Zeno Literary Agency Ltd.

• Zeno clients Aliette De Bodard and John Meaney (also known as Thomas Blackthorn) will be signing, respectively, SERVANTS OF THE UNDERWORLD and EDGE - their novels published (soon to be published in the case of Mister Meaney / Blackthorn) by Angry Robot. You’ll be able to meet both authors on Friday February 12th at 6pm at the flagship Forbidden Planet megastore on Shaftesbury Avenue.

• And be sure to check out this 5 Star review of Aliette’s novel, posted recently at www.sciencefictionandfantasy.co.uk.

• Prior to the above, John will be one of the participating authors at the SFX Weekender – a two day Sciffy fest taking place on the 5th and 6th of February at Camber Sands – see their web site (link above)  for details. Note that fellow Zeno client Justina Robson will also be in attendance.

• Still with John Meaney, those of you hungrily awaiting the arrival of his brand new space opera ABSORPTION, will, alas, no have to wait a little while long, as publisher Gollancz has had to reschedule the release date – you’ll be able to get hold of it from May 20th.

• And still with John M, he will be attending this year’s Eastercon (over Easter weekend of course) along with other Zeno clients, Susan Boulton, Aliette De Bodard, Michael Cobley, Freda Warrington, Ian R. Macleod and Colin Harvey.  John B will also be there and John P will be there for at least one day. Other clients are still to confirm.

Michael Cobley’s superb space opera SEEDS OF EARTH receives its mass market paperback release, published by Orbit and priced at £7.99.  (See this entry made today on the excellent Orbit Blog).

If you came to the party early and picked this one up during its first outing in trade paperback, you’ll be excited to learn that the follow up, ORPHANED WORLDS is due out in April. Thank to the folks at Orbit for sending along the cover visual – what great artwork! Incidentally, we’ve already done a deal with Bragelonne for a French translation of this series and so more on that in due course.

Mike has dropped us a line to tell us about a tonne of other stuff he has going on too…

• A short story, BLACK FRAGMENTARIA, is published in the current edition of Postscripts Quarterly (PS 20/21) which is now available. Visit the PS Publishing web site for further details. Note that this edition also feature stories by Zeno clients Chris Roberson, Matthew Hughes and Lavie Tidhar. It should have been called the Zeno Edition!

• Another Cobley short, THE MAKER’S MARK, is to appear in the Conflicts anthology, edited by Ian Whates and Ian Watson, published by Newcon Press. This is scheduled for release in February/March 2010

• Michael is one of the featured authors taking part in the Aye Write festival, held in Glasgow March 5-13th. He’ll be participating in a panel entitled ‘The Early Days Of A Better Future’, along withother genre authors, Ken Macleod, Richard Morgan, Hal Duncan, Debbie Miller, and chaired by Andrew Wilson. This is a ticketed event.

• Finally Michael will be at this year’s Eastercon, which takes place at the Radisson Edwardian, Heathrow over Easter weekend.  Zeno will be there too, as will a host of other genre folks and fans. There’s still time to get your membership!

The LOCUS Index to SF Awards proudly lists Ian McDonald as the winner of  “1 Hugo, 1 Sturgeon, 1 Philip K. Dick Award, 1 Locus Award, 4 British SF Awards, 2 Kurd Laáwitz”. Not a bad clutch of gongs by anyone’s standards, eh?

We’re delighted to report that we’ve just got word that Ian’s recent short story collection CYBERADBAD DAYS is one of seven works to be shortlisted for this year’s Philip K. Dick Award,  the prize to be awarded at Norwestcon 33 in April and one which he has, of course, won previously back in 1992 for his novel KING OF MORNING, QUEEN OF DAY.

CYBERABAD DAYS is published in the UK by Gollancz and in the US by Pyr.

“All in all, Cyberabad Days is a terrific book and a satisfying return to the world of River of Gods. Ian McDonald is a genius, pure and simple.” — PAT’S FANTASY HOTLIST

“McDonald’s India engulfs you with an overwhelming, perfumed, stinky embrace. A hugely impressive collection. Seven nifty, witty stories.” — Dave Langford in SFX

We’re a little late in announcing this (so much to do, so little time!) but are delighted to be doing so nonetheless.

