Curtis Brown Rights Newsletter by Curtis Brown Australia

Curtis Brown Australia Rights Newsletter

THRILLER |

400 pp |

PUBLISHED FEB 2015

THE HUNTED James Phelan When the hunters become the hunted, ex-CIA agent Jed Walker is the man you need. The Hunted is the second Jed Walker novel - a white-knuckled rollercoaster of action suspense. Published by: Hachette | Paperback Rights held: World (excl. ANZ), Film/TV Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: 2011, Seal Team Six killed Osama Bin Laden. Now, four years later, someone is eliminating Team Six - one by one they are turning up dead. Jed Walker, ex-CIA, is an outsider back in the game. He's been chasing down a sinister group code-named Zodiac that the big guns - MI5, CIA, the Pentagon have failed to eradicate. But as Walker follows the trail of bodies, uncovering secrets and making connections he's not supposed to make, he finds the answers are closer to home than he ever imagined. Revenge is the obvious motive, but nothing is ever that simple in love or in war. Can Walker find who's responsible before the body count grows higher? Can he stop another terror attack before more innocent bystanders suffer? When the line between the good and the bad become blurred, when the hunters become the hunted, only one man can save us all. 'Jed Walker is right there in Reacher's rear-view mirror.' Lee Child James Phelan is a Melbourne-based writer. He has studied and taught writing at a post graduate level, and has been a novelist since the age of 25. His first book was the author interview collection Literati: Australian Contemporary Literary Figures Discuss Fear, Frustrations and Fame (John Wiley & Sons, 2005). His Lachlan Fox thriller novels are Fox Hunt (Hachette, 2006), Patriot Act (2007), Blood Oil (2008), Liquid Gold (2009), and Red Ice (2010). His Alone trilogy of Young Adult post-apocalyptic novels are titled Chasers (Hachette, 2010), Survivor (2011) and Quarantine (2011). James has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines, having worked at The Age from 2000-2006, and has contributed to short story anthologies and serialised novels, including: Picture This (Penguin, 2010), Watchlist (Audible/Vanguard, 2010), and the Get Reading! anthology (2011). His latest novels are a thriller series introducing a new character, Jed Walker: The Spy and The Hunted (Hachette, 2013 and 2015), and a 13-book Young Adult series The Last Thirteen (Scholastic). 2 Curtis Brown Australia / Rights Newsletter / www.curtisbrown.com.au

CONTEMPORARY FICTION |

400 pp |

PUBLISHED JAN 2015

THE MAXWELL SISTERS Loretta Hill From the author of the bestselling The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots comes a heart-warming romantic comedy about three extraordinary women on a journey to find love and rediscover family. Published by: Random House | Paperback Rights held: Film/TV, Audio Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au)

Description: All families have their problems. No more so than the Maxwells of Tawny Brooks Winery. Situated in the heart of the Margaret River wine region, this worldrenowned winery was the childhood home to three sisters, Natasha, Eve and Phoebe. Today all three women are enmeshed in their city lives and eager to forget their past - and their fractured sibling relationships. Until Phoebe decides to get married at home â&#x20AC;Ś Now the sisters must all return to face a host of family obligations, vintage in full swing and interfering in-laws who just can't take a hint. As one romance blossoms and others fall apart, it seems they are all in need of some sisterly advice. But old wounds cut deep. Somehow, The Maxwell Sisters must find a way back to one another â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or risk losing each other forever. Loretta Hill was born in Perth, Western Australia. After graduating in Civil Engineering and another in Commerce she was hired by a major West Australian engineering company and worked for a number of years on outback projects. She drew upon her experiences of larrikins, red dust and steel-capped boots for her best-selling novels The Girl in the SteelCapped Boots, The Girl in the Hard Hat and The Girl in the Yellow Vest (Random House Australia). Her new book is The Maxwell Sisters. Her rom-com novellas are One Little White Lie and Operation: Valentine.

