The Talent of the TLC Readers

Since TLC was founded it has been privileged to work with excellent manuscript assessors.  We have been approached by many of the best editors, tutors and writers in the business, yet we only work with those who have the skills necessary to work with people writing at any level. This involves real editorial ability (which is rare), market-knowledge, as well as empathy and diplomacy. We only continue to  work with those that prove over time they can make a difference.  For their full biographies see our Readers page or click on the book covers to visit their websites.

Here, you can browse through just a sample of what some of our readers have achieved.  We will continually be updating this page so keep an eye out for more talent to come.

New Play and Five-Part Radio Drama by Jane Purcell

Radio 4 recently commissioned one 45-minute play and a five-part Woman’s Hour Drama from TLC reader Jane Purcell.

The play, titled Ambassadors, is a comedy about a disastrous school trip in the 1970s before risk assessment, or basic safety standards.  A group of school children, or so-called “ambassadors” by their teachers in a vain attempt to encourage good behavior, are lost half way up a mountain.

The five-part Woman’s Hour Drama is based on the lives of Ida and Louise Cook.  Both were avid opera lovers and during their travels to Europe in the 1930s became aware of the persecution of the Jews.  When Ida started writing successful romances for Mills and Boon and Louise learned German, they used the money to sponsor and rescue dozens of Jewish families, right under the noses of the Nazis.

TLC will post the publication dates for both pieces.

The BBC Commissions Julia Stoneham to Write Radio Play

The BBC recently commissioned TLC reader Julia Stoneham to write a radio dramatisation of Julian Barnes‘ novel Talking It Over as a 60 minute single play for Radio 4. The project was offered to Stoneham a while ago, but because there are very few 60 minute drama slots in the schedules these days, the project wasn’t commissioned before now. The recording date and the names of the actors to play the three characters have yet to be announced, so for now Stoneham is just buckling down and perfecting her script. TLC is delighted on her behalf and wishes her the best of luck with her writing.

In addition to her work for Radio 4, Stoneham also currently reviews novels for The Historical Novels Society. Her latest review is of Stolen Childhoods by Nicola Tyrer, published by Weienfeld and Nicolson. It is the untold story of the children interned by the Japanese in WW2. The Historical Novel Society was founded in 1997 and it promotes all aspects of historical fiction and provides support, information and opportunities for new writers.

Wales Book of the Year Awarded to TLC Reader

When he’s not assessing manuscripts, longtime TLC reader John Harrison is on the trail, hiking icebergs and conversing with polar bears. It’s not surprising then that the panel for the 2011 Wales Book of the Year chose his latest travel book, Cloud Road (Parthian), for this year’s £10,000 award on the 7th July. Cloud Road: A Journey Through the Inca Heartland is travel writing at its best. Harrison writes about his five month journey through the Inca Heartland, his adventures and misadventures and his account of the people living there.

The Wales Book of the Year Award is administered by Literature Wales with funding from the Arts Council of Wales, the Welsh Books Council and The Welsh Government. The judges on the English panel this year were Francesca Rhydderch (Chair), Jon Gower and Deborah Kay Davies.

TLC congratulates John Harrison and wishes him the best of luck on his next journey.  Click here to check out John Harrison’s website and learn more about his travels and writing projects.

Two New Summer Reads from Christopher Wakling

This summer TLC reader Christopher Wakling offers two powerful novels, The Devil’s Mask, published by Faber in June, and What I did, published by John Murray in August. The Devil’s Mask, is a thrilling story set in the commercial corruption of the Empire and the aftermath of the abolition of the slave trade. What I Did, looks at the unseen consequences of a split second decision, about a childhood interrupted and the lengths we go to protect the ones we love. Although Wakling is mostly known for his thrillers, with these two novels Wakling clearly shows that he is equally capable of writing something that is dramatic as well as emotionally subtle and heartbreaking.

Click here to check out Wakling’s website and or see a video with Wakling talking about his book.

Rachel Trezise to Help Judge 2011 Dylan Thomas Prize

TLC reader Rachel Trezise has been chosen as one of the judges for this year’s Dylan Thomas Prize. Trezise won the prize herself in 2006 for her short story collection Fresh Apples. Click here to find out more.

