London Book Fair


News


into the fold was part of the strat- egy: “The reason I named the agency Maven, and have not chosen the more traditional eponymous route, is I want the agents who join us to feel the same sense of ambition, ownership and freedom as I do. I am excited about the space for growth our agency will provide future colleagues. It’s the culture I want to create.” Prior to crossing the aisle to


YMU, Harris spent 14 years at Orion, founding the Seven Dials and Orion Spring imprints, where she published a wide-range of authors such as the Hairy Bikers, Fearne Cotton, Davina McCall, Jackie Collins and Paul McCartney. While at YMU, Harris was named


to the Literary Agent of the Year shortlist at the British Book Awards on three separate occasions. She noted she has held several


roles across the industry: publicity director, editor, publisher, literary agent and talent agent. She said the skills and acquired knowledge from those roles and “a love of stories” would “provide our new agency with a refreshing approach to client advocacy. We understand how to work closely with our authors, to nurture their voices and develop critically and commercially successful books with their publish- ers; we then help our clients grow their careers”. Harris added: “With the Fourth


Industrial Revolution upon us, we have felt the urgency to upskill our representation. We have done that, and see the challenges, but also the exciting opportunities ahead for our creative mavens.”


Akoya to publish debut by Norwegian Veronica Skotnes


Ireland Top Five bestsellers


Home fires


burn for Éire Ireland’s writing riches are reflected in its bestseller charts, with all its top five titles authored by home-grown authors. The much-hyped 2024 releases from giants Colm Tóibín and Sally Rooney shifted 47,000 and 40,000 units respectively, just ahead of Graham Norton’s Frankie, while rugby legend Johnny Sexton’s memoir sits second. But it is Claire Keegan’s 2022 novel, Small Things Like These, that topped the pile with


54,000 copies. Data source: Nielsen/GfK


1 N


ew independent Akoya Publishing has acquired North of the Winter Sun:


What I Heard in the Waves by Veronica Skotnes ( 3), a Norwegian who from the age of 17 has been sailing solo in the North Sea. London-based literary press


Ayoka was launched in autumn 2024 to publish across fiction, non- fiction and poetry titles that “celebrate courageous, visionary and innovative writing”. Founder Camilla Hagen


acquired world rights from the Cappelen Damm Agency; the book will be released in autumn 2026, translated by Diane Oatley. Skotnes has been drawn to


solo sailing since a teen, and her memoir will “immerse the reader into life on the sea, inter- twining her daily routine with Norwegian and Sámi folklore, environmental concerns and exquisite nature writing”. Skotnes added: “I am convinced that the unpredictable, cold, dark


53,866 TCM copies sold


2


tanks, moored in Belgrade, Serbia, where Black has made her life for more than 20 years with her husband and two children. The book is full of “bizarre


48,256 TCM copies sold


3 4


47,266 TCM copies sold


4 L


39,974 TCM copies sold


5


37,049 TCM copies sold


05


ittle, Brown imprint Abacus has swooped for the debut memoir from prize-winning


writer Dr Mary Ethna Black ( 4). Publishing director Anna Kelly


pre-empted UK and Common- wealth rights to Splav: Adventures with My Family on the River Sava from Emma Bal at Madeleine Milburn Literary. The book tracks Black’s life


living on board Splav, a barge made from the top of a century-old ship and recycled river-crane flotation


Abacus pre-empts memoir from prize-winning Mary Ethna Black


stories, colourful characters, unlikely adventures, coffee and chaos” in which Black “paints a vivid picture of a beloved refuge and brings to life the river Sava and all of its eccentric inhab- itants, both human and animal”. Black is a physician and writer


from Lambeg near Belfast. She is married to a fellow doctor from a Bosnian Partisan family who saved her life from pirates in the Bay of Bengal in 1987. During the Yugoslavian war, they worked on all sides of the conflict before emigrating to Australia. Black turned to writing in 2017. Black said: “[Bal] has skilfully


steered this story of family and friends, and war and peace. [Kelly] and the team at Abacus were an immediate ‘Yes’ from me.” Kelly added: “This is a life- affirming and one-of-a-kind memoir about making a home with the people you love in a place beset by conflict.”


3


Arctic Ocean possesses a universal appeal.” Hagen added: "I am thrilled to


announce the English publication of Skotnes’ debut. Reading it in its original Norwegian, I was deeply moved by her ability to weave history, nature and human endur- ance into a narrative as vast and untamed as the coastline it portrays. With vivid, evocative prose, Veronica brings to life the raw beauty of Norway’s seascape – the Northern Lights, the relent- less waves, the silent echoes of war – while illuminating the resilience of those who have called it home.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36