Zeno has taken on Ben Aaronovitch as a client and we’ve already got some excitement going on for his novel RIVERS OF LONDON, the first book in a quite superb fantasy crime series that I’ve been pitching as “NEVERWHERE meets  THE SWEENEY“.

John Berlyne says “Ben’s arrival proves that the system works  and should give hope to all unagented writers out there. His book came in during the last round of submissions and the process followed the proscribed protocols in textbook fashion. I received an enquiry letter which intrigued me, asked for an elevator pitch which excited me, then received an excerpt which impressed me and finally a manuscript which floored me. It’s exactly the scenario that both parties – writer and agent – long for.

RIVERS OF LONDON is one of the most exciting and commercial prospects I’ve seen in a good while and ticks every box. John Parker and myself are enjoying working with Ben enormously and can’t wait to get this series out into the world”

• Check out Ben’s page on the Zeno web site for more info.

The bods over at Angry Robot have revealed their shiny new cover for EDGE, the forthcoming novel by Thomas Blackthorne, aka our very own John Meaney. And here also is their cover blurb…

You thought Big Brother was tough? Try Knife Edge – the reality TV show where wannabe knife fighters are the celebrities in a nation going to hell.

Britain, tomorrow. The ultimate response to knife crime has been instituted by a bankrupt government: duelling with knives has now been legalised. On Saturday nights, the nation sit down to watch the country’s best fighters slash it out on prime time.

When a young boy with hoplophobia (the fear of weaponry) runs away from home, his father hires a former special forces agent to find him. With the help of the boy’s psychiatrist, Josh Cumberland delves into the dark underbelly of the knife culture that has infected his country with no guarantee that the boy is even still alive…

Look out for EDGE when it is published next month.

Reviews are starting to come in for Lavie Tidhar’s steampunk adventure, The Bookman, which will be published in a week or two by Angry Robot, and as expected they’re pretty much ‘raves’ across the board.

Fantasy Book Critic “…loved the style and the inventiveness…” and went on to say the it was… “Just big time fun, The Bookman is highly, highly recommended.”

The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review lists The Bookman as one of the top Steampunk titles to look out for in the coming year.

The Traveller’s Steampunk Blog states “…it has managed to claim the throne as my favorite steampunk novel from Moorcock’s A Nomad of the Time Streams … I can wholeheartedly recommend The Bookman … it is one captivating read, set in a beautiful, strange world.”

And if these superlatives don’t persuade you to get hold of a copy, here’s what James P. Blaylock, one of the founding fathers of the entire Steampunk genre has to say.. “Lavie Tidhar’s The Bookman is simply the best book I’ve read in a long time, and I read a lot of books. If you’re worried that Steampunk has turned into a mere fashion aesthetic, then you’d better read this one. It’s a stunningly imaginative remix of history, technology, literature, and Victorian adventure that’s impossible to put down. The book is immensely smart and readable at the same time. I very much hope that it’s the first of many such books. Buy it.“

Realms of Fantasy magazine is promoting its brand, spanking new website with a free download of their current issue (Feb 2010) which features a superb story from our own Aliette De Bodard – whose debut novel Servant of the Underworld is due out very shortly from Angry Robot.

• Check out Aliette’s web site for more examples of her wonderful writing.

Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire, Iain Sinclair’s extraordinary exploration of the area of London in which he has lived for decades has been applauded and recommended on a number of “Best of 2009″ lists. The paperback edition is due for publication in February 2010 from Hamish Hamilton.

