Publication news, a Good Morning America appearance, and books to change your life in 2021 (at last!) Here’s what we’ve been up to this week.

To kick things off, a feel-good cover reveal for Tracy Bloom’s latest novel The Wife Who Got a Life, the book we all need to put a new year spring in our step. HarperCollins are publishing in April and you can pre-order your copy here.

Ashley Audrain’s heartstopping debut The Push, about the realisation of a mother’s worst fears, continues its ascendency up the charts this week, claiming the No.1 spot on The Toronto Star’s bestseller list, and entering the Sunday Times hardback bestseller list at No.9!!

Why is The Push so popular you ask? The Washington Post have neatly answered just that in their review this week, alongside some eye-catching banners on their website, and on the New York Times website too. The book is also an Editor’s Pick in this Sunday’s print edition of the New York Times Book Review, and is a featured title in an expanded online version too, under ‘10 New Books We Recommend This Week‘.

 

But it’s one thing reading about The Push, and quite another to watch and listen to Ashley describe the experience of writing it herself (we can never get enough). So we’re absolutely thrilled to share this INCREDIBLE feature for Good Morning America that aired today! The Push is GMA’s January Book Club pick, so we can’t wait to get more reactions from US readers soon.

Push fever is ramping up in the UK press too, with the Daily Mail identifying in Ashley’s writing all “the hallmarks of a bestseller”. Their round-up of new ‘Pyscho Thrillers’ also features Deborah O’Connor’s “highly original” high-concept novel The Captive, which we can now reveal has been named as The Times’ Thriller of the Month! “For once“, critic James Owens writes, “this is a domestic thriller not rooted in envy of someone else’s seemingly perfect life. Naughty, but nice.” The Burnley Express were no less effusive in their review either, praising Deborah’s “trademark flawless fluidity and remarkable psychological insight”.

Still sitting strong at #6 on the Indie Bestseller List in the US for Wintering, Katherine May was interview by Founder and CEO Krista Tippett for the On Being podcast this week. On Being is a non-profit lifestyle and well-being organisation exploring the benefits of community, spirituality and the arts and more; for a little bit of respite from the chaos at the moment, do take a listen to the episode on Wintering here.

Now for some publication news from two long-standing Agency authors this week! C.J. Tudor’s chilling paranormal thriller, The Burning Girls  was published by Michael Joseph on Thursday, with fantastic mentions in OK! Magazine, Best, Sunday Express and Crime Reads.

 

C.L. Taylor‘s first foray into YA fiction, The Island, was also published by HQ on Thursday, with Frost Magazine  giving it a glowing early review!

Silver-screen glamour alert! Hindi actress Sonali Bendre shared The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley with her 2.7m followers for her latest Book Club pick. We couldn’t have suggested a more uplifiting, positive and cheerful book to start the year with. US readers certainly agree since the paperback was published this month: congratulations to Clare who is celebrating her second week on the New York Times Bestseller list!!

If you’re a woman reading this, do you suffer from ‘analysis-paralysis’? Agency author Abigail Mann argues in Marie Claire that more and more young women are looking to the wrong role models and are increasingly lacking in assertiveness. And who better to look-up to for the art of assertiveness than the generations before you, and not your peers. It’s a theme, after all, that Abigail explores with great humour and honesty in her novel The Lonely Fajita. 

And don’t just stop at assertiveness; Stylist magazine have featured The Joy of Being Selfish, Michelle Elman‘s non-fiction toolkit about the importance of setting boundaries, as one of the books to change your life in 2021.

A dip into children’s now, and we’re thrilled to see The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. Jen Carney and Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean featured on Caboodle’s ‘Best Kids Books to Look Out for in 2021. The Bookseller have listed Jen’s novel, the first in a new series, as ‘One to Watch’ this year. We can’t wait for everyone to meet Billie Upton Green in April!

Helen Rutter, who’s middle-grade novel The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh is published by Scholastic in February, co-starred with her amazingly brave, articulate twelve-year-old son Lenny,  in a fantastic appearance on Radio 5 Live on Tuesday! You can listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds.

As we eagerly wait for the paperback publication of The Puritan Princess by Miranda Malins on 4th February, what better way to while away the time then listening to Miranda talk about what she knows best – Oliver Cromwell, and the challenges of presenting a real person in a work of historical fiction. You can buy tickets for this very special (and virtual) event on 27th January here.

Now also seems the right time to mention another talk Miranda is doing, this time with bestselling author Andrew Taylor. Join them in virtual conversation on 18th March, with tickets available here.

 

Last but not least, the International Rights Department have hit their stride this week with some exciting new translation deals to announce:

Norwegian rights to The Burning Girls have sold to Cappelen Damm

Croatian rights to The Joy of Being Selfish have sold to Stilus Kniga

Serbian rights to Wintering have sold to Laguna

Korean rights to Wintering have sold to Woongjin Think Big Co.

Finnish rights to The Twelve Dates of Christmas have sold to Otava

Lithuanian rights to Wintering have sold to Alma Littera