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CONTEMPORARY FICTION |

384 pp |

PUBLISHED JAN 2015

STORM CLOUDS Bronwyn Parry Deep in the Australian countryside, a reclusive community hides a deadly secret. Published by: Hachette | Paperback Rights held: Film/TV, Audio Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au)

Description: Life is falling into place for National Parks ranger Erin Taylor. She has a job she loves, she's falling for her colleague, Simon - and she is finally leaving the past behind. Until a woman is murdered. But the victim is not just any woman - she's Simon's wife, Hayley. The wife he's not mentioned to Erin. The wife he's not seen in fourteen years. On the edge of the national park, the alternative lifestyle community of 'Simple Bliss' denies knowing Hayley, but Simon and Erin suspect otherwise. As Simon uncovers shocking details about the group, Erin is drawn further into their midst and finds a web of lies, decades old - and a charismatic, manipulative, dangerous cult leader who will let nothing and no-one stand in his way. On the wrong side of a river in flood that has become a lethal torrent, Erin and Simon must race to expose the truth and prevent a tragedy. Bronwyn Parry grew up surrounded by books, with a fascination for places, people and their stories. She is the author of As Darkness Falls, which won a prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award for best romantic suspense manuscript; Dark Country, named Favourite Romantic Suspense Novel by the Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA) and finalist in the Romance Writers of America RITA Awards; Dead Heat, named Favourite Romantic Suspense Novel by the ARRA and finalist in the RITA Awards, Darkening Skies and Storm Clouds, which was released in early 2015. An occasional academic, Bronwynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s active interest in fiction and its readership is reflected in her PhD research and she is passionate about the richness, diversity, and value of popular fiction. Bronwyn lives in the New England tablelands and loves to travel in Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wild places.

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FICTION |

288 pp |

PUBLISHED DEC 2014

THE LAST PULSE Anson Cameron A blackly funny novel about an unlikely hero, and his misadventures on the flood he has created. Published by: Random House | Paperback Rights held: World (excl. ANZ), Film/TV, Audio Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au)

Description: In the drought-stricken Riverland town of Bartel in South Australia, after the suicide of his wife, Merv Rossiter steals a boat. He trucks north with his eight-yearold-daughter Em into Queensland. There he blows up the dam at Waroo Station, releasing a flood through outback New South Wales into South Australia. As the authorities search for them, Merv and Em ride the flood south in their stolen boat, rescuing a Queensland Minister from the water, and then a young blackfella who fancies he sang the river to life all by himself. Meanwhile, in Canberra, the political flotsam carried by Merv's renegade ocean brings the Federal Government to its knees. The Last Pulse is the story of the last flood that will ever flow down the inland artery that was the Darling River. The stream is broken now and the agriculture and lives of South Australians have been appropriated with the water by a people a thousand kilometres to the north. Throughout their misadventures on his flood, Merv promises his daughter they will be heroes in South Australia, and that they are sailing towards victory parades and happiness. The other crewmembers, however, know he is heading towards a violent reckoning with Australia itself. Anson Cameron has written five critically acclaimed novels: Silences Long Gone, Tin Toys, Confessin' the Blues, Lies I Told About a Girl, and Stealing Picasso, as well as two collections of short stories, Nice Shootin' Cowboy and Pepsi Bears and Other Stories. He was born in Shepparton in 1961 and lives in Melbourne where he writes a column for The Age newspaper.

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FICTION |

528 pp |

PUBLISHED NOV 2014

THE TRUE STORY OF SPIT MacPHEE James Aldridge Featuring a new introduction from Phillip Gwynne, The True Story of Spit MacPhee is a much-loved, quintessentially Australian novel for readers of all ages. Published by: Text Publishing | Paperback Rights held: Film/TV, Audio Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: When young Spit MacPhee comes to live with his grandfather, the people of the Australian country town of St Helen fear for his future. Fyfe MacPhee is a crazy old man, and barefoot Spit has to fend for himself along the riverbank where they live. While some people feel that Spit can look after himself, others believe he would be better cared for in a boys home and when old Fyfe dies after one of his ‘turns’ a fierce battle to decide Spit’s destiny begins. James Aldridge is the author of more than 20 novels in genres as diverse as children’s literature, science fiction and Australiana. James’s many awards include the Australian Book Council Award for The True Story of Lily Stubeck. The Girl From the Sea was published by Penguin in 2003 and The Wings of Kitty St Clair was published in 2006. A new edition of The True Story of Spit MacPhee was released by Text Publishing in January 2015.

