Win an all-expenses paid trip to London to meet David Vann!

Deadline: Friday 3rd December 2010

Penguin are offering your reading group the chance to win lunch with DAVID VANN, author of LEGEND OF A SUICIDE. The book was 'One of the fiction sensations of the year [2009]' (Guardian) and gained the most extraordinary praise:

'An American classic ... harrowing but beautifully wrought ... prose as clear and bracing as a mountain stream' Sunday Times

'An extraordinary, ground-breaking piece of fiction ... Nothing quite like this book has been written before' Observer

'Stunning ... Heart-wrenching and gorgeous and its several voices are done indelibly and with unwavering authority' Lorrie Moore

'One jaw-droppingly powerful, courageous and original fiction debut ... beautifully controlled and punctuated with indelible images ... Vann has crammed a lifetime of painful 'whys' and 'what ifs' into this modest paperback ... As a 10th work of fiction this would be impressive; as a debut, it is remarkable' Sunday Telegraph

For your chance to win, your reading group must read Legend of a Suicide and submit a review, plus any photos to sandeep.mahal@readingagency.org.uk

The most thought-provoking (and we promise: not just the nicest!) review wins the prize!

More information about the prize:
David will be in London the w/k January 24th 2011 to promote his new novel, CARIBOU ISLAND. Penguin will pay for the reading group to come to London, to the Penguin office, to sit and talk with David over lunch about the things they liked and quiz him about the things they didn't like, or didn't get - essentially, have their reading group meeting with the author. David is brilliant at talking about his work, incredibly friendly, genuine and nice. The reading group will also win a copy each of his new novel. On publication, Penguin will write a big piece for their website and post photos of the meeting.

Continue reading Win an all-expenses paid trip to London to meet David Vann!

Trailers available: Tamara Drewe

September 2010

Jonathan Cape are offering libraries the trailer of the forthcoming film Tamara Drewe, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Posy Simmonds. It's released on September 10th and stars Gemma Arterton, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper, Luke Evans and Tamsin Greig.

Email Vicki Watson (vwatson@randomhouse.co.uk) stating whether you'd prefer to receive the file via ftp or DVD.

Continue reading Trailers available: Tamara Drewe

Kate Morton Book Trailer Available

September 2010

Macmillan are offering libraries a book trailer of The Distant Hours, the new novel from No 1 bestselling author Kate Morton, author of The House at Riverton.

Email Ellen Wood e.wood@macmillan.co.uk stating whether you'd prefer to receive the file via email or USB stick.

Continue reading Kate Morton Book Trailer Available

Free reading group copies: Henry VIII: Wolfman

September 2010

You've already sunk your teeth into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter now prepare yourselves for a macabre, terrifying and hilarious journey through Tudor England as you've never seen it before as Henry VIII is transformed into a rampaging wolfman . . .

A.E. Moorat works as a freelance journalist and lives in Leicestershire with his wife and two children

To request copies email Jaime Frost jaime.frost@hodder.co.uk

Continue reading Free reading group copies: Henry VIII: Wolfman

Free reading group copies: Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

September 2010

Hodder are offering reading groups free copies of Blood Oath, the new thriller from Christopher Farnsworth.

Synopsis
Sharp and ambitious, Zach Barrows is on his way up. But when he gets a call from the White House, it's not quite the promotion he expected. Zach is to be the new political liaison officer to America's best kept secret: Nathaniel Cade. The President's vampire. And Cade is the world's only hope against a horrifying new terrorist threat advancing from the Middle East. The fight is deadlier than ever, and time is running out . . .

About the author
Born and raised in Idaho, Christopher Farnsworth worked as an investigative and business reporter before selling his first screenplay. Since then, he has been coming up with new and better ways to kill monsters, bad guys and aliens. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jean Roosevelt Farnsworth, and their daughter, Caroline.

To request proofs please email Jaime Frost jaime.frost@hodder.co.uk

Continue reading Free reading group copies: Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

Proofs available: Victory by Julian Stockwin

August and September 2010

Hodder are offering reading groups proofs of a debut historical fiction novel by a former Royal Navy Commander.

Book synopsis
Commander Thomas Kydd is eager to play his part in thwarting Bonaparte's plans for the invasion of England. Joining Admiral Nelson's command, Kydd and his ship soon find themselves at the heart of the action that leads up to the famous clash of the mighty British and French fleets at Trafalgar. Kydd's journey takes him from false sightings of the enemy and dramatic chases across the Atlantic, to the bloody annihilation of the enemy during the actual battle, and the heroic aftermath.

