British Book Awards: Books of the Year shortlists announced

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Frostie

The six category shortlists for the 2017 Books of the Year Awards were announced at the 2017 London Book Fair by Chair of the Judges and Contributing Editor of The Bookseller Cathy Rentzenbrink who said “there’s innovation, experimentation, good old-fashioned story-telling and beautiful production values.”

2016 marked a step-change in the British Book Industry Awards. A complete revamp of the Books of the Year, creating four new categories – for Children’s, Début Fiction, Fiction and Non-fiction – with an overall Book of the Year winner, was introduced to celebrate the books that best demonstrated the real value of publishing; a close collaboration between publisher and author that culminates in something extraordinary for the reader. This year, industry magazine The Bookseller, which runs the awards has acquired the British Book Awards, meaning that it will run as a unified event for the first time since 2004. Now known as The British Book Awards (or “Nibbies”), the 2017 ceremony is further expanded to include additional book awards:Crime and Thriller titles will have their own category, while non-fiction is split into Narrative and Lifestyle.

The winners will be revealed at a glamorous awards ceremony on Monday 8 May at Grosvenor House in central London which will bring together authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and literary agents for a night celebrating the entire book industry.

The shortlists, which consist of six books in each of the six categories and which uniquely honour not just the author and illustrator of a title but the entire publishing team, are:

Books of the Year – 2017 shortlists

Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (Faber & Faber)

The Sellout by Paul Beatty (Oneworld)

The Muse by Jessie Burton (Picador)

Cartes Postales from Greece by Victoria Hislop (Headline Review)

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell (Headline)

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (Serpent’s Tail)

Debut BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon (Borough Press)

The Girls by Emma Cline (Chatto & Windus)

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal (Penguin General)

What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell (Picador)

Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris (Doubleday)

Golden Hill by Francis Spufford (Faber)

Crime and Thriller BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Widow by Fiona Barton (Bantam Press)

Dodgers by Bill Beverley (No Exit Press)

Night School by Lee Child (Bantam Press)

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant (Mulholland Books)

Conclave by Robert Harris (Hutchinson)

I See You by Claire Mackintosh (Little, Brown)

Non-fiction: Narrative BOOK OF THE YEAR

Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon (Headline)

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (The Bodley Head)

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (Canongate)

East West Street by Philippe Sands (W&N)

The Good Immigrant, ed by Nikesh Shukla (Unbound)

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen (S&S)

Non-fiction: Lifestyle BOOK OF THE YEAR

Hello, is this Planet Earth? By Tim Peake (Century)

Sidemen The Book by The Sidemen (Coronet)

The Unmumsy Mum by Sarah Turner (Bantam Press)

Five on Brexit Island by Bruno Vincent (Quercus)

Lean in 15: The Sustain Plan by Joe Wicks (Bluebird)

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking (Penguin Life)

Children’s BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher, Shane Devries (illus) (Puffin)

Oi Dog! Kes and Claire Gray and Jim Field (Hodder)

Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story by Nadiya Hussain, Clair Rossiter (illus) (Hodder)

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargreave (Chicken House)

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J K Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne (Little, Brown and Pottermore)

The World’s Worst Children by David Walliams and Tony Ross (Harper Collins Children’s Books)

The category winners will be decided by six panels of judges, and a separate panel will go on to choose the overall Book of the Year. The category winners and the Book of the Year will be announced at the awards ceremony on 8 May 2017.

Comments from the judges:

Cathy Rentzenbrink, chair of the judges said: “What a delight it is to be celebrating the huge variety on offer from UK publishing. Our shortlists are full of unleashed imaginations, smart ideas, brave new worlds and personal stories tamed on to the page. There’s innovation, experimentation, good old-fashioned story-telling and beautiful production values. It is a joy to judge this prize and to be able to consider every part of the journey from the author’s mind to the readers’ hands.”

