Zeno Literary Agency Ltd.

Updated 21st Nov 2011 : CLOSED – Please do not query us until this status changes.

Random surfing this evening brought me to a brutal and erudite post on the web site of author Chuck Wendig (not, I should add, a client, but a wise and level head nonetheless).

If you’re picking around this site looking for tips on how to approach an agent, or you’re perhaps trying to fathom whether you even need one, you could do a lot worse than checking out Wendig’s 25 Things Writers Should Know About Agents.

Amen.

Hot on the heels of our previous post, we’ve exciting news of another deal with Jo Fletcher Books to announce…

Jo has just acquired UK & British Commonwealth rights to the first three books of  Ian McDonald’s EVERNESS series, this award winning author’s first foray into YA.

The initial title, PLANESRUNNER, will be published this coming summer and has already been released in the US by Pyr to absolutely fantastic reviews (see below) with French rights going to Gallimard Jeunesse. Other translation deals are in the pipeline and we’re also currently fielding *lots* of film interest!

Jo Fletcher says, ‘I first published Ian McDonald way back when, in my early days at Gollancz, and I will never forget waiting breathlessly for the next chapters of CHAGA, and how awed I was by the sheer depth of imagination allied to such a wonderful writing style. So of course I leapt at the opportunity to bring Ian to Jo Fletcher Books, particularly with such a wildly exuberant, exciting and unforgettable series. In fact, I passed PLANESRUNNER around the office and was delighted that my JFB and Quercus colleagues were just as excited as I am. We’re going to have enormous fun publishing this, and can’t wait for a movie deal to bring this to the widest possible audience it so richly deserves.’

‘Planesrunner is chock-full of awesome. Ian McDonald’s steampunk London blazes on a vast scale with eye-popping towers, gritty streets, and larger-than-life characters who aren’t afraid to fight for each other. The kind of airship-dueling, guns-blazing fantasy that makes me wish I could pop through to the next reality over, join the Airish, and take to the skies‘ — Paolo Bacigalupi

‘Smashing adventure fiction that spans the multiverse without ever losing its cool or its sense of style. Ian McDonald is one of the greats of science fiction, and his young adult debut is everything you could hope for: romantic, action-packed, wildly imaginative, and full of heart.’ — Cory Doctorow

‘Athletic, brilliant, and always ahead of the game, Everett is too perfect, but it doesn’t detract from the book’s fun. McDonald writes with scientific and literary sophistication, as well as a wicked sense of humor. Add nonstop action, eccentric characters, and expert universe building, and this first volume of the Everness series is a winner.’ — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Jo Fletcher at Jo Fletcher Books, the recently launched genre imprint at Quercus, has acquired World rights for SEOUL SURVIVORS, a futuristic, satirical thriller and the début novel from Zeno client Naomi Foyle.

The world balances upon the edge of a knife. A meteor known as Lucifer’s Hammer is about to wreak a terrible destruction on the earth and terrorists have annihilated the City of London, covering it in a blanket of nuclear poison.

Rumours of war abound in every continent, but if the end of the world is imminent, there is only one safe place to be.

American-Korean bio-engineer Dr Kim Da Mi thinks she has found the perfect solution in the mountains above Seoul, but her methods are strange and her business partner, Johnny Sandman, is not exactly the type of person anyone would want to mix with. Sydney – a Canadian model trying to escape an unhappy past, is drawn in by their smiles and pretty promises – until she realises that the quest for perfection, comes at an impossible price…

A second untitled novel has also been acquired as part of the deal. Jo Fletcher says ‘Renowned poet and playwright Naomi Foyle’s debut novel Seoul Survivors is a dark, passionate, flamboyant cyber-thriller set tomorrow, with the world on the brink of catastrophic climate breakdown.

I was immediately captivated by Naomi’s wonderful characterisation, not just of the main protagonists, Sydney, the beautiful, ditzy Canadian model looking to reinvent herself, the brash, dangerous henchman Johnny Sandman, the disaffected Brit Damien who is desperate for a way to safety, and the glamorous Korean-American scientist Dr Kim Da Mi ­ but also Seoul City itself, a vibrant, throbbing, exotic metropolis where nothing is quite what it appears.

It’s a great start to Naomi’s new life in the genre!‘

SEOUL SURVIVOR is currently scheduled for release in Feb 2013, with the untitled second novel following in 2014.

Lavie Tidhar‘s formidable novel OSAMA is one of five books nominated for this year’s Kitschie Awards – specifically, their ‘Red Tentacle’ award!

