John Jarrold

Guest Blog from Rod Rees

John — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:38:18 +0000

Third Two-book WEREWORLD Deal for Curtis Jobling

John — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:19:42 +0000

The John Jarrold Literary Agency is excited to announce Puffin’s acquisition of two further fantasy novels in the 11+ Wereworld series by British author and artist Curtis Jobling. Shannon Park, Editorial Director at Puffin secured world rights for the books from the John Jarrold Literary Agency, for an undisclosed five-figure sum. The novels are both due for publication in 2013.

The first volume in the series was published in January 2011 and shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize. Its immediate success has led to Puffin moving the second volume from early 2012 to the summer of 2011, with two further volumes following in 2012. Curtis has just completed a UK publicity tour for book three, Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk, in which he spoke to 2,500 students.

Curtis Jobling designed the Bafta winning BOB THE BUILDER and is also the creator of FRANKENSTEIN’S CAT, the BBC’s hit children’s animation series based upon his book of the same name. In addition he has numerous shows in development with Disney, the BBC and others.
His website is at: http://www.curtisjobling.com.

For further details, please contact John Jarrold or Jayde Lynch on:
John Jarrold email, j.jarrold@btinternet.com phone, 01522 510544
Jayde Lynch email, Jayde.Lynch@uk.penguingroup.com phone, 020 7010 3072
Rights: Zosia Knopp email, Zosia.Knopp@uk.penguingroup.com phone 020 7010 3113

JJLA Titles for February 2012

John — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:59:09 +0000

7th February

THE ORDER OF THE SCALES by STEPHEN DEAS (ROC US) FANTASY NOVEL, HBK. FIRST US PUBLICATION

THE KING OF THE CRAGS by STEPHEN DEAS (ROC US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

9th February

THE ORDER OF THE SCALES by STEPHEN DEAS (GOLLANCZ UK PBK) FANTASY NOVEL.

14th February

THE RITUAL by ADAM NEVILL (ST MARTIN’S PRESS US) HORROR NOVEL, TPB. FIRST US PUBLICATION

16th February

FROM THE DEEP OF THE DARK by STEPHEN HUNT (HARPERCOLLINS UK) FANTASY NOVEL, TPB. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

JACK CLOUDIE by STEPHEN HUNT (HARPERCOLLINS UK) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

Agency title list for 2012

John — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:36:16 +0000

JJLA NOVELS IN 2012

Debut novels marked (*)

JANUARY

DARK EDEN by CHRIS BECKETT (GROVE ATLANTIC/CORVUS UK) SF NOVEL, HBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

WEREWORLD 3: SHADOW OF THE HAWK by CURTIS JOBLING (PUFFIN UK) YA DARK FANTASY, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

THE DEMI-MONDE: SPRING by ROD REES (QUERCUS UK) SF NOVEL, HBK/TPB. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

ORB SCEPTRE THRONE by IAN CAMERON ESSLEMONT (BANTAM UK) FANTASY NOVEL, HBK/TRADE PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

BABYLON STEEL by GAIE SEBOLD (SOLARIS UK/US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION*

THE RISE OF THE IRON MOON by STEPHEN HUNT (TOR US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

FEBRUARY

FROM THE DEEP OF THE DARK by STEPHEN HUNT (HARPERCOLLINS UK) FANTASY NOVEL, TPB. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

JACK CLOUDIE by STEPHEN HUNT (HARPERCOLLINS UK) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

THE RITUAL by ADAM NEVILL ( ST MARTIN’S PRESS US) HORROR NOVEL, TPB. FIRST US PUBLICATION

THE ORDER OF THE SCALES by STEPHEN DEAS (GOLLANCZ UK PBK/ROC US HBK) FANTASY NOVEL.

