John Jarrold

Fanucci has acquired Italian rights to the first two volumes of The Bound and the Broken fantasy series, which has sold over 110,000 copies since publication of the first volume in 2021, by hugely successful and award-winning self-published author Ryan Cahill: OF BLOOD AND FIRE and OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT. The agent was Maura Solinas of Piergiorgio Nicolazzini Literary Agency (PNLA), representing the John Jarrold Literary Agency.

Born in fire. Tempered in blood.

Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.

In the remote villages of southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving – a test of courage and skill that not all survive.

But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries.

There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold.

He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will.

“Might be the 21st Century’s own Tolkien or Robert Jordan” – Mike Shackle, author of the LAST WAR series

“A triumph of a debut” – FANFI ADDICT

“Impressive, enthralling and breathtaking” – LIBRARYOFAVIKING

“A truly stunning debut” – Zack Argyle, author of the THREADLIGHT series

“Cahill’s golden ticket to the pantheon of fantasy greats” – Petrik Leo, NOVEL NOTIONS

“A new modern fantasy classic” – Craig – BOOKWYRM

AST has acquired Russian rights to fantasy novel HALL OF BONES by Tim Hardie, the first book in the Brotherhood of the Eagle series, which was self-published in 2020. The agent was Laura Karayotov of the SAS Lester Literary Agency & Associates representing the John Jarrold Literary Agency.

The Brotherhood of the Eagle series is a Viking-style fantasy set in a secondary world. It will appeal greatly to fans of both John Gwynne and Giles Kristian. In the remote land of Laskar the seven ruling clans have vied with each other for power for over a century. The son of the Reavesburg Clan Chief, Rothgar, has been groomed all his life for a role supporting his elder brother, Jorik, in leading their kingdom when their father’s time finally comes to an end.

However, the rulers of their greatest rivals, the Vorund Clan, are in the grip of something older and far darker. They have been conquered by evil, a remnant from the time when the gods warred with one another and the world of Amuran collapsed into the Fallen Age.

Everything is about to change …

PRAISE FOR HALL OF BONES

“… plenty of action, intrigue, betrayal and a chilling slide into not bedtime story magic” – Janny Wurts, author of The Wars of Light and Shadow fantasy series

“A fantasy novel done right should read like Hall of Bones … this novel brims and oozes with all that good stuff you want to sink your reading eyes into.” – Scarlett Readz & Runz Book Reviews

“Hall of Bones is a strong debut by an author who should absolutely be on your radar. I can’t wait to see where he takes me next.” – Sarah Chorn, author of Seraphina’s Lament and Of Honey and Wildfires

“… a rich, emotional, and gritty novel … Hall of Bones will remind you vividly of the stories you grew up reading while bringing in a fresh perspective to the genre.” – Under The Radar SFF Books

“If you enjoy stories like ‘Game of Thrones’, where there are many careful political intrigues, you will undoubtedly enjoy this book … ‘Hall of Bones’ is a strong debut, and I’ll be waiting for the sequel” – Kamila Reads Book Blog

Tim Hardie grew up in the seaside town of Southport during the 1970s and 1980s. This was before anyone had even heard of the internet and Dungeons & Dragons was cutting edge. Living in a house where every available wall was given over to bookshelves, he discovered fantasy writers like JRR Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Ursula Le Guin, Alan Garner, Stephen Donaldson and Susan Cooper. Those stories led him into the science fiction worlds created by Frank Herbert, Philip K Dick, Arthur C Clarke and HP Lovecraft.

After training to become a lawyer Tim lived in London for three years before moving to Yorkshire in 1999, where he has worked ever since in a variety of legal, commercial, financial and management roles. His writing began as a hobby in his early twenties and has gradually grown into something else that now threatens to derail his promising career.

Tim will be donating his advance on this book to the British Red Cross.