The winner receives a £750 prize, a hand-crafted tentacular trophy and (best of all!) a bottle of the Kraken’s finest black rum. See here for more details and for the full shortlist.

‘OSAMA is exceptional. Compelling, confrontational, and surprisingly moving, it is one of the best novels yet on terror in our times.’ — World Literature Today

‘Not a writer to mess around with half measures … brings to mind Philip K Dick’s seminal science fiction novel THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE.’ –- The Guardian on OSAMA.

‘Bears comparison with the best of Philip K Dick’s paranoid, alternate-history fantasies. It’s beautifully written and undeniably powerful.’ – The Financial Times on OSAMA.

‘OSAMA is written with both an obvious affection for genre fiction and a sense of wild-eyed disbelief at the insanity of a world where people fly planes into skyscrapers. 4.5/5 stars.’ –- SFX

‘Intensely moving.‘ -– Interzone on OSAMA

Some great deal news for Michael Cobley – Orbit have acquired World English rights to WARCAGE, a brand new novel set in the world of his hugely popular Humanity’s Fire series, and they will publish in hard cover both the UK and the US in Autumn 2013. Here’s a taster…

In the Warcage war is a game, brutal, savage and sudden. In the Warcage three hundred worlds orbit a single artificial star, three hundred battlefields where different species vie for mastery and triumph. In the Warcage, all bend the knee to the Lords of Permutation or suffer indescribable agonies. In the Warcage Randal Pyke, captain and smuggler, must find a way to fight his way to freedom. Because in the Warcage the game of war is played to the death – and beyond.

…and Mike offers up a little further insight into the WARCAGE, thus -  ‘The original idea behind WARCAGE actually goes back 26 years when I came up with the idea for an immense artificial star system full of planets. I even built a plastic model of it, which was sadly lost in one of my more recent moves. Suffice to say that with scores, even hundreds of planets, and a twisted and savage background, the unfolding drama will be action-packed and resonant with meaning.‘

Anne Clarke, Editorial Director for Orbit UK, says, ‘We’re all delighted with the continuing success of Michael’s superb Humanity’s Fire series, and we’re very excited about WARCAGE and looking forward to sharing it with Mike’s fans next year. Michael Cobley is becoming an increasingly important name in science fiction, so we’re extremely happy that our colleagues in the US will be on this adventure with us too.’

It is with great pleasure that we announce the arrival of US author Myke Cole, who  joins the Zeno client roster with the sale of his fabulous, high energy military fantasy series, SHADOW OPS, described by Peter V Brett as ‘Black Hawk Down meets the X-Men’ and ‘military fantasy like you’ve never seen it before’.

UK and Commonwealth rights have been acquired by Headline, with recently appointed commissioning editor John Wordsworth concluding a five figure, three book deal negotiated by John Berlyne of the Zeno Agency on behalf of Joshua Bilmes of JABberwocky Agency, Inc. in the US.

Headline will publish the first book in the series, CONTROL POINT in late 2012 with sequels FORTRESS FRONTIER and BREACH ZONE following in February 2013 and February 2014.

‘CONTROL POINT is an absolutely thrilling, fresh take on the military fantasy novel,’  says Wordsworth. ‘Myke has drawn from his own considerable experience, which includes three tours in Iraq, to create a world with breathtaking scope. I’m just itching to see where he takes it in the next two books. I am over the moon that the Shadow Ops series will be published by Headline.’

Michael Cobley‘s acclaimed science fiction trilogy, Humanity’s Fire, (comprising SEEDS OF EARTH, THE ORPHANED WORLDS and THE ASCENDANT STARS) will be published in the US by Orbit next year – the books are provisionally scheduled for October, November and December 2012.

Here’s a couple of pretties for fans of Michael Cobley‘s Humanity’s Fire books…

• Bragelonne have just published the French translation of book one under the title L’OMBRE DE LA LONGUE NUIT.
• And for German readers, WAISEN DES ALLS, the translation of the second novel in the series now available from Heyne.

We’re delighted to welcome US author Ian Tregillis as a Zeno client. We’re representing Ian (who has been described by George R.R. Martin as ‘A major talent‘) in the UK, Commonwealth and translation markets on behalf of his head agent Kay McCauley at  Pimlico/Aureous Inc in NYC.

