Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of debut author Sarah Raughley, in a one-book World English Rights deal concluded by Strange Chemistry’s editor Amanda Rutter and Natalie Fischer Lakosil, of the Bradford Literary Agency.

Sarah’s novel, a YA Dark Fantasy tale called Feather Bound, will be published in the Spring of 2014.

When Deanna’s missing friend Hyde turns up at his father’s funeral to claim his corporate empire and inheritance, she is swept into his glittering world of paparazzi and wealth.

But re-kindling her friendship and the dizzying new emotions along for the ride are the least of her concerns. Because Deanna has a secret – and somebody knows. Someone who is out to get Hyde. And if she doesn’t play along, and help the enemy destroy him…she will be sold to the highest bidder in the black market for human swans.

Now Deanna is struggling to break free from the gilded cage that would trap her forever…

Feather Bound is a dark debut reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez’s A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, and the twisted truth behind the fairy tale of Cinderella.

Strange Chemistry Editor Amanda Rutter said: “Feather Bound is an incredibly special book – one that has more and more layers the further you read into it. I loved the magical realism, and the folktale elements that Sarah brought to the novel, while the bitchy high society element of the story was utterly authentic. Sarah is a massive talent and I’m delighted that she chose to sign with Strange Chemistry.”

Sarah grew up in Southern Ontario writing stories about freakish little girls with powers because she secretly wanted to be one.

She is a huge fangirl of anything from manga to science fiction/fantasy lit to Japanese Role Playing Games… but if she has to, she will swear up and down that she was inspired by Jane Austen at book signings. She imagines it sounds better than Chrono Trigger.

On top of being a YA writer, she is currently completing a PhD in English, because she communicates via literary narratives, and also the sight of blood makes her queasy (which crossed medical school off the list).

Visit Sarah’s website at sarahraughley.wordpress.com or follow her updates on Twitter (@s_raughley).

Fantastic Literature Limited have announced their latest booklist, Tadpole, is now live.

The list can be seen HERE. Go and grab a bargain!

Various sources are reporting that Basil Copper, author of horror and mystery fiction, died yesterday aged 89.

His first short story, The Curse, was published when he was just 14 but his first professionally published story was The Spider in the fifth Pan Book of Horror Stories in 1964 when Copper was 40. He went on to publish many more short stories and books including over fifty novels featuring private detective Mike Faraday.

In 2008, Stephen Jones compiled and edited a biographical bibliography titled Basil Copper: A Life in Books which won the British Fantasy Award for Non-Fiction in 2009.

Obituaries from Locus and SF Site can be seen HERE and HERE

Always wanted to keep up to date on Neil Gaiman related news, events, treats and other general shenanigans? Well now you can with the Gaiman Almanac!

Tracking all of Gaiman’s activities in 2013, it also includes the option to load the almanac directly into your Google Calendar so you need never miss another Gaiman related thing!

Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers launched a new award for aspiring debut novelists, in June last year. The Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now Prize. Since the deadline for submissions on the 31^st December 2012, the team have spent many hours reading, reporting and discussing over 500 entries that were submitted for the £20,000 advance publishing contract.

The shortlist are, in surname order:

The Unspoken Death of the Amazing Flying Boy by Jean Burdett

Bloodline by Sophie Constable

The Hive by Alexander Maskill

The Way Through the Woods by Robin Pearson

A Kill in the Morning by Graeme Shimmin

The Shadows of Annwn by Catherine Whittle

The six shortlisted books cover a breadth of topics and sub genres, imagination and alternate worlds. Each shortlisted entry was chosen for their skilful writing, vast imaginative powers and ability to tell a good story!

The winner will be judged by Sir Terry Pratchett, Rob Wilkins, Alex Veasey from Forbidden Planet, Simon Taylor, Editorial Director at Transworld Publishers and Lynsey Dalladay Sir Terry Pratchett’s Publicist. The winner will be announced on the 31^st May 2013.

Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers would like to thank everyone who submitted an entry to the prize.

Abaddon Books is very pleased to announce that desk editor David Moore is to be the imprint’s new commissioning editor.

David will oversee Abaddon Books’ new commissions as well as creating more new original shared worlds – joining series such as the zombie-themed novels of Tomes of the Dead, the post-apocalyptic Afterblight Chronicles, and the Steampunk adventure pulp of Pax Britannia.

This year Abaddon Books will launch two new series – Chuck Wendig’s Gods and Monsters (named as one of the ‘Essential Science Fiction and Fantasy books of 2013’ by io9) and Toby Venables’ Guy of Gisburne, as well as more in the Weird Space series by SF legend Eric Brown.

Editor-in-chief of Abaddon Books and Solaris, Jonathan Oliver, said: “Ever since David started with Rebellion Publishing, it’s been clear that he has an incisive eye for what makes a story work and an editorial hand that gets the best out of a book, while maintaining a great relationship with the author. I’m really excited to be handing over the Abaddon reins to David and can’t wait to see what he plans for the imprint.”

David said: “I’ve loved every minute of my time with Abaddon Books so far: we punch above our weight, take risks, produce the books we want to and have fun doing it. Getting a chance to take the helm on the imprint Jon put so much of his love and energy into, to steer it through the next few years and stamp my own mark on it, is incredibly exciting. Also scary. Very scary. I’ve already changed trousers twice today.”

Born and raised in Australia, David has lived in three different countries, but as of last year has spent more than half his life in the UK. A life-long geek, passionate reader and aspiring writer (he began the first of, to date, five unfinished novels, Eight-legged Aliens, on a Commodore 64), David has been writing for magazines and websites for 15 years, working in the publishing industry for three, and picking on people’s grammar and spelling since he could walk. His past career has been mixed, to say the least, including bar and theatre work, providing technology support in the banking sector and filling tea and coffee pots in an architectural firm. He lives in Reading with his wife, Tamsin.