THE KING OF THE CRAGS by STEPHEN DEAS (ROC US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

MARCH

KINGS OF MORNING vy PAUL KEARNEY (SOLARIS UK/US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

THE RIVER OF SHADOWS by ROBERT V S REDICK (GOLLANCZ UK /DEL REY US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

SECRETS OF THE FIRE SEA by STEPHEN HUNT (TOR US) FANTASY NOVEL, HBK.

HOUSE OF BELLS by CHAZ BRENCHLEY (SEVERN HOUSE UK/US) HORROR NOVEL, HBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

APRIL

MAY

THE THIRD SECTION by JASPER KENT (BANTAM UK) SUPERNATURAL HISTORICAL NOVEL, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

THE BLACK MAUSOLEUM by STEPHEN DEAS (GOLLANCZ UK) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

LAST DAYS by ADAM NEVILL (PAN UK) HORROR NOVEL, TPB. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

BRINGER OF LIGHT by JAINE FENN (GOLLANCZ UK) SF NOVEL, PBK.

JUNE

WEREWORLD 4: NEST OF SERPENTS by CURTIS JOBLING (PUFFIN UK) YA DARK FANTASY, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

WEREWORLD 2: RAGE OF LIONS by CURTIS JOBLING (PENGUIN US) YA DARK FANTASY, PBK. FIRST US PUBLICATION

THE WARLOCK’S SHADOW by STEPHEN DEAS (GOLLANCZ UK) YA FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

THE SHIFTING PRICE OF PREY by SUZANNE MCLEOD (GOLLANCZ UK) SUPERNATURAL THRILLER, HBK/TPB. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

JULY

THE BROKEN ISLES by MARK NEWTON (TOR UK) FANTASY NOVEL, TPB. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

THE BOOK OF TRANSFORMATIONS by MARK NEWTON (TOR UK) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

AUGUST

NIGHT OF THE SWARM by ROBERT V S REDICK (GOLLANCZ UK /DEL REY US) FANTASY NOVEL, HBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

THE KING’S ASSASSIN by STEPHEN DEAS (GOLLANCZ UK) YA FANTASY NOVEL, HBK, TRADE PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

SEPTEMBER

THE FRACTAL PRINCE by HANNU RAJANIEMI (GOLLANCZ UK/TOR US) SF NOVEL, HBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

FROM THE DEEP OF THE DARK by STEPHEN HUNT (HARPERCOLLINS UK) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

OCTOBER

THE DEMI-MONDE: SPRING by ROD REES (QUERCUS UK) SF NOVEL, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

THE DEMI-MONDE: WINTER by ROD REES (MORROW US) SF NOVEL, PBK.

LAST DAYS by ADAM NEVILL (PAN UK) HORROR NOVEL, PBK.

HELIX WARS by ERIC BROWN (SOLARIS UK/US) SF NOVEL, PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

ORB SCEPTRE THRONE by IAN CAMERON ESSLEMONT (BANTAM UK) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

NOVEMBER

BLOOD AND BONE by IAN CAMERON ESSLEMONT (BANTAM UK) FANTASY NOVEL, HBK/TRADE PBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

QUEEN OF NOWHERE by JAINE FENN (GOLLANCZ UK) SF NOVEL, HBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

PANDAEMONIUM by BEN MACALLAN (SOLARIS UK/US) SUPERNATURAL THRILLER, PBK. (PSEUDONYM). FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

DECEMBER

SO DEEP A MALICE by JOHN GWYNNE (TOR UK) FANTASY NOVEL, HBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION*

SWORD OF CALEDOR by WILLIAM KING (BLACK LIBRARY UK/US). WARHAMMER FANTASY NOVEL, HBK. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

BLOOD OF AENARION by WILLIAM KING (BLACK LIBRARY UK/US). WARHAMMER FANTASY NOVEL, PBK.

First Agency Deal for 2012

John — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:17:04 +0000

Jonathan Oliver, commissioning editor of Solaris Books, has acquired SF novel SERENE INVASION by Eric Brown. The novel will be delivered later in 2012, for an early 2013 publication. The agent was John Jarrold, and the deal was for UK/US rights.

