What a fabulous week it’s been for our authors. Here are the highlights…

Teresa Driscoll’s fabulously twisty psychological thriller, I Am Watching You, which was published in 2017 by Thomas & Mercer / Amazon Publishing, hit No. 7 in The Bookseller “Heatseekers Fiction Chart” in paperback last week! This brilliant novel is approaching the 100,000 copies sold in paperback milestone – a truly phenomenal achievement.

We are thrilled to announce that C.L. Taylor’s newly published thriller, Strangers (Avon / HarperCollins), has hit No. 16 in the charts this week, after a half-week of sales.

Strangers was also featured in The Times this week as one of the “Things to do in lockdown, from online singing to the virtual pub”.

Gail Honeyman’s uplifting, bestselling novel, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (HarperFiction / HarperCollins), has been named as joint No. 1 for the second year in a row for the Australian Book Chain Dymocks “101 Best Books“, as voted for by their loyalty programme customers. It has also climbed up the Top 10 in the New York Times paperback fiction bestseller list to No. 8 this week.

It’s been an incredible week for Ben Oliver. His debut dystopian YA novel, The Loop, which was published in the UK last week by Chicken House and by Scholastic in the US this week, has been mentioned in the The Guardian‘s YA round up. They called it: “Thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.”

Waterstones have chosen this fantastic novel as one of their “Best Children’s Books for April” (“Superbly dark and utterly gripping.”), and Helen Corcoran, author of Queen of Coin and Whispers said this week: “This thriller is difficult to put down, tense and horrifying: every time I thought I’d something figured out, a twist would throw me off.”

And the chilling trailer has been revealed…

To top it all off, Ben Oliver gave a fantastic interview for Entertainment Weekly this week.

Clare Pooley’s  uplit novel, The Authenticity Project, has been chosen by the Mail Online as one of their “Best Uplifting Books to Read in Isolation“. They said: “It’s a heartwarming, laughter-and-tears story about the value of friendships and the importance of reaching out to each other.”

This wonderful novel was published last week by Transworld / Penguin Random House, who created a beautiful quote card for it:

Holly Bourne’s newly published contemporary novel, Pretending was also featured in “Best Isolation Reads” Mail Online article: “This hugely entertaining rom-com for the post #MeToo generation has already had huge praise from other leaders in the genre, including Marian Keyes and Dolly Alderton.”

Holly took part in an Instagram event with bestselling author Daisy Buchanan this week on the Waterstones Instagram page, and today took part in the podcast Ctl Alt Delete on writing teen and adult novels – listen here!

Stephanie Wrobel’s Darling Rose Gold is once again reigning in the Top 10 of the Toronto Star bestseller list in Canada – this week at No. 10!

Scotsman has included Manjeet Mann’s YA verse novel, Run, Rebel (Penguin Random House Children’s), in their “Best Books for Teens this Easter” round up. They said: “A powerful read, perfect for fans of Sarah Crossan and Kwame Alexander.”

Miranda Malins’ newly-published novel, The Puritan Princess (Orion), set in the times of Oliver Cromwell and featuring his irrepressible youngest daughter , has been featured in The Times round-up of the best Historical Fiction. They said: “There is much to enjoy in this evocation of a family whose lives are so upended by the convulsions of history.”

The Puritan Princess and C.L. Taylor’s Strangers were featured on the Audible “Hot New Releases” this week:

Debbie Johnson’s moving novel, Maybe One Day, is going to be in Magic FM’s April Book Club. The novel was published last week by Orion.

Patrick Edwards’ dystopian novel, Ruin’s Wake (Titan’s Wake) has been shortlisted for the 2020 Prometheus Awards. Check out the shortlist here.

Inky Willis has been included in The Times “Your favourite children’s authors online for free” for her wonderful middle grade novel, Scribble Witch. Check out the article for more information.

Kobo have chosen Elizabeth Kay’s compulsive thriller, Seven Lies, as their Crime & Thriller Book of the Month for April. The novel is published by Sphere / Little Brown next week.

Clare Pooley’s The Authenticity Project, Abbie Greaves’ The Silent Treatment and C.L. Taylor’s Strangers have been included in Woman & Home May issue this week.

Mel Sherratt’s third novel in the twisty DS Grace Allendale series, Liar Liar, has shot into the Amazon Top 100 at No. 80 this week!

BKMRK have made the first chapter of Jennifer Iacopelli’s hard-hitting YA novel, Break the Fall, available to read for free here. This brilliant novel was published in February by Hodder Children’s Books.

Beth Morrey’s wonderfully uplifting novel, The Love Story of Missy Carmichael, was published in the US this week by Putnam / Penguin Random House. Bestselling author Jodi Picoult mentioned this stunning novel on Twitter this week:

And in the UK, Saving Missy (HarperFiction / HarperCollins) was featured in Mail Online as one of their “Best Uplifting Books to Read in Isolation” where they said: “This big-hearted story shows that it is possible to live the life you choose. It’s HarperCollins’s biggest debut for 2020.”

Abbie Greaves’ beautiful debut novel, The Silent Treatment, was published in the US this week by William Morrow / HarperCollins. It was chosen by the Independent as one of their “Books of the Month“. Abbie gave a fabulous interview for Hasty Book List this week.

It was announced today that rights to Alexandra Wilson’s compelling memoir, In Black and White, have sold to Orion. Film/TV rights have sold to Mam Tor.

This week, our authors have taken part in some brilliant panels for the Stay At Home Festival.

Clare Pooley kicked off proceedings on Tuesday talking about The Authenticity Project, followed by Mark Edwards on Wednesday, who was talking about his new novel, Here To Stay.

Katherine May will give a talk tonight at 7pm about the collection of essays about motherhood she curated, The Best, Most Awful Job.

And rounding things off this Saturday, agency authors C.L. Taylor and Nuala Ellwood will be taking part in a crime and thriller panel! Tune in at 7pm.

For those looking even further ahead, debut YA author Namina Forna is going to be taking part in the Social Distance Book Festival talking about New Voices in YA SFF and her wonderful novel, The Gilded Ones. 

And on the international rights front, Sara Nisha Adams’ The Reading List has sold to Duomo Ediciones in Spain.

We launched the Madeleine Milburn six-month Mentorship scheme this week for aspiring authors. As part of the mentorship, the MM agency will provide editorial guidance and an insight into getting your book published including current trends, what editors look for, international rights and Film & TV. Check out the page for further information.