Allison & Busby Publishes Final Part of Julia Stoneham’s WW2 Trilogy

The final part of Julia Stoneham’s World War 2 trilogy, Alice’s Girls,  was published in March 2011 by Allison & Busby.  Set in rural England, the three novels follow the wartime experiences of Alice Todd,  warden of a Land Army hostel, the ten girls in her care and the men who are drawn into their stories. Click here for more information about the book.

Peter Forbes Wins 2011 Warwick Prize

Peter Forbes’ latest book, Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage, published by Yale University Press, has recently won the Warwick Prize for Writing. The prize, awarded on 22nd March, is an international cross-disciplinary prize, worth £50,000. The prize is awarded for an excellent and substantial piece of writing in the English language, in any genre or form and the theme changes with every award. This year’s theme is “colour”.  TLC congratulates Peter Forbes.  We look forward to reading his fantastic book.

Another Glimpse of the Last Duel

The author of the popular Sir Gadabout children’s books, TLC reader Martyn Beardsley,  recently signed a contract for his new adult non-fiction book about the fatal world of dueling knights.  The Last Duel, which involved an incredible amount of historical research for Martyn, tells the story of the last fatal duel in England on a beach near Gosport.  The duelist who died was buried in Fordingbridge, Hampshire (pictured left).  Publication date to be announced.

Unthank Books Unveil Unthology No.1

Unthology No.1, recently published by UNTHANK BOOKS, is the first in a series dedicated to showcasing unconventional, unpredictable and experimental stories. The first of the quarterly Unthology series, edited by TLC readers Ashley Stokes and Robin Jones,  contains new pieces by seventeen authors, some established, some new.

The stories fulfil the Unthank Books credo of publishing the “kind of books you used to read and enjoy, but struggle to find any more”. More importantly, it is another heartfelt salvo in the barrage of voices calling for a greater appreciation and elevation of the short story.  Among the writers are two former TLC clients, Mischa Hiller and Maggie Ling.

The deadline for Unthology 2 submissions is May 1st 2011.  For more information check out the Unthank Books website or get your own copy of Unthology No.1.

Sarah Bower and The Borgias- Perfect Timing for a Hot Topic

The Book of Love,  Sarah Bower’s second novel, will be published in the US in March by Sourcebooks under the title Sins of the House of Borgia. Publication is planned to coincide with the screening of the hotly anticipated TV drama series, THE BORGIAS, from Showtime, who made the very successful THE TUDORS. For more information about the book visit Sarah Bower’s website or view the series trailer on YouTube.

Online Opportunities for Radio Plays

Cherry Cookson recently directed the radio play Devon Girl, by Zalie Burrow, for the Wireless Theatre Company.  The website provides a vast selection of original radio plays that people can download for free. Cookson says the website is a great place for new writers to get their work done and that the website is always looking for new projects.

History Haunts a House in Germany- International Fiction Reviewed by Fran Bigman

Fran Bigman’s latest review in Words Without Borders looks at Visitation, a new German novel by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Susan Bernofsky and published by New Directions.  Bigman compares the novel to English estate based novels such as Brideshead and Manderley, but finds this story to be much more unsettling as it tackles not only the personal stories of the occupants, but also seven decades of upheaval in twentieth-century Germany.  Check out Words Without Borders to read the full review and to find out more about exciting new translations.

Off to a flying start- The Moth Literary Magazine launches issue 3 in December

TLC reader Rebecca O’Connor and Will Govan launched the new arts and literature magazine in June this year. This December, issue three will feature Anne Enright, Annie Freud and Matthew Sweeney, among many others.

The quarterly arts & literature magazine features poetry, short fiction and pictures by established and up-and-coming writers and artists from Ireland and abroad. Check out their website by clicking on the magazine cover or look up The Moth Facebook Group for more details.

Catch it while you can- Moeran’s Last Symphony

A new radio play directed and produced by Cherry Cookson and written by Martyn Wade goes live on BBC Radio 4 this Friday. You can listen to it up until 3 December on I-Player and after that we will have a MP3 attachment available. The play is a dramatic portrait of the last weeks in the life of the English composer E.J. Moeran [1894-1950]. After the triumphant reception of his first Symphony he was commissioned by the prestigious Halle Orchestra to write a second… (to learn more go to the BBC Radio 4 website). 

