London Book Fair 2019 - Rights Catalogue: Frontlist Fiction - Penguin Books Australia
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London Book Fair
2019
Rights Catalogue:
Frontlist Fiction
FOR RIGHTS QUERIES CONTACT
Nerrilee Weir, Senior Rights Manager
TEL +61 2 8923 9892 FAX +61 2 9956 6487
EMAIL nweir@penguinrandomhouse.com.au
penguin.com.au/rights
Awards and Nominations 2019 & 2018
The Second Cure by Margaret Morgan
Finalist: Aurealis Awards 2018
The Cage by Lloyd Jones
Longlisted: Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2019
The Man Who Would Not See by Rajorshi Chakraborti
Longlisted: Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2019
This Mortal Boy by FIona Kidman
Longlisted: Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2019
The Tea Gardens by Fiona McIntosh
Longlisted: Australian Book Industry Awards 2018
The Girl in Kellers Way by Megan Goldin
Shortlisted: Ned Kelly Awards 2018
Shortlisted: Davitt Awards 2018
Shortlisted: Australian Book Designers Awards 2018
All Day at the Movies by Fiona Kidman
Longlisted: IMPAC International Dublin Literary Award 2018
Billy Bird by Emma Neale
Longlisted: IMPAC International Dublin Literary Award 2018
2 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
RIGHTS SOLD 2018 & 2019
The Pearl Thief The Escape Room
Fiona McIntosh Megan Goldin
United Kingdom (Penguin North America (St Martin’s)
Random House – Ebury) United Kingdom (Hachette)
Italy (DeA Planeta) The Netherlands (Ambo Anthos)
Audio (Penguin Random
Germany (Piper Verlag)
House Australia)
Spain (Penguin Random House
Groupo Editorial)
Poland
Greenlight (Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las)
Benjamin Stevenson
North America (Sourcebooks) This Mortal Boy
Fiona Kidman
United Kingdom (Hachette)
United Kingdom (Gallic Books)
Audio (Audible) Film Option (South Pacific
Pictures)
Audio (Bolinda)
Potiki The Mannequin Makers
Patrica Grace Craig Cliff
United Kingdom (Penguin United Kingdom (Melville
Random House – Penguin House)
Press) Also licenced to:
North America (Milkweed
Editions)
Romania (Editura Univers)
The Yellow Villa Sixty Summers
Amanda Hampson Amanda Hampson
Italy (Newton Compton Editori) Audio (W. F. Howes)
Czech Republic (Baronet, A.S) Large Print (Ulverscroft)
Audio (W F Howes)
The Kookaburra Creek Cafe
The Country Wedding
Sandie Docker
Barbara Hannay
Germany (Verlagsgruppe
Czech Republic (Baronet)
Random House)
Also licensed to:
Audio (W F Howes)
Audio (W.F.Howes)
The Dangerous Crossing Love Song
Rachel Rhys Sasha Wasley
Audio (Ulverscroft) Germany (Droemer Verlag)
Audio (Ulverscroft)
Large Print (Ulverscroft)
3 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
Literary
The Yield TARA JUNE WINCH is an Australian (Wiradjuri)
writer based in France. She was named as one
Tara June Winch
of The Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young
Pub date: July 2019 Australian Novelists for her first novel, Swallow
Format: 224pp – 153mm x 234mm the Air. She has gone on to win numerous
Rights held: World Australian literary awards, and in 2009 she
Audio: Penguin Random House Australia received the prestigious Rolex Mentor and
Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Australia Protégé Award.
Selling Points
Just tell the truth and someone will hear it
eventually. • The long-awaited second novel from one of
Australia’s most exciting writers.
The yield in English is the reaping, the things that man • Tara June Winch was a Rolex mentoree,
can take from the land. In the language of the Wiradjuri under the tutelage of Nobel Laureate Wole
yield is the things you give to, the movement, the space Soyinka
between things: baayanha.
• A story working – beautifully – on so many
Knowing that he will soon die, Albert ‘Poppy’ levels: readers will return to it over and over.
Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent Praise for Tara June Winch’s previous
on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous titles
House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to
‘Her spare, careful language never suffered
pass on the language of his people and everything
from the tedium that sometimes accompanies
that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the
minimalist prose. It seemed to swim. Its
wind.
precision was poetic’ – THE LIFTED BROW
August Gondiwindi has been living on the other ‘These are the stories of a gifted writer casting
side of the world for ten years when she learns of off expectations and finding new heights’ – THE
her grandfather’s death. She returns home for his SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
burial, wracked with grief and burdened with all she
‘Tara June Winch’s characters all speak like real
tried to leave behind. Her homecoming is bittersweet
people, and that’s what makes you care about
as she confronts the love of her kin and news that
them’ – THE AUSTRALIAN
Prosperous is to be repossessed by a mining company.
Determined to make amends she endeavours to save ‘Winch’s writing is vivid, immediately engaging,
their land – a quest that leads her to the voice of her lyrical but succinct.’ – SYDNEY REVIEW OF
grandfather and into the past, the stories of her people, BOOKS
the secrets of the river.
Profoundly moving and exquisitely written, Tara June
Winch’s The Yield is the story of a people and a culture
dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what
was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of
Indigenous language, storytelling and identity.
4 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
Literary
Hitch KATHRYN HIND was born in Canberra and
has now returned there after five years in the
Kathryn Hind
UK. She’s published essays and short stories
Pub date: June 2019 in various Australian journals and collections,
Format: 320pp – 153mm x 234mm and has a poem published on one of Canberra’s
Rights held: World Action buses. Kathryn began her first novel,
Audio: Penguin Random House Australia Hitch, while studying in the UK, and in 2018
Imprint: Vintage Australia she was awarded the Penguin Random House
Literary Prize for the manuscript.
Winner of the inaugural Penguin Random House
Sales Points
Australia Literary Prize.
• Hitch won the inaugural Penguin Random
“She stopped walking and touched the fur on
House Australia Literary Prize
Lucy’s head in a signal for her to do the same.
Something rattled in Amelia’s pack and took a • An original new voice in Australian literature
moment to settle, and then there it was: the buzz Praise for Hitch
of a vehicle in the distance.” ‘A tautly poetic and gripping tale of a young
Amelia hitchikes across Australia, lost and woman’s perilous odyssey as she willingly puts
mourning, as she struggles to face the death herself at the mercy of the strangers – whether
of her mother and the subsequent surfacing kind or cruel – in order to test her ability to
of unwanted memories. On the road, Amelia is confront her painful past.’ – CERIDWEN DOVEY,
drawn to strangers who compel her to confront AUTHOR OF IN THE GARDEN OF FUGITIVES
her emotions. ‘Gritty and suspenseful, and left you feeling
With each fumbling–and loaded–interaction wrung out but relieved by the end. A very
Amelia endures we are asked to look closer at impressive novel.’ – MAX SHIRLEY, MACLEAN’S
the power imbalances at play. Steadily peeling BOOKSHOP
back the many layers of Amelia, Hitch reveals ‘An introspective tale about a young woman
how an individual’s experiences shape their hitchhiking across Australia to escape her life
perceptions of the people and places around but not knowing what she is looking for. Amelia
them, especially when that individual is a woman is complicated and relatable. I really enjoyed and
alone. recommend it.’ – SARAH DEASY, AVID READER
Hitch is an account of a young woman finding BOOKSHOP
her feet in a world that consistently questions
her right to joy and agency within it. It implores
us to accept a person’s right to find their own
way.
