John Jarrold

Frank Festa at Festa Verlag has acquired German limited-edition rights in the Three Births of Daoloth novels by Ramsey Campbell:

THE SEARCHING DEAD, BORN TO THE DARK and  THE WAY OF THE WORM.

The agent was John Jarrold.

Ramsey Campbell is the doyen of horror novelists, a multiple award winner.  He is the only living horror writer to appear in the Oxford Companion to English Literature. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Liverpool John Moores University in 2015.

PRAISE FOR THE SEARCHING DEAD:

“Beautifully written, a masterful story from a master of horror fiction, as well as a master of fiction in general, Ramsey Campbell’s novel, The Searching Dead is strong on style, atmosphere, and the creeps. Time will show that Campbell will be remembered as one of the greats of all time. He has long surpassed Lovecraft, one of his major influences, and has gone on to influence others. Check it out.” — Joe Lansdale

“This is Campbell at the height of his powers, proving once again that he is a master of the genre.” — Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“A return to and a revisioning of some of his earliest imaginings, the trilogy is a kind of autobiography of its protagonist, in which his lifelong struggle with a supernatural agency occurs against the backdrop of post-war British history. The result is a magisterial work, though such a description scants the novels’ propulsive readability. It’s another remarkable achievement in a career full of them.” — Locus Magazine

“The first book in his upcoming “The Three Births of Daoloth” trilogy, The Searching Dead is Ramsey Campbell at the peak of his craft, the literary equivalent of a well-aged bottle of Balvenie.” — HorrorDNA

“This novel is not only the start of an awesome horror epic by a master, but also a compelling coming-of-age story about a budding writer finding his way in a terrifying world.” — Library Journal

PRAISE FOR BORN TO THE DARK:

“Campbell’s writing is intimate, darkly funny, and deeply human, balancing edge-of-the-seat suspense with heartfelt character development. This delightfully unsettling sequel does not disappoint.” — Publishers Weekly

“I’m very much looking forward to the third and final installment of this excellent trilogy.” ― Horror Delve

“Campbell is on familiar ground with the use of dreams, children in jeopardy and a misunderstood protagonist at odds with almost all the familiar anchors in his life – his family, his friends, his workplace – while in the background there is the looming and strengthening threat of horror from beyond. Is there any hope for mankind?” — Concatenation

“Avid readers of cosmic horror will be satisfied with the read and will no doubt find themselves ordering the next and final volume, The Way of the Worm, as soon as possible.” — Rougeski Reads

PRAISE FOR THE WAY OF THE WORM:

“Horror readers who are fans of cosmic horror and cults will enjoy this novel, and those who haven’t read the previous two volumes will still be able to follow along. Fans of the recent Netflix show Midnight Mass will devour this work.” — Booklist

“With The Way of the Worm, Campbell’s cosmic trilogy comes to a triumphant conclusion.”

— S.T. Joshi

“A return to and a revisioning of some of his earliest imaginings, the trilogy is a kind of autobiography of its protagonist, in which his lifelong struggle with a supernatural agency occurs against the backdrop of post-war British history. The result is a magisterial work, though such a description scants the novels’ propulsive readability. It’s another remarkable achievement in a career full of them.” — Locus Magazine

“There is little doubt that Ramsey Campbell’s trilogy―for the three novels must be regarded as a tightly knit unity―will take its place among the stellar accomplishments in the realm of weird fiction. I struggle to find any trio of novels in our field that could match its achievement―an achievement that extends not merely to its deft portrayal of numerous characters over six decades and the impeccable elegance and mellifluousness of its prose, but above all to the grimly terrifying nature of its weird manifestations.” — S.T. Joshi

Film-maker, screenwriter, producer and novelist Guillermo del Toro has tweeted about Ramsey Campbell: “An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that.”

Lucida have acquired Chinese rights in award-winning author Kij Johnson’s debut collection,  AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER OF BEES. They are a boutique new publisher founded during the pandemic by veteran/young editors, and have quickly established themselves as a publisher of unique taste and able to discover hidden gems. They’re acquired a number of Spanish and German titles, including books by Mariana Enriquez and Angelica Gorodischer.

The deal was done by Gray Tan of the Grayhawk Agency on behalf of the John Jarrold Literary Agency.

