Claire North wins the World Fantasy Award!

The winners of the 2017 World Fantasy Awards were announced last night — including THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF HOPE (Redhook US | Orbit UK | Orbit ANZ), by Orbit’s own Claire North! Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees. You can see the full list here.

If you’re new to North’s work, also be sure to check out THE END OF THE DAY (US | UK | ANZ), TOUCH (US | UK | ANZ), and THE FIRST FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST (US | UK | ANZ).

Congratulations go, too, to Terry Brooks, who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention this weekend. His most recent book is THE BLACK ELFSTONE (UK).

Cover Launch: INTO THE FIRE by Elizabeth Moon

We’re delighted to reveal the stunning cover for INTO THE FIRE (UK|ANZ), the thrilling second book in the Vatta’s Peace series by Nebula-Award-winning author Elizabeth Moon.

Into the Fire

Cover design by Sean Garrehy
Illustration by Steve Stone @ Artist partners

INTO THE FIRE will be hitting shops in February 2018 and is available for pre-order now! Read on for a taste of what’s in store:

When Admiral Kylara Vatta and a ship full of strangers were marooned on an inhospitable arctic island, they uncovered secrets that someone on Ky’s planet was ready to kill to keep hidden. Now, the existence of the mysterious arctic base has been revealed, but the organisation behind it still lurks in the shadows, doing all it can to silence her.

It is up to the intrepid Ky to force the perpetrators into the light, and uncover decades’ worth of secrets – some of which lie at the very heart of her family’s greatest tragedy.

Praise for Elizabeth Moon:

‘Sheer delight’ – Anne McCaffrey
‘Absolutely compelling’ – Greg Bear
‘Full of thrills’ – Locus
‘Unforgettable’ – Jack McDevitt
‘Hard to put down’ – SFSite.com
‘Continues to get better with every volume’ – Guardian
‘Superlative’ – Booklist
‘She deserves all her success – and more’ – SciFi.com

Cover Launch: BLOODY ROSE by Nicholas Eames

Nicholas Eames took the fantasy world by storm with his stellar debut KINGS OF THE WYLD (US | UK | AUS) about a band of mercenaries getting back together for one last impossible mission. Now, we’re excited to reveal the stunning cover to his follow up, BLOODY ROSE  where he’s introducing us to a brand new band. Art by Richard Anderson, cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio.

Live fast, die young.

Tam Hashford has always dreamed of living through glory days of her own. With a renowned mercenary for a mother and an illustrious bard for a father, battles and adventure seem the only way to really live.

So when she learns that the most revered mercenary crew in Grandual is in need of a bard, she grabs her lute and goes on tour. Led by the infamous Bloody Rose, Tam and her new band embark on a mission that will earn them everlasting fame — or certain death.

It’s time to take a walk on the wyld side.

 

KINGS OF THE WYLD is also up for the Best Fantasy award in the Goodreads Choice Awards. Congratulations, Nicholas Eames!

Praise for Kings of the Wyld:

“A rollicking, page-turning, edge-of-your-seat road-trip of a book. Great characters, loveable rogues that I genuinely cared about and all manner of fantastical monsters.” – John Gwynne

“Fantastic, funny, ferocious. Hugely recommended. Read it now.” – Sam Sykes

“In short: it rocks.” – B&N SF & Fantasy Blog

“Absolutely awesome . . . Full of heroes, humor, and heart.” – Jon Hollins

“Nicholas Eames brings brazen fun and a rock & roll sensibility to the fantasy genre.” – Sebastien de Castell

“An outstanding debut which will make you laugh and cry and hold your breath.” – K. J. Parker

Goodreads Choice Awards 2017: Opening Round

Voting for the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards is now under way. We’re proud to announce that seven Orbit titles are in the first round of nominations! Want to see your favorite Orbit authors and books make it to the second round? Cast your vote!

Voting for opening round ends November 5.

Fantasy – VOTE NOW

SINS OF EMPIRE by Brian McClellan (US | UK | AUS)

KINGS OF THE WYLD by Nicholas Eames (US | UK | AUS)

THE STONE SKY by N. K. Jemisin (US | UK | AUS)

Horror – VOTE NOW

THE BOY ON THE BRIDGE by M. R. Carey (US | UK | AUS)

THE DELIRIUM BRIEF by Charlie Stross (UK)

 

Science Fiction – VOTE NOW

PROVENANCE by Ann Leckie (US | UK | AUS)

BABYLON’S ASHES by James S. A. Corey (US | UK | AUS)

If your favorite Orbit title of 2017 isn’t listed, you can also enter a write-in vote at the bottom of each genre page.