5 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
Literary
Fusion Sales Points
Kate Richards • Fusion is a compelling conceit, informed
by Kate’s background as a doctor: a young
Pub date: Feburary 2019
woman is knocked out in a car accident, and
Format: 304pp – 153mm x 234mm
cared for by the man who finds her and the
Rights held: World
conjoined twins he lives with.
Audio: Rights Available
• Kate handles this unsettling starting point
Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Australia
beautifully, to write a blend of psychological
Lyrical and poetic, Fusion is a unique and powerful thriller with tones of a Gothic fairytale. The
modern-Gothic fairytale that has at its heart sisters are at the heart of the book: weird,
questions of selfhood, dependency and love. witty, fragile, alive.
• Kate Richards’ memoir Madness was
Conjoined twins Sea and Sabine live shut away in a
universally acclaimed for its writing, winning
cottage in the woods, together with Wren – the young
the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature
man who helps care for them.
non–fiction prize, and shortlisted for the
Each is damaged but has found peace in the woods, Queensland Literary Awards non–ficton
and the three live in relative harmony and are largely prize.
self-sufficient. Praise for Fusion
‘While at times heart-wrenchingly sad, the
One day Wren discovers a woman on the road nearby,
novel is never without hope; Richards highlights
badly injured and unconscious.
her characters’ ultimate desires for love and
He brings her back to the cottage, and he and the acceptance through gentle moments of
twins nurse her back to health. But the arrival of this compassion and exquisite descriptions of the
outsider changes the dynamic in the cottage, with natural world. Her highly stylised prose delivers
unforeseen consequences. a story that is as multi-layered as its characters.
Part fairytale, part Australian Gothic thriller,
KATE RICHARDS is a writer of fiction, narrative Fusion is contemporary Australian literature at
non–fiction and poetry. She has a medical its finest and deserves multiple readings—an
degree with honours and works part-time in ideal selection for book clubs.’ – AUSTRALIAN
medical research in Melbourne. Kate is the BOOKSELLER + PUBLISHER
author of the critically acclaimed Madness: A
‘Fusion is a reflection on love and how the
Memoir and the Penguin Special Is There No
manifestations of it range from self-sacrifice to
Place For Me?
selfishness.’ – AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW
Praise for Madness
‘Heartwrenching, mind bending’ – THE DAILY
TELEGRAPH
‘A mysteriously beautiful book’ – THE AGE
‘[Richards is] a gifted writer and storyteller’ –
THE COURIER MAIL
6 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
Literary
Strange Blasphemy Sales Points
Anson Cameron • This is a nuanced but unflinching look at
important issues.
Pub date: June 2019
Format: 272pp – 153mm x 234mm • A perfect reading-group book, the story
Rights held: World centres around one explosive incident, the
Audio: Rights Available
fall-out of which every reader will have an
opinion on.
Imprint: Vintage Australia
• Essentially, this is a standout novel with
A thought-provoking and disturbing novel
unquestionably contentious but important
of a clash of cultures and the turmoil that is
subjects at its heart.
unintentionally unleashed, from one of our most
interesting writers. Praise for previous titles
At a surf campus, a weekend of cultural ‘one of the most interesting writers of his
exchange begins, during which a group of less- generation . . . has an imaginative largesse and
advantaged boys from Dallas Islamic Academy sentence-by-sentence articulation that soars
are taught to surf by boys from Yarraside Boys’ above the pack.’ – THE AUSTRALIAN
Grammar, an elite private school. A sexual ‘prose that fizzes with energy and humour,
encounter takes place on the beach between leaping from the scatalogical to the lyrical, from
Seb, a rich kid from the Grammar, and Fariad, a the earthy to the sublime.’ – THE ADELAIDE
Muslim Afghan refugee from the Academy. Little ADVERTISER
does anyone know that this encounter has been
unwittingly recorded by a drone, sent up by one ‘Cameron writes a tough, gutsy story that is so
of the Grammar schoolkids to watch the antics well crafted you know there’s someone behind
of the surfers. the wheel from the word go.’ – THE AGE
What then ensues no one can predict. Sides ‘The best black humour to have emerged from
are taken. Threats are made. Seb’s and Fariad’s Australia in years.’ – AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL
families and communities are involved. In not REVIEW
giving his side of the story, Seb enters a living ‘Cameron is one of the most interesting writers
nightmare, where, in his attempts to protect of his generation and this is a playful book’ –
Fariad, and defuse the situation, he unleashes WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
a storm of hatred, suspicion, lies, deceit . . and ‘Funny and energetic, crammed with wonderful,
ultimately murder. viciously barbed set pieces.’ – AUSTRALIAN
ANSON CAMERON has written five critically REVIEW OF BOOKS
acclaimed novels: Silences Long Gone, Tin Toys, ‘[Tin Toys] is the finest and funniest picaresque
Confessin’ the Blues, Lies I Told About a Girl, and novel to be published in Australia since Peter
Stealing Picasso, as well as two collections of Carey’s Illywhacker.’ – SYDNEY MORNING
short stories, Nice Shootin’ Cowboy and Pepsi HERALD
Bears and Other Stories. His most recent novel is
The Last Pulse (2014).
7 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
Literary
Master Of My Fate SIENNA BROWN was born in Canada to
Jamaican parents, and spent her childhood
Sienna Brown
travelling between the two countries. But it
Pub date: May 2019 wasn’t until a move to Sydney that she came
Format: 320pp – 153mm x 234mm across William Buchanan’s story and was struck
Rights held: World by a sense of fate. This story of a lost man far
Audio: Rights Available from home resonated with her own feelings of
Imprint: Vintage Australia displacement.
