First time author Ben Fergusson has scooped the Historical Writers’ Association 2015 Debut Crown Award for new historical fiction with The Spring of Kasper Meier.
Ben was presented with the coveted award worth £2,000 by broadcaster Mark Lawson at the opening night of the Harrogate History Festival (October 22) at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate.

The event, hosted by Harrogate International Festivals, also saw War Horse author Michael Morpurgo, who has written more than 130 books for children, receive the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award.
Morpurgo said: “I am delighted and honoured to be presented with this special Award. History is the foundation of our society, who we are and where we are going, and it is crucial that we pass this on to our young people.…

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A bit of late news from yesterday for anyone who didn’t catch it…..
 
BBC Culture, one of six bespoke feature sections on BBC.com announced its first short story commission today [September 15, 2015]. Written by Kate Mosse, ‘Eleven Days’ celebrates the 125th anniversary of the birth of Dame Agatha Christie.
Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time and the world’s best-selling mystery writer, as well as Britain’s most popular author.
Kate took her inspiration for the short story from the eleven days in December 1926 when Christie went missing. Her disappearance sparked one of the largest manhunts in history.…

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Really liking the sound of this one:
Gollancz is delighted to announce the acquisition of two sweeping science fantasy novels from Philip K. Dick Award-winning author, Simon Morden. The world of Down Station and its sequel is built on another, magical, world that bears uncanny links to London.
Simon Morden joins Gollancz, the specialist SFF imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, with an out-of-the-ordinary novel with engaging characters, a gripping plot and a surprising take on familiar genre tropes and themes in the vein of Michael Moorcock and Julian May.
The World rights to the two books were brought by Gollancz Associate Editor Simon Spanton from Antony Harwood of Antony Harwood ltd.…

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Sad to hear of the loss of Wallander’s creator, Henning Mankell, after battling cancer for some time.
He leaves behind a legacy of great reading and, as a result, some superb crime television too.
Recently I read and thoroughly enjoyed this one:
 
 
 
Published by Vintage
Although written some years ago, and selected as one of the stories adapted for the Kenneth Branagh incarnation of the Swedish detective for the BBC television series, An Event in Autumn is only just about to see the light of day as a published novella in the UK in September,thanks to Vintage Books.…

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Orion Books sign new three-book deal with bestselling author Linwood Barclay
Bill Massey, Deputy Publishing Director at Orion, has bought UK and Commonwealth rights ex Canada in three new thrillers from Helen Heller, at The Helen Heller Agency. The first will be published in September 2017.
Before that, Orion will publish three novels set in Promise Falls (a small New England town that has featured in previous titles) over eighteen months, beginning with Broken Promise in hardcover in September 2015. Linwood Barclay will be in the UK in September to promote the novel on a two-week press and media tour.
Linwood Barclay: ‘I couldn’t be more thrilled to be doing three more books with the folks at Orion, who have been so terrific to work with from the very beginning, and always behind me one hundred percent.’
Bill Massey: ‘Linwood just keeps getting better and better, so the future’s looking pretty exciting.’
Helen Heller: ‘Orion has always been extremely supportive.…

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Gutted that I didn’t manage to catch up on all the #BritCrime activities over the weekend, but not all is lost as I pour a glass of red and settle back to watch ‘Harper Collins presents….Authors in conversation with BritCrime’, featuring Martyn Waites, Alex Marwood, CL Taylor, Helen Smith and Simon Toyne – and, if you missed it, you can catch up too – just click HERE.…

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Published by Avon
I took on the challenge of The Hunt in two bursts of frenetic reading – with a necessary pause to refuel on the energy snacks and drinks, plus a change of footwear, required to get me through.
From the gripping opening chapter, I was caught and sent headlong down a trail of mystery and thrills.
It’s an intensive run through Chris Sheen’s nightmare chase through an unforgiving landscape, dodging and yet willing on the pursuit by those out to hunt and kill him, whilst trying to ensure that his kidnapped family will be set free from the sinister group who hold them captive.…

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Then the sirens started, so distant and muffled that Kat at first thought they were just another part of the dream. But they continued, even after Henry, the table and the paper all vanished. That’s when she knew they were real.
Kat listened without opening her eyes. Although they were far away, she could tell the sirens belonged to the fire department and not her police force. The ones on the firetrucks were louder and deeper — the baritones to her patrol cars’ tenor.
Sliding out of bed, she went to the window and saw the reason for the sirens — a fire, glowing orange and eerie in the distance.…

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Just a quick heads up so you don’t get left behind the pack….. The Hunt blog tour is setting off soon;…

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Out now from Avon, here’s an extract from the latest thrillfest from Scott Mariani:

The first rumours had begun to circulate about a month after Salvator’s recovery. Just a few passing whispers to begin with, quickly growing to a widespread consensus that the presence of this itinerant priest was cause for deep concern. Increasingly, villagers complained that the content of his sermons was scandalous. He railed against core doctrines of the Church, even attacked the views of the Pope, which he declared to be ignoble and ungodly. But that wasn’t the worst of it. What really worried people were the seizures.…

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