SF/F writer Jonny Nexus has joined the John Jarrold Literary Agency. He was born and raised in London but now finds himself exiled by way of marriage to a small town on the outskirts of Greater Manchester. Several years in he’s starting to feel at home, but that might just be delayed Stockholm Syndrome.

He first came to non-quite-prominence in the late 90s with the cult pen-and-paper RPG Webzine Critical Miss, following that up in the early 00s with a monthly RPG humour magazine column in Mongoose Publishing’s house magazine, Signs & Portents. Having written the parody Slayers Guide to Games Masters for them, he followed that up by self-publishing Game Night, a novel of six very dysfunctional Greek-style gods playing a roleplaying game, very badly, with the mortal realm below.

In the years since, he’s self-published three further novels. If Pigs Could Fly and Sticks and Stones tell the story of Rav Shah, a moonlighting social worker turned paranormal detective. In The Sleeping Dragon, five misfits are tasked with saving a fantasy world transformed by the invention of mass-produced magic.

He also had a short story, On Her Majesty’s Deep Space Service, published by Stone Skin Press in their anthology, the New Hero.

 
John Jarrold said: “Jonny is both prolific and fascinating. We are discussing several varied projects and I’ll be talking to major publishers on both sides of the Atlantic soon.”

Andrey V Chernikov at Eksmo has acquired Russian rights to fantasy novels GRIM SOLACE and BREAKING CHAOS by award-winning self-published author Ben Galley, after their rights deal for the first book in the series, CHASING GRAVES, in 2022. The agent was Laura Karayotov of the SAS Lester Literary Agency & Associates representing the John Jarrold Literary Agency.

This bestselling series is set in an Egyptian-themed fantasy world where ghosts are bound as slaves for the rich, and being murdered is just the start of your problems. Chasing Graves is perfect for fans of grimdark, and dark fantasy mixed with razor wit.

PRAISE FOR THE CHASING GRAVES SERIES:

“The world building is fantastic and reminiscent of Michael Moorcock’s Elric series.”
– Grimdark Magazine

“Chasing Graves might well be one of the best releases not only for December but for the entirety of 2018.”
– BookNest

“Unique, fantastic worldbuilding, interesting characters, and much more.”
– The Fantasy Inn

“Dark, tense and surprisingly hilarious.”
– Laura M. Hughes, Author of Danse Macabre

“Grim Solace is a wonderfully realized story dominated by impeccable and deepening character development.”
– Justine Bergman

“This book swings for the fences with a potent mix of political backstabbing, religious symbology, and tense action.”
– Fantasy Book Review

“Galley’s descriptive prose is simplistically beautiful.”
– Fantasy Faction

“There’s serious grounds here for building something spectacular.”
– Emma Davis, Fantasy Book Review

“Dark, gory and enthralling.”
– Cultured Vultures

“The writing was smooth, fluid and beautiful at times. It never failed to create an awesome atmosphere.”
– The Weatherwax Report

 
“An excellent first book in a series that I will absolutely keep on reading. Exceptional writing, great characters.”
– Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

George Sandison of Titan Books has acquired World English Rights for two new works from Dr. Cyberpunk himself, Australian author T. R. Napper. His second novel, The Escher Man, and a new (untitled) novella. The agent was John Jarrold.

In The Escher Man, one man peels back the layers of implanted memories to save his family in this taut, explosive and thrilling high-concept SF novel. Perfect for fans of William Gibson’s The Peripheral, the classic film Total Recall, Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus is a violent man, a street-level enforcer for a drug cartel. Or is he? In The Escher Man, nothing is as it seems. Friends, enemies, the past and the present, all become blurred in a world where memory manipulation has become the weapon of choice for powerful corporations.

From the gaudy, glittering demimonde of Macau, to the war-torn, steaming streets of northern Vietnam, Endel must fight to save his family, his life, and the fading memory of the man he once was.

Set five years after the events of T. R. Napper’s debut, 36 Streets, this stand-alone novel offers new readers a thrilling ride, while giving returning fans some familiar faces and an expanded universe. A reader can absolutely come to this without having read 36 Streets, but someone who has read it and wants more will also get their wish.

