Film and TV rights have been sold for Kate Sawyer’s Costa First Novel Shortlisted The Stranding to Afua Hirsch’s production company Born in Me and Fremantle. Afua Hirsch commented: “I loved this book from the minute I began reading it - Kate has created intriguing characters in a powerful, haunting world that I couldn’t be more excited to build upon with her in a visual medium."
The Stranding was published in hardback June 2021 by Coronet, an imprint of Hodder and Stoughton, and was the winner of the Fiction Prize at the East Anglian Book Awards 2021. Kate Sawyer's debut is about a woman who hides from the end of the world in the belly of a whale. The author said: "I am delighted that the rights for The Stranding have gone to Born in Me and Fremantle. I have long been an admirer of Afua's work; to be co-writing on this project is a privilege but also, having discussed our visions for the adaptation, I am excited about how aligned we are in our desire to bring the beauty and the hope of this story to the screen and new audiences."
Based on Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, docu-series The Fix debunks common misunderstandings about drugs and addiction in the US. Stream free on January 21. The series examines the issues that have driven so many to lives to addiction, as well as the costs of the drug war in America, which has been criticized as a driver of increased violence and suffering due to the fact that harsher sentencing has incarcerated record numbers of people, yet has had no impact on addiction rates.
The Fix is directed by Jeremiah Zagar along with Nathan Caswell, Cassidy Gearhart and Josh Banville. It was produced by Public Record, Jeff Hays Films and Story Syndicate. Executive producers are Zagar, Johann Hari, Jeff Hays, Jeremy Yaches, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Liz Garbus and Geralyn White Dreyfous.
Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston has triumphed in the biography category at the Costa Book Awards and is now eligible for the final prize – book of the year. The Sunday Times bestseller is published by Penguin in the UK and details the media tycoon Robert Maxwell’s bullying, lies and looting of pension funds in an absorbing profile of the war hero turned rogue. Working Title have optioned the rights for a limited television series.
Judges said John Preston's biography Fall was "epic" and "a unanimous winner". This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Costa Book Awards, which are the only major prize open solely to authors living in the UK and Ireland and celebrate books in five categories - first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children's book. The overall winner of the 2021 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be announced at a ceremony on February 1.
Colm Tóibín has been named the winner of this year's David Cohen Prize for Literature. The prize is worth £40,000 and recognises a living writer from the UK or Ireland for a lifetime’s achievement in literature. Tóibín's work has been translated into more than 30 languages and includes 10 novels and 11 works of non-fiction, as well as poetry, short story and essay collections, and journalism. His most recent novel, The Magician (Viking), was published in September.
Hermione Lee, chair of the judging panel said Colm Tóibin had been a unanimous choice for the prize. "I think of him as a Renaissance man who can do almost everything with equal brilliance: he’s a novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist, travel-writer, critic, teacher, journalist and activist for gay rights," she said.
Colm said: "When I attended the inaugural reception for the David Cohen Prize in London in 1993, I did not imagine for a moment that my own writing would ever be honoured in this way. Those who have won the Prize in the past are artists whose work I revere. I am proud to be among them."
We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958, by Fintan O’Toole, has been announced as the An Post Irish Book of the Year 2021. The other shortlisted titles were category winners from the recent An Post Irish Book Awards, including: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney; Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Séamas O’Reilly; Aisling and the City by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen; Your One Wild and Precious Life by Maureen Gaffney; and A Hug for You by David King, illustrated by Rhiannon Archard.
Fintan O'Toole said: “This book is more personal than anything I’ve written before, with a lot of stuff about my childhood and my family history. So it feels a bit more exposed than usual, and the relief that most people seem to like it is all the greater for that. I wanted to tell the story of the transformation of Ireland in my lifetime in a way that most Irish people could relate to. The hope was that my own experiences could be woven into a shared narrative. That only works if readers recognise at least something of themselves in the book. Unlike a more conventional history, where feelings should be kept...