About the author
After leaving the Navy Julian practised as an educational psychologist. He lived for some time in Hong Kong, where he was commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve. He was awarded the MBE and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He now lives in Devon with his wife Kathy. For more information click here

To request proofs email Jaime Frost Jaime.Frost@hodder.co.uk

Continue reading Proofs available: Victory by Julian Stockwin

Finding Sky postcards available

Finding Sky is the fantastic new teen read from Oxford University Press.

When English girl Sky catches a glimpse of bad boy Zed in her new American high school, she can't get him out of her head. He talks to her with his thoughts. He reads her mind. He is the boy she will love for ever.

In this story, there are no vampires, no angels - but soulfinders.

"When a soulfinder speaks telepathically to her partner, it's like all the lights coming on in a building. You lit me up like Vegas."

Discovering your soulmate has never been so dangerous.

Oxford University Press have Finding Sky postcards to give away.

Please contact tradepublicity.uk@oup.com

Continue reading Finding Sky postcards available

Ali Sparkes posters available

Oxford University Press have Ali Sparkes posters to give away.

The poster displays her popular Shapeshifter series, along with Frozen in Time, Dark Summer, and Wishful Thinking. Ali's books are hugely popular among young readers, and Frozen in Time won the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2010.

Age 9+

To get your hands on a copy, please email tradepublicity.uk@oup.com

Continue reading Ali Sparkes posters available

Ultimate Super Hero Competition!

6 September - 22 October

Take part in our Ultimate Super Hero competition by telling us all about your hero. What are they like, what are their powers, what do they look like, what makes them a hero?

Create your very own Ultimate Super Hero! Describe the super powers your hero possesses and the characteristics which make them a hero. After determining the characteristics of your super hero show us what they look like by drawing your hero in all their glory, masks and caps and all. Once you have created your Ultimate Super Hero; including image, description and characteristics send it into Raintree for your chance to win the ultimate author visit.

Learn more information from our website http://www.raintreepublishers.co.uk/content/ultimatesuperhero

Continue reading Ultimate Super Hero Competition!

Beswitched proofs

Calling all reading groups! Scholastic are offering limited proof copies of Beswitched by Kate Saunders for younger reading groups. This hilarious book, described by Eva Ibbotson as "a funny and touching story", tells of Flora, who wakes up on her way to her new school to find she's time-travelled back to a school in 1935! The rules are ridiculous, there are lessons IN Latin and no-one has even heard of an ipod. Flora has to find out why she's been summoned from the future - and how she can get back.

To take advantage of this offer, please email Catherine (calport@scholastic.co.uk)

Continue reading Beswitched proofs

Where the Streets Had a Name proofs

Calling all Teen Reading Groups! Scholastic have limited proofs of Randa Abdel-Fattah's fantastic book Where the Streets Had a Name. If you would like copies for your reading group, email Catherine (calport@scholastic.co.uk).

Continue reading Where the Streets Had a Name proofs

Monkey Nuts - authors available for events

September 2010 onwards

The Etherington Brothers, creators of the wonderful and whacky Monkey Nuts, are available for events with boys and girls age 8+ and are happy to speak to audiences from 10-200.

Monkey Nuts is published by David Fickling Books as part of the brilliant Comic Book Library.

To set up an event with The Etheringtons please contact theetheringtonbrothers@hotmail.co.uk and for more info on them and Monkey Nuts please visit: http://theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.com

Continue reading Monkey Nuts - authors available for events

Author available - Melanie Welsh

Melanie Welsh, author of the magical 'Mistress of the Storm' published by David Fickling Books is available for events with boys and girls age 9+ and is happy to speak to audiences from 10-200.

The Bookseller described 'Mistress of the Storm' as 'A really gripping magical debut with a strong girl heroine.'

To set up an event with Melanie please contact melanie@veritygallant.co.uk and for more info on Melanie and the book please visit www.veritygallant.co.uk

Continue reading Author available - Melanie Welsh

Interactive web chat with acclaimed author Tarquin Hall

25th August at 7pm

We will be holding an interactive web chat with acclaimed author Tarquin Hall on 25th August at 7pm.

