Helgason's comic thriller about a hitman who finds himself stranded in Iceland disguised as an American televangelist, published on the 24th January by Amazon Crossings, shot to number 1 in Amazon's bestselling thriller list within one day of publication, a fantastic result!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitmans-Guide-Housecleaning-Hallgrimur-Helgason/dp/161109139X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327581991&sr=1-3

Jackie Collins has picked up the Outstanding Achievement Prize at this year's Galaxy National Book Awards. With her career spanning four decades, Jackie's books have sold more than 400 million books in 40 countries across the world and been translated into 28 languages.

Her most recent novel, Goddess of Vengeance, debuted at the top of the Sunday Times bestseller list in April.

Jackie says: 'It is always nice to have your work recognised. I am a storyteller who is passionate about what I do, so thank you to everyone and keep reading.'

http://www.galaxynationalbookawards.com/prize_cat_outstanding_achievement2011.asp?

Congratulations to Christie Watson (Christine Green Agency), whose spellbinding novel TINY SUNBIRDS FAR AWAY has won the Costa First Novel Award.

The judges described her book as a "vibrant gem of a novel". Watson received a cheque for £5,000 and her book becomes one of five contenders for the £30,000 overall Costa Book of the Year, which is announced later this month.

The narrative is told from the point of view of Blessing, telling the story to her own daughter and recalling the turbulent times from her life as a twelve-year-old in Nigeria. TINY SUNBIRDS FAR AWAY shows how some families can survive almost anything. At times hilarious, always poignant, occasionally tragic, it is peopled with characters you will never forget.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8990799/Nurse-Christie-Watson-wins-Costa-Book-Award-but-wont-give-up-the-day-job.html

David Almond (MY NAME IS MINA), Annabel Pitcher (MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTELPIECE), Jenny Downham (YOU AGAINST ME) and Meg Rosoff (THERE IS NO DOG) have all been nominated for the Carnegie.

Meg Rosoff was also shortlisted for the Carnegie in 2011 with her novel THE BRIDE'S FAREWELL, and David Almond was longlisted for THE BOY WHO CLIMBED INTO THE MOON. This is a fantastic achievement for our clients, The Felicity Bryan Agency - congratulations!

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/pressdesk/press.php?release=pres_nom_car_2012.html

Congratulations to Keren David, whose latest novel, LIA'S GUIDE TO WINNING THE LOTTERY has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2012 and the Redbridge Teen Book Award 2012.

Keren's debut novel, WHEN I WAS JOE, was longlisted for the Carnegie and shortlisted for the Redbridge in 2011, so we're delighted that LIA'S GUIDE is following suit.

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/pressdesk/press.php?release=pres_nom_car_2012.html

We are delighted that Bahaa Taher's Sunset Oasis, which won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008 and was longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2010, was shortlisted for the Muslim Writers Award for Published Novels.

http://muslimwritersawards.org.uk/node/1026

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher (Felicity Bryan), Reckless by Cornelia Funke (ANA) and Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery by Keren David (ANA) have all been longlisted for the Wirral Paperback of the Year 2012.

Keren David's debut novel, When I Was Joe, was the 2011 winner of this prize, which gives young people the chance to read exciting new fiction. The shortlist will be chosen by Year 8 & 9 pupils at participating schools in Wirral. Congratulations to all three authors!

http://www.beyou.me.uk/my-services/leisure-and-culture/libraries/education/schools-library-service/wirral-paperback-year-award

HALF BLOOD BLUES centres on a group of American and Afro-German musicians who flee Germany for Paris as World War II closes in.

The book is an electric, heart-breaking story about music, race, love and loyalty, and the sacrifices we ask of ourselves, and demand of others, in the name of art.

Translation rights have been sold to Insel (GE), Neri Pozza (IT), Porto (PO) and Alba (SP).