We’re equally delighted to announce in the same breath that UK/BC rights to Ian’s Milkweed Trilogy – comprising of BITTER SEEDS, THE COLDEST WAR and NECESSARY EVIL – have been acquired by Orbit in a deal negotiated by John Berlyne.

John says ‘This is a particularly sweet sale for me, as I read and absolutely loved BITTER SEEDS when Tor first published it in the US back in 2010, long before I had any professional dealings with the author. The mix of WWII action and comic book super-powers was something I found completely irresistible as a reader. To have the chance to handle these books outside the US is a real privilege and I’m thrilled that Orbit have picked them up and they will, I’m quite sure, do a wonderful job with them.’

Orbit Commissioning Editor Anna Gregson says ‘We’re delighted to have acquired this thrillingly sinister, clever and compelling tale that melds real-life events with occult forces and weird science. Its vivid atmosphere and supernatural twist make this a deeply mesmerising and entertaining novel, with great appeal for any fans of alternate histories, dark fantasy and superhero comics. Think Inglourious Basterds crossed with X-Men!‘.

BITTER SEEDS is scheduled for publication in December 2012, with the second and third titles following respectively in February and April2013.

‘Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics?  Yes please, thank you.  Tregillis’s debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters — an unstoppable Vickers of a novel.’ – Cory Doctorow

When I was over in San Diego recently at the World Fantasy Convention, I got together with Mur Lafferty, author and the brains behind the I SHOULD BE WRITING podcast, a massively useful resource for aspiring authors and one that I am very happy to recommend and endorse.

The interview covers quite a lot of ground, including my thoughts on the current state of the market (especially here in the UK) and some advice on how to approach not just us here at Zeno, but any literary agent you might be hoping to interest. Enjoy!

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Penguin have bought UK and British Commonwealth rights to William Gibson‘s non-fiction collection DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR and an untitled new novel.

The deal was negotiated by John Parker on behalf of the author’s primary agent Martha Millard and Zeno is absolutely delighted to add this marquee name to our list of clients.

News on the novel is strictly under wraps for now, but this superb collection should certainly whet your appetite whilst we wait. Here’s the cover copy…

‘William Gibson was writing fiction when he predicted the internet. And as his stories bled into reality, so he became one of the first to report on the real-world consequences of cyberspace’s growth and development.

Now, with the dust settling on the first internet revolution, comes Gibson’s first collection of non-fiction essays from the technological and cultural frontiers of this new world. Covering a variety of subjects, they include:

• Metrophagy: The Art and Science of Digesting Great Cities
• An account of obsession in ‘the world’s attic’:eBay
• Reasons why ‘The Net is a Waste of Time’
• Singapore as ‘Disneyland with the Death Penalty’
• A primer on Japan, our default setting for the future

These and many other pieces, collected for the first time in DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR, are studded with revealing autobiographical fragments and map the development of Gibson’s acute perceptions about modern life.

Here, then, is a guide to the new territory we find ourselves in written by one of its discoverers.‘

We’ve some choice titles due for release by Angry Robot during 2012 and so I thought it’d be nice to show off these very cool covers. Check the links to each title below for further details…

THE ALCHEMIST OF SOULS by Anne Lyle
GIANT THIEF by David Tallerman
THE GREAT GAME by Lavie Tidhar

It’s been a busy time here at Zeno Towers, what with the recent Worldcon in Reno, the upcoming Fantasycon and World Fantasy Convention, plus one or two personal bits and bobs that JP and I have been catching up on… life, I think some people call it!

That notwithstanding, we’ve been beavering away and are delighted to announce a few deals that we’ve recently concluded…

