Archive for News

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…)

SUCCESSOR’S PROMISE: A message from Trudi Canavan

Succesors Promise, book 3 of Millennium's Rule by Trudi Canavan

SUCCESSOR’S PROMISE (UK|US|ANZ), the third instalment in Trudi Canavan’s Sunday Times bestselling Millennium’s Rule series is out now.

Following THIEF’S MAGIC (UK|US|ANZ) and ANGEL OF STORMS (UK|US|ANZ), this dramatic fantasy novel is set in a time of chaos – where worlds are at war, torn apart by magic and power-hungry sorcerers.

For us and legions of fantasy fans around the world, the release of this new book is a very exciting event!

Trudi filmed the video below to tell readers just what they can expect from this series and SUCCESSOR’S PROMISE – and to send a big thank you to her fans all around the world for everything they do to support her books!

Welcome to the Orbit family, Rowenna Miller!

Orbit has acquired World rights to debut author Rowenna Miller’s enchanting epic fantasy novel, TORN, and two sequels, from Jessica Sinsheimer at the Sarah Jane Freymann Agency. Torn features Sophie Balstrade, a magic-casting seamstress, and the mounting anti-monarchist uprising that forces her to choose between her community and her ambitions.

Look out for Torn in Spring 2018! Meanwhile, you can find Rowenna on Twitter at @RowennaM. Please give her a warm welcome to Orbit!

In a time of revolution, everyone must take a side.

Sophie is a young dressmaker who, with hard work, talent, and a rare proficiency in sewing spells into cloth, has managed to open her own shop and lift herself and her brother, Kristos, out of the poverty that plagues their immigrant community. Her reputation for beautiful ball gowns and discreetly-embroidered charms for luck, love, and protection secures her a commission from the royal family itself—and the commission earns her the attentions of a dashing but entirely unattainable duke.

Meanwhile, her brother, a day laborer with a keen mind and a thirst for justice, rises to prominence in the growing anti-monarchist movement. Their worlds collide when the revolution’s shadow leader takes Kristos hostage and demands that Sophie place a curse on the queen’s new Midwinter costume—or Kristos will die at their hand.

As the proletariat uprising comes to a violent climax, Sophie must choose: between her brother and the community of her birth, and her lover and the life she’s striven to build.

 

Welcome to the Orbit family, Tyler Whitesides!

Orbit has acquired a rollicking new fantasy, THE THOUSAND DEATHS OF ARDOR BENN, and two sequels from bestselling children’s author, Tyler Whitesides. The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn is Tyler’s adult debut and introduces expert thief and con artist, Ardor Benn, and a one-of-a-kind magic centered around the world’s few remaining dragons.

You can meet Ard and his gang in Spring 2018. In the meantime, please join us in welcoming Tyler to Orbit. You can find him on Twitter as @TWhitesides.

“I’m hiring you to steal the king’s crown.”

Ardor Benn is no ordinary thief. Rakish, ambitious, and master of wildly complex heists, he styles himself a Ruse Artist Extraordinaire.

When a priest hires him for the most daring ruse yet, Ardor knows he’ll need more than quick wit and sleight of hand. Assembling a dream team of forgers, disguisers, schemers, and thieves, he sets out to steal from the most powerful king the realm has ever known.

But it soon becomes clear there’s more at stake than fame and glory –Ard and his team might just be the last hope for human civilization.

 

THE STONE SKY is a Bestseller!

  • Buy the Book
  • US
  • UK

Congratulations go to N. K. Jemisin as THE STONE SKY (US | UK | AUS) hit both the New York Times and the USA Today bestseller lists this week!

This comes hot on the heels of THE OBELISK GATE (US | UK | AUS) winning the Hugo award for Best Novel, and a year after the first book in the trilogy, The Fifth Season, won the Hugo as well. Jemisin made history by being only the third author (and the first in 25 years) to win the Hugo award for Best Novel back-to-back.