Stripes Publishing have announced the title of Andy Robb's debut novel will be: GEEKHOOD: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS... OF THE GIRL KIND! To celebrate, they're running a competition on Twitter: reveal your most cringe-worthy, secret geek confession with the hashtag #geekhood to win a signed copy of the bound proof!

There were lots of fantastic entries as geeks of all kinds came out of the woodwork - take a look at the link below for some of the best entries and the winners!

GEEKHOOD: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS... OF THE GIRL KIND follows 14-year-old fantasy role-playing game addict Archie as he struggles both with the pains of adolescence and the mysteries of the opposite sex, whilst trying to survive school and come to terms with his complex family set-up. Think Wimpy Kid meets The Inbetweeners with a pinch of The Lord of the Rings thrown in for good measure!

GEEKHOOD is the launch title for Stripes' new Teen Fiction list and will be published in May 2012.

http://www.stripespublishing.co.uk/index.php?dest=5&article=31

Completed in 1960, LIFE AND FATE centres around the battle of Stalingrad and charts the fate of both a nation and a family in the turmoil of war. The novel was in fact deemed so dangerous by the KGB that the book itself was arrested!

The Radio 4 cast includes Kenneth Branagh, David Tennant, Greta Scacchi and Janet Suszman and the dramatisation has been acclaimed as 'vivid, heartbreaking, illuminating ... utterly brilliant ... with beautiful writing, exquisite acting and sheer class'.

The whole adaptation is available to download as a podcast here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/lifeandfate

Raja Alem, joint winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011, has secured an English language translation for her winning novel The Doves' Necklace.

World English rights have been sold to Stephanie Gorton at New York's The Overlook Press by the Robin Straus Agency, on behalf of Andrew Nurnberg Associates. Duckworth Books will publish the book in the UK.

Stephanie Gorton comments: "Overlook is proud to be publishing this book for an English-language readership. We are excited to collaborate with Raja Alem, who has overcome significant obstacles to gain recognition for her brilliant writing and as the first woman to win the IPAF. The Dove's Necklace is a dark, elegant, and wonderfully entertaining novel that deserves all the acclaim it has received, and is sure to receive in the future."

Eric Reinhardt is one of the rising stars of contemporary literature in France, hailed for his incisive portrait of our society's foibles and illusions.

LE SYSTEME VICTORIA is the story of an obsession, an intense sexual affair which spirals into a destructive relationship whose intensity, relentless energy and desolate ending holds a mirror to the avidity and crushing power of the corporate world in which the main characters evolve.

Finely constructed, this gripping narrative showcases Eric Reinhardt's talent for minutely analysing the intimate depths of his characters' inner lives.

LE SYSTEME VICTORIA is not only a page-turner but a subtle and ruthless observation of the faultlines of our globalized society.

Editions Stock published in France; translation rights have been sold to Alfaguara (Spain) and De Arbeiderspers (Holland).

http://www.livreshebdo.fr/prix/actualites/les-dernieres-selections-du-renaudot/7524.aspx

Students from schools across the county voted for the books they rave about and would most like to recommend.

WHEN I WAS JOE has also won the Angus Book Award 2010 and the North East Teenage Book Award 2010, and been nominated for another 11 regional schools and libraries awards across the UK. WHEN I WAS JOE has been shortlisted the Branford Boase Award 2011 and longlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal 2011. It was included on the Young Adults American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults list and longlisted for their William C. Morris YA Debut Award.

WHEN I WAS JOE has also been Highly Commended for the national Booktrust Teenage Prize.

Find more about Keren here.

A literary sensation and bestseller, described as 'a masterpiece' by The Sunday Times and 'best Jewish book' by the Jewish Chronicle, The Hare with Amber Eyes is the biography of the von Ephrussi family told through its collection of Japanese netsuke ceramics.

The Judges were Ali Smith, Don Paterson and Sarah Waters.

