News: Case Histories Series 2 Coming Soon

The BBC Media Centre now has news of series 2; click on the pic below to read the full piece.  Dates are yet to be confirmed but we have:

“Jason Isaacs reprises his role as complex and compulsive private detective Jackson Brodie in crime drama Case Histories. In this first episode, Victoria Wood plays a retired policewoman who finds herself on the wrong side of the law.

Back in Edinburgh after a child-snatching job in Munich, Jackson struggles with guilt about whether he returned the child to the right parent or if he was duped.

A new case comes calling when Hope McMaster, a woman searching for her birth parents, approaches Jackson for help. His search takes him into the dark heart of 1979 police corruption and murder – and a secret that has remained buried for nearly 35 years…”

Click on pic for further info at BBC site.

Mystery Writers of America: Edgar Award Winners 2013

The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) annual Edgar Awards were announced last night in New York.  The press release follows.  Congratulations to the winners!

Click here to see the lists of nominees alongside the winners.

Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the winners of the 2013 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2012. The Edgar® Awards were presented to the winners at our 67th Gala Banquet, May 2, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

BEST NOVEL

Live by Night by Dennis Lehane (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

The Expats by Chris Pavone (Crown Publishers)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books)

CWA Dagger in the Library 2013 Longlist Announced

And the thirteen authors on the longlist are:

• Belinda Bauer
• S J Bolton
• Frances Brody
• Alison Bruce
• Tania Carver
• Jane Casey
• Gordon Ferris
• Christopher Fowler
• Alex Gray
• Elly Griffiths
• Peter May
• Phil Rickman
• Michael Ridpath.

Find out more at the CWA site here.

Crime Fiction Event in London with Faber Social on 7 May

Click here to book tickets.

2013 Desmond Elliott Prize Longlist Announced

The 2013 Desmond Elliott Prize longlist has been announced today.

• The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber
• The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
• The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan
• The Palace of Curiosities by Rosie Garland
• Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman
• The Fields by Kevin Maher
• Signs of Life by Anna Raverat
• Seldom Seen by Sarah Ridgard
• Jammy Dodger by Kevin Smith
• The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace.

The shortlist will follow on 23 May.  From the Desmond Elliott Prize site:

“Launched in 2007, The Desmond Elliott Prize has quickly become established as the premier prize for new fiction…  A panel of three judges for the Prize are asked to look for a novel of depth and breadth with a compelling narrative.  The work should be vividly written and confidently realised and should contain original and arresting characters.  Books from all fiction genres are considered.”

Debut crime author A. S. A. Harrison dies

Click here for author website.

Yesterday, the Toronto Star reported “On the cusp of literary fame, Toronto author A.S.A. Harrison slips away”.

Susan (A. S. A.) Harrison died on Sunday.

She was a non-fiction author and editor with her debut crime novel, the psychological thriller The Silent Wife set for publication later this year.

Her agent Samantha Haywood of Transatlantic Agents said:

“I’m heartbroken she doesn’t get to participate in her book’s international launch this June and July, but I’m comforted by the fact that she saw all the rave advance praise from her peers and the amazing international rights sales to date.  She is a true publishing success story and she deserves every inch of it.”

The Silent Wife will be published in Canada, the USA, and the UK on 25 June 2013.  With the title Dodelijke Stilte it will be published in The Netherlands by The House of Books in September 2013.  A French edition follows in early 2014.

UK edition. Click for Amazon link.

Shortlist 2013

Reblogged from Flashbang:

Here, in no specific order, is our shortlist. It was tough to get the longlist of 15 down to these 5, and there were some close calls. Congratulations to everyone who made it through. Commiserations to those who didn't, but know that your stories are excellent - they wouldn't have been on our longlist otherwise. All five on the shortlist have won a free place on…

Read more… 45 more words

CrimeFest's Flashbang flash crime fiction competition shortlist announced today. Congrats to all those listed!  Click above to see the list.

2013′s new James Bond novel written by William Boyd is…

Click on the image to go to the Random House site where you can sign up to keep up to date with information.

World Book Night 23rd April 2013 – Flagship Events

Details from a FMcM Associates PRESS RELEASE dated 12 April 2013:

Click on the image for more information about World Book Night.

A record year and rising – more authors, poets, libraries, prisons, shelters, schools, nurses, care homes, teenagers, parents and general public, than ever before…

…World Book Night events deliver on 23^rd April 2013

On 23^rd April 2013 something magical will take place across the country, as the ‘World Book Night Experience’ plays out. Complete strangers will become friends, colleagues will pause and reflect, libraries and bookshops will go the extra mile to ‘stay up late’, and authors of all genres will share their writings and love of the written word with audiences of all ages.

