Be afraid…be very afraid…Mo Hayder’s new book Poppet is published tomorrow…March 28th 2013. In anticipation of the latest chilling story to surface in the Jack Caffery series Mo will be taking part in a blog tour. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for exclusive Q&As and extracts from Poppet to come from the bloggers detailed on our blog tour poster below! Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, in the depths of Dublin, 400 authors and guests gathered together to celebrate the best of Irish literature at the Irish Book Awards.

The ceremony, held at the Royal Dublin Society, was a truly wonderful evening, particularly for one of our authors, Donal Ryan, who was spectacularly awarded the prize for ‘Newcomer of the Year’ with his debut novel, The Spinning Heart. Read the rest of this entry »

The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle (Bantam Press) has been shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year.

Described as the ‘the most varied shortlist’ the prize has ever had, the other titles on the shortlist are:

• That Near-Death Thing – Inside the TT: The World’s Most Dangerous Race by Rick Broadbent (Orion)
•  Running with the Kenyans – Discovering The Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn (Faber)
• Be Careful What You Wish For by Simon Jordan (Yellow Jersey)
• Fibber in the Heat by Miles Jupp (Ebury Press)
• A Life Without Limits – A World Champion’s Journey by Chrissie Wellington, with Michael Aylwin (Constable & Robinson)
• Shot and a Ghost: A Year in the Brutal World of Professional Squash by James Willstrop with Rod Gilmour (James Willstrop / Rod Gilmour)

The winner will be announced at Waterstones Piccadilly Monday 26th November.

Tyler Hamilton is a former professional road cyclist and was a team-mate of Lance Armstrong on the US Postal cycling team during the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Tour de France competitions. Hamilton appeared at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, winning a gold medal at the latter which he returned in 2011 after admitting that he had used performance enhancing drugs in competition.

Daniel Coyle is the bestselling author of Lance Armstrong: Tour de Force and The Talent Code.

MARSHMALLOWS ARE MAGIC!

It’s true and we have the recipes to prove it!

If, like us, you are missing The Great British Bake Off and their patisserie masterpieces (some of which we’d never even heard of!) then we have the challenge for you! This Thursday Genevieve Taylor’s Marshmallow Magic will be published, it’s the perfect book for those who want to try something different and create something that has the WOW factor! These are gourmet marshmallows to make, share and give and include some mouth-watering recipes.

Try the Mojito Marshmallows for some grown up decadence, the Lemon Meringue Layer (which are completely delicious) or the Marshmallow Pops for some seasonal fun! Keep an eye on our Pinterest account for a marshmallow making challenge - if you’d like to take part we’ll send you a recipe and you just have to send us your photos! You can be our Champion Baker!!

Easy to make, low fat and completely delicious this book, the perfect gift for foodies, at just £9.99 is our treat of the week!

WIN One of Five copies of this wonderful recipe book and a set of baking goodies! (Seen on the right!*) Just email us at Competitions and we’ll send you a scrummy recipe from the book. Then just send us a photo of the marshmallows you make and you could win a FREE BOOK & GOODY BOX! It’s that easy.

Good Luck and happy making!

*includes pink Fox Runs Kitchen spatula, Dr Oetker Shimmer Sugar, Swift 8pc Icing set, Silicone Choco Heart mould, Colour Works Measuring Spoon set and copy of the book!

Ben Fogle was travelling the length and breadth of the country last week to promote his new book, The Accidental Naturalist. Here’s what he had to say about the week:

I am on a train speeding along the Northumberland coastline. The North Sea looks cold and stormy, frothed up by a stiff offshore breeze. The sky is a light, soft blue; cloudless and bright. We are skirting past small fishing communities and empty beaches, and soon Holy Island comes into view. I am on the East coast train from Edinburgh to London; I’ve spent the week on a book tour that has taken me across the country, and what has become glaringly obvious is what a magical land Britain is.