Ali Smith, Chair of the Judges, said it was 'A work whose lightness, when it comes to dealing with the weight of history, is almost miraculous'.
Sarah Waters called the book 'A stunning piece of writing, conjuring up one memorable location after another with economy and grace'.
Don Paterson said 'It is pitch-perfect in its haunting evocation of time and place, and never slips into sentimentalism; this book is as smooth and perfect as his own ceramic works'.

UK and US rights were sold to Chatto and Farrar Straus; Albin Michel publish in France, Mistral in Holland, Zsolnay/Hanser in Germany, Yedioth in Israel, Bollati Boringhieri in Italy and Acantilado in Spain.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/24/ondaatje-prize-edmund-de-waal

Ellen Renner's CASTLE OF SHADOWS and Keren David's WHEN I WAS JOE were published on the same day as each other in 2010, and now both are totting up an impressive list of award wins and shortlistings!

Ellen Renner has won the North East Book Award 2010, and Keren David has won three awards, including the Angus Book Award 2011, one of the most highly regarded regional awards. The prizes are voted for by school pupils in each region, reflecting how captivated readers have been by both books.

Keren David has also been shortlisted for the prestigious Brandford Boase award, which recognises debut children's novels, along with her editor at Frances Lincoln, Maurice Lyon.

Our congratulations to both Ellen and Keren for their well-deserved wins!

http://www.angus.gov.uk/bookaward/winner.htm

The novel, published by Telegram Books in the UK and Houghton Mifflin in the US, is an epic portrayal of life in modern China.

Translation rights have been sold to Philippe Picquier (France), Verdecielo (Spain), Moonhakdongne / Literature Village (Korea) and Jiuge (Taiwan).

Judges said the novel was "A moving exploration of Chinese family and village life during the Cultural Revolution, that moves seamlessly between the epic and the intimate, the heroic and the petty, illuminating not only individual lives but an entire society, within a gripping tale of familial conflict and love".

http://www.manasianliteraryprize.org/news/2011/3/17/2010-malp-winner.html

THREE STATIONS, the latest title in Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko series, (Pan Macmillan January 2011) has been garnering wonderful reviews across the press.

The Sunday Times said 'Cruz Smith's impressive descriptive gifts make it at once appalling and mesperising' in their lead crime review, whilst the Daily Mirror describes it as 'another brilliantly atmospheric thriller'.

http://www.panmacmillan.com/Titles/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=Individual%20Title&BookID=385723&International=

Based on diary entries and consultation notes only recently discovered by Mark Logue (the grandson of Lionel Logue, speech therapist to King George VI) THE KING'S SPEECH tells in fascinating detail the story of the King's struggle with stammering and his unusual relationship with Logue.

Mark Logue was a consultant on the Oscar-nominated film of the same name, starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter and directed by Tom Hooper. The book's publisher, Quercus, is reporting very healthy sales.

http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/book.php?id=9780857381101

A History of Christianity (Felicity Bryan Associates) has been awarded the 2010 Cundill Prize in History at McGill University, the world's most important non-fiction historical literature prize.

Judges:

"At a time when quarrels between believers and non believers, new atheists and old faithfuls, dominate so much of our public discourse, Diarmaid MacCulloch has given us the one thing that we most need - not polemic but history, high, wide, and lucid, and, given the enormity of his task, often winningly light of touch. Taking as his subject nothing less than the whole history of the faith, MacCulloch has written a social history that illuminates changes in belief; and a history of belief that helps us see how our society got so much of its structure. Without scanting the horrors of fanaticism, he does not scoff at the meaning of belief: we see Christian martyrs and Christian persecutors, repellent sinners and authentic saints.

Though all of the books in the short list seemed to us wonderful works of narrative history - and well written, too -- MacCulloch's stands out. If any book could truly fulfill the charge of the Cundill Prize - to make first class history more potent to a wide reading public, and above all to remind us that history, even three thousand years worth, matters - this one does."

http://www.mcgill.ca/cundillprize

L'ORIGINE DE LA VIOLENCE is an extraordinary and compelling novel on the Second World war experience and its memory. It will be published by Profile Books in the UK and Piemme in Italy and won the Orange Prize in France in 2009.