The winners of the inaugural Crime Fiction Lover Awards have been revealed, recognising and celebrating the best books and authors in the crime fiction genre published over the past year. Sarah Sultoon has won in the Best Debut category for The Source (Orenda Books), a story of a young TV journalist who is forced to revisit her harrowing past when she’s thrust into a sex-trafficking investigation in her hometown. The editors said, "A former journalist herself, Sarah Sultoon handles it deftly even where it ventures into the horrors of child abuse and sexual exploitation."
Ian Rankin has won in the Best Author Editor's Choice category for his work on The Dark Remains (Canongate). The editors congratulated Ian Rankin on the book saying, "At the request of William McIlvanney’s family, he was charged with completing a novel featuring Jack Laidlaw, the Glasgow detective at the heart of Tartan noir’s defining trilogy. Working from McIlvanney’s documents, Rankin created The Dark Remains, a Laidlaw prequel that for us and for legions of crime fiction lovers is a true highlight of 2021. Congratulations, Ian Rankin."
The winner of the 2021 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award is Mathelinda Nabugodi for The Trembling Hand: Reflections of a Black Woman in the Romantic Archive (non-fiction). This was announced today Tuesday 7th December on social media and at www.deborahrogersfoundation.org. Colm Tóibín (Chair of the Judges) introduced the shortlisted authors and then announced the winner who will receive the prize of £10,000. The two runners-up are Yasmine Awwad for The Shrills and Sophie Meadows for The Frog. Both titles are works of fiction and each author will receive £1,000.
Colm Tóibín, Deepa Anappara, Anna James and Ingrid Persaud, the judges of the 2021 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award, made their shortlist selection from a longlist of twelve. This longlist was chosen by agents within Rogers Coleridge & White, after reading a staggering 983 entries.
The winner Mathelinda Nabugodi is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge where she researches the literary archive of Percy Bysshe Shelley. She ...
It is with regret that we are announcing that the 2021 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award will be moving to a virtual format this year, meaning that the in-person event scheduled at The Amadeus in London is now cancelled.
The rise of Covid infections resulting from indoor gatherings is alarming and the safety of DRF guests and staff is our priority. The party is being postponed till an appropriate date in 2022, where we will look forward to celebrating together safely.
In place of the Award ceremony that was planned in London, the announcement will be made online at www.deborahrogersfoundation.org and on social media at 7.30pm on Tuesday 7th December. Colm Tóibín will announce the winner and the two runners up along with Anna James and Ingrid Persaud. Ian McEwan, a founding Trustee of the DRF, will conclude the online ceremony
For her debut play, bestselling author Zadie Smith has adapted The Wife of Bath, from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, for 21st-century north-west London. The Wife of Willesden explores the place of women in society and tells the story of Alvita (played by Clare Perkins), a Jamaican-born British woman in her mid-50s who has also been married numerous times. It touches on misogyny, slut-shaming and domestic violence.
Commissioned to celebrate Brent's year as Borough of Culture 2020, The Wife of Willesden premiered at the Kiln Theatre, London in September 2020. Tickets are available to purchase until 15th January 2022 and the play is published in book form by Penguin.
The UK premiere of Mrs. Doubtfire has been announced, opening in Manchester next year. Mrs. Doubtfire will run for a limited season at Manchester Opera House from 2 September to 1 October 2022. The Mrs. Doubtfire musical follows the same story as the 1993 film, which starred Robin Williams as the titular nanny. Mrs. Doubtfire follows Daniel, an out-of-work actor who creates an alter-ego to keep seeing his children. As Euphegenia Doubtfire, Daniel discovers more about his family, learning more about being a father.
Mrs. Doubtfire features a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, original music and lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, direction by Jerry Zaks, scenic design by David Korins and choreography by Lorin Latarro.
Casting for Mrs. Doubtfire is to be announced. Further UK performances of Mrs. Doubtfireafter Manchester may be detailed at a later date.