Sarah Shaffi, Online Editor at The Bookseller and deputy chair of judges said: “At the core of the 36 fantastic books on our shortlist are great writing and great stories, which are illuminated by passionate authors, agents, publishers, retailers and more who help get the book from dream to reality. Celebrating the work of an entire team is key to our awards, and it’s wonderful to be able to shine a light on the many people involved in helping a book succeed.”

Produced by leading industry magazine The Bookseller, the British Book Awards represent a high point in the book trade’s calendar, with winners including Publisher of the Year, Book Retailer of the Year, and Independent Bookshop of the Year. TheBooks of the Year awards recognise the publishing as well as the books, with both author and publisher as recipients of the prize.

Easter Gift Idea For Little Ones: Gifts Hub’s Personalised Books

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Catherine Balavage

We were bowled over by Gifts Hub’s Personalised Books for little ones. They come in a gorgeous presentation box, and the books are stunning. The book is personalised on the front and throughout. You can also include a personal message in the opening page.

Journey into the World with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” Book

Personalised gifting group, Gifts Hub, make these books. We really loved the children’s classic, Journey with The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book. The children’s book is available to purchase on the group’s UK websites, I Just Love It and Historic Newspapers

This new edition stars international-bestselling and award-winning author Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, bringing the iconic caterpillar into the 21st Century for a new generation to enjoy.

Once the book has been personalised, The Very Hungry Caterpillar takes on the chosen name, resulting in the recipient becoming the star of the book. This creates a unique and personalised story for any child, as they embark on a special journey into the world.

Each page has been illustrated and written in homage to author Eric Carle, and his unique drawing and writing style can be seen on every page. Colourful, bold illustrations are teamed with large text to engage and entertain any reader.

The new book can be personalised with a child’s name, which features on the front cover and throughout the copy, and a message, which features on the title page of the book.

A bespoke, embossed pastel gift box has also been produced as a luxury presentation option which is included in the price with any purchase of the new book. The presentation box really takes the gift to another level.

The Personalised Journey with the Very Hungry Caterpillar (I Just Love It) and Personalised Journey with the Hungry Little Caterpillar (Historic Newspapers) books are available to purchase now for £24.99.

Gifthub also have:

Thomas The Tank Engine. A personalised edition of a classic railway series story.

Another beautiful book. Personalised on the front and throughout. This is a great story with wonderful illustrations by C. Reginald Dalby.

We can highly recommend these gorgeous books which are published by Signature Books. They are classic books with beautiful illustrations, all personalised to your child. Frost loves.

Writing a Series – the pros and the cons! – Della Parker

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Tracy Baines

As the next book in Della Parker’s Reading Group series fast approaches publication she shares on Frost Magazine some of the pros and cons she’s discovered creating and developing a series.

Publishers love them. Readers love them. But what about the writers? Is it easier or harder to write a series of novels? Or in my case, novellas? Well, I’ve just finished number five in my series The Reading Group, so here’s what I think. Hot off the press!

The Best Bits

You know the characters, so you don’t need to start from scratch for every story. In fact it’s brilliant to be able to develop the same characters over more than one book. You can get so much deeper.

When you really love a character – you don’t have to say goodbye for long.

Each story can (and should) still be complete in itself – readers won’t necessarily read the whole series. So you do feel as though you’re writing a ‘whole’ book.

The Most (er) Challenging Bits!

I’m one of those writers who doesn’t plot so I tend to put in throwaway lines and then find out why I wrote them later. Not the other way round. Why oh why did I mention in the February novella that Jojo (who stars in March) had already had three husbands? When it came to writing Jojo’s story my publisher suggested just the two might be better! Luckily there was time to change the facts in February.

Continuity is a nightmare. I keep detailed character resumes on everyone, but it’s still really hard to make sure I don’t change someone’s eye colour, or contradict the fact that I once said they loved Marmite or had size eight feet. Don’t even get me started on ages!

Once you’ve set a fact in stone – perhaps in an earlier book that’s already published – you can’t change it. So you have to work round it. This can be pretty, er, challenging.

My Top Tips

Keep spreadsheets for the timeline. It’s much easier to keep track this way.