It will soon be adapted for the cinema by Elie Chouraqui.

Awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), the Carnegie Medal is perhaps the most prestigious for Children's Literature.

The full shortlist can be found here.

Dr Halima Bashir (Felicity Bryan Associates), author of Tears of the Desert, has been awarded the RAW (Reach All Women in War) Anna Politkowska Award 2010.

RAW in WAR is an international human rights organization that supports female human rights defenders working in countries at war and in conflict. Each year, RAW commemorates the murder of Anna Politkovskaya with an award in her name. The award is given to a female human rights defender from a conflict zone in the world, who stands up for the victims of this conflict, often at a great personal risk.

Halima Bashir was also the recipient of the Community of Christ Peace Award at the 2009 Peace Colloquy in the United States.

http://one-world.atrandom.com/2010/10/07/dr-halima-bashir-wins-the-2010-anna-politkovskaya-award/

Wearing a spectacular dress especially designed for the occasion by Jenny Beavan, Cornelia read from RECKLESS and talked to young fans about how she came to write it (in collaboration with Lionel Wigram, executive producer of the Harry Potter films and producer/co-writer of the Sherlock Holmes movie).

Also reading was the actor, Elliot Hill, who narrates the Audio version of RECKLESS. Specially-composed music was performed and the whole amazing event was live-streamed live to millions of followers across the world. You can read more about it at Cornelia's website here.

Don DeLillo (Wallace literary agency), whose most recent book POINT OMEGA was published earlier this year, has won the 2010 PEN Literary Award for achievement in American fiction.

PEN American Centre is the largest of the world's oldest literary and human rights organization. Each year, with the help of its partners and supporters, PEN confers over $100,000 to writers, editors, and translators. The PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction goes to a distinguished living American author of fiction whose body of work in English possesses qualities of excellence, ambition, and scale of achievement over a sustained career which place him or her in the highest rank of American literature.

http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/2050

Alex Preston (Johnson & Alcock) is the inaugural recipient of the Edinburgh International Book Festival Readers' First Book Award for his novel THIS BLEEDING CITY (Faber).

The award was voted for by readers online and people attending the Book Festival.
Voters say: "A wonderful novel for our times, showing the market crash from the perspective of a city trader and highlighting the devil-may-care attitude of the profession. Wonderfully engaging." and "A brilliant, heartbreaking novel which is both of our time, and manages to reach beyond it towards something more universal. Hugely gripping."

Alex has also received the special award for best first book at this year's Spears Book Award.

http://www.edbookfest.co.uk/news/2010-readers-first-book-award-winner-announced

Undiscovered Voices winner Katie Dale is currently celebrating several book deals.

Her compelling, Jodi Picoult-style debut, SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE will be published in the UK by Simon & Schuster, in the US by Delacorte Press Books for Young readers, in Germany by Droemer Knaur and in Brazil by Saraiva. At the suggestion of her UK editor, Venetia Gosling, Katie is learning how to Blog and Tweet as an author. Congratulations, Katie!

David Almond (Felicity Bryan Associates), the critically-acclaimed author of SKELLIG, has been awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen medal.

The judges said Almond "captures his young readers' imagination and motivates them to read, think and be critical. His use of language is sophisticated and reaches across the ages."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/23/david-almond-hans-christian-andersen-medal

Michel Meyer has won the prestigious French prize LE LAURIER D'OR 2009 DE LA RADIO for the series adapted from his book LA CHUTE DU MUR.

ANA have placed German rights in Sara Grant's debut dystopian YA novel, DARK PARTIES, with Droemer Knaur, in a two book deal.