Tarquin's most recent book, The Case of the Missing Servant, the first fiction from author of the acclaimed Salaam Brick Lane and To the Elephant Graveyard, is many things. An intriguing detective story. A comic romp full of eccentric and joyfully drawn characters. A vivid portrait of modern India with all its manifold contradictions and complexities.

If you would be interested in asking Tarquin about his inspirations, how he got a publishing deal or anything else, AND would like to receive a FREE COPY of The Case of the Missing Servant please email lgibbs@randomhouse.co.uk! Remember you have to be available to chat on-line on 25th August at 7pm!

Continue reading Interactive web chat with acclaimed author Tarquin Hall

Free Crime Sampler

July 2010

Free Crime samplers are available to libraries featuring extracts from Pan's biggest and brightest crime authors - from No 1 bestseller Peter James to rising star M.R. Hall, US sensation Linda Castillo and classic British crime author L C Tyler.

Contact Ellen Wood e.wood@macmillan.co.uk for more details.

Continue reading Free Crime Sampler

Author available: Dr Chris Smith, "The Naked Scientist"

October and November 2010

Dr Chris Smith is a medical doctor and scientist, employed as a specialist registrar and clinical lecturer in virology at Cambridge University. He is also the founder and driving force behind The Naked Scientist, live weekly radio talkback show aired by the BBC.

Contact: zoe.hood@littlebrown.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Dr Chris Smith, "The Naked Scientist"

Author available: Juliet Barker, The Brontës (revised and updated ed)

November and December 2010

Juliet Barker's landmark book was the first definitive history of the Brontës. It demolishes myths, yet provides startling new information that is just as compelling - but true. Based on first-hand research among all the Brontë manuscripts, many so tiny they can only be read by magnifying glass, and among contemporary historical documents never before used by Brontës biographers, this book is both scholarly and compulsively readable. The Brontës is a revolutionary picture of the world's favourite literary family.

Juliet Barker is a distinguished biographer and a medievalist and scholar. She is both a bestselling historian and a critically acclaimed expert on the Brontës.

Also available to talk on Conquest: The thirty years of English rule in France that followed the battle of Agincourt, now available in paperback.

Contact susan.desoissons@littlebrown.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Juliet Barker, The Brontës (revised and updated ed)

Author available: Philip Palmer, "Version 43"

October and November 2010

Philip Palmer is a film and television writer and producer who also writes for radio and theatre. He teaches screenwriting at Leeds Metropolitan University and runs a television drama series course in Brighton for Lighthouse. His last book Red Claw was classic pulp sci-fi and garnered incredible reviews. Version 43 is a wide-screen adventure of death and robots on a violent frontier world.

Contact rose.tremlett@littlebrown.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Philip Palmer, "Version 43"

Author available: Rosamund Lupton, "Sister"

September and October 2010

Rosamund Lupton got an honours degree in English literature from Cambridge University. She reviewed books for the Literary Review and after being a winner of Carlton Television's play competition was invited to join the Royal Court Theatre's writers' group. She subsequently worked as a full-time script writer for television and film. She lives with her husband and two sons in London. This is her first novel and Piatkus' biggest fiction launch of 2010.

Contact: paola.ehrlich@littlebrown.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Rosamund Lupton, "Sister"

Author available: Jane Gardam, "The Man in the Wooden Hat"

September and October 2010

Jane Gardam, OBE is without doubt one of our greatest writers; a doyenne of literary novels and short stories. A new book from Jane is a highlight in the publishing calendar.

Filth (Failed In London, Try Hong Kong) is a successful lawyer when he marries Elisabeth in Hong Kong soon after the War. Reserved, immaculate and courteous, Filth finds it hard to demonstrate his emotions. But Elisabeth is different - a free spirit. How Elisabeth turns into Betty and whether she remains loyal to stolid Filth or swept up by caddish Veneering, make for a page-turning plot, in a perfect novel which is full of surprises and revelations, as well as the humour and eccentricities for which Jane Gardam's writing is famous. The Man in the Wooden Hat is a companion novel to the Orange Prize shortlisted novel, OLD FILTH.

