British Fantasy Society - Zeno Agency Ltd.

The TEA MASTER, THE DETECTIVE, and the British Fantasy Award!

Posted on Thursday, October 24th, 2019

We’re delighted to share the news (in case you missed it) that Aliette de Bodard has won a British Fantasy Award for her novella THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE! A wholly deserved win for a novella that continues to receive glowing reviews quite some time since it was first published. Indeed, it also won a Nebula Award for Best Novella and was nominated in the same category for the Hugo and Locus Awards.

Originally published by Subterranean Press as a limited edition hardcover, it is still available as an eBook via Subterranean Press (North America) and JABberwocky’s eBook Program (English language elsewhere). Here’s the synopsis…

Welcome to the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals ruled by exiled human scholars and powerful families, and held together by living mindships who carry people and freight between the stars. In this fluid society, human and mindship avatars mingle in corridors and in function rooms, and physical and virtual realities overlap, the appearance of environments easily modified and adapted to interlocutors or current mood.

A transport ship discharged from military service after a traumatic injury, The Shadow’s Child now ekes out a precarious living as a brewer of mind-altering drugs for the comfort of space-travellers. Meanwhile, abrasive and eccentric scholar Long Chau wants to find a corpse for a scientific study. When Long Chau walks into her office, The Shadow’s Child expects an unpleasant but easy assignment. When the corpse turns out to have been murdered, Long Chau feels compelled to investigate, dragging The Shadow’s Child with her.

As they dig deep into the victim’s past, The Shadow’s Child realises that the investigation points to Long Chau’s own murky past–and, ultimately, to the dark and unbearable void that lies between the stars…

THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE is set in the author’s award-nominated Xuya Universe. Her latest publication with Subterranean Press is OF WAR, AND MEMORIES, AND STARLIGHT.

Aliette is also the author of the acclaimed, award-winning Dominion of the Fallen series, published by Gollancz in the UK, and Roc Books (#1-2) and JABberwocky (#3) in North America.

Five British Fantasy Society Award Nominations for Zeno Clients!

Posted on Friday, July 24th, 2015

This week, the British Fantasy Society announced the nominees for their 2015 Awards, and Zeno’s clients were rather well-represented.

First up, Lavie Tidhar received two nominations:

Best Collection – BLACK GODS KISS (PS Publishing)
Best Fantasy Novel – A MAN LIES DREAMING (Hodder)

Lavie’s nomination also led the headline in the Guardian‘s coverage of the Awards’ announcement. As we reported last month, A MAN LIES DREAMING also won the prestigious Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Hodder also published Lavie’s previous novel, THE VIOLENT CENTURY — it is also available in the US, via Thomas Dunne Books.

Edward Cox also received two nominations for THE RELIC GUILD (Gollancz), in the Best Fantasy Novel and the Best Newcomer categories. Edward’s second novel, THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS, is due to be publishing by Gollancz in the UK on October 15th, 2015.

CEMETERY GIRL: THE PRETENDERS (Jo Fletcher Books) by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden is nominated in the Best Comic/Graphic Novel category. The second instalment in this series, INHERITANCE, is due to be published by Jo Fletcher Books in mid-October 2015. Charlaine’s latest novel, DAY SHIFT, was published in the UK by Gollancz in May 2015.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday, 25 October 2015, at FantasyCon 2015 in Nottingham.

Zeno represents Charlaine Harris in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the JABberwocky Literary Agency in New York.

This Friday: Edward Cox is BFS Guest Author

Posted on Monday, June 1st, 2015

On Friday June 5th, Edward Cox is the British Fantasy Society’s guest author for their BFS Open Night. The event takes place at The Blacksmith & The Toffeemaker in London, from 7-11pm. Details for the night, and the address of the venue can be found here.

Edward is the author of the critically-acclaimed THE RELIC GUILD, which is published in the UK by Gollancz (paperback due out July 9th). Here’s the synopsis…

In the sealed Labyrinth, a young woman must find a way to control her magic and escape her prison in this remarkable debut fantasy.

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls 100 feet high.

Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.

The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth – and the lives of one million humans – Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.

Gollancz are also due to publish the sequel, THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS, on October 15th, 2015. Here are just a handful of great reviews THE RELIC GUILD has received so far…

‘A terrific debut novel, with plenty of scope for expansion and some really good world-building. Most importantly, lots of fun. Looking forward to the next one.’ — Joanne Harris

‘Very enjoyable epic fantasy in a noir-ish dystopian setting, emcompassing two time lines and dashes of vampirism and zombies – all neatly balanced despite it being a debut, with likeable characters and a fresh setting…’ — Tom Lloyd (author of Twilight Reign series)

‘All kinds of magic: alchemy, illusion, lycanthropy, necromancy, sorcery and thaumaturgy; this book has magic in its DNA… no figure lacks colour, no scene lacks substance and no twist lacks spice — the author takes the opportunity to invest everything with something. Stylistically it is a rich brew… a high concept fantasy packed with ideas, weird and wonderful characters and a mix of styles, at times evoking noir, urban fantasy, flavours of steampunk … Thought you knew where modern fantasy was at? THE RELIC GUILD will challenge your assumptions.’ — British Fantasy Society

‘THE RELIC GUILD is an intriguing, original and enjoyable book, a daring mix of genres …’ — Starburst

‘THE RELIC GUILD is a formidable debut from an author with huge potential, and I will be one of the first clamouring for a copy of the sequel.’ — Fantasy Faction