Timothy Sonderheusken, Sara's editor at Droemer, says:

"Finally! After months and months of reading clever (and mostly not so clever) clones of today's bestsellers, I found this one book that had me mesmerized from the first page. Sara Grant is a unique storyteller who has breathed new life into the dystopian novel. Not only does she create a consistent society nobody would like to live in (even though it sometimes raises the question: are we already?), but she populates it with cleverly constructed characters who will cast a spell on readers even though they are not vampires who sparkle in the sun. DARK PARTIES is one of the books that will linger in the back of the mind for a very long time - and the first ideas for Sara's next novel are even more exciting."

Droemer published DARK PARTIES in their PAN imprint in March 2011; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will publish the US edition in August 2011. Congratulations, Sara!

Congratulations to Jonathan Littell, Antony Beevor and Meg Rosoff (Felicity Bryan) who have been selected for The Times Top 100 Books of the Decade, for their respective books Les Bienveillantes, Berlin: The Downfall 1945 and How I Live Now.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_reviews/article6914181.ece

UN ROMAN FRANCAIS (Grasset) is topping the best-seller lists and has already received tremendous critical acclaim:

Yann Moix, Le Figaro Littéraire: "Frederic Beigbeder is our own contemporary and one of our best writers."

Victor Pouvhet, Le Magazine Littéraire: "Beigbeder's humorous and skilfully written prose echoes with a human voice."

Marc Lambron, Le Point: "A night-owl delivers his best book to date."

Following D-DAY and before he writes his next battle book for Viking Penguin, Antony Beevor is to write a one-volume history of the Second World War for Weidenfeld & Nicolson, for provisional publication in 2012. Little, Brown and Company is to publish in the United States. All translation rights are with ANA Ltd.

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has published Beevor before, most recently The Battle for Spain, his brilliant account of the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War. Alan Samson, Publisher of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, commented: "This is a thrilling acquisition for Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Antony Beevor combines the narrative ability and insight of a great novelist with a masterly ability to synthesise complex material. A one-volume biography of the Second World War is the book he was born to write".

Congratulations to Professor of Classics Mary Beard, who has won the Wolfson History Prize 2008 for her book Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town.

The Wolfson History Prizes were established in 1972 and are awarded annually to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public.

http://www.wolfson.org.uk/historyprize.htm

Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) and Martin Cruz Smith are the first and the second respectively and Donald Westlake has won the German Crime Award (Deutscher Krimi Preis).

http://www.deutscher-krimipreis.de/

Judges: "This book's portrayal of pain makes it a riveting and heartbreaking read - it's rare for a first novel to be this assured."

The Outcast was also shortlisted for the 2009 Galaxy British Book Awards and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/05/costabookaward-awardsandprizes

BEFORE I DIE by Jenny Downham (in association with Felicity Bryan Literary Agency) has won this prestigious award for the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first-time novelist. It is a joint award between the author and her editor, David Fickling.

BEFORE I DIE was also longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

http://www.branfordboase.org

Meg Rosoff has won the prestigious prize in the best young adult novel category for her novel JUST IN CASE (in association with Felicity Bryan Ltd).
The German Youth Literature Prizes 2008 were awarded on October 17, 2008, at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

"A superbly designed game with changing identities, an ego maniacally circuiting around the self; with esprit and speed Meg Rosoff shapes a coming-of-age novel. This humorous story is translated into German with skill and originality by Brigitte Jakobeit."

Praise for JUST IN CASE:

"Funny, ironic, magically real; stunning." Kirkus Review

"A highly original and gripping coming-of-age tale" Financial Times Magazine

Profile author Raja Shehadeh has been awarded the prestigious Orwell Prize for political writing for his acclaimed book, PALESTINIAN WALKS: NOTES ON A VANISHING LANDSCAPE (in association with Profile Books).

The book describes over two decades of turmoil and change in the Middle East, steered via the history-soaked landscape of Palestine, and was published to critical acclaim last year:

'Raja Shehadeh's Palestinian Walks provides a rare historical insight into the tragic changes taking place in Palestine.' Jimmy Carter

Andrew Franklin, MD of Profile books, said: 'We are thrilled that the judges of this prize recognised the book's special qualities - which I am sure George Orwell would have admired too.