And, there’s even more good news to share. THE FIFTH SEASON (US | UK | AUS) is now in production for a television series at TNT. The project is in development with Leigh Dana Jackson (24: Legacy, Sleepy Hollow) writing the adaptation.

The Fifth Season blew critics away with rave reviews, and The Stone Sky continues to impress readers. Here’s a sample of what they’re saying:

“The depth and breadth of Jemisin’s achievement with this trilogy is geologic. These books are a revolution in which I want to take part.” — NPR Books

“Incredible, wildly original . . . [The Stone Sky is] blowing me away.” — The Verge

“Jemisin deliberately refuses to provide easy answers: they’re simply not available, in this world our ours. Painful and powerful.”— Kirkus (starred review)

“Vivid characters, a tautly constructed plot, and outstanding worldbuilding meld into an impressive and timely story of abused, grieving survivors fighting to fix themselves and save the remnants of their shattered home.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

 

Lightbringer #5 Title Reveal: Let the theorizing begin!

Fans have been chomping at the bit to get more of Brent Weeks’s brilliant Lightbringer series. And we’ve got a new little something to share with you: Brent’s final book in the Lightbringer series has a title!

THE BURNING WHITE

What does it mean? White luxin? White light? The White? Karris White Oak? And what’s burning? Fans will have to wait until Fall 2018 for the answers. In the meantime, bother Brent at his website or on twitter @brentweeks.

Haven’t caught up on the Lightbringer series? There’s still time. Check them out below:

    
    

THE BLACK PRISM: (US | UK | AUS)
THE BLINDING KNIFE: (US | UK | AUS)
THE BROKEN EYE: (US | UK | AUS)
THE BLOOD MIRROR: (US | UK | AUS)

 

New Acquisition: Django Wexler’s New Fantasy Trilogy

Hot off the success of his Shadow Campaigns books, the immensely talented Django Wexler joins Orbit with his newest epic fantasy trilogy! A story of grand scale, with even higher stakes, the new series will follow two siblings as they fight on opposite sides of a civil war that will either see those with magical ability rise to power or end them altogether.

Gyre and his sister Fiera were torn from each other when they were children. Twelve years later, they will meet again as enemies. Trained in the ways of the Order, Fiera believes the only way to keep the world safe is to eliminate all traces of the forbidden blood magic that almost destroyed civilization many centuries ago. But Gyre, a mercenary on the lawless frontier, seeks out the lost arts to break free of the Order’s domination and release mankind from the dead hand of the past.  As the tensions across the country rise, not even the ties of blood will keep these two siblings from splitting the world apart.

This promises to be a brilliant, action-packed tale of dangerous magics, ancient weapons, loyalty, family, and betrayal. The book isn’t scheduled until 2019, but we wish it were coming out tomorrow! In the meantime, sate your bloodlust by saying hi to Django on twitter: @DjangoWexler

The Witcher Is Coming To Netflix – Read the Books That Started It All.

Read the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher saga, which started with The Last Wish (US | UK) and has continued over 8 books, is getting the Netflix treatment. In a press release, Netflix Vice President Erik Barmack says, “Andrzej Sapkowski has created a rich and memorable world, at once magical and familiar. We couldn’t be more excited about bringing the Witcher saga to Netflix members around the world.” Sapkowski, for his part, said, “I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing.”

Sean Daniel and Jason Brown, most recently of The Expanse, will act as executive producers, and Tomek Bagiński and Jarek Sawko from Platige Image, the Polish production and visual effects company that produced many of the cinematics from The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt, will also produce. Additionally, Bagiński will direct at least one episode per season.

 Speaking about the books on which the show will be based, Baginski and Sawko said, “There is a moral and intellectual depth in these books which goes beyond genre. It is a story about today and today’s challenges, hidden under a fantasy cover. It is a story about us, about the monster and the hero inside all of our hearts.”

Where should you start reading the Witcher books? We’ve created a handy guide that will get you up to speed on the lore before the show launches!

Read the official press release: Platige Image – THE WITCHER Saga on Netflix