A lifelong storyteller, Sienna was captivated
Based on a true story of West Indian slavery, Master
by William’s story and the way it intersected
of My Fate takes you from Jamaica to Sydney,
with her own cultural background. She
telling the story of William Buchanan and his fight
is a professional dancer, film editor and
for freedom.
documentary director by trade, and worked at
William Buchanan lived an extraordinary life: Sydney Living Museums, where she first came
born a slave on a plantation in Jamaica, he across William’s story. She is currently working
escaped the gallows more than once, took part on her second novel.
in the rebellion that led to the end of slavery in
Pre-publication Endorsements for
Jamaica, was transported to the other side of the
Master of My Fate
world as punishment, tried his hand at robbing
stage coaches, and finally won true freedom on ‘An extraordinary achievement, mirroring
Australian soil. an exceptional life, Sienna Brown’s debut is
breathtaking. Rich and lyrical, it pulses with
Master of My Fate is based on this story, told by
determination, with hope, and with truth.’ –
a woman with the same roots, more than 180
KATHRYN HEYMAN, AUTHOR OF STORM AND
years later. Sienna Brown came across William’s
GRACE
story while working in the very building he was
transported to. As a black woman with Jamaican ‘What gives one man the right to own another
roots, she felt compelled to write the story of is the question at the heart of this beautiful
this countryman she stumbled across when also meditation on love, loss and liberty through the
feeling homesick and at sea. voice of one who lived it, William Buchanan,
lifelong Jamaican rebel forced to become
Told through William’s voice, this is a lyrical,
Australian settler. In Sienna Brown’s compelling
historical, coming-of-age story about learning to
first novel, Will’s voice is so true, his personality
fight for your rights – and finally becoming the
so engaging, his wonder at both the evil and
master of your own fate.
beauty of the world so compelling, his lifelong
adventures so heroic, we want to cheer him at
every turn. Master Of My Fate is a brave and
historically grounded addition to the growing
body of works examining history through
the consciousness of the enslaved.’ – OLIVE
SENIOR, AUTHOR AND POET
'Sienna Brown's Master of My Fate is a confident
and ambitious debut.' MAXINE BENEBA
CLARKE, AUTHOR OF THE HATE RACE AND
FOREIGN SOIL
8 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
Literary
© Leah Purcell
The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of LEAH PURCELL is one of this nation’s most
eminent cultural figures. She is arguably
Molly Johnson Australia’s most outstanding cultural polymath
Leah Purcell – a multi award-winning author, director,
Pub date: December 2019 playwright, actor, director, filmmaker, theatre-
Format: 192pp – 153mm x 234mm maker and screenwriter. That she directs her
Rights held: World
prodigious talents towards Indigenous and First
Audio: Penguin Random House Australia
Nations themes, characters and issues, has
resulted in a body of work already considered
Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Australia
canonical in our library and stage history.
The Drover’s Wife is undeniably authentic, Her latest work is the award-winning The
brilliantly plotted, thoroughly harrowing and Drover’s Wife. This play, written and starring
entirely of our times exploring race, gender, Purcell, swept all before it in 2017, winning the
violence and inheritance. VIC and NSW Premiers’ Literary Awards for Best
The novel’s inspiration is the play of the same Play, Best Book, Prize for Literature; AWGIE
name, a theatrical and ground-breaking retelling Awards for Best Play, Major Work and the David
of Henry Lawson’s famed The Drover’s Wife. Williamson Prize; 4 Helpmann Awards for Best
Play, Script and the UNESCO City of Sydney Film
In Leah Purcell's novel she, reimagines Lawson’s
Award. This all culminated in Leah being placed
story vividly and deeply to portray the drover’s
in the Australian Finanical Review Top 10 Power
heroic wife as a righteous avenger – on behalf of
List for 2017 for Culture.
herself, her children and what turns out to be her
race – in a savage male world. Filming for The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of
Molly Johnson feature film will begin in 2019.
A taut thriller of our pioneering past, The Drover’s
Leah she will write, direct and star in the
Wife is full of fury, power and has a black sting to
adapation. It is to be released in 2020.
the tail, reaching from our nation’s infancy into
our complicated present. Leah is a proud Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka
Murri woman from Queensland.
A note from the acquiring publisher
‘. . . she has created a figure, Molly Johnson
who is as resonant and significant as Ned Kelly,
whose story speaks to many of our nation’s
contemporary themes. Penguin Random
House is very proud to be working with Leah
on this project and bringing The Drover’s Wife:
The Legend of Molly Johnson to the widest
possible readership.’ – NIKKI CHRISTER, GROUP
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
9 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE
Crime/Thriller
From the seedy
underbelly of London’s
back streets and New
Scotland Yard to the
dangerous frontiers of
modern medicine, this is
a gripping crime thriller
from bestselling author
Fiona McIntosh.
But with little progress frustrating everyone
and his most trusted detective threatening to
betray him while the public and police force are
pressuring for results, Jack must confront his
own ability and conduct as the morgue fills and
media hysteria builds.
An emotional tale of brutal revenge with a
Bye Bye Baby and Beautiful chilling twist that profoundly affects the lives of
Death all the people involved in its shocking climax.
Fiona McIntosh About Beautiful Death
A gruesome case just got personal.
Pub date: January 2019 and March 2019
Format: 448pp – 153mm x 234mm DCI Jack Hawksworth is back, working on a high-
Rights held Bye Bye Baby: World excl France profile case breaking in London. A calculating
Rights held Beautiful Death: World excl Russia serial killer is on the loose, committing the most
Audio: Penguin Random House Australia
gruesome of murders as he ‘trophies’ the faces of
his victims. With each new atrocity, the public and
Rights sold previous titles:
police force are getting more desperate for results.
The Perfumer’s Secret: Portugal (OficinaDo Livro), Czech
Republic (Baronet, a.s.), Poland (Wydawnictwo FiliaSp. Hawk pulls together a strong and experienced
Z.o.o.), Bulgaria (Soft Press Publishing House), Audio taskforce, who soon find themselves caught up in
(Bolinda) a murky world of illegal immigrants and human
The Last Dance: Poland (Wydawnictwo FiliaSp. Z.o.o.), organ trading. As he struggles to find any sort of
Audio (Bolinda)
link between the victims, Jack identifies something
unique about the most recent corpse, and things
Nightingale: Czech Republic (Baronet, a.s.), Russia
suddenly get very personal.
(Eksmo), Greece (Oceanida), Audio (Bolinda)
The Tailor’s Girl: Brazil (Editora Fundamento), Russia FIONA McINTOSH is an internationally
(Eksmo), Audio (Bolinda) bestselling author of novels for adults and
The French Promise: United Kingdom (Allison & Busby), children. She co-founded an award-winning
Russia (Eksmo), Germany (Blanvalet), Audio (Bolinda) travel magazine with her husband, which they
The Lavender Keeper: United Kingdom (Allison & Busby), ran for fifteen years while raising their twin
Russia (Eksmo), Germany (Blanvalet), Audio (Bolinda)
sons before she became a full-time author.
Fiona roams the world researching and drawing
Fields of Gold: Germany (Blanvalet), Russia (Eksmo),
inspiration for her novels, and runs a series of
Audio (Bolinda)
highly respected fiction masterclasses. She calls
Imprint: Michael Joseph Australia
South Australia home.
