Ben Aaronovitch is GoH at Picocon


We’re very happy to share the news that Ben Aaronovitch will be a Guest of Honour at Picocon this Saturday (17th)! Taking place in Imperial College’s Blackett Building in London, you can find full details here.

Ben is, of course, the author of the best-selling, critically-acclaimed Peter Grant series of novels and comics. The next book in the series, LIES SLEEPING, is due out later this year. Be sure to keep checking our site for the cover and more details (hopefully soon). In the meantime, the first six novels in the series are out now, published by Gollancz in the UK, and Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-6) in the US. The novels have also been widely published in translation all over the globe. The aforementioned comic series, co-written with Andrew Cartmel, is published by Titan Comics.

WHISPERS UNDERGROUND heard in Poland…


Ben Aaronovitch‘s WHISPERS UNDERGROUND is out now in Poland! The third novel in the author’s best-selling, critically-acclaimed Peter Grant series, is published by MAG as SZEPTY POD ZIEMIĄ. Here’s the synopsis…

Nazywam się Peter Grant i jestem detektywem posterunkowym w potężnej armii sprawiedliwości znanej jako policja londyńska (tudzież psiarnia). Szkolę się także na czarodzieja, jestem pierwszym takim uczniem od pięćdziesięciu lat. Oficjalnie pracuję w wydziale do zwalczania przestępstw gospodarczych i innych, w jednostce dziewiątej, znanej też jako Szaleństwo i jako jednostka, o której grzeczni, dobrze wychowani gliniarze nie rozmawiają w kulturalnym towarzystwie.

Od poniedziałku mam okazję zająć się prawdziwą policyjną robotą. Niezidentyfikowana Ofiara została zadźgana na torach metra przy stacji Baker Street. Obecność magii niewykluczona.

Niezidentyfikowana Ofiara okazuje się synem amerykańskiego senatora i zanim zdążysz powiedzieć „międzynarodowy incydent” do sprawy posterunkowego detektywa Granta dołącza agentka FBI Kimberley Reynolds.

A w ciemnych tunelach londyńskiego metra, pośród pogrzebanych rzek i wiktoriańskich rynsztoków niesie się szept o zemście zza grobu.

Najnowsza sprawa posterunkowego detektywa Granta zaraz się wtoczy na śliskie tory…

Also available from MAG today, new editions of the first two novels in the series: RIVERS OF LONDON and MOON OVER SOHO, published as RZEKI LONDYNU and KSIĘŻYC NAD SOHO, respectively.

These three novels are published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey. Here’s the English-language synopsis for WHISPERS UNDERGROUND

A WHOLE NEW REASON TO MIND THE GAP

It begins with a dead body at the far end of Baker Street tube station, all that remains of American exchange student James Gallagher — and the victim’s wealthy, politically powerful family is understandably eager to get to the bottom of the gruesome murder. The trouble is, the bottom — if it exists at all — is deeper and more unnatural than anyone suspects… except, that is, for London constable and sorcerer’s apprentice Peter Grant. With Inspector Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, tied up in the hunt for the rogue magician known as “the Faceless Man,” it’s up to Peter to plumb the haunted depths of the oldest, largest, and — as of now — deadliest subway system in the world.

At least he won’t be alone. No, the FBI has sent over a crack agent to help. She’s young, ambitious, beautiful… and a born-again Christian apt to view any magic as the work of the devil. Oh yeah — that’s going to go well.

Gollancz has published all six of the novels in the Peter Grant series to date, as well as the new novella, THE FURTHEST STATION. DAW Books has published books 4-6 in North America, and Subterranean Press publishes the novella.

Ben Aaronovitch, giving away the secrets to writing fantasy fiction…


This weekend — July 1st, to be exact — Sunday Times-bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch will be attending the Writers & Artists full-day conference on how to write fantasy fiction.

Specifically, Ben will be hosting a workshop — “Gripping your reader from the off: writing a compelling introduction to your world” — from 9am to 10:30am.

Ben Aaronovitch is the author of the bestselling, critically-acclaimed Peter Grant urban fantasy series. Currently comprised of six novels, four comic series and an upcoming novella, the series grows in popularity every year.