Tying the knot? Cynthia Rogerson looks at marriage in her new book, I Love You,Goodbye, set in the Scottish Highlands

“Who has pinched into its pilulous smallness, the cobweb of prematrimonial acquaintanceship?” asks George Eliot in Middlemarch. In her new novel, Cynthia Rogerson, has given a good sharp pinch to the tissue of inference, wish, sexual desire and ignorance that couples bring to their wedding day.” Not a single person knows whom they are marrying, really,” observes the Relate counsellor. But then she too is forced to acknowledge before long that, “I am a disgrace to the profession of marriage counselling.” For in Evanton, a nondescript little town in the Scottish Highlands, married folk want out and unmarried folk want in; saturated in ambivalence, they do not precisely know what they want, except that it is definitely not what they have.

Read the full Guardian review.

What do coral reefs, Italian Renaissance city states and Twitter have in common?

Innovation and genius in human culture and technology paralleled with that found in the natural world. Peter Forbes reviews Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From and Andrew Robinson’s Sudden Genius? for The Independent.

New Travel Book by John Harrison

Cloud Road: a journey through the Inca heartland

“For my 50th birthday present to myself, I walked more than 600 miles through the heart of the old Inca empire, in Peru and Ecuador. At one point it seemed a good idea to buy a donkey to carry my gear. Working with Dapple, named for Sancho Panza’s ass in Don Quixote, soon changed my mind…”  (John Harrison)

Click on the cover to vist John Harrison’s website or read the full Guardian review.

Science writer Peter Forbes takes a closer look at camouflage in his new book, Dazzled and Deceived

Dazzled and Deceived tells the story of mimicry and camouflage in the natural world and how one thing got to look like another. Woven into the story is the work of a naturalist who became convinced that nature’s camouflage was the key to camouflage in human warfare. And then there are the artists who were fascinated by mimicry in nature and who also were drawn to camouflage in the wars.

Read the full American Scientist review or click on the cover to visit Peter Forbes’ website.

STAPLE MAGAZINE 73: The Film Issue

Edited by Wayne Burrows, the final issue in the three issue survey of writing in relation to other art-forms, climaxes with Staple’s film issue.  In this issue Staple brings together writings by screenwriters Michael Eaton and Georgina Lock with stories that allude to cinematic images.

Staple has always published an eclectic range of work. In any given issue, experimenters can be found side by side with traditionalists, verse can be free or formal, narrative or experimental, lyric or dissonant all exists – hopefully harmoniously, or at least in a creative tension - within the same pages.

Staple is a magazine of poetry, short fiction, articles, reviews and images published three times each year. Click on the magazine cover to find out more.

Interviews with The Lady

Tim Clare’s Death Drive

Tim Clare stirred up a heartfelt and wildly entertaining hour at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh this year in August.

Reviewed as an act full of contorted gestures and dramatic tics, pushing his fragile frame into physical and emotional spots that give a deep resonance to the glorious words he speaks.  Click on the cover to read more about Tim’s performances.

A Scandinavian Dystopia- International Fiction Reviewed by Fran Bigman

Fran Bigman writes about the The Unit, a current Swedish novel, “Only a Scandinavian dystopia would unravel in a setting ‘furnished in a modern style and tastefully decorated in muted colors’ such as ‘eggshell white.’ And only a Scandinavian dystopia, perhaps, would see mandatory paternal leave as a slippery slope to compulsory childcare and then to compulsory parenthood and the criminalization of traditional gender roles.” Fran Bigman reviews translated fiction for Words without Borders. Click on the picture to check out the full review and the website.

Words without Borders translates, publishes, and promotes the finest contemporary international literature. Every month they publish eight to ten new works by international writers, such as J.M.G Le Clézio, Herta Müller,Mahmoud Darwish, Etgar Keret, Per Petterson, Fadhil Al-Azzawi, W.G. Sebald, and Ma Jian, as well as many new and rising international writers.