The author’s shorter fiction has won three Nebulas, three World Fantasy Awards, and a Hugo. She also writes for tabletop roleplaying games. Her  short stories and collections have been reprinted many times all over Europe and Asia. Her World Fantasy Award-winning novella The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe in 2016 was a successful reinvention of Lovecraft.

Sun Color have acquired Taiwanese rights in The River Bank by Kij Johnson.

The deal was done by Gray Tan of the Grayhawk Agency on behalf of the John Jarrold Literary Agency.

The River Bank is a  comic adult sequel to The Wind in the Willows, which assumes that two female Animals come to live on the same river bank as Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger: a lady novelist, Beryl (who is a Mole), and her companion, the Rabbit. This of course disrupts the status quo, and the story ends up being a mix of high comedy and lyrical nature-pieces, very much in the late-Edwardian manner.

The author’s shorter fiction has won three Nebulas, three World Fantasy Awards, and a Hugo. She also writes for tabletop roleplaying games. Her  short stories and collections have been reprinted many times all over Europe and Asia. Her World Fantasy Award-winning novella The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe in 2016 was a successful reinvention of Lovecraft – and The River Bank is a satirical engagement with gender (and class). It is definitely not a children’s book!

Don D’Auria of Flame Tree Press has acquired World English rights in AN ECHO OF CHILDREN, the new novel by doyen of horror writers, Ramsey Campbell. The book will be published in 2025. The agent was John Jarrold.

Coral and Allan Clarendon have just moved to Barnwall with their young son Dean. It’s a seaside town on the Yorkshire coast that sounds ideal for children. Their house is a bargain, and even the local park is called Childer Field. If this commemorates the uncommon number of children who have died unnaturally in Barnwall throughout history, surely Dean must be safe with his parents. If the new friend only he can see is other than imaginary, surely it’s no threat to him.

Is Allan’s mother Jude seeing problems where there are none? Could the house itself be a source of peril? Allan and Coral seem to think so, since they call for an exorcism. It reminds Allan’s father Thom of a fatal instance of the ritual perpetrated not so many years ago in Barnwall…

Flame Tree have published Ramsey’s most recent novels, THE INCUBATIONS, THE LONELY LANDS, FELLSTONES, THE WISE FRIEND and SOMEBODY’S VOICE, as well as a number of his backlist titles.

Ramsey Campbell  is the only living horror writer to appear in the Oxford Companion to English Literature. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Liverpool John Moores University in 2015.

Film-maker, screenwriter, producer and novelist Guillermo del Toro has tweeted about Ramsey Campbell: “An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that.”

Christine Ebbs, Publishing Executive at Penguin Random House Australia, has clinched a three-book deal for Australian and New Zealand rights in the BROKEN CYCLE fantasy trilogy by Australian bookseller and influencer Bronte-Marie Wesson. The agent was John Jarrold.  The first book is due for publication early in 2026, with books two and three following at six-monthly intervals.

In November 2021, Bronte-Marie posted a video on TikTok describing the premise of THE BROKEN CYCLE series, which went viral, amassing 1.5 million views and 280,000 likes. She has a collective social following of 880,000 and has accrued 4.1 million views on a playlist documenting her progress writing the trilogy.

THE ASCENSION OF SOULS is the first book in the trilogy, a queer own-voices story that explores the last stand of a dying culture against a goliath empire, as well as the misfits who fall within the margins of history who try to grind an age old conflict to its end. A curse has trapped Loghar in an eternal war with their imperial neighbours, with central figures reincarnated in each generation to act out the tale. Luminara is a servant who has spent her whole life learning to go unseen, just another face amongst the hundreds who work in the kitchens. When her birthday celebrations coincide with that of the boy-king, the two strike up a serendipitous companionship that blooms into romance. Luminara  finds herself pulled into a realm of prophecy that is as ancient as her homeland and as her lover begins to take up his mantle in the war, she is forced to take a stance against him or watch the world around her turn to ash.

THE ASCENSION OF SOULS will appeal to readers who loved The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan.

Christine Ebbs said: “I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Bronte-Marie onto the Penguin Random House list. With The Ascension of Souls they have created an incredible new world and a cast of characters I immediately fell in love with. I can’t wait to introduce the Broken Cycle trilogy to the world!”