The novels are published in the UK by Gollancz, in the US by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-6), and widely in translation. They include: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER and THE HANGING TREE. The upcoming novella is THE FURTHEST STATION, due to be published by Gollancz and Subterranean Press in September.

The Rivers of London comic series are published by Titan Comics: BODY WORK, NIGHT WITCH, BLACK MOULD, and the ongoing DETECTIVE STORIES.

Covering the Collected BLACK MOULD…


Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel‘s critically-acclaimed third Rivers of London comic series, BLACK MOULD will be published by Titan Comics in a collected edition next month! Above you can see the cover, and here’s the synopsis…

It creeps! It crawls! It ooooozes! Something dark and slimy is dripping through the walls of suburban London. Not usually a police matter but there’s something very weird about this mould. Police Constable Peter Grant and his unwilling partner, Sahra Guleed, soon find themselves knee deep in killer muck! Meanwhile, their boss, Thomas Nightingale, is preparing to do battle against a haunted ice cream van. Good times.

The cover and series artwork is by the always-excellent Lee Sullivan and Luis Guerrero.

In the continuity of the larger Peter Grant series, BLACK MOULD falls between the fifth novel FOXGLOVE SUMMER and the NIGHT WITCH comic series, and the upcoming THE FURTHEST STATION novella and the recently-released sixth novel THE HANING TREE. (Ben has a full continuity on his website.)

The Peter Grant novels are published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-6). The Rivers of London comics are published by Titan Comics.

Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series has been nominated for a Hugo!


Ben Aaronovitch‘s critically-acclaimed, best-selling Peter Grant series has been nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Series category!

The series is currently comprised of RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER and THE HANGING TREE. The series is published by Gollancz in the UK, and in the US by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-6). The novels have also been widely published in translation. A new novella, THE FURTHEST STATION is out later this year, published by Gollancz (UK) and Subterranean Press (US). Ben is also writing an ongoing comic series with Andrew Cartmel, published by Titan Comics.

Here’s the synopsis for the first novel in the series…

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit — we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to — and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I’m a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden… and there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos — or die trying.

Winners of the awards will be announced at the 75th World Science Fiction Convention in Helsinki, Finland, on August 11th.

Ben Aaronovitch interview and upcoming event


Ben Aaronovitch was recently interviewed for The Bestseller Experiment podcast…

Also, on July 1st, Ben is scheduled to lead a workshop on the key elements of writing fantasy fiction, as part of a Writers & Artists event in London!

Ben is the critically-acclaimed, best-selling author of the Peter Grant urban fantasy series. The series so far includes six novels, published in the UK by Gollancz, in the US by Del Rey and DAW Books, and widely in translation…

… an upcoming novella, due to be published by Gollancz and Subterranean Press

… and three comic series published by Titan Comics

WHISPERS UNDERGROUND Now Available in Hungary


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WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, Ben Aaronovitch‘s third Peter Grant novel, is out now in Hungary. Published by Gabo as FÖLD ALATTI SUTTOGÁS, here’s the synopsis…

A londoni rendőrök holttestre bukkannak a Baker Street-i metróállomás távoli végénél: az áldozat egy amerikai cserediák, James Gallagher, akinek politikailag befolyásos családja érthető módon mielőbb a végére akar járni a hátborzongató gyilkosságnak. A probléma csak az, hogy senki sem tudja, ehhez milyen mélyre kell ásniuk – senki, kivéve a közrendőr és mágustanonc Peter Grantet. Nightingale főfelügyelő, Anglia utolsó bejegyzett varázslójának támogatásával Peter neki is áll feltérképezni a legnagyobb, legrégibb, és újabban legveszedelmesebb metróhálózat bugyrait. Ráadásul segítséget is kapnak az FBI-tól Kimberley Reynolds különleges ügynök személyében, aki azonban nem repesne az örömtől, ha tudná, mi minden zajlik a felszín alatt.