About Bye Bye Baby
Sales Points
Introducing DCI Jack Hawksworth, Scotland Yard’s
• Before she turned her hand to writing her
brightest talent, in this cracking crime novel from
bestselling historical adventures, Fiona
the bestselling author of The Tea Gardens.
McIntosh wrote adult crime novels.
A spate of seemingly unconnected murders
• Originally published by HarperCollins (one
in southern England prompts a high-profile
of them under the pseudonym Lauren
taskforce to be formed and led by DCI Jack
Crow), Penguin Random House Australia is
Hawksworth, one of the force’s new rising stars
very proud to bring them back in print, and
who combines modern methods with old-school
for Fiona’s hundreds of thousands of fans to
instincts.
discover them.
The victims appear as disparate as their style of
• Rights in the original editions of Bye Bye
death; the only link that Hawk and his team can
Baby and Beautiful Death were licensed in
pull together is that all the murdered are men
France and Russia.
of identical age. With that platform as their only
way forward, the taskforce has nothing tangible
but cold cases of decades past to comb through
in the hope that they might find a clue to who
might be behind the savagery.
10 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUEUpmarket
A Lifetime of Impossible Days TABITHA BIRD is a writer and poet who lives and
works in the rural township of Boonah, Australia,
Tabitha Bird
where her novel is set. By day Tabitha may be
Pub date: June 2019 found painting, working on her next book, or
Format: 400pp – 153mm x 234mm with her husband, three beautiful boys and
Rights held: World Chihuahua.
Audio: Rights Available Sales Points
Imprint: Viking Australia
• A clever and original debut, dusted with
Tabitha Bird’s stunning debut is a magical, life- magical realism, involves a time-slip that
affirming novel about heartbreak, healing and allows 30-something mother-of-two, Willa,
learning to forgive yourself. who is suicidal, to meet the child she was at
8 years old and the old woman she will be at
An uplifting and magical story of childhood,
93 – can her past and future selves prevent
family and finding ways to change the
her from doing something rash?
inevitable . . .
• Unique commercial women’s fiction with
Meet Willa Waters, aged 8 . . . 33 . . . and 93.
crossover literary/commercial appeal. Ideal
On one impossible day in 1965, eight-year-old for book clubs – plenty of themes to discuss!
Willa receives a mysterious box containing a jar
• You’ll fall in love with this book. There’s a
of water and the instruction: ‘One ocean: plant
lot of magic and dreamlike elements. And
in the backyard.’ So she does – and somehow
despite some dark themes it’s ultimately an
creates an extraordinary time-slip that allows
uplifting and heartwarming novel.
her to visit her future selves.
• Perfect for fans of The Lost Flowers of Alice
On one impossible day in 1990, Willa is 33
Hart by Holly Ringland and Life After Life by
and a mother-of-two when her childhood self
Kate Atkinson
magically appears in her backyard. But she’s
also a woman haunted by memories of her dark
past – and is on the brink of a decision that will
have tragic repercussions . . .
On one impossible day in 2050, Willa is a silver-
haired, gumboot-loving 93-year-old whose
memory is fading fast. Yet she knows there’s
something she has to remember, a warning she
must give her past selves about a terrible event
in 1990. If only she could recall what it was.
Can the three Willas come together, to heal their
past and save their future, before it’s too late?
11 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
Jane in Love Jane, a love novice, is happy for the first time
in her life, and decides to stay in the twenty-
Rachel Givney
first century to be with Fred. This poses a small
Pub date: September 2019 and unscheduled complication, when all Jane
Format: 384pp – 153mm x 234mm Austen novels disappear from the shelves.
Rights held: World Jane is torn between her love for a gorgeous
Imprint: Michael Joseph Australia man and the bliss her pen brings her. Ultimately,
What if Jane Austen had to choose between the she must decide between staying in the present,
heart and the pen? where she is happy, or returning to her own time
where she will become Jane Austen.
Jane has always suspected she might be
somewhat odd. She prefers walking and reading RACHEL GIVNEY is a writer and filmmaker. Her
to balls and assemblies, and she dreams of films have been official selections at the Sydney
being a published author. At 28, she is also the Film Festival, Flickerfest, Tropfest and many more.
oldest unmarried woman in the West Country Sales Points
and in grave danger of becoming a spinster.
• The novel was shortlisted for the Virginia
All of these issues pale in comparison to her Prize for Fiction, a UK prize for an
biggest problem, when seemingly by accident, unpublished manuscript for women’s fiction.
she time-travels to the present day.
• Rebel Wilson, Anna Kendrick, Asher
While acquainting herself with the horseless Keddie and the VP of Universal Studios
steel carriages and serious lack of clothing worn are presently reading, with a view to film
by people of the twenty-first century, Jane is adaptation.
delighted to discover she is now ‘Jane Austen’,
a published author of six novels, beloved by Advance praise for Jane in Love
readers around the world. ‘Rachel Givney has written some of the most
Jane befriends Sofia, a slightly over-the-top delicious lines for our favourite characters on our
Hollywood actress who is starring in a new film most loved TV shows. Now she’s written a novel,
adaptation of Northanger Abbey. Once Sofia based on a superb idea, with a strong female lead
accepts she has not hallucinated the ghost of and romance and a tense dilemma at its heart.
Jane Austen, she agrees to help Jane return I can’t wait to see it out there in the world, being
home. pursued by readers who already know that Rachel
can tell a marvellous story. It’s definitely her turn
But then Jane meets Fred, Sofia’s brother, who to shine.’ - CAROLINE OVERINGTON, AUTHOR
has the audacity to be handsome, clever and OF I CAME TO SAY GOODBYE
kind-hearted, and Jane, against her better
judgement, falls in love with him. ‘What’s to resist? To me, the premise of Jane
Austen time-travelling and having to choose
between her books and real love is touching and
resonant, charming and funny and tragic. And
very clever.’ - POSIE GRAEME-EVANS, AUTHOR
OF WILD WOOD
12 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUEUpmarket
The Unreliable People Sales Points
Rosetta Allan • A fascinating story based on the real but
little-known and inhumane deportation of
Pub date: May 2019
a whole community within the USSR in the
Format: 352pp - 154mm x 231mm
1930s: it is the story of the Koryo-Saram, who
Rights held: World
are part Korean, part Russian, part Kazak.
Audio: Rights Available
• Set in the 1930s, 1970s and 1990s, the
Imprint: Penguin New Zealand
novel captures hugely different eras and
A sweeping novel of a whole ethnicity deported areas, from rice farmers in Vladivostok, to
across Soviet Russia. communal farms in Kazakhstan, from the Art
Academy in St Petersburg to the gruelling
Is all love doomed under a heartless regime?
train journey – the ghost train – taken across
Antonina is a student at the prestigious Art the vast country over many weeks. A strong
Academy in St Petersburg, though at times she storyline that is so much else as well.
feels she might be a better fit at the Centre of
• The novel has vivid events (an attempted
Non-conformist Art, where her best friend goes.
child abduction, a mass deportation,
She knows she stands out as someone different,
shamanistic rituals, the shady dealings
being neither Russian, Korean nor Kazak; and
of the Russian underworld, art students
yet she is all of these, she is Koryo-Saram, one of
struggling to feed themselves, love and
the Unreliable People. But what does that mean?
loss, disappearances . . . and possible
And why did the strange, elegant woman entice
reunifications) and combines action with
her as a young child to climb out of her bedroom
traditional mythical stories (primarily of the
window to go on a long train journey?