 

Claire North shortlisted for Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award!

We’re delighted to say that Claire North has been shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award for her novel THE END OF THE DAY (UK|US|ANZ)!

Claire North Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award

The prize honours a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry by a British or Irish author aged between 18 and 35, and Claire is one of five authors shortlisted for the award.

Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times literary editor and one of the judges on the panel, said that “The fact that the judges decided to nominate five instead of the usual four authors speaks volumes about the strength of this year’s shortlist – diverse, adventurous, immensely mature and confident”.

The shortlist was announced in the Sunday Times yesterday, with THE END OF THE DAY being described by the paper as:

‘Funny, ambitious, immensely humane and full of philosophical panache’

The shortlist was also discussed on Radio 4’s Open Book show yesterday, with judge Lucy Hughes-Hallett saying about THE END OF THE DAY: 

This is a book which is busting out with invention…it’s extraordinary, and its premise is wonderfully mad. The protagonist is the Harbinger of Death, but actually this harbinger is a sort of sweaty-handed young man, making the best of a rather weird job and getting a bit flustered about it. That combination of very downbeat humour and very grand visions of the end of the world are so at once wildly impressive and deliciously ordinary”

You can hear from all the authors shortlisted at a special event on Tuesday 28th November at Waterstones, Trafalgar Square. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the London Library on 7th December.

Please join us in congratulating Claire North on Twitter!

Benedict Jacka Cover Launch: The Bumper Issue

We’re delighted to launch the cover for MARKED, designed by Ceara Elliot and Emily Courdelle! This is the ninth book in Benedict Jacka’s magic-filled Alex Verus series, publishing in July next year.

MARKED sees probability mage Alex Verus tracking down dangerous magical items unleashed into the world by dark mages. When the Light Council decide they need his help in negotiating with the perpetrators, Alex must use all his cunning and magic to strike a deal…

MARKED continues the bold, colourful new look for the series that we established with BURNED and BOUND. Now – at Alex’s request (and who are we to deny a probability mage’s predictions?) – we’ve given the first six books brand new designs to match. If you think these new covers are vivid and irresistibly eye-catching, well . . . Alex Verus knew you would!

These fabulous new designs – also courtesy of Ceara Elliot and Emily Courdelle – will be appearing in bookstores throughout 2018.

(more…)

Cover Launch: ONE WAY by S. J. Morden

We are currently in the middle of the next space race. No, not to the moon, but to Mars. And our latest acquisition, by bona fide rocket scientist S.J. Morden, posits what happens when you take that space race and add a little bit of corporate greed: Budget cuts and some dangerously slim margins for success. In ONE WAY, the corporation in charge decides the cheapest option is to send prisoners with certain skills on a one way trip to Mars to help build the first human settlement on Mars. But the landscape of Mars is a hostile one, and when you send untrained civilians to space, bad things can happen…

We’re so excited for this book that we already have a cover for it. Take a look below and make sure to say hello to the author on twitter at @ComradeMorden.

Design by Lisa Marie Pompilio
Art by Shutterstock

Cover Launch: Wrath of Empire by Brian McClellan

When the sins of empire have been revealed, the empire’s wrath will surely follow…

Following the acclaimed release of Brian McClellan’s epic fantasy novel, SINS OF EMPIRE (US | UK | ANZ) comes WRATH OF EMPIRE (US | UK | ANZ). And the cover looks just as epic as we hoped it would. Check out the cover by Thom Tenery and designed by Lauren Panepinto below. And catch up on Brian McClellan’s incredible series before the sequel comes out in March 2018.

Need to catch up? Purchase Sins of Empire today!

US:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Google Play | iBooks | Indiebound | Kobo | Chapters

UK: Amazon | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo | Waterstones | More Stores

Stephen Aryan and Melissa Caruso talk mages, magic and writing fantasy fiction

Listen to the interview between authors Stephen Aryan and Melissa Caruso, where they talk about mages, magic and writing fantasy fiction:

Plus, read extracts from both Mageborn and The Tethered Mage today.