John Jarrold

Don D’Auria of Flame Tree Press has acquired World English rights in ANCESTRAL, the new novel by doyen of horror writers, Ramsey Campbell. The book will be published in 2026. The agent was John Jarrold.

Long ago the Bystone and Stanton families were enemies, for reasons nobody remembers now. Lou Stanton and Ray Bystone are married with a young son Tim. It’s his choice to spend a summer holiday visiting places in England the families seem to remember although they’ve never been there: the dauntingly dark Boggart’s Grot, Umbrage Cove where the ocean turns voracious, Fay Woods that birds have good reason to avoid, Stalking Edge where the fog feels as solid as flesh… If he’s driven by inherited memories, what is he bringing home? If even the ancestors who summoned what the sites hid were unable to control them, can anybody living do so?

Flame Tree have published Ramsey’s most recent novels, AN ECHO OF CHILDREN, THE INCUBATIONS, THE LONELY LANDS, FELLSTONES, THE WISE FRIEND and SOMEBODY’S VOICE, as well as a number of his backlist titles.

Ramsey Campbell  is the only living horror writer to appear in the Oxford Companion to English Literature. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Liverpool John Moores University in 2015.

Film-maker, screenwriter, producer and novelist Guillermo del Toro has tweeted about Ramsey Campbell: “An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that.”

Chiroptera Press have acquired English language limited-edition rights in COLD PRINT, a collection of Lovecraftian horror stories by Ramsey Campbell. The agent was John Jarrold.

The Oxford Companion to English Literature describes Ramsey Campbell as “Britain’s most respected living horror writer”, and the Washington Post sums up his work as “one of the monumental accomplishments of modern popular fiction”. His awards include the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association, the Living Legend Award of the International Horror Guild and the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University for outstanding services to literature. Among his novels are The Face That Must Die, Incarnate, Midnight Sun, The Count of Eleven, The Darkest Part of the Woods, The Overnight, Secret Story, The Grin of the Dark, Thieving Fear, Creatures of the Pool, The Seven Days of Cain, Ghosts Know, The Kind Folk, Think Yourself Lucky, Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach, The Wise Friend, Somebody’s Voice, Fellstones, The Lonely Lands, The Incubations and An Echo of Children. His Brichester Mythos trilogy consists of The Searching Dead, Born to the Dark and The Way of the Worm.His collections include Waking Nightmares, Ghosts and Grisly Things, Told by the Dead, Just Behind You, Holes for Faces, By the Light of My Skull, Fearful Implications,and a two-volume retrospective roundup (Phantasmagorical Stories) as well as The Village Killings and Other Novellas.His non-fiction is collected as Ramsey Campbell, Probably and Ramsey Campbell, Certainly, while Ramsey’s Rambles collects his video reviews, and Six Stooges and Counting is a book-length study of the Three Stooges. Limericks of the Alarming and Phantasmal is a history of horror fiction in the form of fifty limericks. His novels The Nameless, Pact of the Fathers and The Influence have been filmed in Spain, as well as a television series based on The Nameless. He is the President of the Society of Fantastic Films.

Ramsey Campbell was born in Liverpool in 1946 and still lives on Merseyside with his wife Jenny. His pleasures include classical music, good food and wine. His web site is at www.ramseycampbell.com.

Film-maker, screenwriter, producer and novelist Guillermo del Toro has tweeted about Ramsey Campbell: “An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that.”

US author Philip J Hay has joined the John Jarrold Literary Agency.

His debut novel is THE SOVEREIGN FLAME – a 95,000-word visionary fantasy where power demands sacrifice, and destiny is rewritten in fire.

For centuries, the Sovereign Dominion has maintained an illusion: six divine bloodlines, separate and distinct, each channelling different aspects of Solnara’s celestial flame. But when the heir Alyxander Kaen Sol witnesses his mother sacrifice herself to protect him from a dark, sentient cosmic force known as the Abyssal, he begins unravelling a truth that threatens the very foundation of his world: the flame burning in his veins isn’t simply his birthright – it’s a conscious force with its own agenda.

As Alyxander’s power surges beyond known limits, he discovers the division between bloodlines is a fabrication. Once, power flowed freely, and humanity was destined to evolve beyond its mortal shell – until the Sacred Orders imposed their doctrine to maintain control. Alyxander forges an unbreakable bond with Eris, an alluring shadow-walker whose darkness complements his flame in ways long forbidden.