Have a “photo” of your character as a visual prompt. I cut them out of magazines or junk mail that comes through the door. It’s an excellent use of junk mail!

Alternatively, pick a ‘character from a TV drama. This is brilliant for gestures.

I also keep information sheets for each character, which has things like, how many siblings they have (with names) the way they talk, (softly, loudly, not finishing sentences etc) and their favourite/most used words.

I also have a note of each character’s date of birth as it’s much easier to change a timeline when you have this information, than if you just have their age.

Never throw anything away that’s related to character. So if you cut a scene from your novel, keep it as information. You’ll still think of your character like this, even though the scene is no longer there.

To sum up…

So to return to the question I asked earlier – do writers love writing a series?Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but this writer certainly does! I’ve enjoyed every minute.

The Reading Group April is out on 30 March.

The Reading Group Summer Holiday is out 27 April.

You can preorder both now.

The Business of Books: The Feeling’s Mutual

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Jane Cable

The Business of Books: The Feeling’s Mutual

Jane Cable muses support from other writers

I had a very interesting conversation on Thursday. At the Romantic Novelists’ Association Cornish Chapter lunch we fell to talking about how best to market our books. None of us felt we had a firm grasp of what worked and what didn’t, but all the same I was adamant that doing something was better than doing nothing.

Take the RNA’s #TuesNews initiative. On Tuesdays a number of us (probably about a hundred or so of the full membership) retweet each other’s posts carrying the hashtag. As a result our Twitter feeds fill with the latest news from romantic novelists, some blatant promotion and some a bit more interesting, but we do it to support each other. And actually, for readers and bloggers with an interest in the genre it’s a good place to find out what’s going on in the world of romantic fiction.

You also come to ‘know’ the regular retweeters and interact with them in other places and in other ways. Writing can be isolating and it’s good to know there are people around you sharing the same experiences, even if it’s in a virtual sense. Whether or not there are sales to be gained from the exercise is perhaps less important than the feeling of being part of something larger.

I belong to a number of groups of writers, formal and informal, and all have their own character. The No 1 Author Buddy Ladies on Facebook has become a real place for mutual support. We have just over 100 members covering multiple genres and writers at different stages of their careers help each other out. We celebrate when someone has their first deal, help them to see the wood for the trees with potentially dodgy contracts and chip in on all sorts of subjects from naming characters to helping to promote special offers.

All the same it’s still helpful to meet other authors face to face, like at the Cornish Chapter lunch. The problem is that finding mutually convenient times for meetings is hard, and even local groups need to be flexible. Take Chindi Authors – formally Chichester Independent Authors and now rebranding as Celebrating and Helping Indie Authors with a stronger online presence and virtual meetings. Chindi has always existed primarily to help with publishing and marketing indie books and to gain real depth of experience across all genres we needed to extend our reach beyond the confines of our corner of West Sussex.

I still have a hunch that the authors you support the most are those you actually know. Certainly when setbacks come they are the ones you turn to for advice and – let’s face it – sympathy. Although when I recently parted company with my agent because she didn’t rate my current manuscript my loving husband cracked open the champagne (literally!), it was author friends who provided solid advice and shored up my wavering confidence in my work.

In the digital age writers can’t afford to be isolated and selfish with their time and a large number aren’t. I suppose there are those who are, but we simply don’t know them. There is huge generosity out there, such as JoJo Moyes on Twitter offering a week in her holiday home for an aspiring writer to work in peace and Chindi Authors pulling together to raise almost £1,000 for Words for the Wounded.

The world of publishing is getting tougher and it’s up to writers to work together to make the best of it. So if anyone is reading this in a lonely garret – reach out – you’ll be surprised what you find.

East London at Dawn Photo book by Anthony Epes

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Catherine Balavage

One of Frost’s favourite photographers, Anthony Epes, had released a stunning photo book. We highly recommend you get your hands on a copy.

For over a decade photographer Anthony Epes has shot many of the world’s iconic cities at their most peaceful time, dawn. This month marks the publication of a collection of his photographs from one of his most explored haunts, East London.

