Peter James wins Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger award

This week, acclaimed British writer Peter James has received one of the most prestigious awards in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. The award is given out annually to  one writer in recognition of excellence and success across their whole career.

Author of the bestselling, much-loved Roy Grace series as well as a number of gripping standalone novels, Peter has been published in 37 languages and has won a number of many international awards including the US Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel in 2012. In 2015 he was voted by WH Smith readers as The Best Crime Author of All Time.

James Runcie, making the opening speech of the Crime Awards evening, managed to reference almost all of Peter’s Roy Grace titles in a very funny sequence that had the whole room laughing.

Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association Len Tyler said that Peter James combines up-to-the-minute accuracy with tight plotting and a fast pace and he considers James to be the King of the Police Procedural.

Peter said he was ‘thrilled and immensely proud’ to win the award, adding: ‘Thanks to all of you at the wonderful Crime Writers Association for giving me an honour which, when I was first published all those years back, was one I could only dream of and never ever believed could one day become a reality.’

Following YOU ARE DEAD, Peter’s 11th novel in the bestselling Roy Grace series which sat for five weeks at the top of the UK bestseller chart, Peter’s new novel LOVE YOU DEAD will be published in paperback 20 October 2016. This new gripping read sees Roy Grace come up against black widow Jodie Bentley, perhaps his most venomous adversary yet.

Peter has also recently launched his own ‘author crime-hub’ YouTube channel, Peter James TV. The channel will feature exclusive interviews with household names in crime including RL Stine, Martina Cole, Lee Child and Paula Hawkins, as well as behind the scenes research footage for his bestselling Roy Grace series.

Praise for Peter James

'Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business.' – Karin Slaughter

'Exceptional, knock-your-socks-off.' – Washington Post

‘Sinister and riveting… Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ – Lee Child

Find out more about Peter James at Blake Friedmann's, Pan Macmillan's and Peter’s websites and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

INFERNO by Julian Stockwin published today

INFERNO, the seventeenth novel in Julian Stockwin’s popular KYDD series, is published in hardback in the UK 6 October 2016 with Hodder and Stoughton.

The page-turning, sea-blasted KYDD series has been published in 7 countries including the UK, the US, Germany, France, Japan, the Czech Republic, and Russia.

1807. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd's famous sea action aboard Tyger has snatched his reputation from ignominy. He is the hero of the hour. But though Britain's Navy remains imperious, a succession of battles has seen Napoleon victorious on mainland Europe.

In an attempt to prevent the French from taking control of Denmark's navy, Kydd's great friend Nicholas Renzi - now Lord Farndon - is sent on a desperate diplomatic mission to persuade the Danes to give up their fleet to Britain. But the Danes are caught between two implacable forces and will not yield, opting instead for the inferno of battle.

Read an excerpt of INFERNO.

Julian Stockwin is also the author of the fascinating MOMENTS IN HISTORY series, gripping historical fiction which examines and reimagines the turning points of the past. THE POWDER OF DEATH, a heart-pounding novel based around the invention of gunpowder, was published with Allison & Busby 18 August 2016. A free excerpt is available online.

Praise for the KYDD series

‘I was soon turning over the pages almost indecently fast’ – The Independent

‘From the very first novel KYDD Stockwin climbed the dizzy heights of the bestseller lists and has stayed there ever since.’ – Craig Cabell, Book Collector and Magazine

‘Historical fiction is a tricky beast. As a writer you have to keep your history in proper shape while combining it with a narrative that someone actually wants to read. Score two out of two for Julian Stockwin...It is engrossing.’ – The Daily Mail

About Julian Stockwin

At 14 Stockwin joined a tough sea-training school, followed by the Royal Navy, transferring to the Royal Australian Navy when his family emigrated.  He saw active service in the Far East, the Antarctic, the South Seas and Vietnam, and was on board the Melbourne at the time of its disastrous peace time collision with the Voyager.  Later he worked for NATO on the strategic deployment of merchant shipping.

Find out more about Julian on the Blake Friedmann website or Julian’s website.

Follow Julian on Twitter @julianstockwin.

Elizabeth Chadwick’s THE AUTUMN THRONE published today

THE AUTUMN THRONE is published in hardback today by Sphere, concluding the glorious retelling of the life of one the most powerful women in medieval Europe, Eleanor of Aquitaine, by one of the most-loved historical writers today, New York Times bestseller Elizabeth Chadwick.

Chadwick’s ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE trilogy opened with THE SUMMER QUEEN and was followed by THE WINTER CROWN, and was described by Choice Magazine as ‘engrossingly written and well researched.’ The beloved trilogy is being published in the UK, the USA, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Russia, with more languages expected.

England, 1176. Imprisoned by her husband, King Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England, refuses to let her powerful husband bully her into submission, even as he forces her away from her children and her birthright.

Freed only by Henry's death, Eleanor becomes dowager Queen of England. But the competition for land and power that Henry stirred up among his sons has intensified to a dangerous rivalry.

Eleanor needs every ounce of courage and fortitude as she crosses the Alps on horseback in winter to bring Richard his bride, and travels medieval Europe to ransom her beloved son. But even her indomitable spirit will be tested to its limits as she attempts to keep the peace between her warring sons, and find places in the centres of power for her daughters.

