Curtis Brown Australia July 2013 Rights Newsletter
Curtis Brown (Aust) Pty Ltd | Literary Agents PO Box 19 | Paddington NSW 2021 | Australia T: [61 2] 9361 6161 or 9331 5301 | F: [61 2] 9360 3935 E: annabel@curtisbrown.com.au | W: www.curtisbrown.com.au
1 Curtis Brown Australia / Rights Newsletter / www.curtisbrown.com.au
ADULT BLOOD WITNESS Alex Hammond (Michael Joseph, Penguin) Genre: Fiction Description: One man's search for justice and redemption plunges him into the violent world of Melbourne's underbelly. Defence lawyer Will Harris is reluctantly drawn into a bizarre murder trial. A terminally ill man claims to have witnessed the brutal crime – in a vision. But the looming trial is more than just a media circus: it's Will's first big case since the tragic death of his fiancée. With the pressure mounting, Will's loyalties are split when his fiancée's sister is charged with drug trafficking. The strain of balancing both cases takes its toll and Will finds himself torn between following the law and seeking justice. BLOOD WITNESS is a dark powerful thriller from a talented new voice. Rights Available: US & Canada, Translation, Audio, Film/TV Agent: Fiona Inglis fiona@curtisbrown.com.au
CURRAWONG CREEK Jennifer Scoullar (Michael Joseph, Penguin) Genre: Fiction Description: Brisbane lawyer Clare Mitchell has a structured, orderly life. That is, until she finds herself the unlikely guardian of a small, troubled boy. In desperation, Clare takes Jack to stay at Currawong Creek, her grandfather's horse stud in the foothills of the beautiful Bunya Mountains. Here life moves at a different pace, and for Clare it feels like coming home. Her grandad adores having them there. Jack loves the animals. And Clare finds herself falling hard for the handsome local vet. But trouble is coming. The Pyramid Mining Company threatens to destroy the land Clare loves – and with it, her newfound happiness. Rights Available: World English language (Excl. ANZ), Translation, Audio, Film/TV Agent: Fran Moore fran@curtisbrown.com.au
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DAUGHTERS OF MARS Thomas Keneally (Random House) Genre: Fiction Description: Naomi and Sally Durance are daughters of a dairy farmer from the Macleay Valley. Bound together in complicity by what they consider a crime, when the Great War begins in 1914 they hope to submerge their guilt by leaving for Europe to nurse the tides of young wounded. They head for the Dardanelles on the hospital ship Archimedes. Their education in medicine, valour and human degradation continues on the Greek island of Lemnos, then on the Western Front. Naomi encounters the wonderful, eccentric Lady Tarlton, who is founding a voluntary hospital near Boulogne; Sally serves in a casualty clearing station close to the front. They meet the men with whom they would wish to spend the rest of their lives. Inspired by the journals of Australian nurses who gave their all to the Great War effort and the men they nursed. A stunning tour de force to join the best First World War literature, and one that casts a penetrating light on the lives of obscure but strong women caught in the great mill of history. Rights Available: Translation (via RCW); Film/TV (via Curtis Brown Australia) Agent: Fiona Inglis fiona@curtisbrown.com.au
THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES Monica McInerney (Penguin) Genre: Fiction Description: Sometimes the hardest lessons to learn are those that matter most. Following a tragic accident, Ella O'Hanlon flees to the other side of the world in an attempt to escape her grief, leaving behind the two people she blames for her loss: Aidan, the love of her life, and Jess, her spoilt half-sister. In London Ella is taken in by her beloved uncle Lucas, whose extraordinary households many wonderful memories for her. Along with other members of the very colourful Fox family, Lucas helps Ella to see that she is not the only one still hurting, and that forgiveness can be the greatest healer in a family and in a marriage. For anyone who has ever loved and lost, this is an exquisitely moving and life-affirming novel by an internationally bestselling author. Rights Available: Translation (via Curtis Brown London); Film/TV (via Curtis Brown Australia) Agent: Fiona Inglis fiona@curtisbrown.com.au
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THE LOCAL WILDLIFE Robert Drewe (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin) Genre: Non-Fiction Description: Welcome to the Northern Rivers, where the 'local wildlife' can refer to more than just the exotic native fauna. After a decade spent in this picturesque corner of Australia, home of chocolatecoated women, pythons in the ceiling, online Russian brides, deadly paralysis ticks, and the mysterious Mullumbimby Monster, Robert Drewe wiped the green zinc cream from his face and set down some of the unusual wildlife experiences that the far north coast of New South Wales - home of the world's greatest variety of ants - has to offer. Drewe's trademark gentle wit, acute observational powers and mastery of the English language are all on display in this collection of sketches and anecdotes based on the quirkiness of daily life. His sharp eye for human foibles - including his own - is tempered with a generosity of spirit. Tall tales from Australia's master of the short story - but this time these short, short stories are true. 'Excuse me, mate,' he asked the fluorescently green, bespectacled, half-submerged man, who was trying to put pen to paper while sitting in water, flicking ants off his work, and wincing as he shifted his buttock position. 'Is that how writers do writing?' 'Yep.' I frowned verdantly over my glasses. 'It's a very complicated job.' Rights Available: World English language (excl. ANZ), Audio, Film/TV Agent: Fiona Inglis fiona@curtisbrown.com.au