Together, they uncover a devastating secret: Alyxander and his “cousin” Cassian are actually brothers – both sons of Divine Sovereign Augustus, born of forbidden love. Alyxander faces an impossible choice: embrace transcendence to guide humanity’s evolution, sacrificing his humanity and growing love for Eris, or surrender to ancient forces that would reinforce the barriers imprisoning humanity’s potential. As three paths – flame’s dominion, Abyssal’s dissolution, or something completely unprecedented – converge before him, Alyxander must answer the most profound question of all: Do you have the power to let power go?

THE SOVEREIGN FLAME fuses the lyrical intimacy of Patrick Rothfuss’s THE NAME OF THE WIND with the structural ambition of N.K. Jemisin’s THE BROKEN EARTH TRILOGY, and the philosophical depth of Frank Herbert’s DUNE – ultimately forging a modern myth of power, sacrifice, and transformation.

Many readers increasingly seek fantasy that combines intellectual depth with emotional resonance, and THE SOVEREIGN FLAME fills a growing market gap between traditional epic fantasy and more literary-oriented speculative fiction – appealing to both, while offering something genuinely innovative.

“I’m always seeking out authors whose writing makes my antennae spring up immediately – and Philip’s did. As I read on I saw that this is a wonderful book of immense scope, which will also appeal to fans of Christopher Ruocchio and Arkady Martine with its depth of setting and characterisation, and sheer, mind-bending invention,” said John Jarrold.

Philip is a 30-year-old African-American Harvard graduate (Class of 2017) with a background in poetry. As his debut, THE SOVEREIGN FLAME represents his vision of fantasy that transcends boundaries while remaining deeply personal – exploring questions of identity, sacrifice, and evolution that resonate in our divided world.

Wizard’s Tower is delighted to announce the acquisition of World English and ebook rights to two books in the Imperial Vices series by Chaz Brenchley. The agent was John Jarrold. Of the Emperor’s Kindness will be launched at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton later this year. Of the City’s Charity is scheduled for 2026.

Feremendas is an age-old empire, settled and certain. Clath is an alliance of smaller kingdoms, upstart and expansive. They are the two great powers of the world.

Malance is from Verantha, one of the little countries caught between. She was in Feremendas-city, working as an interpreter and having the time of her life, when Clath invaded her homeland and swallowed it whole. Bereft and alone, as other Veranthans slip away from the imperium to seek their families or join the resistance, she’s ready to follow—except that the emperor forbids it.

So long as the embassy remains open, Verantha still survives, at least as an idea, a seed, a hope. But an embassy demands an ambassador, and the official appointee has gone. Everyone’s gone, except Malance…

For more than a year now, Her Excellency Malance Hermentine has been mourning her lost land and struggling to find some balance in this new and bewildering life of hers. Ambassador by imperial decree for a country that no longer exists, she has a large and decaying house to manage with a ramshackle and eccentric household, and no budget at all. She has allies and enemies at court; she has beloved friends throughout the city, and one brewing relationship in the palace itself.

And now the emperor warns her that things are about to get worse…

Emperors, of course, do nothing without a reason.

Publisher, Cheryl Morgan, said, “When Chaz sent me the book I was entranced and read it in a single sitting. I’m sure readers will fall in love with Mal and her young friends as I did. But they should never forget that emperors are a devious bunch. Politics can turn deadly serious.”

For further information please email: info@wizardstowerpress.com; or John Jarrold: e-mail: j.jarrold@btinternet.com  phone: 01797 227426.

PS Publishing have acquired printed book rights in a new, untitled story collection by Neil Williamson – featuring new, unpublished material as well as previously published and award nominated stories. The theme of the collection is strange inheritances and weird bequests.

Neil Williamson was born in Motherwell, Scotland. He is a resident of Glasgow.

His books include: novels, The Moon King (“A truly unique fantasy. Sure to be one of the best debuts of this or any other year.” –  World Fantasy Award winning author, Jeff VanderMeer), which was runner-up for the BSFA award and finalist for the British Fantasy Society Robert Holdstock award and Queen Of Clouds (“A truly unique and powerful work, intricate and ingenious.” – Arthur C. Clarke Award winning author, Adrian Tchaikovsky); short story collections, The Ephemera and Secret Language (both British Fantasy Award finalists); anthologies, Nova Scotia: New Scottish Speculative Fiction (World Fantasy Award finalist), Nova Scotia vol 2: New Speculative Fiction From Scotland, Thirty Years of Rain and Gallus; and novellas, The Memoirist and Charlie Says.

The agent was John Jarrold.