Crow King and the Rice Farmer’s Wife) and
Train journeys, she is to learn, have a lot to do (real) stories of the ghosts of those not laid
with who she is. As does Stalin and the story of to rest by their loved ones – a whole host of
the Crow King and the Rice Farmer’s Wife. So, textures and ways of telling.
too, does the strange woman, whose own story
• A sweeping novel that conveys the real
of love and loss is to intersect so unexpectedly
history of the Koryo-Saram people and the
with Antonina’s life.
suffering inflicted on them by Stalin, but
ROSETTA ALLAN's first poetry collection, Little ultimately this is a love story, following two
Rock, was released in 2007, and her second women, one who lost her husband in the
volume, Over Lunch, in 2010. Her poetry has 1930s and longs to be reunited with him,
appeared in publications and anthologies in the other who thinks she has lost her love in
New Zealand, Australia and the USA, and in the 1990s; but who really is her love and has
online literary journals. Rosetta’s first novel, she really lost him? Their stories intersect in
Purgatory, is based on the Otahuhu murders of completely unexpected ways.
1865.
13 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUEUpmarket
The Gulf Between Sales Points
Maxine Alterio • A vivid depiction of living in Naples in the early
1960s.
Pub date: April 2019
Format: 304pp – 153mm x 234mm • The tension really ramps up as the story moves
Rights held: World from charming love story into something much
Rights sold previous title:
more sinister — what are the secrets from the
past; what is Ernesto really up to; and will Julia
Lives We Leave Behind: France (Prisma Media)
escape from her threatening brother-in-law, with
Ribbions of Grace: Film (Kingfisher Productions)
her family intact?
Audio: Rights Available
Imprint: Penguin New Zealand • Maxine’s first novel Ribbons of Grace was
a hugely popular bestseller, and her second
A journey back into the past, to the other side of the novel Lives We Leave Behind sold solidly. This
world . . . new novel is different again — and even more
Love, lies and disenchantment lead to a gripping.
menacing showdown in this suspense-filled Praise for Ribbons of Grace
novel. ‘First-time Dunedin novelist Maxine Alterio has
A foreigner is seriously injured not far from created a voice that is utterly distinctive and
Julia’s safe Queenstown hideaway. Why does believable.’ – NEXT
he have her name in his wallet? His unexpected ‘Perfectly written . . . a beautifully crafted,
arrival takes Julia back forty-five years to believable novel.’ – HAWKE’S BAY TODAY
London, where she’d first met Benito, then on to
the glittering Gulf of Naples. ‘A new novelist, one with significant talent . . .
Alterio’s skill in blending factual historical
In the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, Julia found information into her fiction is impressive and
herself pitted against her belligerent mother-in- gives the story great credibility.’ – BEATTIE’S
law and Benito’s sinister brother in a lethal battle BOOK BLOG
for her husband and children . . .
‘A tender yet tragic love story.’ – OTAGO DAILY
DR MAXINE ALTERIO is a novelist, short story TIMES
writer and narrative-based educator and mentor.
She graduated from the University of Otago
with a Master of Arts in Education and from
the International Institute of Modern Letters,
Victoria University of Wellington, with a PhD in
Creative Writing. Her first novel Ribbons of Grace
was published by Penguin in 2008, followed by
Lives We Leave Behind in 2012. Her first fiction
collection Live News and Other Stories was
published in 2005, and her short stories have
appeared in anthologies and been broadcast
on national radio. She won the 2013 Seresin
Landfall/Otago University Press Residency.
October 2012 February 2008
14 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUEUpmarket
‘COM
ING H
IN TH OME
E DAR
IS CU K’
RREN
PRE- TLY IN
PROD
WITH UCTI
INDE ON
PROD PEND
UCER ENT
JAME
ASHC S
ROF T
.
Pearly Gates Awards for Owen Marshall
Owen Marshall • 2000 – Deutz Medal for Fiction at the
Montana Book Awards (Harlequin Rex)
Pub date: February 2019
Format: 288pp – 153mm x 234mm
• 2000 – Officer of the New Zealand Order of
Merit (ONZM) for services to literature
Rights held: World
Rights sold previous title: Love as a Stranger: Slovenia • 2003 – Deutz Medal for Fiction (When
(MIŜ Publishing) Gravity Snaps)
Audio: Rights Available • 2012 – Companion of the New Zealand Order
Imprint: Vintage New Zealand of Merit (CNZM)
• 2013 – Prime Minister’s Award for Literary
Funny, intriguing, lyrical and ultimately moving, Achievement
this entertaining and insightful novel skewers • 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
and celebrates small towns. (Love as a Stranger) – Shortlisted
Comeuppance comes from unexpected directions. Praise for Owen Marshall
Pat ‘Pearly’ Gates has achieved a lot in his ‘Quite simply the most able and the most
life and evinces considerable satisfaction in successful exponent of the short story currently
his achievements. He has a reputation as a writing in New Zealand.’ – MICHAEL KING
former Otago rugby player and believes he ‘New Zealand’s best prose writer.’ – VINCENT
would have been an All Black but for injuries. O’SULLIVAN
He runs a successful real-estate agency in a
provincial South Island town, of which he is the ‘I find myself exclaiming over and again with
second-term mayor. Popular, happily married, delight at the precision, the beauty, the near
well established, he cuts an impressive figure, perfection of his writing.’ – FIONA KIDMAN
especially in his own eyes. But will his pride and ‘Marshall is a writer who speaks with equal
complacency come before a fall? intensity to the unbearable loveliness and
And if so, how will that come about? malevolence of life.’ – CAROLYN BLISS, WORLD
LITERATURE TODAY
OWEN MARSHALL, described by Vincent
O’Sullivan as ‘New Zealand’s best prose writer’, ‘The deft hand of one of New Zealand’s finest
is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, writers is everywhere in this deceptively simply
poet and anthologist, who has written or edited told story of one woman’s transgression and one
30 books, including the bestselling novel The man’s unravelling. As the novel moves towards
Larnachs. its climax the question is not if or when it will all
end, but how.’ – OTAGO DAILY TIMES
‘Owen Marshall is widely acknowledged as this
country’s pre-eminent short story writer. It’s
his skill for accurately charting the nuances,
affirmations and dysfunctions of human
behaviour and relationships which is often the
hallmark of his stories’ excellence.’ – WEEKEND
PRESS
15 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
Yet, tensions are simmering beneath the
surface. Australian-born townsfolk are starting
to look suspiciously at their Italian – and
German-immigrant neighbours, and there is
talk of internment camps. The Australian troops,
JUDY N short on rations and equipment, begrudge the
UNN confident, well-fed American soldiers.