Praise for 36 Streets:

“Raw and raging and passionate. This is cyberpunk literature with a capital fucken L. Get it while it’s hot.” – Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon

“Quintessential cyberpunk, hard-nosed, sharp edged and gleaming.”—Adrian Tchaikovsky, award-winning author of ‘Children of Time’

“[36 Streets] has things both novel and serious to say about the psychological effects of intrusive media. This is a kick-the-door-down account of how past traumas — personal and national — may one day be weaponised for social control.”—The Sunday Times

“Brutal, brooding, brilliant . . . an angry vision of violence wrapped around a complex meditation of memory, trauma and hegemony. This is cyberpunk with soul.” Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, author of The Salvage Crew

“Not since Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl have I been so utterly enthralled by a science fiction novel. 36 Streets is a cyberpunk tour de force – richly textured, nuanced, and shot-through with emotional depth. I could practically feel the sweaty, grimy, bloody, tropical heat oozing from the pages. One of the standouts of the year.”—Richard Swan, author of The Justice of Kings

“High-octane, immersive SF at its best. 36 Streets is sure become a classic in the field.” Kaaron Warren, Shirley Jackson Award-Winner

“Napper has made a remarkable character in the form of his protagonist Lin Thi Vu, subverting to some degree the conventions of the world of male power and violence. It’s a great achievement. The set pieces, the interludes, of performed mastery with weapons and skill, are well poised and set the scene with ritualised violence.” Stephen Teo, author of Chinese Martial Arts Cinema: The Wuxia Tradition

“An engrossing, intriguing action-packed duty tour of a tech-thick, violence-infused, neon-scorched near future gangland Vietnam, where unwinnable games run hot and wild. Highly recommended.” Cat Sparks, author of Lotus Blue

“Beautiful, shimmering, ghostly science fiction.” Anna Smith-Spark, author of Empires of Dust

T R Napper’s new (untitled) novella is a thrilling, propulsive story of escape as two small-time crooks go on the run to save an AI in its infancy. Johnny Mnemonic meets Mad Max in this fast-paced, gritty, and deeply human story that spans the breadth of the Australian continent, and explores the depths of its dark heart.

T. R. Napper is a multi-award-winning science fiction author. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, Interzone, the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and numerous others, and been translated into Hebrew, German, French, and Vietnamese.

Before turning to writing, T. R. Napper was a diplomat and aid worker, delivering humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia for a decade. During this period, he received a commendation from the Government of Laos for his work with the poor. He also was a resident of the Old Quarter in Ha Noi for several years, the setting for his debut novel, 36 Streets.

 
These days he has returned to his home country of Australia, where he works as a Dungeon Master, running campaigns for young people with autism for a local charity.

 
In 2020 he won the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novella. “The Weight of the Air, the Weight of the World,” and the ACT Notable Awards Fiction Category for “Neon Leviathan.” In 2017 he won the Aurealis Award for Best Short Story for “Flame Trees”, (Asimov’s Science Fiction, April/May 2016; and another of his stories “A Strange Loop” (Interzone, January/February 2016) was included in Neil Clarke’s Best Science Fiction of the Year.

Napper was awarded a creative writing doctorate in 2019 for his thesis The Dark Century: 1946 – 2046. Noir, Cyberpunk, and Asian Modernity.

Bestselling novelist Richard Morgan has been fulsome in his praise of Napper’s debut short fiction collection, Neon Leviathan (2020):

“Haunting and iridescent – combines the paranoid weirdness of the best Philip K Dick, the chilly but cool-as-fuck future gleam of cyberpunk, and an achingly beautiful literary inflection reminiscent of mainstream heavyweights like Murakami or Ishiguro. T. R. Napper’s futures feel at once gritty and vertiginous and close-focus human in the way only the best SF can manage. Whatever roadmap he’s working from, I can’t wait to see where he’s taking us next.”