Gabo have also published the first two novels in the series, RIVERS OF LONDON (LONDON FOLYÓI) and MOON OVER SOHO (SOHO FELETT A HOLD). WHISPERS UNDERGROUND is published in the UK by Gollancz (who publish the whole series), and in the US by Del Rey. It has also been published widely in translation. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it’s just as well – he’s already had run-ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the Police Force is less easy. Especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn’t even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at. And then there’s his love life. The last person he fell for ended up seriously dead. It wasn’t his fault, but still.

Now something horrible is happening in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up the tube system that honeycombs the ancient foundations of London. And delays on the Northern line is the very least of it. Time to call in the Met’s Economic and Specialist Crime Unit 9, aka ‘The Folly’. Time to call in PC Peter Grant, Britain’s Last Wizard.

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The Peter Grant series, to date, includes: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER and the upcoming THE HANGING TREE. It also includes the comic series RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK and NIGHT WITCH, published by Titan Comics.

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RIVERS OF LONDON Wins Two New Awards!


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We’re very happy to report that Ben Aaronovitch‘s RIVERS OF LONDON has won two awards from the Czech Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror! Presented at Prague Book Fair, the novel — published in Czech by Argo as ŘEKY LONDÝNA — won in the Best Fantasy/Horror Novel of the Year, and the cover (above) won Best Artistic Achievement!

Here’s the synopsis…

Jedna z nejúspěšnějších městských fantasy uplynulého desetiletí vás zavede do Londýna, ve kterém u policie slouží čarodějové a po ulicích se prohánějí zlovolní duchové či božstva na válečné stezce.

Jmenuji se Peter Grant. Ještě nedávno jsem byl obyčejný četnický zelenáč v řadách londýnské Metropolitní policie. Jedné noci jsem se ale při vyšetřování jisté vraždy pokusil získat svědeckou výpověď od muže, který byl sice mrtvý, ale jinak znepokojivě výřečný, což mi zajistilo pozornost vrchního inspektora Nightingalea, posledního čaroděje Anglie. A právě tehdy začal můj příběh. Nyní jsem policejní detektiv a čarodějův učeň, první učedník za padesát let, a můj svět už není zdaleka tak jednoduchý, jak býval.

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RIVERS OF LONDON and MOON OVER SOHO (MĚSÍC NAD SOHO) are both available now in Czech, published by Argo. WHISPERS UNDERGROUND is due to be published by Argo on September 30th, 2016, as ŠEPOT PODZEMÍ.

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The Peter Grant series is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey (1-3) and DAW Books (4-6). The next novel in the series, THE HANGING TREE, is due out later this year. In case you’ve somehow missed it, here’s the English-language synopsis for RIVERS OF LONDON

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit – we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to — and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I’m a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden … and there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos — or die trying.

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Ian Tregillis‘s BITTER SEEDS, the first in his Milkweed Triptych, was a runner up for Best Fantasy/Horror novel. Published by Argo as HOŘKÁ SETBA, here’s the synopsis…

Píše se rok 1939. Na straně nacistů se k boji chystají nadlidé, na straně Britů démoni. Co čeká obyčejného člověka, který se mezi ně připlete?
Britského tajného agenta Rayboulda Marshe pronásleduje vzpomínka na Němku, kterou těsně před koncem španělské občanské války letmo zahlédl v barcelonském přístavu. Mrkala na něho jako stará známá. A do otvorů v lebce jí vedly dráty.

Krátce po vypuknutí druhé světové války nasadí Třetí říše na zvláštní mise vojáky s nadpřirozenými schopnostmi.<brJe právě na Marshovi, aby svoji vlast uchránil před ženou, která se umí učinit neviditelnou, před mužem procházejícím zdmi a před onou neznámou z Barcelony, které její schopnost nahlížet do budoucnosti umožňuje přetvářet přítomnost. Aby odvrátil bezprostředně hrozící invazi, vystopuje Marsh britské čaroděje, hrstku podivínů tajících svoji existenci před světem. Každé kouzlo si ovšem žádá oběť, a Británie možná za svou obranu zaplatí stejně strašlivou daň jako za opravdovou bitvu…

Argo are due to publish the second and third books in the Milkweed series this year: THE COLDEST WAR (NEJSTUDENĚJŠÍ VÁLKA) and NECESSARY EVIL (NUTNÉ ZLO).