I began in the West Country and the spa town of Bath, a World Heritage Site with its magnificent Palladian architecture, before heading north to Peterborough and then Spalding. I have always loved Edinburgh, but it also gave me an excuse to visit Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the pandas who arrived from China last year to much fanfare. Who would have thought that a blustery hill overlooking this historic city was where I would catch my first glimpse of one? I was quite moved – but there was no time to loiter. I headed south towards the Scottish Borders and the pretty little village of St Boswells on the Tweed, which holds the record for the most award-winning shops in the country. The bookshop, butcher, post office and fish-and-chip shop have all won awards. From my hotel window I could see an endless landscape of rolling wheat fields. The scene took my breath away as I watched fleets of combine harvesters making maximum use of early September’s warm, dry weather.

From St Boswells I headed to York, with its magnificent cathedral, then to Leeds, before returning to Poole in Dorset and hitching a lift in a boat back to my alma mater, Portsmouth University, from which I have received an honorary doctorate. I made a triumphant entrance into Gunwharf by speedboat, where my South American travel companion, the comedian Hugh Dennis, was waiting to welcome me. Finally I visited Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire before returning home.

It was an exhausting week but it reminded me how beautiful and varied Great Britain is. The country looked magnificent from the window of a speeding train. I’ll miss the late-summer sunshine and warmth as I head deep into the Alaskan wilderness next week.

From The Sunday Telegraph 9th September 2012

Follow us on Twitter: @TransworldBooks

On Monday 20th August, Notting Hill bookshop Lutyens & Rubenstein hosted the intimate launch of Ben Fogle’s new book The Accidental Naturalist.

Among the friends and family that attended the small gathering were Pippa Middleton and James Cracknell.

The Accidental Naturalist is published on the 30th August, and Ben will be doing several events around the country. To see if Ben is doing any events near you visit the Random House website.

Adam Smith, head of Sky Sports Boxing will be appearing at the Chiswick Book Festival to talk about his book Beautiful Brutality.

Beautiful Brutality is the first book to examine the world of boxing from the perspective of family.  Sky Sports boxing expert Adam Smith lays bare the raw emotion at the heart of the sport.

Now in its fourth year, the festival raises money for St Michael & All Angels Church, which hosts the event, and three charities which support reading and literacy. Adam will be appearing at the festival, which this year features events with Clare Balding and Michael Palin.

Tickets are available from the Chiswick Book Festival website here

Saturday 15th September 

1pm

The Tabard Theatre

Here’s a great video from iFilm London, who were at the recent launch of Adam’s book.

The longlist for the Man Booker Prize has been announced, with The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by debut novelist Rachel Joyce featuring on the list. Rachel joins three other debut novelists, Will Self and former Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel.

Since its publication in March, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry has already been sold to 29 territories worldwide and was shortlisted for The Desmond Elliott prize earlier this year. Waterstones also featured The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry as their April Book of the Month.  Erica Wagner of The Times has described Rachel Joyce’s debut novel as ‘the next One Day’ and it looks set to continue to be one of the most high profile debut novels of 2012.

The Man Booker Prize shortlist will be announced on the 11th September and the winner on the 16th October. In an exclusive interview Rachel has said:

“What a wonderful surprise that The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry has been selected for the Man Booker Prize long list.  I’m delighted, excited, honoured – all in wild measures. The publication of the book still feels so new to me, and I feel truly privileged to be included on such a prestigious list.”

For more information about Rachel visit http://www.rachel-joyce.co.uk/ or you can follow Harold on Twitter@Harold_Fry

Need a refresher about The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry? Check out the trailer below!

HWA / Goldsboro Crown for Historical Debut Fiction

Goldsboro Crown award for historical fiction is announced from the Historical Writers’ Association

Goldsboro Books and the Historical Writers’ Association are pleased to announce the four shortlisted titles for their inaugural Award: the HWA/Goldsboro Prize for Best Debut Historical Novel.   The Award, in its first year, accepted submissions from authors of historical novels first published in English, in the UK from October 2010 to the end of September 2011: for the purposes of the Award, ‘historical’ is defined as any period in the past 35 years or more from the time of publication.

The judges were Maria Rejt, Publisher at PanMacmillan, author and historian Tom Holland, David Headley, Managing Director of Goldsboro Books, blogger and reviewer, Ayo Onatade, blogger. and Manda Scott, author and Chair of the HWA.

