Editorial & Talent
Picador recently acquired Sarah Butler‘s first novel Learn Ten Things About Love. Picador has made a two book deal with Sarah, who originally came through TLC as part of the ACE Free Reads Scheme via Spread the Word. The novel was assessed by TLC reader Evie Wyld.
Sarah writes: ”I was lucky enough to be offered a ‘free read’ from TLC via Spread the Word. I had just done a significant restructure of my novel (which I had been working on for the previous 4 years) and the TLC read was a brilliant opportunity to get detailed and useful feedback before sending it back to a contact I had at Picador. Because I was in a position to approach Picador directly, rather than through an agent, I knew I had to get my final draft spot on before sending it to them. Evie Wyld’s report was comprehensive and thought provoking. I didn’t do everything she suggested (!) but it was so useful to have a fresh pair of eyes on the novel and to really think through my decisions on what to change and what to leave.”
Click here to read Sarah’s publishing story. The book will be published in February 2013. Picador has bought the world rights and have now sold the novel in nine languages, and in the US. We are delighted for Sarah and look forward to showcasing her work in the showcase section of our website.
Leading up to the Mslexia Women’s Novel Competition this year, TLC reader Rose Gaete wrote an article with some straightforward suggestions for how writers might strengthen their submissions.
“…the balance between action and introspection can too often be weighted in favour of frantic activity. Yet there are times when third person reported speech or an objective narrative stance in an extended passage, would offer the reader more insight into a character’s development. It might be ‘realistic’ that a woman who discovers an unwanted pregnancy would first cry, then rush about tidying her house, then visit the doctor and speak to her friends – as in one manuscript I read recently – but what the reader wants to know is why she doesn’t want the baby. What are the emotional and psychological complexities of her situation?”
Rose has worked for many years as both a reader and a mentor for The Literary Consultancy. In addition, she has also worked as an agent at the Wylie Agency, where she worked with Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, Paul Theroux and others. In addition to TLC, Rose now works for publishers and literary scouts, including HarperCollins and Virginia Marx.
Click here to read her article.
February 1 Radio 4′s Jolyon Jenkins investigates “Operation Julie” and interviews TLC client Leaf Fielding about his involvement and recently published book To Live Outside the Law (Serpent’s Tail, 2011). The half-hour programme on Operation Julie is part of Radio 4′s series ‘In Living Memory’. The programme airs at 11am GMT on Radio 4.
In 1977, police forces from across England and Wales closed down a multi-million pound LSD manufacturing ring, in “Operation Julie”. The criminals involved were given stiff jail sentences and it marked the beginning of the end for the British underground. Jolyon Jenkins will investigate both sides. Click here to find out more about “Operation Julie”.
Signal Books of Oxford will publish Terry Cudbird’s Walking the Hexagon: an escape around France on foot in Spring 2012. Terry had a TLC assessment by readers John Harrison and Karl French in 2010.
Terry’s journey through France starts in the Pyrenees, traces around all six corners of the ‘Hexagon’, and concludes back in the Pyrenees. The book is a fine example of travel writing which reveals one man’s obsession with long distance walking – the intoxicating freedom to go where you want, the escape from the complications and paraphernalia of everyday life, and the unpredictable encounters. It is also a more personal story of how the endless new horizons enable him to accept the past and his losses.
In addition to his manuscript, Terry has also developed a website that thoroughly exhibits his journeys with useful links and maps.
Click here to view Terry Cudbird’s website.
Earlier this year, TLC client Tessa Harris secured a three-book deal with Kensington Books. The first of three books, The Anatomist’s Apprentice will be published 27th December, available in the US and Canada. The Audio version will be available shortly after in January 2012.
Tessa writes that TLC played an integral role on the road to publication, ”
Having my novel critiqued by TLC gave me the confidence to carry on. I found the suggested revisions enormously helpful, but, above all, I knew I had created something worthwhile when your reader told me there was actually no reason why I should not be published, provided I undertook a few stylistic revisions, which I duly did. Armed with that knowledge, I set about resubmitting to agents with renewed vigour and finally found one who landed me a three-book deal with a major US publisher. It has also been bought by the Mystery Guild of America. I would urge any serious writer to engage TLC’s services for a frank and professional appraisal.”