HAS SO
LD
OVER And, most importantly, there’s dissent within
1 MILLIO the American ranks, with the many black GIs
N
BOOKS enjoying the absence of segregation almost as
WORLD much as their white officers resent it.
WIDE
Then one night a massive street fight in the
red-light district leaves a black soldier lying dead
in the street, and the situation explodes into a
dangerous mutiny that will have repercussions
into history.
JUDY NUNN’s career has been long, illustrious
and multifaceted. After combining her
Khaki Town internationally successful acting career with
Judy Nunn scriptwriting for television and radio, Judy
decided in the 1990s to turn her hand to prose.
Pub date: October 2019 Her first three novels, The Glitter Game, Centre
Format: 528pp – 153mm x 234mm Stage and Araluen, set respectively in the
Rights held: World worlds of television, theatre and film, became
Rights sold pervious titles Araluen: Germany (S. Fischer instant bestsellers, and the rest is history,
Verlag); Kal: Czech Republic (Alpress, s.r.o.); Territory: quite literally. She has since developed a love
Germany (S. Fischer Verlag); Beneath the Southern Cross: of writing Australian historically based fiction
Bolinda (Audio); Pacific: United Kingdom (Piatkus), and her fame as a novelist has spread rapidly
Germany (S Fischer Verlag); Floodtide: Germany throughout Europe.
(S Fischer Verlag), Bolinda (Audio); Maralinga: United Her subsequent bestsellers, Kal, Beneath the
Kingdom (Piatkus), Germany (S. Fischer Verlag), Bolinda Southern Cross, Territory, Pacific, Heritage,
(Audio); Elianne: Bolinda (Audio); Tiger Men: Spain (La Floodtide, Maralinga, Tiger Men, Elianne and
Esfera De Los Libros), Bolinda (Audio); Spirits of the Ghan: Spirits of the Ghan confirm Judy’s position as
Bolinda (Audio) one of Australia’s leading fiction writers.
Audio: Penguin Random House Australia In 2015 Judy was made a Member of the Order
Imprint: William Heinemann Australia of Australia for her ‘significant service to the
‘It seems to have happened overnight,’ Val performing arts as a scriptwriter and actor of
thought as she pulled the beers. ‘We’ve stage and screen, and to literature as an author’.
become a khaki town.’
It’s March 1942. Singapore has fallen. Darwin has Praise for Spirits of the Ghan
been bombed. The Japanese are advancing on
‘What Nunn does best is to create the Outback
Northern Australia. And a sleepy little town in
itself as a character: living, breathing, and
Queensland is suddenly in the firing line.
beautiful.’ – ADELAIDE ADVERTISER
In a matter of weeks Townsville has been
transformed from a stunning coastal settlement ‘Vivid and diverting.’ – CANBERRA TIMES
into a bustling garrison town. The tourists have ‘Judy Nunn weaves a breathtaking tale,
been replaced with American GIs, the beaches journeying deep into the red heart of Australia in
are a mess of barbed wire and gun placements, her latest book.’ – ECHO (PERTH)
and the historic buildings have been repurposed
into military barracks and officers’ messes.
But with a Japanese invasion expected at any
moment, the locals are simply thankful that the
Yanks have come to save them.
October November November November September November July January January July September
2017 2015 2013 2011 2009 2007 2005 2004 2002 2000 1996
16 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
FIONA M
cINTOS
HAS SO H
LD OVE
604,60 R
0 COPIE
IN AUST S
RALIA
AND
NEW ZE
AL AND
From the harsh, barren lands of Africa’s diamond
mines to the misty green plains of England, The
Photo © Anne Stropin
Diamond Hunter is a precious gem of a book
that fans and newcomers will treasure.
FIONA McINTOSH is an internationally
bestselling author of novels for adults and
children. She co-founded an award-winning
travel magazine with her husband, which they
ran for fifteen years while raising their twin
The Diamond Hunter sons before she became a full-time author.
Fiona McIntosh Fiona roams the world researching and drawing
inspiration for her novels, and runs a series of
Pub date: November 2019
highly respected fiction masterclasses.
Format: 432pp – 153mm x 234mm
Rights held: World
Praise for The Pearl Thief
Audio: Penguin Random House Australia ‘Fans of Fiona McIntosh’s evocative and richly
Rights sold: The Pearl Thief and The Diamond Hunter researched historical narratives will fall in love
United Kingdom (Ebury) with The Pearl Thief. In equal parts intriguing and
Rights sold previous titles: devastating, this Holocaust survival story turned
The Pearl Thief: Italy (DeA Planeta), Audio (Penguin cat and mouse chase through 1960s Paris and
Random House Australia) London will have you desperately reading late
The Perfumer’s Secret: Portugal (OficinaDo Livro), Czech into the night . . . The Pearl Thief is laced with
Republic (Baronet, a.s.), Poland (Wydawnictwo FiliaSp.
nugget upon nugget of historical gold, with the
author weaving a grand sense of time and place
Z.o.o.), Bulgaria (Soft Press Publishing House), Audio
throughout the action. Reading this book makes
(Bolinda)
you feel as though you’ve lived and breathed
The Last Dance: Poland (Wydawnictwo FiliaSp. Z.o.o.),
1963 London and Paris. Fans and new readers of
Audio (Bolinda)
McIntosh alike will be savouring every moment.’
Nightingale: Czech Republic (Baronet, a.s.), Russia
– BOOKTOPIA
(Eksmo), Greece (Oceanida), Audio (Bolinda)
The Tailor’s Girl: Brazil (Editora Fundamento), Russia
‘The Pearl Thief is a stunning work of historical
fiction, laced with layers of research and rich
(Eksmo), Audio (Bolinda)
detail. As a writer, Fiona is committed to the
The French Promise: United Kingdom (Allison & Busby),
historical integrity of her work – she researches
Russia (Eksmo), Germany (Blanvalet), Audio (Bolinda)
incessantly, and refuses to write about a place
The Lavender Keeper: United Kingdom (Allison & Busby),
until she has set foot there. This diligence and
Russia (Eksmo), Germany (Blanvalet), Audio (Bolinda)
eye for detail shines through in all of her works,
Fields of Gold: Germany (Blanvalet), Russia (Eksmo),
particularly in The Pearl Thief, which might well
Audio (Bolinda) be her best novel to date. Fans of historical
Imprint: Michael Joseph fiction – along with those who simply enjoy a
rattling good yarn – will love The Pearl Thief, a
Bound by courage and friendship, torn apart
rare and marvellous gem from one of Australia’s
by jealousy and greed.
bestselling authors.’ – BETTER READING
Get ready for a thrilling tale of discovery,
determination and desire. Fiona McIntosh
is taking us to Africa, where you will meet
Clementine Knight and Joseph One-Shoe, two
unforgettable characters whose lifelong bond
will capture your heart and fill it with hope.