Praise for THE AUTUMN THRONE

‘Fluid and entertaining… a novel packed with incident, interest and emotional depth. The medieval world she has created is rounded and convincing, the fruit of years of research… Highly recommended.’ – Historical Novel Society

‘THE AUTUMN THRONE completes Elizabeth Chadwick’s superb and, I would argue, definitive trilogy on the life of one of the most (if not THE most) astonishing female figures in medieval history. I’ve always said that reading an Elizabeth Chadwick novel is not like reading history at all, it’s experiencing it… I feel that I’ve been allowed into Eleanor’s thoughts and given a chance to see and know her as I imagine she may well have been. Eleanor was a truly remarkable woman, her story is the stuff of legend, and Elizabeth Chadwick has done her justice.’ – For Winter Nights

Praise for Elizabeth Chadwick and the ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE series

‘An author who makes history come gloriously alive.’ – The Times

‘Picking up an Elizabeth Chadwick novel, you know you are in for a sumptuous ride. Beautifully strong characters and a real feel for time and place.’ – The Daily Telegraph

‘A magnificent woman’s story told by a brilliant historical novelist; realistic, emotional, vibrant, exciting and unputdownable.’ – RT Book Reviews, July Top Pick

Read more about Elizabeth Chadwick on the Blake Friedmann website or her website.

Follow Elizabeth on Twitter and Facebook.

THE POWDER OF DEATH BY JULIAN STOCKWIN PUBLISHED TODAY

Julian Stockwin’s latest historical fiction novel THE POWDER OF DEATH is published August 18 2016 by Allison & Busby. THE POWDER OF DEATH is Julian’s newest addition to the MOMENTS IN HISTORY series, historical action-adventure novels which examine and reimagine the turning points of the past.

1261. Oxford, England. An envoy returns from the land of the Tartars to meet with an English scholar and share a deadly secret that touches on the future of Christianity itself. The two men vow that the knowledge of gunpowder must die with them as the consequences are otherwise too fatal to contemplate.

1290. Hurnwych Green, England. After his quiet life is shattered by tragedy, local blacksmith Jared begins a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Aboard a ship to Venice, he meets Sir Nicholas Gayne who invites him to join the Knights Hospitallers as their blacksmith on a holy crusade for King Edward.

The adventure that follows sees Jared encounter men from distant Cathay who harbour the secret of huo yao, and so begins one man’s obsession with the powder of death and a king’s determination to change the very nature of warfare…

Praise for Julian Stockwin and the MOMENTS IN HISTORY series

‘Historical fiction is a tricky beast. As a writer you have to keep your history in proper shape while combining it with a narrative that someone actually wants to read. Score two out of two for Julian Stockwin.’ – Daily Mail.

‘Julian Stockwin, a master of the historic novel, writes with a zeal, recreating ancient times, with fast-paced prose, vivid characters, and matchless authenticity. Powder smoke and the stench of brimstone waft off the pages.’ – Quarterdeck magazine.

About Julian Stockwin

At 14 Stockwin joined a tough sea-training school, followed by the Royal Navy, transferring to the Royal Australian Navy when his family emigrated.  He saw active service in the Far East, the Antarctic, the South Seas and Vietnam, and was on board the Melbourne at the time of its disastrous peace time collision with the Voyager.  Later he worked for NATO on the strategic deployment of merchant shipping.

Find out more about Julian on the Blake Friedmann or Julian’s website.

Read an excerpt of THE POWDER OF DEATH online. 

Peter James awarded the Tess Gerritsen Award for Best Series

Acclaimed British writer Peter James has been awarded the Tess Gerritsen Award for Best Series last weekend at Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, in Harrogate, for his bestselling Roy Grace series. This prestigious prize is awarded every year to a writer with a career marked by excellence and success. Novels eligible are those crime novels published in paperback any time during the previous year. Voting is by the public with decisions of a jury-panel also taken into account.

Peter James’ 12th Roy Grace novel LOVE YOU DEAD was published in May and remained in the Top 10 Hardback bestseller list for 7 weeks and his ghost story THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL was published in paperback last month and spent 3 weeks in the Paperback Top 10. His first non-fiction book, DEATH COMES KNOCKING: POLICING ROY GRACE’S BRIGHTON written with Graham Bartlett was published on 15th June and will be in the Sunday Times paperback non-fiction chart at No. 7 this weekend. This means that within the same month, Peter has been in the Top 10 bestseller charts for hardback fiction, paperback fiction and paperback non-fiction – a stunning achievement.

Peter James has been twice Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and has won many literary awards: as popular internationally as in the UK, he is published in more than 3 dozen languages. Last year he was voted by WH Smith readers as The Best Crime Author of All Time.  He is currently writing three more Roy Grace novels and two standalones for Macmillan.

Praise for Peter James:

'Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business.' – Karin Slaughter

'Exceptional, knock-your-socks-off.' – Washington Post

‘Sinister and riveting… Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ – Lee Child

Find out more about Peter James at Blake Friedmann's, Pan Macmillan's and Peter’s websites and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.