Based on Philipp Meyer’s debut 2009 novel, American Rust is a nine-part miniseries following compromised chief of police Del Harris, who is forced to decide how far he’s willing to go when the son of the woman he loves is accused of murder. It is a family drama and a timeless story of wanting a brighter future while being held prisoner by the past.
The drama series stars Jeff Daniels (The Looming Tower), Maura Tierney (Your Honor), Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit), David Alvarez (West Side Story), Alex Neustaedter (Colony), Julia Mayorga (It Is Decidedly So), Mark Pellegrino (Supernatural) and Rob Yang (The Resident). The executive producers are Dan Futterman, Jeff Daniels, Michael De Luca, Adam Rapp, Paul Martino, Katie O’Connell Marsh and Elisa Ellis.
American Rust begins Sunday 28th November at 10pm on Sky Atlantic. All episodes are available to stream instantly on NOW TV.
Jeferson Tenório has been named the winner of the most prestigious Brazilian prize, the Jabuti, for his novel The Flipside of Skin (originally titled O Avesso Da Pele, published by Companhia das Letras). The Prêmio Jabuti is the most traditional literary award in Brazil for the Best Novel of the Year, given by the Brazilian Book Chamber.
His work is commended on: "With an unquestionable talent for creating truths — the kind of truth that can only vigorously appear in literature — Jeferson Tenório places himself as an author who helps us understand our Brazilian, Black, human identity, our own drama. Featuring a rare capacity for conceiving and structuring character and dealing with the complexities and small tragedies of family relations, this novel consolidates Jeferson Tenório as one of the most powerful and stylistically brave voices in contemporary Brazilian literature."
More details coming soon on the English language edition.
The Costa Book Awards 2021 shortlists have been revealed and featured are Kate Sawyer, Ross Montgomery and John Preston. Kate Sawyer is shortlisted for the Best First Novel Award with The Stranding (Hodder), about a woman who hides from the apocalypse inside a beached whale has been nominated for the First Novel category, which judges called “an immersive end of the world story full of hope and imagination”; Ross Montgomery for the Children's Award with The Midnight Guardians (Walker), a "hugely entertaining" adventure story set during the Blitz; and John Preston for the Best Biography with Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell (Viking), a portrait of the media mogul turned MP.
Winners in the five categories, who each receive £5,000, will be announced on 4th January 2022. The overall winner of the 2021 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be announced at a ceremony on 1st February 2022. The winner of the Costa Short Story Award, voted for by the public, will also be announced at February’s ceremony.
The virtual An Irish Post Book Awards 2021 ceremony awarded writers on the work of the past year and received a record number of votes from the Irish public, with Fintan O'Toole and Sebastian Barry among the winners. Fintan O’Toole won Non-Fiction Book of the Year for We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958 (Head of Zeus) emerging from a shortlist that included fellow journalists Richard Chambers, Brian O’Donovan, Susan McKay and Derek Scally and historian Diarmaid Ferriter.
Sebastian Barry, the outgoing Laureate for Irish Fiction, was awarded this year’s Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award. In conferring the award, the Board of the Irish Book Awards stated: “Sebastian Barry has occupied a central position in the cultural life of Ireland for over three decades as a poet, playwright and novelist. In a literary career that has delivered fifteen plays, ten novels, and three poetry collections, Barry has been in the van of Ireland’s contemporary literary renaissance most notably in the way he has courageously drawn on family history, personal experiences and memories to illuminate neglected aspects of Irish culture frequently glossed over...
Shortlists have been announced for the Crime Fiction Lover Awards 2021. Ian Rankin is nominated twice: he is shortlisted for the Crime Author of the Year Award and his prequel to William McIlvanney's Laidlaw trilogy, The Dark Remains (Canongate), is shortlisted for the Best Crime Novel of the Year. On the Best Debut Crime Novel of the Year shortlist is Sarah Sultoon's The Source (Orenda Books), which follows the story of a young TV journalist who is forced to revisit her harrowing past when she’s thrust into a sex-trafficking investigation in her hometown.