• ‘My award for the most beautifully published volume of the year goes to Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire by Iain Sinclair. Sinclair’s provocative blend of documentary and fantasy have made him the focus of a literary cult and devotees will be delighted by his latest production‘  — Erica Wagner, Literary Editor of The Times

• ‘Iain Sinclair is now a national treasure. Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire might just turn out to be the lasting legacy of London 2012‘ — Jonathan Bate, London Review Of Books

• ‘My favourite piece of non-fiction  [of 2009] was Iain Sinclair’s Hackney: That Rose-Red Empire, which sprawled and meandered as much as the borough’s streets do, but with rather more beauty‘ — Alex Clark, New Statesman

And hot on the heels of the cover art (see below), here’s an amazing trailer that Aliette has put together for her forthcoming novel Servant of the Underworld. Is there no end to this woman’s talents?

And the My Favorite Books blog is running an exlusive excerpt from Servant of the Underworld – check it out if you want to wet your appetite for this superb historical fantasy thriller, which will be published January 7th by Angry Robot.

Don’t they look lovely? Both books are due out from Angry Robot next January  in the UK and in the US next Autumn – or ‘Fall’ if you prefer!

• Lavie’s been in touch to let us know that he’s revamped and updated his web sote – it’s now a rather smart Wordpress affair, not dissimilar to this one!
  
  • Visit Lavie’s new web site

• Additionally – and I slap my own wrist for taking so long to post this here – Lavie’s anthology, THE APEX  BOOK OF WORLD SF has now been published  – see this interview with Lavie to find out more.
  
  • Visit Lavie’s WORLD SF web site

• A new story by Lavie, ‘Jews in Antarctica’ is now online at Fantasy Magazine.

• Lavie is nominated for one of Ann and Jeff Vandermeer’s Last Drink Bird Head Awards! He is up for the International Activism prize, given ‘In recognition of those who work to bring writers from other literary traditions and countries to the attention of readers in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia…’ The winners will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention in San José and the lucky recipient will receive a bird head figurine, a certificate, and chocolate. Fingers crossed (Lavie LOVES chocolate!)

• And finally, we’re delighted to announce the sale of Lavie’s novella MARTIAN SANDS, to Jason Sizemore at Apex Publications, a long time supporter and advocate of Lavie’s work. The novella will appear some time next year or in early 2011.

Both Johns will be attending this year’s World Fantasy Convention in San José, California from Oct 29th thru Nov 1st.  Do come and say ‘Hi’.

Here at Zeno towers, I have been quietly working away for some months on something of pet project. Anyone who knows me also knows that my favourite author nonpareil is the American genre writer Tim Powers. I won’t waste time repeating all the reasons why his work has thrilled and fascinated me for over twenty years, except to say that it did so enough for me to spend the last ten of them writing a book on the subject!

SECRET HISTORIES is now available from PS Publishing, and one significant thing that occured to me whilst I was working on it was that, with only minor exceptions, Powers remained out of print here in the UK for almost the entire time I was writing about him -  a project I began in the previous century!

Given my expert knowledge on this particular subject, I decided to set about addressing the issue and it is with tremendous personal and professional pride that I am delighted to be able to announce that Zeno, in association with Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency, has just completed on a FOUR book deal for Tim with Nicholas Cheetham at Corvus Books, the new imprint at Grove Atlantic.

Corvus is a perfect home for Powers, who has for many year’s been confined to the genre ghetto. However, the wider readership is nowadays far more receptive to genre-friendly, mainstream-cross-over novels in the wake of the Dan Brown phenomenon and the runaway success  in recent years of novels such as The Historian and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.  Publishing Director Nic Cheetham says of the imprint “Corvus takes a particular delight in patrolling those fertile zones of convergence at genre borders, where the best stories are to be found, where entire worlds – historical, psychological, fantastical – are built just to tell stories,” which makes things sound pretty much tailor made for Powers!

The Corvus deal sees publication both backlist and frontlist titles, bringing Powers back to a British and Commonwealth  audience with a fanfare that this extraordinary author truly deserves. Their programme begins with a mass market paperback edition of DECLARE – Tim’s 2000 World Fantasy Award winner, described as a “…transcendent thriller that re-writes the espionage fiction rule book as it reveals the terrible secret at the heart of the Cold War…” and scheduled for publication in June 2010. It’s hard to believe that this will be the first UK publication of this novel. Note that the image to the right is merely a design rough from the Corvus catalogue and may well change in due course. (I like it though!)