East London at Dawn is a collection of images showing the city, for the most part, empty and devoid of its usual flood of people. Of those who are awake, most are working, preparing the city for the day before the streets are inundated by the crowds. The subject therefore becomes the city itself, absorbed in the light of sunrise.

The light of a sunrise comes in many forms: the play of light dancing over street art on an ancient crumbling wall on a summer’s morning; a dark stormy daybreak as it wakes over one of the many industrial estates; the wintery midnight-blue sky filled already with the glow of lights from the skyscrapers and cars cramming the streets on the race to work.

Anthony connects us to the atmosphere of sunrise in the city and takes us on a unique exploration of the places in East London that fascinate him. From the stark brutalist architecture of the Balfour Tower, to the misty banks of the Thames with Canary Wharf rising up in the background, to the vibrant edgy street art that appears and disappears at random, to the imprint of new communities, foods and cultures that make up this ever-changing part of London.

Anthony’s interpretation of the city at first light is a spectacular and engaging journey through this special part of London as we see it in its transition.

Accompanying the photos, evocative quotes about the area will reveal the experiences of people who are regularly up at this time.

East London at Dawn is inspired by Anthony’s previous books and exhibitions on Cities at Dawn, including Paris, Venice and Istanbul. In this collection he has captured the rejuvenating energy and beauty of sunrise as well as the ever changing atmosphere of the streets of East London, the layers of history and mix of cultures, as well as the few people who are up at sunrise.

East London at Dawn has been published in association with Leman Locke, and is available exclusively at the hotel and via anthonyepes.com

Book details

Limited edition of 1,000

£35

Hardcover, cloth-bound, embossed cover

80 pages

Words by Diana Bird

About Anthony Epes

Anthony Epes is a fine art photographer whose work has featured in BBC World, CNN Photo, French Photo, Hyper Allergic, Time Out, Atlas Obscura, BBC London, The Telegraph and many other publications.

He has published four photo books, including London at Dawn and Paris at Dawn, and is currently preparing to launch further installments shot in Venice, Havana and Istanbul.

Anthony grew up in California and has been based in London since 2000.

About Locke

Locke is a design-led aparthotel for those who want to challenge the status quo, and experience the unique and authentic. Designed for travellers for whom a bed and shower in a shoebox isn’t enough, Locke immerses you in its neighbourhood’s culture through spaces that connect you to a community of like-minded locals and travellers.

– 168 studios and suites at Leman Locke, London

– 72 studios and suites at Eden Locke, Edinburgh (opening June 2017)

15 Leman St, Whitechapel, London E1 8EN

http://www.lockeliving.com/

Writing About My Experiences With Autism to Help Myself and Others

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Frostie

This week is the release of my book Look Into My Eyes which is about my experiences as someone who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and also my experiences professionally from around 20 years working with those who have autism, their parents/carers, employers and supporting professionals.

I was diagnosed with ASD a couple of years ago. Following my adult diagnosis I felt compelled to try to learn more about myself. Until I sought diagnosis I wasn’t a fan of labels. I understood that they could be helpful, but I was also aware of people being treated as the label and not as a person, and some of these people would end up doing the same to themselves, viewing themselves as a label, not as a person.

What led me to seek diagnosis was that I was facing workplace discrimination which I felt powerless to tackle. It was making me depressed and suicidal. It was only when I reached this point that I decided if I had a diagnosis then I would get occupational health support to improve my situation at work. It took almost a year from visiting the GP to receiving diagnosis. In my work with families I had often encountered parents who had a negative view of the expected future for their autistic child. In many cases I could see strengths in these children that the parents weren’t noticing because they were dealing with the problems everyday like violence or challenging behaviour. They had sought diagnosis because of problems the child was having, so when they were told “your child has autism spectrum disorder, it is a lifelong condition” they often heard “the problems with your child will be there for life.” Many of these parents didn’t know much about autism, and hadn’t focused on the strengths their child had, so part of my role as a family worker was to help parents recognise these positives, and help them to learn how to work with the strengths whilst teaching their children how to handle the challenges.