MARCH 2012 MARCH 2013 OCTOBER 2013 OCTOBER 2014 MARCH 2015 JULY 2016 NOVEMBER 2016 OCTOBER 2017 NOVEMBER 2018
17 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
Moonlight Sonata Her other awards include second in the 2015
Bath Flash Fiction Award, commended in the
Eileen Merriman
2015 Bath Short Story Competition, third in
Pub date: July 2019 the 2014 & 2015 Sunday Star-Times Short Story
Format: 288pp – 153mm x 234mm Awards, and first place in the 2015 Graeme Lay
Rights held: World Short Story Competition.
Audio: Rights Available Sales Points
Imprint: Black Swan New Zealand
• Eileen Merriman established her name
Will the truth be revealed? with her Young Adult titles which have been
recognised as Notable Books and included
A bitter-sweet novel of forbidden love and family
in the Children’s Book Awards shortlist.
secrets.
• Edgy and provocative adult fiction.
’No one must ever know.’
• Fast-paced, accessible and intense.
It’s the annual New Year family get-together.
Molly is dreading having to spend time with her
mother, but she is looking forward to her son
spending time with his cousins and to catching
up with her brothers . . . Joe in particular.
Under the summer sun, family tensions
intensify, relationships become heightened
and Molly and Joe will not be the only ones with
secrets that must be kept hidden.
EILEEN MERRIMAN works full-time as a
consultant haematologist at North Shore
Hospital. Her writing has appeared in a number
of national and international journals and
anthologies, including Smokelong Quarterly, The
Island Review, Literary Orphans, the Bath Short
Story Award Anthology 2015, the Sunday Star-
Times, F(r)iction, takahe, Headland and Flash
Frontier. Her first novel was Pieces of You, with
reviewers calling it ‘compulsively readable’ and
‘compelling, challenging, and heartbreaking’. It
was a 2018 Storylines Notable Book and, along
with her second novel, it was shortlisted for the
NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
18 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
By the internationally bestselling author of The
Chocolate Promise, this is a profound and moving
novel about the deeper mysteries of love and loss –
and the priceless gift of life.
The Gift of Life JOSEPHINE MOON’s novels are published
internationally. She describes her novels as
Josephine Moon ‘books like chocolate brownies’ – rich, inviting,
Pub date: April 2019 a treat for the soul but with chunky nuts to
Format: 84pp – 153mm x 234mm chew on, with a dash of sea salt that lingers on
Rights held: United Kingdom the tongue. She the author of The Tea Chest,
Rights sold previous titles: The Chocolate Promise, The Beekeeper’s Secret
The Chocolate Promise: United Kingdom (Allen & Unwin and Three Gold Coins. She lives in the Noosa
– published as The Chocolate Apothecary), Germany hinterland, Australia, with her husband, son
(Penguin Random House – Goldmann), Norway
and a tribe of animals that, despite her best
intentions, seems to expand every year.
(Bladkompainet)
The Tea Chest: United Kingdom (Allen & Unwin), Norway She is a proud sponsor of Story Dogs, Australia,
(Bladkompaniet) currently sponsoring Ella and Charlie on the
The Beekeeper’s Secret: United Kingdom (Allen & Unwin), Sunshine Coast. Story Dogs teams visit primary
Norway (Bladkompaniet) schools to encourage reading development in
Imprint: Michael Joseph Australia early learners. Story Dogs is a charity close to
Jo’s heart, combining her love of literacy and
From the bestselling author of The Chocolate reading with children and animals. (Really,
Promise and Three Gold Coins comes a colourful what’s not to love?!)
and heartwarming story about a café owner who Praise for Josephine Moon’s previous
is given a new chance at life after receiving a heart titles
transplant – but her new life comes at a price.
‘A Tasmanian twist on the movie Chocolat
You’ve been given the gift of life, now go live it. [The Chocolate Promise] . . . [a] relatable, easy
read that successfully balances cleverness
Gabby McPhee is the owner of The Tin Man, a chic and cuteness . . . the story is inspiring and
new café and coffee roasting house in Melbourne. life-affirming . . . Dealing with issues of
The struggles of her recent heart transplant are independence and maturity, family and
behind her and life is looking up until a mysterious connection, as well as romance, desire, food and
customer appears in the café, convinced that travel, The Chocolate Promise is a fun addition to
Gabby has her deceased husband’s heart beating contemporary women’s fiction.’
inside her chest.
– BOOKS+PUBLISHING
Krystal Arthur is a bereaved widow, struggling ‘Three Gold Coins packs a mountain of heart,
to hold herself and her two young boys together an abundance of tortured soul and a banquet
since Evan’s death, and plagued by unanswered of mouthwatering food.’ – GOOD READING
questions. Why was her husband in another city the MAGAZINE
night he died? And why won’t his spirit rest?
Krystal is convinced that Gabby holds the clues she
needs to move towards a brighter future. Gabby
needs Krystal to help her let go of her troubled
past. The two women must come together to try to
unlock the secrets in Evan’s heart in order to set
free their own.
19 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
AMANDA HAMPSON grew up in rural New
Zealand. She spent her early twenties travelling,
finally settling in Australia in 1979 where she
now lives in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Writing
professionally for more than 20 years, she is
the author of two non-fiction books, numerous
articles and novels The Olive Sisters, Two for the
Road, The French Perfumer and The Yellow Villa.