This first book, which is part of a mystery series set in eighteenth-century England, introduces the character Dr. Thomas Silkstone, young anatomist and pioneering forensic detective from Philadelphia.
TLC is delighted on Tessa’s behalf and we can’t wait to hear about the next two books in the series.
15th November the Costa Book Awards announced the shortlist for 2011, which includes Kerry Young’s new novel Pao. Pao is the story of a young Chinese boy and his family who move to Jamaica escaping the revolution at home. The Costa award is one of the UK’s most prestigious and popular literary prizes and recognises some of the most enjoyable books of the year written by writers based in the UK and Ireland.
Kerry Young had a TLC assessment in October 2007 by TLC reader Chris Wakling and says, “the TLC read gave me a completely independent view of the book……not a friend or family member….but somebody completely outside of the process and my emotional journey who could be absolutely honest about the book and my abilities. It was feedback from someone who was really focusing on the work and whose only agenda was to offer constructive criticism that would help me to improve the book. It was fresh, it was honest, it was insightful. It was from someone ‘in the know’ about writing and publishing and that was important also.”
In February 2010 Kerry signed a deal with Bloomsbury. Guardian books describe Kerry “as a gifted new writer. Her novel is a blindingly good read in parts, both for its mesmeric story-telling and the quality of its prose.”
Click here to read the Guardian review of the shortlisted writers. TLC is delighted that Kerry is now working as a reader for TLC. We’re crossing our fingers that this powerful new novel leaves an impression in the minds of the Costa judges.
Click here to see a YouTube clip with Young talking about her new novel.
TLC is delighted to announce that Jude Cook’s novel Byron Easy has recently been picked up by Heinemann, Random House. Literary agent Anna Webber at United Agents, who first saw Cook’s work in TLC’s March showcase, sold his novel to Heinemann earlier this month.
Cook first came through TLC when he won the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook Competition in 2007. He lives in London and studied English Literature at UCL, where he graduated with a first. Originally a musician and songwriter, his band Flamingoes released two albums 12 years apart: Plastic Jewels (1995) and Street Noise Invades the House (2007). In addition to the TLC showcase, his essays and short fiction have also appeared in Staple magazine.
Click here to read Jude Cook’s showcased short story and his marvellous essay about the contemporary writing experience or click here to read our October Showcase, featuring an extract from Kate Belcher’s young adult novel.
TLC looks forward to the publication and wishes Jude all the best of luck with his next writing projects.
TLC client Alan Clark’s novel, Rory’s Boys, recently gained an excellent review in the New York Journal of Books. Rory’s Boys was published by BLISS in June 2011. The book is described as “an extremely racy yet almost mainstream book centered on a very modern gay man.” The novel explores the conflicts, relationships and possibilities that unfold as Rory tries to establish Britain’s first retirement home for gay men. Reviewer Viv Young writes about the book, “Sharp wit—by the bucketful! . . . what a journey! . . . an incredibly good read . . . Rory’s Boys will undoubtedly be acclaimed as one of the most funny books of 2011, and is deserving of a wide audience . . .”
TLC is delighted on Clark’s behalf and wishes him all the best with his writing in the future.
Agent Ben Illis at A.M.Heath recently accepted Jack Dash and the Magic Feather, a children’s story written by TLC client Sophie Plowden. Plowden writes, “My heartfelt thanks to your reader, Antonia Parkin, whose meticulous and insightful criticism coaxed my story into life, and also to Becky Swift, for her subsequent generosity and help in finding me an agent.” TLC recognised the book’s potential after her manuscript assessment and originally sent the manuscript to A.M.Heath.
TLC is delighted for Plowden and wishes her all the best in finding a publisher.
Philosophy can read beautifully, but when put into practice, things can get a little hazy. TLC Client Jules Evans, who is also the co-organiser of the London Philosophy Club, has written a book that helps readers bridge the gap between philosophy and real life.
When Evans first came through TLC, his reader Sue Lascelles recognised a book that read well and that was perfect for Rider Books. Lascelles, who also works as commissioning editor for Rider Books, bought the world rights, excluding the US and Canada. The book is now due to be published in May 2012.
Evans writes about a dream school, where 15 of the world’s greatest and most influential philosophers teach the students the techniques that can help them improve their everyday lives. The book also includes real life stories from people who have learned how to actively pursue the techniques.
Click here to read more about it in the Bookseller article.