After getting diagnosed I felt that I was in a unique position to help others. Due to working as a psychological therapist and family worker I had better insight about myself as a starting point than most, and I felt if I wrote down about myself I could look objectively at what I had written as if the writing on the page was a client, giving me an opportunity to gain greater insight and understanding. I thought if I wrote a book like that going through my life from birth to present day I would be able to write something which shows what the world is like from within the mind of someone with autism, as well as saying what I, as someone with autism, find helps me, what doesn’t help me, and what I think would be helpful around the different issues I’ve faced at different stages of life. I would also be able to share tips and strategies from a professional perspective, and my wife kindly wrote a chapter about her experiences being in a relationship with someone with autism.

I found the process of writing the book insightful, giving me greater understanding about myself. I have also had many people say how helpful it has been for them to understand why I am the way I am, and many readers have commented how the book has helped to give them a look inside the mind of their child, helping them to better understand their child, and given hope to them about what their child may be capable of in the future if their skills are channelled and they are helped with the challenges they face.

About Me

Dan Jones is author of parenting books including Sleepy Bedtime Tales, which includes 11 bedtime stories to be read to children to help them sleep, and additional tips and strategies for helping children sleep, Relaxing Tales for Children, which is 11 stories to be read to children to help them relax. The stories in these books are targeted at 4-7 year olds. Dan is also author of Look Into My Eyes which is an autobiography through the lens of Asperger’s Syndrome, that includes an extensive chapter of tips and strategies for parents/carers, teachers, friends, employers, and those with autism spectrum disorder, and a chapter written by Dan’s wife about being in a relationship with someone with Asperger’s. Dan has almost 20 years’ experience working within child and family support.

Website: www.alt-solutions.org

These links are for the books mentioned and direct people to their local Amazon website:

Sleepy Bedtime Tales: http://apn.to/prod/1517364248

Relaxing Tales for Children: http://www.apn.to/prod/1539976882

Look Into My Eyes: http://apn.to/prod/1542551196

Shipyard Girls at War By Nancy Revell Book Review

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Catherine Balavage

Published 23rd March 2017 Arrow

Paperback Original, £5.99 Also available as an eBook

Arrow have a speciality in publishing these sweeping historical novels. It is easy to see why the genre is so popular in general, but also why Nancy Revell’s books are so popular. Researched within an inch of its life; the novel is enjoyably entertaining. A perfect way to spend hours, wrapped up in the characters lives. This is the second book in The Shipyard Girls saga and it is not only just as good as the first, but a perfect continuation. Recommended reading.

The second book in the compelling saga series The Shipyard Girls Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and Ellie Dean
1941: It takes strength to work on the docks, but the war demands all hands on deck and the women are doing their best to fill the gap.
Rosie is flourishing in her role as head-welder while still keeping her double life a secret. But a dashing detective is forcing Rosie to choose between love and her duty.
Gloria is hiding her own little secret – one that if found out, could not only threaten her job, but her life.
The shipyards are proving tougher than Polly ever imagined, while she waits for her man to return home safely.
Join the shipyard girls as they journey through the hardships of life, love and war.
About the author:
Nancy Revell is a writer and journalist under another name, and has worked for many national newspapers, providing them with hard-hitting news stories and in-depth features. She has also worked for just about every woman’s magazine, writing amazing and inspirational true life stories.
Nancy has recently relocated back to her home town of Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, with her husband Paul and their English Bull Mastiff, Rosie. They live a short walk from the beautiful, award-winning beaches of Roker and Seaburn, within a mile of where The Shipyard Girls series is set. The subject is close to Nancy’s heart as she comes from a long line of shipbuilders, who were well-known in the area.