Contact: susan.desoissons@littlebrown.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Jane Gardam, "The Man in the Wooden Hat"

Author available: Charlie Connelly, "Our Man in Hibernia"

September and October 2010

In the summer of 2008 Charlie emigrated to Ireland. Our Man In Hibernia follows his attempts to assimilate in Ireland, matching the image of the nation he'd gleaned through a couple of dozen London St Patrick's Days, countless theme pubs and a low-wattage career as a musician on the UK Irish music circuit with the reality of living here. As well as chugging himself around the country getting into scrapes, he also sets about tracing his hitherto unexplored Irish roots. What he found was an essentially Irish story and one that surprised him. It was a story that gave him an idea as to why despite being born and raised in London, he's always felt drawn to the western side of the Irish Sea and why he is glad that Ireland is his home.

Contact: sophie.mcivor@littlebrown.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Charlie Connelly, "Our Man in Hibernia"

Author available: Stephen Moss, The Bumper Book of Nature

15th May - 15th October

Stephen Moss is available to talk about his Bumper Book of Nature.

'This book deserves to be a bestseller' - BBC Wildlife

'Terrific, beautifully designed, inventive, creative and various. Bravo.' - Michael Morpurgo

Contact fmurphy@randomhouse.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Stephen Moss, The Bumper Book of Nature

Author available: Joseph Smith, Taurus

Summer and Autumn 2010

Joseph Smith is available to talk about his new book, Taurus.

The breathtaking, brilliantly imagined new novel from the author of the acclaimed The Wolf, this time about a bull.

Contact fmurphy@randomhouse.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Joseph Smith, Taurus

Author available: Allan Massie, The Royal Stuarts

May - October 2010

Allan Massie is available to talk about his new book, The Royal Stuarts.

Ever since the descendants of the House of Stuart arrived in England they have been intimately linked with the history of Britain. Allan Massie, in this new Biography, traces their arrival, rise to the throne of England and Scotland, and scandals in their long and influential affair with British history.

Contact fmurphy@randomhouse.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Allan Massie, The Royal Stuarts

Author available: Stuart Neville, Collusion

June - December 2010

Stuart Neville is available to talk about his new book, Collusion.

The brilliant follow-up to the debut thriller of 2009, The Twelve.

'This is some guy to watch out for in a dark alley.' - James Ellroy

Contact fmurphy@randomhouse.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Stuart Neville, Collusion

Author available: Allison Pearson, I Think I Love You

1st June - 31st December

Allison Pearson is available to talk about her new book, I Think I Love You.

From the No. 1 bestselling author of I Don't Know How She Does It: a hilarious and poignant story about a young girl who falls hopelessly in love with her teenage pin-up and some twenty years later, with her life in pieces around her, finally gets to meet him.

Contact fmurphy@randomhouse.co.uk

Continue reading Author available: Allison Pearson, I Think I Love You

Free books for teen reading groups: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

May 2010 onwards

Simon & Schuster are delighted to offer advance free copies of The Chosen One - a powerful and thought-provoking new novel for teens.

Thirteen year old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community with strict rules imposed by 'the Prophet' who leads them. When the Prophet decrees that she is to become the seventh wife of her sixty-year-old uncle Kyra is forced to make a desperate choice.

"A powerful and heartbreaking novel of love and hope" Meg Cabot

Perfect for fans of Meg Rosoff, Jenny Downham and Siobhan Dowd.

FREE READING COPIES FOR YOUR TEEN READING GROUP AVAILABLE

Continue reading Free books for teen reading groups: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Author available: The Twisted Heart by Rebecca Gowers

March 2010 onwards

Rebecca Gowers is availble to talk about her new book.

The Twisted Heart made the longlist for this year's Orange Prize. It was not Rebecca's first time there: she was Orange-longlisted in 2007 for her debut novel, When to Walk, and was also shortlisted for the 2004 CWA non-fiction Golden Dagger Award for The Swamp of Death. The Twisted Heart hit the press on publication last year for revelations contained in the plot about the real-life links between Charles Dickens and the death of a London prostitute. However, the book also received praise in the broadsheets for its deft and realistic handling of a very modern love affair between the two Oxford academics at the heart of the novel. She lives in Oxford.

'A literary jeu d'esprit in the style of Scarlett Thomas's The End of Mr Y...skittish, stream-of-consciousness prose, ultra-realistic dialogue and a genuinely puzzling historical murder mystery. Fresh and clever and very funny.' - Guardian

Continue reading Author available: The Twisted Heart by Rebecca Gowers

Author availble: Mari Strachan, The Earth Hums in B Flat

May 2010 onwards

Mari Strachan is available to talk about her new book.