SERENE INVASION spans the first twenty-five years following an alien invasion of Earth.
It’s an entirely peaceable invasion, with the aliens coming, as they see it, to save humanity from self-destruction.
The novel opens in 2025, with the world riven by war, terrorist attacks, poverty and increasingly desperate demands for water, oil, resources. The West and China are sending forces into Africa and South America in order to ‘stabilise’ regimes there, but in reality to garner precious land on which to farm intensively, mine for resources and drill for oil. Much of the global conflict surrounds the dearth of natural resources in an overpopulated world, with the rich West and China doing nothing to alter their materialistic life-style.
And then the Serene arrive.

Agency Titles for January 2012

John — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:51:08 +0000

1 January

DARK EDEN BY CHRIS BECKETT (GROVE ATLANTIC/CORVUS UK) SF NOVEL, PBK. BRITISH AUTHOR, CAMBRIDGE. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

3 January

THE RISE OF THE IRON MOON BY STEPHEN HUNT (TOR US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK. BRITISH AUTHOR, SURREY.

5 January

WEREWORLD 3: SHADOW OF THE HAWK BY CURTIS JOBLING (PUFFIN UK) YA DARK FANTASY, PBK. BRITISH AUTHOR, LANCASHIRE. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

THE DEMI-MONDE: SPRING BY ROD REES (QUERCUS UK) SF NOVEL, HBK/TPB. BRITISH AUTHOR, DERBYSHIRE. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

BABYLON STEEL BY GAIE SEBOLD (SOLARIS UK/US) FANTASY NOVEL, PBK. BRITISH AUTHOR, LONDON. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION*

19 January

ORB SCEPTRE THRONE BY IAN CAMERON ESSLEMONT (BANTAM UK) FANTASY NOVEL, HBK/TRADE PBK. US AUTHOR. FIRST WORLD PUBLICATION

Pre-emptive World Rights Deal for JJLA Client

John — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:36:47 +0000

John Wordsworth, Commissioning Editor at Headline, has concluded a pre-emptive three-book World rights deal for an epic fantasy series by UK author Richard Ford with the agent John Jarrold, for a strong five-figure sum in pounds sterling. The first volume is provisionally titled Steelhaven and introduces a strong cast of characters in a fascinatingly constructed world and city setting.
Richard is a freelance editor and proof-reader who has just had his debut Steampunk novel Kultus published by Solaris. ‘I’ve always loved fantasy that pushes the boundaries; that takes no prisoners and does what you least expect from the genre,’ he said. ‘With Steelhaven I wanted to see what would happen if you took popular fantasy tropes and attacked them with modern concepts from TV and film. What if David Gemmell’s Legend was mixed with HBO’s The Wire? What if you took the characters from a Tarantino movie and stuck them in a fantasy metropolis on the brink of destruction?’
John Jarrold said: ‘Steelhaven blew me away. The interweaving storylines and varied characters drew me in from the first page, as did the fluid, involving prose and story-telling. I believe we are talking about a major new fantasy talent here, to rank with Joe Abercrombie, Peter V Brett and others. The immediate enthusiasm from John and his colleagues was wonderful and I’m delighted to conclude the agency’s first deal with Headline.’
‘Steelhaven is about as edgy a fantasy as I’ve ever read,’ said John Wordsworth. ‘It feels both modern and classic at the same time. I am absolutely thrilled that Richard is joining Headline and I can’t wait to help unleash this monster upon the unsuspecting public.’

For further information please contact:

John Jarrold, e-mail j.jarrold@btinternet.com phone 01522 510544.

John Wordsworth, email john.wordsworth@headline.co.uk

Solaris Acquire Gaie Sebold Fantasy Sequel

John — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:51:52 +0000

Jonathan Oliver, commissioning editor of Solaris Books, has acquired HUNTER’S MOON by Gaie Sebold, a sequel to BABYLON STEEL, the opening volume of a fast-moving fantasy series which is published in January 2012, and which bestselling author Mike Carey has characterised as: ‘Ingenious, gripping and full of pleasures on every level. Exceptional’.