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The Milkweed Triptych are published in the UK by Orbit Books. Here’s the English-language synopsis for the first novel…

The year is 1939. Raybould Marsh and other members of British Intelligence have gathered to watch a damaged reel of film in a darkened room. It appears to show German troops walking through walls, bursting into flames and hurling tanks into the air from afar.

If the British are to believe their eyes, a twisted Nazi scientist has been endowing German troops with unnatural, unstoppable powers. And Raybould will be forced to resort to dark methods to hold the impending invasion at bay.

But dealing with the occult exacts a price. And that price must be paid in blood.

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Zeno represents Ian Tregillis in the UK and Translation, on behalf of Kay McCauley at Aurous, Inc.

Aaronovitch’s MOON OVER SOHO now available in Czech


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MOON OVER SOHO, the second novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s best-selling and critically-acclaimed Peter Grant series, is now available in Czech! Published by Kosmas as MĚSÍC NAD SOHO, here’s the synopsis…

Jmenuji se Peter Grant. Ještě nedávno jsem byl obyčejný četnický zelenáč v řadách londýnské Metropolitní policie. Jedné noci jsem se ale při vyšetřování vraždy zapletl s duchem, a všiml si mě tak vrchní inspektor Nightingale, poslední čaroděj Anglie. A tak teď stojím jako člen dvoučlenné speciální policejní jednotky v márnici nad tělem zavražděného jazzmana a snažím se získat z jeho mrtvého těla záznam melodie, důležitou stopu ve vyšetřování jeho vraždy. To fakt umím. A nejen to. A tak vím, že v Soho řádí vrah, který má nadpřirozené schopnosti a jedině naše jednotka je schopna ho zastavit.

The novel is published in the UK by Gollancz, and in the US by Del Rey. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

Peter Grant is not just a lowly Detective Constable, he’s also apprenticed to the last wizard in Britain: policing will never be the same again!

I was my dad’s vinyl-wallah: I changed his records while he lounged around drinking tea, and that’s how I know my Argo from my Tempo. And it’s why, when Dr Walid called me to the morgue to listen to a corpse, I recognised the tune it was playing. Something violently supernatural had happened to the victim, strong enough to leave its imprint like a wax cylinder recording. Cyrus Wilkinson, part-time jazz saxophonist and full-time accountant, had apparently dropped dead of a heart attack just after finishing a gig in a Soho jazz club. He wasn’t the first.

No one was going to let me exhume corpses to see if they were playing my tune, so it was back to old-fashioned legwork, starting in Soho, the heart of the scene. I didn’t trust the lovely Simone, Cyrus’ ex-lover, professional jazz kitten and as inviting as a Rubens’ portrait, but I needed her help: there were monsters stalking Soho, creatures feeding off that special gift that separates the great musician from someone who can raise a decent tune. What they take is beauty. What they leave behind is sickness, failure and broken lives.

And as I hunted them, my investigation got tangled up in another story: a brilliant trumpet player, Richard ‘Lord’ Grant – my father – who managed to destroy his own career, twice. That’s the thing about policing: most of the time you’re doing it to maintain public order. Occasionally you’re doing it for justice. And maybe once in a career, you’re doing it for revenge.

The novel has also been published in German, French, Japanese, Russian and more. Details can be found on Ben’s author page, and the all of the covers (to date) are below…

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RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK #3 Out Tomorrow


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The third issue in Ben Aaronovitch‘s RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK comic series is out tomorrow. Based on his best-selling and critically-acclaimed Peter Grant urban fantasy series, the comics are published by Titan Comics (in print an digital). Here’s the synopsis for #3…

The members – all two of them – of London’s most secret police force are on the trail of a self-driving killer car. But it takes something weird to catch something weird and soon they are behind the wheel of  – The Most Haunted Car in England!

The series is co-authored by Andrew Cartmel; art by Lee Sullivan; colours by Luis Guerrero.