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NON-FICTION

288 pp

PUBLISHED FEB 2015

MAYDAY: HOW WARRING EGOS FORCED QANTAS OFF COURSE Matt Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan Power-plays, public spats, strategic blunders, betrayal and revenge: the fall of Qantas has more intrigue and drama than any in-flight movie. How did a national icon become a national liability?

Published by: Viking, Penguin Books | Paperback Rights held: World (excl. ANZ), Film/TV, Audio Agent: Fiona Inglis (fiona@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: Founded in 1920 by two WWI pilots and a grazier, the 'Flying Kangaroo' is one of the oldest and most respected airlines in the world. Famous for never having lost a jet aircraft in flight, in late 2014 Qantas had a crash of a different kind, recording one of the largest losses in global aviation history. A sequence of crises on the ground and in the air have all taken their toll. At the centre of the decline has been Alan Joyce, controversially appointed CEO in 2008. His supporters applaud him for tackling problems ignored by his predecessors. His critics accuse him of unconscionable mismanagement and irreversible damage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from ongoing feuds with predecessor Geoff Dixon and Virgin boss John Borghetti (a one-time leadership rival), to a botched bid for government aid, Joyce has had the roughest of rides. Mayday takes us behind the headlines, to tell the full story of a company at war with itself, and the world. Senior journalist Matt O'Sullivan tells us what was happening on the Qantas executive floor as QF32 threatened to fall from the sky; documents the incredible story of the airline's numerous failed forays into Asia; and reveals the truth behind Joyce's infamous 2011 decision to ground Qantas' entire fleet. Compelling and informative, Mayday is the definitive account of the high stakes fight for supremacy of the skies. Matt O'Sullivan is a senior journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald and has been writing on the aviation industry for a decade or more. Born in New Zealand, he shifted to Australia in 2000. Prior to that he worked in the UK on The Times and The Independent.

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NON-FICTION

120 pp

PUBLISHED FEB 2015

THE BIG LITTLE BOOK OF RESILIENCE Matthew Johnstone Most of us set out quietly hoping for, and secretly expecting, to live a happy, successful and healthy life. But life doesn't always go to plan.

Published by: Pan Macmillan | Paperback Rights held: World (excl. ANZ, UK & Germany), Film/TV, Audio Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au) Description: In this beautifully illustrated book, Matthew Johnstone guides the reader to an understanding of how resilience plays a key role in wellbeing. He offers an accessible roadmap to developing and maintaining resilience and how it can help you overcome and learn from difficult life events. The Big Little Book of Resilience is about developing flexibility, acceptance and self-compassion when life goes awry. Matthew Johnstone worked for 13 years as an art and creative director in advertising where he created award winning work in Sydney, San Francisco and New York. I Had a Black Dog, his illustrated book on what it is to suffer depression, was published by Pan Macmillan in 2005 and has since become a commercial success in Australia and internationally. Pan Macmillan published the follow up, Living with a Black Dog, in 2008, Constable & Robinson then published in January 2009 after which the book went to #9 on the Sunday Times Bestseller List. Since then, The Alphabet of the Human Heart (co-written with life-long friend James Kerr), Quiet the Mind and Capturing Mindfulness have been published in Australia and internationally, with The Alphabet of the Human Heart debuting at #5 on the UK’s Sunday Times bestseller list, and his first children’s book, Harvey: the Boy Who Couldn’t Fart being published by Walker Books. His forthcoming book, Resilience, will be published by Pan Macmillan in 2015 followed shortly after in the UK by Constable & Robinson.

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NON-FICTION

198 pp

PUBLISHED JAN 2015

THE KINDNESS PACT Domonique Bertolucci From the best-selling author of The Happiness Code comes The Kindness Pact: the answer to feeling good about who you are and the life you live.