The Earth Hums in B Flat caused a media storm when it was released last year. Narrated by 12 year old Gwenni, living in a small Welsh village in the 1950s, it is a story of family secrets best left buried and the power of the imagination. Mari was the top Waterstone's New Voice, an Amazon Rising Star and one of the Independent's Rising Stars. The book was picked as a R4 Book at Bedtime, as one of Amazon's Top 10 Fiction titles of 2009, and shortlisted for both the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award and the USA's Indies Choice Book Awards 2010 Adult Debut Book of the Year (results for both next month). She has been immersed in books all her life, working as a librarian in academic, school, public, private and prison libraries. She has also been a book reviewer, researcher, translator, copy writer and web editor.

'The Earth Hums in B Flat is a richly evocative, warm but unsentimental tale of a child detective struggling to piece together clues about the lives around her. These lives, and the characters who live them, are so vividly drawn and Mari Strachan's careful unraveling of the secrets they hide is extremely compelling. I loved this novel.' - CATHERINE O'FLYNN

Continue reading Author availble: Mari Strachan, The Earth Hums in B Flat

Author Available: Karen Campbell

All 2010

Karen Campbell is a police officer turned crime writer and is available for library events, reading group sessions and readers' days. She is happy to give solo talks, or take part in a panel event.

Karen lives in Glasgow and joined the Strathclyde Police in 1987, but after a career break to have her family, she applied to Glasgow University's Creative Writing programme. In 2003, Karen was awarded a Scottish Arts Council New Writer's Bursary. Her debut novel, The Twilight Time, was published in 2008 to great acclaim and was followed last year by After the Fire. Her third novel, Shadowplay, will be published in May 2010.

Visit Karen's website www.karencampbell.co.uk

Continue reading Author Available: Karen Campbell

D.J. Taylor on At the Chime of a City Clock

March - December 2010

D.J. Taylor is available for library events and to speak to reading groups.

Set against a backdrop of the 1931 financial crisis and acted out in shabby bed-sitters and Lyons tea shops, At the Chime of a City Clock is a brilliantly evoked slice of Thirties' noir.

D.J. Taylor is married to the novelist Rachel Hore and lives in Norwich. He is the author of two acclaimed biographies, Thackerary, and Orwell: The Life, which won the Whitbread Biography Prize in 2003. He has written six novels, the most recent being Kept: A Victorian Mystery. He is also well known as a critic and reviewer, and his other books include A Vain Conceit: British Fiction in the 1980s and After the War: the Novel and England since 1945.

For more information click here

Continue reading D.J. Taylor on At the Chime of a City Clock

Author Available: Cath Staincliffe, The Kindest Thing

July - December 2010

Cath Staincliffe is available for library events and to speak to reading groups.

A fictional account looking at the fiercely contested topic of assisted suicide, The Kindest Thing is a love story, a modern nightmare and an honest and incisive portrayal of a woman who honours her husband's wish to die and finds herself in the dock for murder.

A finely written page-turner that charts the life of a marriage and all the joys and stresses of bringing up a family and contrasts this with the terrifying experience of being imprisoned and at the mercy of the full weight of the criminal justice system. The Kindest Thing tackles a controversial topic with skill and sensitivity. A book that begs the question: what would you do?

Cath Staincliffe is part of Murder Squad, a collective of seven crime writers from the North of England. She is the author of the acclaimed Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the creator of ITV's hit police series, Blue Murder, which recently returned to TV with three new episodes featuring DCI Janine Lewis, played by Caroline Quentin. Cath's first novel, Looking for Trouble, shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association's best first novel award, was serialized on Woman's Hour.

For more information click here

Continue reading Author Available: Cath Staincliffe, The Kindest Thing

Celebrity Shopper by Carmen Reid

March 2010 onwards

Carmen Reid is a wonderful author of the Personal Shopper series starring the incorrigible Annie Valentine. The fifth book in the series - Celebrity Shopper - is published on 4th March.

In 2009 we undertook some fantastic events with Carmen in various libraries across Scotland and the North. These events were incredibly popular with mothers and daughters as Carmen is also the author of a young adult series of books about a boarding school called St Jude's.

More of the same event style would be fantastic but it would also be fabulous to get Carmen doing some solo events or joint events with other adult authors, possibly with input from local businesses such as boutiques and salons to make it a true Girls Night In.

For further information about Carmen please visit her website - www.carmenreid.com

Continue reading Celebrity Shopper by Carmen Reid