The Crime Fiction Lover is holding its first ever awards this year, to recognise and celebrate the best books and authors in the genre published over the past year. Final round voting is now open across all six categories.
The 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards nominees have been announced and among them are Kazuo Ishiguro, Richard Powers, Alex Michaelides, Leonnig and Holly Jackson. Their books are featured across a wide range of categories, including Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun for the Best Science Fiction, Richard Power's Bewilderment for Best Fiction, Holly Jackson's As Good As Dead for the Best YA Fantasy & Science Fiction and Carol Leonnig's Zero Fail for the Best Non-Fiction.
Decided by voting open to all members of Goodreads, the Goodreads Choice Awards are one of the few major book awards chosen by readers. Voting in 20 categories happens in November, and the winners are announced in December. Goodreads analyzes statistics from the hundreds of millions of books added, rated, and reviewed on the site to select 15 worthy nominees in 20 categories.
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan (Faber) has won Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2021. The novel tells of the friendship between James and Tully, ranging from boyhood in a small Scottish town in the 1980s to middle-age, when Tully is diagnosed with terminal illness. The story was inspired by the close and enduring bonds formed in the author’s youth and the soundtrack that accompanied them. The Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year specifically champions books by authors based in Scotland, or that have a strong Scottish setting.
Andrew O'Hagan said: “I am truly delighted that Mayflies has been selected by Waterstones as its Scottish Book of the Year. For an author, one of the great joys is to see a book being taken up by individual shops and individual booksellers, making every effort to put it into the hands of customers. This novel is so personal to me and the reaction of readers has been overwhelming. I feel a huge sense of gratitude to all Waterstones booksellers in Scotland.”
Mayflies has been a firm bookseller favourite since its publication and was Waterstones Scottish Book Of The Month in June 2021. Rebekah Carruthers, of Waterstones Dunf...
Hannah Gold is among six authors shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards in the Best Story category. Both absorbing animal adventure and subtle commentary on climate change and the plight of endangered species, The Last Bear (HarperCollins, illustrated by Levi Pinfold), revolves around April, the daughter of an Arctic researcher, and her chance encounter with a lone polar bear. Judges said, "This beautifully written story - featuring captivating illustrations from Levi Pinfold - is a moving tale that children will fall in love with."
The Blue Peter Book Awards have been recognising and celebrating the greatest reads for children since 2002. The final winners will be chosen by more than 300 schoolchildren across the country from 12 different schools. In spring 2022, the winning authors and illustrators will appear on a special awards episode of the show.
For the second year in a row writer Yan Ge is on the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation shortlist, this year with Strange Beasts of China, translated from Chinese by Jeremy Tiang (Tilted Axis Press). Part detective story, part metaphysical enquiry, the book engages existential questions of identity, humanity, love and morality with whimsy and stylistic verve. It follows an amateur cryptozoologist commissioned to uncover the stories of beasts living alongside humans in near-inconspicuousness - save their greenish skin, serrated earlobes, and strange birthmarks.
The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation was established by the University of Warwick in 2017 to address the gender imbalance in translated literature and to increase the number of international women’s voices accessible by a British and Irish readership.
Nominations have been announced for the 2022 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals for writing and illustration. Hannah Gold's The Last Bear (HarperCollins, illustrated by Levi Pinfold), Ross Montgomery's The Chime Seekers (Walker) and Frank Cottrell-Boyce's Noah's Gold (Macmillan) are nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and Zadie Smith and Nick Laird's debut picture book Weirdo (Penguin) illustrated by Magenta Fox is nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2022.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people. The Medals are awarded annually by CILIP, the library and information association and the Youth Libraries Group with longlists announced in February, shortlists in March and the winners announced at a ceremony in June.