Angry Robot is delighted to announce the acquisition of the worldwide rights to two epic fantasy novels by James A. Moore, the first of which, Seven Forges, will be published in October.

The deal for Worldwide English rights in books, ebooks and audiobooks was concluded by Angry Robot Managing Director Marc Gascoigne and Donald Morhaim in New York.

The Seven Forges are a range of impassable mountains, far to the north of the settled lands of Fellein. From time to time explorers venture up beyond the Blasted Lands in search of a way over them and the promise of legendary riches, but without success.

Now Captain Merros Dulver has found a path, and encountered, at last, the half-forgotten people who dwell there. And it would appear they were expecting him.

James A. Moore cut his teeth in the industry writing for Marvel Comics and authoring over twenty role-playing supplements for White Wolf Games. He also penned the White Wolf novels Vampire: House of Secrets and Werewolf: Hellstorm. Moore’s first short story collection,Slices, sold out before ever seeing print.

He is currently working on three new novels: Congregations of the Dead, the as-yet unnamed sequel to Seven Forges, and Boom Town, and he recently completed his latest Jonathan Crowley novel, Cherry Hill.  He lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.

James said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Angry Robot Books and the amazing team they’ve assembled. They’ve been enthusiastic, caring and attentive, and now that the contracts have been signed I’m happy to report to the entire team that their loved ones will be returned home safely in the very near future, most of them no worse for the wear.”

You can find James online at genrefied.blogspot.com as well as on Twitter @JamesAMoore and Facebook.

Gunter Olschowsky, Commissioning Editor for Verlag Bucheinband lnes Neumann, based in Heidenau in Saxony, has acquired German rights to Sam Stone’s award-winning vampire novel Killing Kiss.

The book was published in the UK by the House of Murky Depths in 2008, and is the first in a series of acclaimed novels collectively known as The Vampire Gene. 

Olschowsky said of this deal: ‘In Germany, vampires are very popular. Customers, and especially young readers, can’t get enough books about them. Sam Stone has specialized very successfully in vampires and has yet to be discovered in Germany. Bucheinband are proud to introduce Sam Stone to the German book market and to offer German fans another “black pearl” author in this genre. Bucheinband believe that Ms Stone will become a valuable asset to every German fantasy book collection.’

‘I’m looking forward immensely to working with Gunter and Bucheinband,’ said Stone. ‘I love Germany, and can’t wait to visit to help promote the title to German readers and fans.’

Bucheinband intend to launch Killing Kiss (German title: KillerKuss) at the Frankfurt Book Fair in the autumn.

Killing Kiss won the silver award for Best Horror Novel in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year competition, and Stone’s subsequent novels and short stories have gained her much acclaim, including winning the British Fantasy Award. She holds an MA in Creative Writing and is a noted public speaker and lecturer. Stone’s website is at www.sam-stone.com.

Author Iain Banks has just released a statement revealing he has late stage gall bladder cancer.

The statement can be seen HERE but is reprinted in full below.

I am officially Very Poorly.

After a couple of surgical procedures, I am gradually recovering from jaundice caused by a blocked bile duct, but that – it turns out – is the least of my problems.

I first thought something might be wrong when I developed a sore back in late January, but put this down to the fact I’d started writing at the beginning of the month and so was crouched over a keyboard all day.  When it hadn’t gone away by mid-February, I went to my GP, who spotted that I had jaundice.  Blood tests, an ultrasound scan and then a CT scan revealed the full extent of the grisly truth by the start of March.

I have cancer.  It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes, plus one tumour is massed around a group of major blood vessels in the same volume, effectively ruling out any chance of surgery to remove the tumours either in the short or long term.

The bottom line, now, I’m afraid, is that as a late stage gall bladder cancer patient, I’m expected to live for ‘several months’ and it’s extremely unlikely I’ll live beyond a year.  So it looks like my latest novel, The Quarry, will be my last.

As a result, I’ve withdrawn from all planned public engagements and I’ve asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow (sorry – but we find ghoulish humour helps).  By the time this goes out we’ll be married and on a short honeymoon.  We intend to spend however much quality time I have left seeing friends and relations and visiting places that have meant a lot to us.  Meanwhile my heroic publishers are doing all they can to bring the publication date of my new novel forward by as much as four months, to give me a better chance of being around when it hits the shelves.

There is a possibility that it might be worth undergoing a course of chemotherapy to extend the amount of time available.  However that is still something we’re balancing the pros and cons of, and anyway it is out of the question until my jaundice has further and significantly, reduced.

Lastly, I’d like to add that from my GP onwards, the professionalism of the medics involved – and the speed with which the resources of the NHS in Scotland have been deployed – has been exemplary, and the standard of care deeply impressive.   We’re all just sorry the outcome hasn’t been more cheerful.

A website is being set up where friends, family and fans can leave messages for me and check on my progress.  It should be up and running during this week and a link to it will be on my official website at www.iain-banks.net as soon as it’s ready.

Iain Banks

Our thoughts go out to Iain and his family.

If you are a member of the British Fantasy Society (congratulations on your wise choice of association!) or if you attended the glorious celebration of fantasy that was FantasyCon 2012 in Brighton (wasn’t the weather good for October?), today is the final day to cast your votes in the British Fantasy Awards 2013.

Every vote matters! In every category!

If there is nothing you wish to vote for this year, even empty voting forms will be gratefully received, just so we know we reached you.

VOTE HERE!