“For me, World Book Night 2012 turned into a day about people, sharing and passing on a bit of hope to those who doubt that there is anything worth hoping for.”  -World Book Night 2012 Giver, Emily Hunter

Now in its third year, World Book Night is a celebration of generosity, passion, participation and inclusion, known as the ‘World Book Night Experience’.  On 23^rd April – UNESCO’s International Day of the Book – many experiences will unfold simultaneously across the UK, the USA and Ireland.  With major UK events in Liverpool, London, Edinburgh and beyond**, a host of world-renowned writers have given their time – and their books – to inspire regular readers to harness their role as World Book Night ‘Givers’ and help spread a love of reading.

World Book Night’s flagship event will this year be held in Liverpool, where bestselling authors Frank Cottrell Boyce, Jasper Fforde, Philippa Gregory, Jackie Kay, Patrick Ness and Jeanette Winterson take part in a series of free, themed literary sessions at St George’s Hall and the brand new Liverpool Central Library, in association with Liverpool City Council and the BBC. The event features an impromptu Speakers’ Corner, a Book Exchange, Poetry Waiters, a Literary-themed Café and much more.

The second major event will be held at London’s Southbank Centre where

Crime and Thriller and Other Interesting Events at the Hay Festival 2013

Crime and thriller events for Hay 2013 have a focus on the world of espionage plus there’s the return of favourite McCall Smith for another likely ‘giggle fest’.  Other events of interest:

• Rick Gekoski on books (always entertaining and informative)
• keeping up with the times we have a call on ‘social entrepreneurs’
• extending its reach further, Hay delivers a ‘Writing for Radio Masterclass’ from Sue Roberts
• a provocatively titled ‘The Necessity Of Poverty’ with John Bird, founder of The Big Issue
• in the year after E L James re-coloured it, four ladies – excluding James – in The Good Housekeeping Debate discuss ‘Is erotica changing the literary landscape?’

Click here for booking the programme and here for the programme in quick view.  Further detail (from the programme) of some events follows below.