Nic Cheetham: “Everyone is a Tim Powers fan, but just not everybody knows it… yet. We’re looking forward to changing that in June with the publication of Tim’s World Fantasy Award-winning spy novel DECLARE.”

Following DECLARE will be another first UK publication, this time of THREE DAYS TO NEVER (format to be confirmed) currently scheduled for a January 2011 release, though subject to change. Corvus and will then publish a brand new Powers novel sometime later in that year. THE LIGHTS ALONG THE SHORE is set some years after the events of THE STRESS OF HER REGARD, to which it is a loose sequel.  STRESS will also be reissued as part of the deal.

So, there you have it folks – Powers is back in the UK with a new publisher, a new book and ready to find a new audience. Happy days!

Following our recent announcement regarding début novel deals for Aliette de Bodard and Lavie Tidhar, we’re delighted to announce two more to Angry Robot, the exciting new genre imprint at Harpercollins.

First up is a two book deal for John Meaney, who of course is already widely known as a Science Fiction author of immense talent (Robert J. Sawyer says that he’s ‘One of the most original voices, and most insightful thinkers, the genre has ever produced‘) and ABSORPTION,  the first novel in his new Space Opera sequence is due out from Gollancz next February.  Writing under the name Thomas Blackthorn – John will have two near future thrillers, EDGE and POINT published by Angry Robot, the first next February and the second in August 2010. Here’s what Angry Robot publishing Director Marc Gascoigne says of these…

‘[In EDGE] …we find ourselves in a decaying UK. The government’s response to decades of uncontrollable knife crime has been to legalise duelling, turning fighting with blades into a legitimate activity. The pinnacle of this new “sport” is the primetime TV show Knife Edge, in which have-a-go members of the public can compete against trained knifemen for ever greater rewards. So you know just what our ex-soldier hero Josh Cumberland will have to do to get to the bottom of his hunt for a missing child…

Its equally extraordinary sequel, POINT, takes us deep into the razor-wielding world of the Cutter Circles. But even in these Last Days, who the hell would want to deliberately cause the UK’s teenagers to self-harm and commit suicide? It’s up to Josh Cumberland to find out.’

We also delighted to have negotiate a three-book deal on behalf of Matt Hughes, a writer whom I’ve admired since my reviewing days. Matt’s recent releases in the US – the Henghis Hapthorn books published by Nightshade are a massively enjoyable mix of P.G. Wodehouse, Sherlock Holmes and Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, and I am hoping to find a home for them in the UK before too long, especially in the wake of the current Jack Vance renaissance. Matt has however, changed hats somewhat with these new books for Angry Robot which as yet are untitled. Here’s Marc Gascoigne again…

‘[Matt]… brings us a trio of novels featuring mild-mannered actuary Chesney Anstruther. After he accidentally summons a demon (as you do), the canny Anstruther refuses to go ahead with any soul-selling, which leads through various confusions to, well, Hell going on strike. Which means that nothing bad ever happens in the world… with disastrous consequences. When Satan offers him his heart’s desire to sort the whole mess out, our hero seizes his chance, and becomes a caped crimefighter, with a very unwilling demon for a sidekick.

Volume one of Anstruther’s outrageous shenanigans will be with you in August 2010, with at least two more to follow at six-month intervals. The titles themselves… well, we’re going to keep you in suspense a little longer on those. Bring it on!‘

Bring it on indeed! Congratulation to both John (or Thomas, if you prefer) and Matt and of course to Angry Robot. More on these releases in due course.

… a brand new web site!

And, as if that’s not reason enough to throw a party, Steve’s brand new novella, a chilling psychological thriller entitled Vardøger is now available for pre-order from Grey Friar Press.

It is being released in two separate limited states – there’ll be 300 unsigned trade paperbacks and 100 signed hardcover copies. Stocks are limited, so get your order in now!