The agent was John Jarrold, and the deal was for UK/US rights. Solaris provisionally plan to publish early in 2013.

Babylon Steel, former Avatar of the goddess of sex and war, runs the best brothel in Scalentine; a city with gateways to many worlds and a widely varied and occasionally violent populace. Babylon has also become, somewhat against her will, bodyguard to the controversial new member of the ruling council in the nearby country of Incandress. Not to mention ‘unofficial Scalentine envoy’ or, to put it more bluntly, ‘spy’. And while she is trying to protect her charge, avoid clashing with Incandress’s rigid morality laws, and stop the whole country plunging into race massacre and civil war, someone back on Scalentine is killing weres. The city militia can’t, or won’t, catch them. And when your lover is the Chief of the city militia, who also happens to be a were, this is more than a little worrying.

Gaie Sebold works for a charity. She has won a few awards for poetry and has sold short stories to magazines including Black Gate, Legend and City Slab, the recent Under the Rose anthology (Norilana) and the forthcoming End of an Aeon anthology (Fairwood Press). She is an occasional performance poet. She was born in the US but has lived in the UK most of her life, currently in an ‘up and coming’ area of London which doesn’t appear to have got very high yet. She is a member of T Party Writers, a London-based genre critique group.

SFX reviews for Philip Palmer and Gaie Sebold

John — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:53:28 +0000

Three-Book World English Rights Deal for David Barnett

John — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:20:36 +0000

Claire Eddy, Senior Editor at Tor Books in New York, has concluded a three-book World English Language rights deal for British author David Barnett, for a strong five-figure sum in US dollars. The agent was John Jarrold.

The first volume in this Steampunk series is titled HERO OF THE EMPIRE and introduces a young protagonist, Gideon Smith, who faces perils both natural and supernatural in Victorian England.

‘David’s writing and invention has fascinated me and drawn me in from the day I took him on,’ said John Jarrold. ‘I’m delighted that he now has a major deal, quite rightly.’

David Barnett is an author and award-winning journalist. He was born in Wigan in 1970 and has worked in regional newspapers since he was 19 years old. He is currently Assistant Editor (Content) at the Telegraph & Argus in Bradford, West Yorkshire, following a 22 year career in newspapers, predominantly as a writer/editorial manager for regional newspapers but which has also included work for publications as diverse as the Daily Star and the Guardian Online. He is the author of three published novels, HINTERLAND (2005) and ANGELGLASS (2007, described by the Guardian as ‘stunning’), both published by Immanion Press, and popCULT! (2011), Pendragon Press. In 2009 Immanion Press brought out a collection comprising a novella and 13 short stories, THE JANUS HOUSE AND OTHE TWO-FACED TALES. He is married to Claire, also an award-winning journalist, and they have two children, Charlie and Alice. He commented:

‘I’ve always loved fantastical fiction, especially that which is grounded in some form of recognisable reality. I think that’s why the alternative Victorian setting appeals to me so much; it’s just far enough away to be shrouded in the mystery of life lived beyond living memory, yet close enough to reflect our world and the way we live life today. It’s perfect for adding a veneer of the fantastic to.

‘The Gideon Smith books were born out of a desire to write something which combined the rip-roaring adventure that Victorian writers did so well with the sensibilities of a modern novel. I think it was watching my two young children rapt in front of Raiders of the Lost Ark which made me want to try to create something that even approached inspiring such jaw-dropping attention. But at the same time questioned the concept of the ‘hero’, from the point of view of the heroes themselves and the public who worship them.

‘Given Tor’s track record in publishing some of the novels in this genre that I love, I think they are the perfect outfit to bring Gideon Smith and his compatriots to the world and I am absolutely delighted to be working with them.’