Published by: Hardie Grant Books | Hardback Rights held: Film/TV, Audio Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au)

Description: Most people are terribly unkind to themselves. They make harsh judgements, engage in endless self-criticism and are unforgiving of even the smallest of failings … and then wonder why they don’t feel so great about themselves. In eight promises, The Kindness Pact, will show you how to be as kind to yourself as you are to the other important people in your life. When you keep the Pact, you will build your confidence, nurture your self-esteem and have more energy to do what you want to do and be who you want to be. Domonique Bertolucci is the author of Your Best Life and is widely recognised as an expert on how to achieve real success. Domonique’s first career as a fashion model took her to London at 22. There she underwent a dramatic transformation – from model to corporate high-flyer. After ten years in the corporate sector, where she earned a reputation for turning around dysfunctional and underachieving teams, and managing high performers, Domonique decided to return to Australia and establish her company Success Strategies. She has written The Happiness Code for Hardie Grant, as well as 100 Days Happier, Love Your Life and Less is More. Her most recent book, The Happiness Code, was released in early 2015.

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NON-FICTION |

192 pp |

PUBLISHED DEC 2014

STYLE IS ETERNAL Nicole Jenkins A beautiful step-by-step guide to understanding and integrating fashion basics, classics and trends into a personalised signature look.

Published by: MUP | Paperback Rights held: Film/TV, Audio Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au)

Description: How can I have so many clothes, yet still have nothing to wear? Nicole Jenkins shares her experience as a fashion buyer and stylist to navigate the essential additions to your wardrobe without breaking the bank, use accessories to create new outfits, convert your fashion faux pas into chic statements and travel with only hand luggage and still look classy. Nicole reveals her tricks of the trade: • How to make the most of your body shape • How to create an authentic look • When to combine classic staples with more contemporary fashionable pieces • How to avoid those regrettable and expensive impulse buys • How to have a wardrobe that will cover all your work and lifestyle options • Practical tips on looking after your clothes. Style is Eternal will encourage dressing with confidence and creativity and provides you with the tools to transform your wardrobe from faddish to stylish. Nicole Jenkins is passionate about fashion and has been collecting and restoring clothes since she was a child. Her knowledge has been furthered through studies in costume design at Perth Technical College and the WA Academy of Performing Arts and roles in film, theatre and fashion. Her Melbourne boutique Circa Vintage, showcasing the best of 200 years of Australian fashion, opened in 2004. Her first book, Love Vintage, won an international Independent Publishers Book Award in 2010. Her newest book, Style is Eternal, was published by Melbourne University Press in December 2014. Nicole lives in inner-city Melbourne in an Art Deco home with her poet husband and two cats.

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Recently Delivered FICTION THE GILDED HOUR Sara Donati Genre: Historical fiction Description: The first in a romantic historical trilogy set in the Gilded Age of 1880s New York. The story of two cousins, Anna and Sophie Savrd, orphaned and raised by their well-to-do Aunt Quinlan. Both flout convention and forge careers - one as an obstetrician and the other as a surgeon - in a time when other women in their position didn't work. Due to be published by: Random House | September 2015 Rights Held: World (excl. ANZ), Film/TV Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au)

PICTURE PERFECT Kate Forster Genre: Contemporary fiction Description: One perfect role, three ambitious women, all with histories that collide on and off screen. Due to be published by: Harlequin (UK) | May 2015 Rights Held: Film/TV Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au)

TURTLE REEF Jennifer Scoullar Genre: Contemporary fiction Description: Unlucky-in-love Zoologist Zoe King has given up on men. Moving from Sydney to the small sugar town of Kiawa means a fresh start and she is charmed by the region's beauty. Her work at the Sea-Life Centre provides all the passion she needs. So the last thing she expects is to fall for her boss's fiance, cane king Quinn Cooper. When the animals on the reef begin to sicken and die, Zoe's personal and professional worlds collide. She faces a terrible choice - protect the reef, or betray the man she loves. Due to be published by: Penguin Books | April 2015 Rights Held: World (excl. ANZ), Film/TV Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au)