Some interesting facts:

* During research for The Shipyard Girls, writer and journalist Amanda Revell Walton found that the remarkable women who did some of the most dangerous work in both the First and Second World War have now died with little recognition or praise for the work they did and the conditions they encountered.
* During World War Two seven hundred women worked in the Sunderland shipyards carrying out dangerous and backbreaking jobs, previously only been deemed suitable for men, such as welding, riveting, burning and rivet catching, as well as general labouring, operating cranes, and painting.
* The conditions in which the women laboured were harsh and hazardous, with scant regard paid to health and safety. They also had to contend with constant air strikes by Hitler’s Luftwaffe, and many of the women workers would do so with the added worry that their children were in another part of the town.
* The yards in the ‘Biggest Shipbuilding Town in the World’ produced a quarter of Britain’s merchant shipping at the time, causing it to become one of the most heavily bombed towns during the war.
* It is believed that without the shipyards, the country would have been forced to surrender, as the cargo vessels being built were essential for the transportation of vital food, fuel and minerals, as well as taking troops to wherever they were needed in the fight against the Axis alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan.

The Book Publicist EllyDonovanPR talks to Jane Cable

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Jane Cable

What is your book-related job or business?

I am a freelance book publicist carrying out PR campaigns for authors and publishers. I try to obtain reviews, articles and interviews about my clients’ books in newspapers and magazines – and on the internet, the radio or television. This type of publicity can help boost book sales as well as raising the author’s profile: a good review, an article or an interview in the media is more likely to get a book (and its author) noticed than expensive advertising might do.

Nonetheless, book publicity is an extremely competitive and there are no guarantees of success. With approximately 500 new books published every single day in the UK (yes, 500 every day!) it is impossible for every new book to get the media attention it may deserve.

Every day, busy journalists and broadcasters are inundated with communications from publishers and authors who are trying to grab their attention with news of forthcoming books. A professional PR campaign may improve an author’s chances of success. A professional book-publicist knows and understands the media – and knows how to give a book the best possible chance of media coverage in this tough industry.

What is the most rewarding part of it?

It is very satisfying to help authors make the most of their PR opportunities (eg: helping them with their interview technique or advising on their use of social media etc). New authors soon discover that writing their book is just the first step in a long journey. These days, authors are also expected to be experts at marketing, sales and PR – as well as being good writers. It can be an extremely frustrating and bewildering experience for some novice authors.

Assisting authors by carrying out their PR campaigns and then supporting them in the lead-up to publication and during the first few months after is extremely rewarding for me. It is always a pleasure to hear an author’s reaction on receiving their first good review or when they hear themselves performing well on the radio or when their TV appearance gets lots of ‘Likes’ on social media. And, naturally, the lovely comments, thank-you cards and testimonials that I receive from authors also mean the world to me.

What do you consider to be your major successes?

With so many books being published, only a tiny percentage of books achieve any nationwide publicity at all. This is why it is always a thrill when I see or hear my authors appearing in the national media as a result of my efforts. Even after all these years in the business, I still get a ‘buzz’ from seeing one of my authors on TV or hearing them interviewed on the radio or reading a good review of their book in a quality newspaper. However, my successes are not always measured in circulation figures or audience numbers. Sometimes niche coverage in the right publication can be an even more effective way to reach the perfect book-buying audience for a particular book.

Have you always loved books and what are you reading at the moment?

I’ve always loved reading so studying English literature at University was a pleasure, not a chore. In my professional life, I make a point of reading every one of the many books I promote. (It may surprise you but not all book publicists read the books they promote.) Currently, for my work, I am reading one novel and one memoir written by my clients. In my free time, I am also enjoying Jeremy Paxman’s autobiography, A Life in Questions.

Brighton-based EllyDonovanPR has worked in publishing and PR since graduating in 1980. She is a Member of The Publishers’ Publicity Circle;

and a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors.

To find out more about EllyDonovanPR ‘s services for authors and publishers, visit her website ellydonovan.co.uk

You can connect with Elly on social media:

twitter: @EllyDonovanPR facebook.com/elly.donovan.7

Linked-In: Elly Donovan PR

For further information, authors & publishers can email: elly@ellydonovan.co.uk

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