UNFINISHED BUSINESS Anna Goldsworthy (Schwartz Media, Black Inc Books) Genre: Non-Fiction Description: On the surface, it seems the best time ever to be a woman in Australia. The prime minister, governor-general and the richest person are all female; women are at the forefront of almost every area of public life. Yet when Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech ricocheted around the world, it clearly touched a nerve. Why? In the fiftieth Quarterly Essay, Anna Goldsworthy examines life for women after the gains made by feminism. From Facebook to 50 Shades of Grey, from Girls to gonzo porn, what are young women being told about work and equality, about sex and their bodies? Why do many reject the feminist label? And why does pop culture wink at us with storylines featuring submissive women? Rights Available: Film/TV Agent: Clare Forster claref@curtisbrown.com.au
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SISTERS OF SPICEFIELD Fran Cusworth (Random House, Vintage) Genre: Fiction Description: Jessica and Matt Davidson, professional, middle-class Australians, have four beautiful children; three from IVF. When they donate one leftover embryo, it's a gift of thanks to the world for their luck; an offering to the fates. Seven years after this gift, the Davidsons have lost their youngest child Eeny to a genetic condition, and the family is struggling with this grief. A new girl starts at the children's school, and Jessica realises that this child, Mia, is her biological offspring; the embryo born of she and Matt's donation years before. As Jessica's daily life continues, marked out by the rhythms of her zoo vet job and of the children's school days, she finds herself drawn to this look-alike child, and overwhelmed by a desire to care for her. Gradually Jessica becomes entangled with Mia's mother Carolyn, a damaged woman who spots Jessica's vulnerability and hits on her for money and help. Jessica answers these appeals, and her reward is to be granted some time spent caring for Mia, where the child gets to know the Davidsons and to feel part of a wider family. Exploring the big issues – who gets to decide/comment on/directly influence – the parenting and care of children. Can we push aside the tug of a biological bond, or not, can we create a bond where there isn't one? And, ultimately, celebrating family of every kind. Rights Available: World English language (excl. ANZ), Audio, Film/TV Agent: Tara Wynne tara@curtisbrown.com.au
OUTBREAK OF LOVE Martin Boyd, Estate (Classics, Text) Genre: Fiction Description: Diana von Flugel warned her husband: a piece of toast that hard could break a tooth. When Diana goes to Melbourne to have the tooth fixed, Wolfie is far too concerned with finding inspiration for his musical compositions to realise the chain of events he has just set in motion. On Collins Street, Russell Lockwood catches a glimpse of his childhood friend and knows at once that she is a rare woman… Now Diana and Wolfie's marriage is under threat, the Great War is approaching, and no one quite knows where their hearts belong. First published in 1957, the third novel in Martin Boyd's celebrated Langton Quartet is a beguiling comedy of manners about the outbreak of love in inconvenient places. Rights Available: Film/TV Agent: Pippa Masson pippa@curtisbrown.com.au
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CHILDREN’S THE RIVER CHARM Belinda Murrell (Random House) Genre: Children’s fiction Description: When artistic Millie visits a long-lost aunt, she learns the true story of her family's tragic past. Could the mysterious ghost girl Millie has painted be her own ancestor? In 1839, Charlotte Atkinson lives at Oldbury, a gracious estate in the Australian bush, with her Mamma and her sisters and brother. But after the death of Charlotte's father, things start to go terribly wrong. There are murderous convicts and marauding bushrangers. Worst of all, Charlotte's new stepfather is cruel and unpredictable. Frightened for their lives, the family flees on horseback to a stockman's hut in the wilderness. Charlotte's mother and the children must fight to save their property, their independence and their very right to be a family. Will they ever return together to their beautiful home? Rights Available: Film/TV, Audio Agent: Pippa Masson pippa@curtisbrown.com.au
SCARLETT AND THE SCRATCHY MOON Chris McKimmie (Allen & Unwin) Genre: Children’s fiction Description: I can't sleep. The moon is moving again. It's so quiet outside ever since Holly and Sparky died. Chris McKimmie's words and pictures gently and honestly evoke the experience of loss and new life. Rights Available: US, Audio, Film/TV Agent: Pippa Masson pippa@curtisbrown.com.au
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