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NORTHERN HEAT Hélène Young Genre: Contemporary fiction Description: In remote northern Australia, Conor Stein is living under an assumed name and rebuilding his shattered life. Working at Cooktown's youth centre has given him the chance to make a difference again, and a chance to flirt with Kristy Dark. After tragedy tore her family apart, Dr Kristy Dark fled home to the steamy north with her feisty teenage daughter, Abby. She hoped being part of the small community would help them both heal. When late one sultry night Conor staggers into the emergency department supporting a local fisherman with a gunshot wound, she has no inkling her world is about to be turned on its head. As a cyclone tears through Cooktown, cutting them off from the world, the killer moves to silence any witnesses. With their lives on the line, Kristy will have to summon her courage and place her trust in Conor, or they'll both lose someone they love. Due to be published by: Penguin Books | June 2015 Rights Held: Film/TV Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au)

NON-FICTION HELLO TOKYO Ebony Bizys (Hello Sandwich) Genre: Non-fiction illustrated craft book Description: A cute and quirky 'guide to living a handmade lifestyle', inspired by the author's life in her home of Tokyo. Due to be published by: Murdoch Books | October 2015 Rights Held: Film/TV, Audio Agent: Pippa Masson (pippa@curtisbrown.com.au)

CERTAIN ADMISSIONS Gideon Haigh Genre: Non-fiction Description: Who killed Beth Williams? On a warm evening in December 1949, two young people met by chance under the clocks at Melbourne's Flinders Street railway station and decided upon a spontaneous night on the town. The next morning, one of them, twenty-year-old typist Beth Williams, was found dead on Middle Park beach. When police arrested the other, Australians were transfixed: twenty-four year-old John Bryan Kerr was a son of the establishment – a suave and handsome commercial radio star educated at Scotch College. Compelling and brilliantly evoked, Certain Admissions is stranger than any crime fiction. It's a real-life story of murder, corruption, blood ties and social history by multi-award-winning author Gideon Haigh that will leave you guessing long after the final page. 12 Curtis Brown Australia / Rights Newsletter / www.curtisbrown.com.au

Due to be published by: Penguin Books | July 2015 Rights Held: Film/TV Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au)

YOUNG ADULT RISK Fleur Ferris Genre: Young adult fiction Description: Best friends Taylor and Sierra meet a hot guy in a chat room online. Both fall for Jacob’s charms, but as usual, the more outgoing and vivacious Sierra overshadows Taylor and wins his attention. Moving quickly, Sierra sets up a date with Jacob on Friday after school. She asks Taylor and their friends to cover for her and then calls to say she’s going to spend the night with her date. But then she doesn’t come home all weekend, doesn’t answer her phone and nobody’s heard from her… Taylor is torn. She doesn’t want to betray Sierra but at the same time she’s concerned for her welfare. Taylor’s worst fears are confirmed when Sierra’s body is found miles from Melbourne a week later. Devastated, Taylor becomes obsessed with finding Sierra’s killer. As clues emerge, Taylor races against time to try and save the predator’s next victim. Due to be published by: Random House | July 2015 Rights Held: World (excl. ANZ), Film/TV, Audio Agent: Tara Wynne (tara@curtisbrown.com.au)

CHILDREN’S MAXI AND THE MAGICAL MONEY TREE Tiffiny Hall Genre: Children’s fiction (ages 9+) Description: Twelve-year-old Maxine Edwards comes from a family that overflows with love, but isn't blessed with a lot of money. Maxine's family has just moved to a new, affluent neighbourhood and Maxine and her sister Fleur never have the cool things the other kids at school take for granted. Maxine thinks money will solve all her problems, and when she pulls the first fifty-dollar note from between the gaping floorboards in her bedroom, she can't believe it. Finally she will be rich, popular and cool! But as the money tree grows, greed also flourishes. As it becomes harder to hide the secret from her parents Maxine she realises being rich doesn't equate to happiness. Especially not for a family whose currency is love. Due to be published by: HarperCollins | July 2015 Rights Held: World (excl. ANZ), Film/TV Agent: Clare Forster (claref@curtisbrown.com.au)

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