• James P. Blaylock‘s first novel length Steampunk story in twenty years has sold to Titan in a world English deal negotiated by John Berlyne. THE AYLESFORD SKULL, which features further  gaslight adventures of Langdon St. Ives and his nemesis Ignatio Narbondo will be published by Titan late next year or early 2013. A limited edition is also planned. In addition to THE AYLESFORD SKULL, Titan will also be re-issueing two Blaylock steampunk classics, the 1988 Philip K Dick Award winning HOMUNCULUS and also LORD KELVIN’S MACHINE. Audio rights for all three novels went to Stacy Patton Anderson at Audible.
• Titan have also acquired world English rights (excluding India) to TURBULENCE and an UNTITLED sequel by Samit Basu. Publication is set for Feb 2012.
• Audible will release an audiobook edition of Ian R. MacLeod‘s WAKE UP AND DREAM along with two earlier MacLeod novels THE SUMMER ISLES and THE GREAT WHEEL.
• Audible also picked up audio rights to the third novel in Michael Cobley‘s HUMANITY’S FIRE series, THE ASCENDANT STARS. German rights for this title went to Heyne via Thomas Schluck.
• Sheila Gilbert at DAW Books has acquired World English rights to  Kari Sperring‘s THE GRASS KING’S CONCUBINE and an UNTITLED sequel in a nice  deal negotiated by John Parker.
• German rights to Freda Warrington’s ELFLAND sold to Carl Ueberreuter Verlag GMBH via Paul & Peter Fritz AG.
• French rights to the first three novels in Ben Aaronovitch‘s best selling RIVERS OF LONDON series went to J’ai lu via Lora Fountain. Orion have sold rights to the series in Poland, Hungary and Italy.
• Also via Lora Fountain, French rights to Ian McDonald‘s PLANESRUNNER sold to Gallimard Jeunesse.
• The Library of America will publish the Algis Budrys‘ classic SF work WHO? as part of a reissue series to be edited by Gary K. Wolfe.
• UK / British Commonwealth rights to a new graphic novel series by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden entitled CEMETERY GIRL went to Jo Fletcher at Jo Fletcher Books. Jo has also acquired three anthologies edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni P. Kelner.
• US rights to Iain Sinclair‘s GHOST MILK and AMERICAN SMOKE went to Mitzi Angel at Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.
• UK /British  Commonwealth rights to two brand new titles in Elizabeth Moon‘s PALADIN’S LEGACY series sold to Orbit.

And there are plenty more things in the pipeline! More in due course.

Matt Hughes‘ THE DAMNED BUSTERS, published by Angry Robot a couple of months ago has been getting some amazing reviews. Here’s a selection of gushing comments along with relevant links…

‘Hughes writing is both funny and clever, with some great descriptive passages.  he has a style that instantly hooks the reader, that manages  to balance the fine line between being a funny novel, and novel that is just full of jokes… I will be picking up the next instalment of this series without a doubt. A highly recommended read.‘ — Ginger Nuts of Horror

‘…a damn good book. Chesney Arnstruther is a uniquely charming protagonist; the plot is immensely entertaining, full of wit, humor and heart; the ideas presented are original and thought-provoking; and Matthew Hughes’ writing is skillful and engaging. Best of all, The Damned Busters is a blast to read and not quite like any book I’ve ever tried before, instantly making the sequel one of my most anticipated releases of 2012…‘ — Fantasy Book Critic

‘THE DAMNED BUSTERS is a supernatural adventure that blends a rich and unpredictable story, with a tone and wit that provides plenty of laughs along the way. A great balance of action and comedic situations with some romance thrown in for good measure, albeit an awkward romance, this is a great read. It will forever contain the most intense game of poker I have ever read. 5 *****‘ — Celebrity Cafe

‘Hughes continues to carve out a unique place for himself in the fantasy-mystery realm. A droll narrative voice, dry humor and an alternate universe that’s accessible without explicit exposition make this a winner.‘ — Publisher’s Weekly

‘What Matt achieves in this title is not only chock full of humour but a title that has an unlikely hero, a devilishly intriguing sidekick and above all else a plot that moves along at its own pace keeping the humour very much in the fore. It makes no bones about what it is, it has some novel solutions and it was a title that gave me a lot of fun with my reading time, so much so that I really couldn’t wait to get back to it. All in the prose is decent, the characters outstanding and the overall arc very pleasing to the reader. Great stuff.’ — Falcata Times

‘A little bit of Terry Pratchett, a little bit of Mystery Men, a whole lotta hilarious punny word-play alongside some meta bookishness and probably some misdirection, The Damned Busters is a damn good book.   As funny and light-hearted as it is thought provoking and belief challenging, I’ve never read anything quite like it.‘ — Little Red Reviewer

‘This is a funny and surprisingly endearing book with some interesting discussions about the role of sin and our reactions to it.‘ — The Guardian

‘…you’re missing out if you haven’t bought this book yet. Pure and simple. 9.75 / 10‘ — The Founding Fields

‘The Damned Busters is a very clever book (and fast read), exactly the type of work that Angry Robot Books is noted for: it is a smooth melange of genres–comic, noir, humor, fantasy, and metaphysical; ultimately entertaining and damned smart.‘ — Red Book Review

Further raves can be found at The Antick Musings of G.B.H Hornswoggler, Gent ;  Goodreads ; The Horror Review ; Drying Ink and I Will Read Books.