Kate Manning and Kate Summerscale talk to Sarah Crompton
Notorious
Event 132 • Monday 27 May 2013, 10am • Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
In Manning’s My Notorious Life By Madam X the headstrong daughter of Irish immigrants, forced to beg for pennies as a child on the brutal streets of New York City, grows up to become the most successful – and controversial – midwife of her time. The story chimes perfectly with Kate Summerscale’s tale of Victorian scandal and divorce Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace.
Price: £5.00
Stella Rimington talks to Gaby Wood
Fictions – Spooks
Event 144 • Monday 27 May 2013, 1pm • Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
The former MI5 chief discusses The Geneva Trap, the latest of her Liz Carlyle spy novels, and the fictions and facts of espionage.
Price: £6.50
Andy McNab talks to Paul Blezard
Bravo Two Zero At Twenty
Event 184 • Tuesday 28 May 2013, 11.30am • Venue: Barclays Pavilion
On the 20th anniversary of publication of his iconic tale of disaster and endurance in the first Iraq War, the Special Forces veteran revisits the story with new material.
Price: £7.00
Maggie O’Farrell and Rupert Thomson talk to Stephanie Merritt
Fictions – Secrets And Lies
Event 224 • Wednesday 29 May 2013, 10am • Venue: Digital Stage
The stunning new book from Costa Novel Award-winning novelist O’Farrell Instructions For A Heatwave is a mystery portrait of an Irish family in crisis in the legendary heatwave of 1976. Thomson’s Secrecy is set in Florence in 1691. It is a love story, a murder mystery, a portrait of a famous city in an age of austerity, an exercise in concealment and revelation, but above all it is a trapdoor narrative, one story dropping unexpectedly into another.
Price: £5.50
Roger Hermiston and Sinclair McKay talk to Chris Morgan Jones
Secrets And Lies
Event 310 • Friday 31 May 2013, 10am • Venue: Google’s Big Tent
We kick off this day devoted to espionage with two revealed stories that changed the course of the C20th – The Greatest Traitor: The Secret Lives Of Agent George Blake and The Secret Listeners: How The Y Service Intercepted The German Codes For Bletchley Park.
Price: £7.00
Chris Morgan Jones talks to Marcel Berlins
Fictions – Spying And Thrilling
Event 321 • Friday 31 May 2013, 1pm • Venue: Digital Stage
The new thriller writer tipped as one of le Carré’s heirs discusses his Iranian industrial espionage story The Jackal’s Share.
Price: £6.00
John le Carré
Event 324 • Friday 31 May 2013, 2.30pm • Venue: Barclays Pavilion
In an unprecedented double-length interview, the creator of George Smiley and author of spy masterpieces such as The Constant Gardener, The Honourable Schoolboy, The Russia House and The Tailor of Panama makes his first visit to the festival and talks about his work to Philippe Sands. His new novel A Delicate Truth is launched on 25 April.
Sold Out
Alexander McCall Smith talks to Paul Blezard
Happy Birthday Precious Ramotswe
Event 334 • Friday 31 May 2013, 5.30pm • Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
Please join us to celebrate fifteen years of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and catch up with favourite characters from Botswana, Scotland and beyond.
Price: £9.00
Irvine Welsh talks to Stephanie Merritt
Trainspotting at 20
Event 399 • Saturday 1 June 2013, 8.30pm • Venue: Barclays Pavilion
The Scottish novelist celebrates the 20th anniversary of his iconic book, and discusses his recently-published prequel Skagboys.
Price: £10.00
William McIlvanney talks to Irvine Welsh
Tartan Noir
Event 422 • Sunday 2 June 2013, 1pm • Venue: Digital Stage
An interview with the razor king of Scottish crime fiction as his modern classic Laidlaw books are republished by Canongate.
Price: £6.00
Other Events of Interest:
Rick Gekoski
Lost, Stolen or Shredded: Stories Of Missing Works Of Art And Literature
Event 204 • Tuesday 28 May 2013, 4pm • Venue: Sky Arts Studio
Gekoski tells the very human stories that lie behind some of the greatest losses to artistic culture and explores the greater questions these tremendous losses raise – the rights artists and authors have over their own work, the importance of the search for perfection in creativity, and what motivated people to queue to see the empty space where the Mona Lisa once hung in the Louvre. Chaired by Clemency Burton-Hill.
Price: £5.50
Thomas Keneally talks to Damian Barr
Fictions – The Great War
Event 150 • Monday 27 May 2013, 2.30pm • Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
The Booker-winner’s The Daughters Of Mars vividly experiences the Dardanelles and the Western Front in the First World War through the eyes of two Australian nurses.
Price: £7.00
James Daunt, Rodric Braithwaite and guests
The Pushkin House Waterstones Russian Book Prize
Event 239 • Wednesday 29 May 2013, 2.30pm • Venue: Sky Arts Studio
The Waterstones chief and the chair of judges host a discussion on writing about Russia with shortlisted authors. The shortlist is announced on 25 April. Fuller details of the line-up for this event will be announced on 1 May.
Price: £5.00
Calling All Social Entrepreneurs
Event 240 • Wednesday 29 May 2013, 2.30pm • Venue: Landmarc 100 Stage
Want some guidance, mentoring or financial support? Whether you are just starting out or needing to grow, drop in to meet the people who can help you out and to network with other like-minded souls.
FREE – DROP IN
Sue Roberts
Writing For Radio Masterclass
Event 246 • Wednesday 29 May 2013, 5.15pm • Venue: The Cube
The BBC Radio Drama Executive leads this workshop seminar in writing for radio. Numbers are limited.
Price: £30.00
Nikki Gemmell, Brooke Magnanti, Jojo Moyes and Linda Kelsey
The Good Housekeeping Debate: Sex Changes Everything
Event 256 • Wednesday 29 May 2013, 7pm • Venue: Sky Arts Studio
Is erotica changing the literary landscape? Gemmell (The Bride Stripped Bare), Magnanti (Belle de Jour series, televised as Secret Diary of a Call Girl) and Moyes (Me Before You) talk to Kelsey, GH contributor and ex-editor of Cosmopolitan. We’ve been going to bed with them for years. Isn’t it time we were seen together in public?
Price: £8.00
John Bird in conversation with Marcel Berlins
The Necessity Of Poverty
Event 411 • Sunday 2 June 2013, 10am • Venue: Landmarc 100 Stage
The founder of The Big Issue mounts a blistering attack on orthodox thinking around the gap between rich and poor, sparing neither himself nor others in identifying what needs to be done to end poverty.
Price: £6.00
Sarah Dunant in conversation with S J Parris
Fictions – Blood And Beauty
Event 420 • Sunday 2 June 2013, 1pm • Venue: Google’s Big Tent
The acclaimed novelist of the Italian Renaissance takes on the era’s most infamous family – the Borgias.
Price: £6.00