Sixty Summers
Amanda Hampson Praise for The French Perfumer
‘Beautifully written . . . a cross between literary
Pub date: May 2019
and popular fiction, this is a book that would
Format: 368pp – 153mm x 234mm
appeal to a wide audience.’ – COAST LIVING
Rights held: World
Rights sold: Audio (W.F.Howes), Large Print (Ulverscroft) ‘Hampson has created a vivid world and
Rights sold previous titles:
colourful characters . . . a tale with verve, sharp
observations and humour.’ – SARAH TURNBULL,
The Yellow Villa: Italy (Newton Compton Editori), Czech
AUTHOR OF ALMOST FRENCH
Republic (Baronet), Audio (W.F.Howes)
The French Perfumer: Italy (Newton Compton Editori), ‘A delightful, witty gem of a book that will
Czech Republic (Baronet), Audio (W.F.Howes) keep you guessing right to the end.’ – SUSAN
The Olive Sisters: Germany (Random House), Turkey DUNCAN, AUTHOR OF SALVATION CREEK
(Maya Kitap), Slovenia (Mis Zalozba) ‘Hampson’s careful unfolding of intrigue is
Imprint: Viking Australia masterful.’ – WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
Disenchanted with their lives, three old friends set ‘A rare treat in a noisy world.’ – NEWCASTLE
off on a journey through Europe retracing the steps HERALD
of a backpacking trip forty years earlier. What could ‘This novel is more subtle and less predictable
possibly go wrong? than most such stories, and the much-worked
Life is too short for compromise . . . figure of the English innocent abroad in
When Maggie, Fran and Rose met in their youth, they decadent Europe is treated here with humour
had dreams and ambitions. Forty years later, the three and skill, as Iris gradually finds her way among
friends are turning sixty, each of them restless and these strangers.’ – SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
disenchanted with their lives. ‘This is a book that allows you to immerse
Fran works in a second-hand bookshop. Her lover, one yourself in the story and finishes in an
of a long line of disappointing men, is drifting away unexpected way. It has the warmth of loyalty and
and her future is uncertain. the chill of greed and deception within its pages
and would make an excellent gift for anyone who
Maggie married into a volatile family. Her beautiful, enjoys a novel that traverses their emotions.’ –
indulged twin daughters are causing havoc and her GLAM ADELAIDE
elderly mother-in-law has moved in and is taking
charge.
Rose has been an off-sider for her hopelessly vague
but academically brilliant husband and their two
sons. Time is running out to find and fulfil her own
ambitions.
In an attempt to recapture the sense of freedom and
purpose they once possessed, they decide to retrace
the steps of their 1978 backpacking trip through
Europe and set off an odyssey that will test their
friendship, challenge their beliefs and redefine the
third age of their lives. September 2005 February 2017 April 2018
20 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
The Cottage at Rosella Cove SANDIE DOCKER grew up in Coffs Harbour, and
first fell in love with reading when her father
Sandie Docker
introduced her to fantasy books as a teenager.
Pub date: January 2019 Her love of fiction began when she first read
Format: 368pp – 153mm x 234mm Jane Austen for the HSC, but it wasn’t until she
Rights held: World was taking a translation course at university
Rights sold: Audio (W.F.Howes) that her Mandarin lecturer suggested she might
Rights sold previous title: The Kookaburra Creek Café: have a knack for writing – a seed of an idea that
Germany (Penguin Random House – Goldmann), Audio sat quietly in the back of her mind while she
(W.F.Howes) lived overseas and travelled the world. Sandie
Imprint: Michael Joseph Australia first decided to put pen to paper (yes, she writes
everything the old-fashioned way before hitting
The second heartwarming and charming novel a keyboard) when living in London. Now back
from Sandie Docker, set in the small Australian in Sydney with her husband and daughter, she
coastal town of Rosella Cove. writes every day.
Nicole is starting again. She’s left her old life Sales Points
far behind, and has just arrived in the sleepy • The second novel from Sandie Docker,
town of Rosella Cove, renting an old cottage by following The Kookaburra Creek Café (which
the water. At first Nicole is determined to avoid was published in May 2018, and was one of
making personal ties, but when she discovers a our biggest commercial debut launches of
hidden box of letters she soon realises that she’s the year).
not the first person to have lived in the cottage
who has been hiding secrets . . . • This is warm, heartfelt and emotional
women’s fiction set in the charming small
As Nicole gradually begins to let her guard down, town of Rosella Cove — perfect summer
she starts to find real connections with the escapism, with great female characters and
close-knit community at the Cove – especially a love story.
with handsome Danny, the local handyman who
has been helping her restore the cottage to its Praise for The Kookaburra Creek Café
former glory. ‘Docker soars from the absolute heart, as she
But Nicole still struggles with her own dark past, rebuilds all our lost souls in a café to call home.’
which seems determined to catch up with her. – AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY
How long can she keep running? And what will ‘I will state outright that this book is my favourite
happen if she stops? debut of 2018!’ – MRS B’s BOOK REVIEWS
‘The Kookaburra Creek Café was utterly perfect
and there was not a single thing about it that
I didn’t like . . . I could have happily remained
within its pages for so much longer.’ – THERESA
SMITH WRITES
‘Well-written and heartwarming.’
– BRISBANISTA.COM
May 2018
21 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUECommercial
Love Song SASHA WASLEY was born and raised in Perth,
Western Australia. She lives in the Swan Valley
Sasha Wasley
wine region with her two daughters and writes
Pub date: June 2019 commercial fiction, crossover new adult/YA
Format: 368pp – 153mm x 234mm mysteries and paranormal fiction.
Rights held: World Praise for Sasha Wasley’s previous
Rights sold: Germany (Droemer Verlag), Audio titles
(Ulverscroft), Large Print (Ulverscroft)
‘Dear Banjo is simply stunning. Written with
Rights sold previous titles:
tangible emotion, realistic and well-developed
Dear Banjo: Germany (Droemer Verlag), Audio
challenges and character development, and an
(Ulverscroft)
utterly captivating account of Australian country
True Blue: Germany (Droemer Verlag), Audio (Ulverscroft), life. I’m calling it early – this is one of the best
Large Print (Ulverscroft) novels of 2017.’ – AUSROM TODAY
Imprint: Michael Joseph Australia
‘Dear Banjo is one of the best [books] I’ve read in
The heartwarming new rural romance novel from a very long time.’ – THERESA SMITH WRITES
the acclaimed author of Dear Banjo and True Blue. ‘[Dear Banjo is] absolutely delightful, full of
She swore no man would ever hurt her again – humour, emotion and spirit.’ – SAM STILL
least of all this man. READING
When she was just a vulnerable 17-year-old, Beth ‘True Blue is a gorgeous love story. It’s tender-
Paterson gave a fellow student private tutoring. hearted and passionate . . . and will charm and
She didn’t expect to fall deeply in love with him delight lovers of rural romance. A guaranteed
and have her life changed forever in a couple of feel-good read.’ – N.L. KING AUTHOR OF
short months. And she sure didn’t expect him to JENNA’S TRUTH
vanish without even saying goodbye. ‘True Blue moves along at a nice pace, with
Now an accomplished businesswoman and plenty of romance, madness and mayhem.’ –
doctor, Beth’s ordered life is thrown into turmoil THERESA SMITH WRITES
when Charlie Campbell comes back to town to ‘The more I think about her characters [in
help his family. He’s a big star on the alternative True Blue], the more impressed I am with their
rock scene these days – but he clearly complexity . . . This kind of writing puts a sparkle
remembers Beth and seems just as mad at her in your day.’ – SAM STILL READING
as she is at him. Embroiled in the community’s
struggle, Beth can’t help but cross paths
with Charlie any more than she can fight the
resurgence of that wild attraction between them.
But Beth Paterson is no dummy – there’s no way
Charlie Campbell is ever getting back inside her
heart.
22 LONDON 2019 FRONTLIST RIGHTS CATALOGUE May 2018 June 2017You can also read