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RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK is set between books four and five — BROKEN HOMES and FOXGLOVE SUMMER. The series is published in the UK by Gollancz; in the US by Del Rey and DAW Books; and has been published widely in translation. (More details can be found on his author page, and by contacting us.) The next novel in the series will be THE HANGING TREE.

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RIVERS OF LONDON Now Available in Czech!


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RIVERS OF LONDON, the best-selling first novel in Ben Aaronovitch‘s Peter Grant urban fantasy series, has been published by Kosmas in Czech. Published as ŘEKY LONDÝNA, here is the synopsis…

Jmenuji se Peter Grant. Ještě nedávno jsem byl obyčejný četnický zelenáč v řadách londýnské Metropolitní policie. Jedné noci jsem se ale při vyšetřování jisté vraždy pokusil získat svědeckou výpověď od muže, který byl sice mrtvý, ale jinak znepokojivě výřečný, což mi zajistilo pozornost vrchního inspektora Nightingalea, posledního čaroděje Anglie. A právě tehdy začal můj příběh.

Nyní jsem policejní detektiv a čarodějův učeň, první učedník za padesát let, a můj svět už není zdaleka tak jednoduchý, jak býval.

The cover design is by Ktaiwanita, who has posted a selection of variants online. Here’s the full-cover wrap…

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RIVERS OF LONDON (and the rest of the series) is published in the UK by Gollancz and Del Rey in the US (as MIDNIGHT RIOT). The novel has been published widely in translation, too — see Ben’s author page for details. Here’s the English-language synopsis…

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit — we do paperwork so real coppers don’t have to — and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from someone who was dead but disturbingly voluable, and that brought me to the attention of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England.

Now I’m a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated: nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden… and there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair.

The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos — or die trying.

The Peter Grant series includes: RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND, BROKEN HOMES, FOXGLOVE SUMMER and THE HANGING TREE. There is also a comic series published by Titan Comics, RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK, which takes place between books four and five.

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THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE is a Rising Star on Amazon UK!


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Simon Kurt Unsworth‘s upcoming horror-fantasy THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE has been selected by Amazon UK as a Rising Star for March 2015 — that is, a debut author to watch! We certainly agree. The first in a two-part series, THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE is due to be published in the UK by Del Rey on March 12th. Here’s the synopsis…

Welcome to hell…

… where skinless demons patrol the lakes and the waves of Limbo wash against the outer walls, while the souls of the Damned float on their surface, waiting to be collected.

When an unidentified, brutalised body is discovered, the case is assigned to Thomas Fool, one of Hell’s detectives, known as ‘Information Men’. But how do you investigate a murder where death is commonplace and everyone is guilty of something?

THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE is due to be published in North America by Doubleday, on March 3rd, 2015 (cover at end).

Speaking of THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE, Mslexia has invited Simon’s wife, Rosie Seymour, to write about the experience of being married to a soon-to-be published author. Rosie’s first piece was published recently, and you can read it here. Here’s the crux of the series…

‘We are only at the beginning of this strange and exciting journey and I genuinely have no idea where it will lead. Mslexia have invited me to blog in the lead up to and just beyond the release date and I hope to share with you our ups and downs, any tips that might be useful and hopefully shine a light into the mysterious world of first-time publishing… I’ve been with him every step of the way and given that I am trying to find my own way through the world of writing and into the world of publishing it’s a pretty darn useful journey to be taking. I’m hoping you’ll join us too.’

And, in other news, the novel has just received a great review in Publishers Weekly‘Unsworth’s care in constructing an imaginary world enables him to make the most of his debut’s challenging concept: a hard-boiled detective novel set in Hell itself… Unsworth offers intriguing variations on traditional themes and some memorably hair-raising prose…’

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Upcoming Ben Aaronovitch Event! (Bristol)


This Friday, May 16th, best-selling author Ben Aaronovitch will be taking part in an event hosted by Waterstone’s Bristol.

Murder Most Magical features three of the biggest names in crime/fantasy: alongside Ben, Paul Cornell and Jasper Fforde will be in conversation courtesy of BristolCon. The event is ticketed – tickets are just £3, and are available from the shop.