Submitted books covered a wide range of styles, periods and approaches, leading to a lively and forthright judging meeting, at which four books were finally -and deservedly chosen for the short list.

They are, in alphabetical order of the author:

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno, by Ellen Bryson, published by Picador

Partitions, by Amit Majmudar, published by OneWorld Publications

Mistress of My Fate by Hallie Rubenhold, published by Doubleday

The Emperor’s Gold, by Robert Wilton, published by Corvus

Manda Scott, Chair of the HWA said, “Our first year saw an excellent crop of first historical novels and choosing a short list was difficult; inevitably, it comes down to personal opinion, but we have a judging panel of widely varying reading tastes which gives everyone a decent chance.  It was relatively easy to pick the short list: these four stood out as being exceptional – any author would have been proud to write any of them at any point in his or her career, but to have written them as a first novel is exceptional.  Picking a winner will be immensely difficult, but before we do, I want to encourage everyone to read all of these: they hail from widely differing eras  and locations and are written in utterly different styles, but each one is magnificent.”

Goldsboro Books has sponsored the £2,000 pirze, and has commissioned a hand made crystal Award which will be presented to the winner at History in the Court on 20th September 2012, at Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The first Goldsboro Crown for Historical Debut Fiction will be awarded at History in the Court in September 2012.

This award is for the best historical novel by a first-time author of any nationality first published in the UK in English during the Judging Period. ‘Best historical novel by a first time author’ means that the author must not have had a novel of any sort published before under any name whatsoever. In the case of novels with more than one author, all the authors must meet this requirement.  Authors may have written non-fiction works prior to the publication of the submitted novel.

We would like submissions for next year’s award. Further detail and prize rules may be found at the Historical Writers’ Association website www.thehwa.co.uk or by emailingGoldsboro.Crown@goldsborobooks.com

For further information, logos and interviews with the judges please contact:

Ayo Onatade or David Headley  Tel: 0207 4979230

Email Goldsboro.Crown@goldsborobooks.com

ABOUT THE JUDGES

MARIA REJT is the publisher of the Pan Macmillan imprint Mantle and is one of the most respected editors currently working in UK publishing. Her current list of authors includes C J Sansom, Kate Morton, Bella Pollen, Benjamin Black (aka John Banville) and William Ryan.

TOM HOLLAND is an author and historian. His first work of history, Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic, won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. His second, Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West, won the Anglo-Hellenic League’s Runciman Award. His new book, Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom is out now, published by Little, Brown.

MANDA SCOTT Manda Scott was born and educated in Scotland, gaining a degree in Veterinary medicine and surgery from the University of Glasgow before moving to Cambridge to take up a position as house surgeon. In 2000, she began to write historical fiction. The Boudica: Dreaming quartet have been bestsellers around the world, translated into over a dozen languages. The Crystal Skull followed, a dual time-line novel which explores the Mayan 2012 end-of-world prophecies in contemporary and Tudor time frames and was translated into 19 languages.

DAVID HEADLEY is the Managing Director of Goldsboro Books Limited, a much admired central London independent bookshop.

AYO ONATADE is a well known and respected blogger and reviewer and has a particular passion for historical novels as well as crime fiction.

Adam Smith, Head of Boxing at Sky Sports, was today signing copies of his book, Beautiful Brutality, at Waterstone’s Leadenhall Market. Adam was joined by his Ringside co-presenter, former World Champion Johnny Nelson.

If you weren’t able to make it, here are some photos from the signing.

Adam has been one of Sky’s main boxing commentators for over 20 years and Beautiful Brutality examines a unique, but little-discussed aspect of boxing – the role that families play in the success, or failure, of many professional boxers. A fighter may enter the ring alone, but boxing is a family business, both financially and emotionally. As a lifelong fan and great advocate of the sport of boxing, no-one is better placed than Adam to reveal the extraordinary stories and extraordinary families caught up in it.

‘Adam has known my family for over twenty years, and has developed utterly unique relationships with

a host of other boxing families. He’s been closer to the fight game than virtually any other journalist or

reporter.’ JOE CALZAGHE

You can Follow Adam on Twitter @SkyAdamSmith