in Uppsala, Sweden, with the judges saying it “demonstrated its all-round capabilit with the outstanding loyalt of its custom- ers and outreach.” The first Audiobook Publisher of the Year prize, meanwhile, was scooped by PRH US. “Crucial to PRH
www.thebookseller.com
Audio’s success is finding the right voices, making accurate recordings and memorable performances,” said the judges, while praising the list’s “profession- alism, sheer qualit and scale of ambition”. Library of the Year, another new award, went to the National Library of Latvia in Riga. Of the library, founded in 1918 with new premises opening in 2015, the judges said: “It is a symbol of Latvia’s national revival.” LBF director Jacks Thomas said: “The International Excellence Awards are a reminder of the magnificent work being done in publishing by creative groups of people all around the world. It has been a pleasure and honour to celebrate these individuals and organisations.” For the full list of winners, see
thebookseller.com.
Alderman
Waterstones’ Humphreys delves deep in memoir
Waterstones non-fiction buyer Richard Humphreys’ Under Pres- sure will be published in spring 2019 by Harper NonFiction, after director Jack Fogg signed rights direct from the author, whom Fogg encouraged to write a memoir about the five years he was in the Royal Navy, much of which was spent on the nuclear missile-carrying Polaris subma- rine fleet. The book is billed as “a gritty portrayal of one of the most unique ways of living”.
Faber gets Close to the Edge with Muswell Press
Muswell Press has bagged the first thriller by ex-Faber m.d. Toby Faber, whose grandfather founded the venerable indie. Muswell signed UK and Com- monwealth rights to Close to the Edge from Peter Straus at RCW, to publish in April 2019. The book follows a witness to a dreadful accident, and their realisation that the incident may be something far more sinister. Publisher Sarah Beal described it as “wonderfully suspenseful”.
Butler and Bierwerth bag Bourne’s political double
Sam Bourne, the pseudonym of Guardian writer Jonathan Freed- land, has moved from Harper- Collins to Quercus to publish two political thrillers. M.d. Jon Butler and publisher-at-large Stef Bier- werth acquired UK and Common- wealth rights (excluding Canada) from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown. First in the deal, To Kill the Truth, sees White House operative Maggie Costello take on a deadly conspiracy. It will be published in February 2019.
Liberation for Michael Joseph after début deal
Michael Joseph has bought UK and Commonwealth rights to two thrillers by Gareth Rubin from Simon Trewin at WME. In Rubin’s début, Liberation Day, a split Britain is divided by a large wall, with a democratic north led by Churchill and a Communist south presided over by Soviet spy Anthony Blunt. Publisher Joel Richardson, who will issue the book in spring 2019, said: “Liberation Day shows London like we’ve never seen it before.”
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