Ben is, of course, the author of the Sunday Times Bestselling Peter Grant series, published in the UK by Gollancz. The series currently comprises RIVERS OF LONDON, MOON OVER SOHO, WHISPERS UNDERGROUND and BROKEN HOMES, with more novels planned. The series has also been published in the US (by Del Rey and DAW Books), Germany (DTV), France (J’ai Lu), and a number of other territories (more details, here). The next novel in the series, tentatively titled FOXGLOVE SUMMER, is due out later this year – watch this space for more information as-and-when we have it!

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Ben Aaronovitch’s WHISPERS UNDER GROUND Wins Award in Germany!


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We’re delighted to report that the German edition of Ben Aaronovitch‘s WHISPERS UNDER GROUNDEIN WISPERN UNTER BAKER STREET – has won second place in the fantasy category of Der Leserpreis, which is a prize voted for by readers (a German Readers’ Choice, if you will). Here’s the German synopsis…

Aaronovitch-PG3-WhispersUndergroundDE-BlogEs ist ja nicht so, dass Peter Grant, Zauberer in Ausbildung und Police Constable in London, nichts für das Üben von Zaubersprüchen und das Pauken von Lateinvokabeln übrig hätte – bestimmt nicht! Aber es ist doch immer wieder schön, wenn zur Abwechslung auch mal reelle Polizeiarbeit gefragt ist. Eine unbekannte Person wird im U-Bahn-Tunnel nahe der Station Baker Street tot aufgefunden – erstochen, und es deuten unübersehbare Anzeichen auf die Anwesenheit von Magie hin. Ein Fall für Peter, keine Frage. Der unbekannte Tote stellt sich als amerikanischer Kunststudent und Sohn eines US-Senators heraus, und ehe man noch “internationale Verwicklungen” sagen kann, hat Peter bereits die FBI-Agentin Kimberley Reynolds mitsamt ihren felsenfesten religiösen Überzeugungen am Hals. Dabei gestalten sich seine Ermittlungen auch so schon gruselig genug, denn tief in Londons Untergrund, in vergessenen Flüssen und viktorianischen Abwasserkanälen, hört er ein Wispern von alten Künsten und gequälten Geistern …

EIN WISPERN UNTER BAKER STREET is published in Germany by DTV. WHISPERS UNDER GROUND, the third in Ben’s Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, is published by Gollancz in the UK, Del Rey in the US, and J’ai Lu in France (as MURMURES SOUTERRAINS).

Here is the English synopsis (in case you don’t speak German)…

Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And its just as well – he’s already had run ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the Police Force is less easy. Especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn’t even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at. And then there’s his love life. The last person he fell for ended up seriously dead. It wasn’t his fault, but still.

Now something horrible is happening in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up the tube system that honeycombs the ancient foundations of London. And delays on the Northern line is the very least of it. Time to call in the Met’s Economic and Specialist Crime Unit 9, aka ‘The Folly’. Time to call in PC Peter Grant, Britains Last Wizard.

Ebury Snaps Up OSIRIS…


We’re delighted to announce that Michael Rowley, Editorial Director at Ebury has bought UK and Commonwealth rights to E.J.Swift‘s OSIRIS, and two further titles in the series in a deal negotiated by John Berlyne of the Zeno Agency. Ebury will publish the first book next February under their newly named genre imprint Del Rey.

OSIRIS (which featured recently on io9) has already been published to excellent reviews by Night Shade in the US and the author has quickly gathered an online presence with a series of excellent guest blog posts at places such as The Night Bazaar, SF Signal and The Qwillery. She will shortly be attending her first Worldcon, Chicon7 in Chicago – see here for her schedule.

A vivid, exotic, turbulent world on the far, far side of our own era, populated by characters delicate and brawling, refined and coarse, timid and bold, vengeful and loving—in short, a full spectrum of humanity.’ — Paul Di Filippo, author of A PRINCESS OF THE LINEAR JUNGLE

At a time when writing the far future novels is harder and harder Swift does it with style, brains and heart. OSIRIS is a fine mix of mystery and apocalyptic intrigue on a human scale.’ — Richard Kadrey, author of SANDMAN SLIM