The Zaffre Crime & Thriller Showcase 2026

 

Mike Stotter and I were looking forward to seeing what Bonnier Books Crime and Thriller Imprint ‘Zaffre’ had in store for 2006/7 – as well as catching up with the Shots Magazine Blogger Ayo Onatade, and our fellow London-based book reviewers.

But first, a digression.

I met up with Mike Stotter for lunch at a Pizzeria in Fitzrovia, followed by Coffee and Dates at a nearby Middle Eastern café. As ever, our conversation centred upon our lives within literature; particularly my excessive reading and Mike’s excessive workload at Piccadilly Publishing. I was heartened to hear that Mike’s publishing house had acquired the western novels of the renowned thriller writer Brian Garfield and had also published The Legend of Hereward a historical novel by the prolific Mike Ripley. I had enjoyed Ripley’s latest novel Played to Death, which I reviewed last month, noting especially - its observational humour and affectionate deconstruction of the golden age crime novel - “Rarely have I enjoyed myself as much as I have reading through this piece of narrative metafiction. Though you have to work for your money, because despite its concise size, the novel has significant heft in provoking thought – which it does with a smile. Though the novel is much darker than it appears from the surface, much like life.” Read my full review HERE

After adjourning to The Bricklayer’s Arms we enjoyed small glasses of Stout. I was delighted to learn that my very dear friend had started writing again. I had been urging him to return to penning his own work, after many years of promoting and publishing the work of others. I have been growing concerned at his relentless workload at Piccadilly Publishing, and [perhaps selfishly] missed becoming lost in tales torn from Mike Stotter’s fevered imagination [Click Here for more information]; work that even Elmore Leonard had commented on “I’ve now seen it all, a Limey writing Westerns” Dutch had laughed when he last visited London and talked with Mike [as they coincidentally had both published stories in the same western collection].

Anyway, it was soon time to venture to the private room [above The Black Horse] that would be hosting the Zaffre Crime & Thriller Showcase.

We were welcomed by the Zaffre team, who treated us to an eclectic array of cocktails and food which was generously provided by Bonnier Books. The display of the upcoming publications reinforced what publisher Ben Willis told us in his welcoming speech “Zaffre’s list can only be described as diverse, spanning all the myriad subgenres that make up crime, mystery and thriller fiction”.

Many of the Zaffre Authors were in attendance, including Vaseem Khan, Felix Francis, T.M. Logan, Robert Peston, Jo Spain among many others. I was on the lookout for Susie Dent as my very dear friend [and one of the hardest working editors in Crime and Thriller], Journalist and the Editor of The Rap Sheet Jeff Pierce had enjoyed her debut thriller Guilty by Definition. But it was a busy gathering and I didn’t manage to find her – I did however snag an advance proof of her sophomore work Death Writ Large which is released this August.

I am also intrigued by an upcoming 2027 novel White Smoke by [the pseudonymous] Nick Brucker, as I had enjoyed his Techno-SF thriller Ascension which he penned under his real name Nicolas Binge. White Smoke was the subject of a publishing bidding war that Zaffre Publisher Ben Willis won. It should be noted that A24 has acquired film rights for White Smoke. 

Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to star and produce the proposed TV Series. Though proofs were not available at the party, we were provided with a short extract and information, which we are pleased to share with our readers [click on image below enlarge & download]

Joining Ayo Onatade, Mike Stotter and I [from Shots Magazine] at the party were our friends and reviewing colleagues Deidre O’Brien, Jake Kerridge, Maxim Jakubowski and Barry Forshaw as well bloggers and members of the press, booksellers, fellow bibliophiles and the team from the Zaffre imprint of Bonnier.

We present a few photographs of the party, and of our mingling - as we talked books and catching up on our lives as well the absurdity of the reality we share.

Shots Magazine would like to thank Alice Dovey, Ben Willis and the Zaffre Team at Bonnier Books for generously hosting an excellent evening that wonderfully showcased their 2026 publications as well as providing an opportunity to talk about books.  

Many of the books from Zaffre / Bonnier are available to order currently or for pre-order.  

More information available HERE

https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/imprints/zaffre

 

Talking with Whyte Python’s author Travis Kennedy

 

Very rarely have I enjoyed reading a debut novel [that contained such an absurd plot] as I did last week with The Whyte Python World Tour by Travis Kennedy.

It kept me reading with my hands glued to the cover as if my life depended upon reaching the end.

It provoked thought and reflection, while it constantly made me smile and at several points - laugh out loud. It also made my eyes moist as I considered [and contextualised] my own life.

In a crazy world that depresses me and fills me with anxiety whenever I view the TV News – The Whyte Python World Tour – became an antidote as it made me feel good – it put a big smile on my face as it held me in its grip.

Without going totally hyperbolic – this debut novel was / is life-affirming.

I was first made aware of this extraordinary debut by Publisher Rowland White during the Michael Joseph Crime Party, held in February [Crypt at St Martins-in-the-Fields Trafalgar Square in London].

This year [2025] marks the 90th anniversary of the formation of Penguin Publishing.

Michael Joseph was a bestselling author before he turned publisher in 1935 – the same year Penguin paperbacks were launched. In 1985, exactly half a century after their mutual founding, Michael Joseph became the commercial imprint of Penguin Books. And now, it forms an important part of the PenguinRandomHouse Global Publishing Conglomerate.

Read More HERE

So what is The Whyte Python World Tour all about?

Set in the late 1980s, the author weaves the collapse of the Soviet Bloc into the era of peak heavy metal with the rise of a fictitious Los Angeles rock band Whyte Python. The band consists of four weird misfits - on Vocals Davy Bones (aka Lawrence Barkly), on Bass Guitar Spencer Dooley, on Lead Guitar (Robert) Buck Sweet and finally on Drums Richard Henderson aka Rikki Thunder.

Whyte Python is managed by the wimpy British producer Kirby Smoot for Andromeda Records and unbeknownst to the band, manipulated by the American Central Intelligence Agency’s Asian Intelligence Division [AID].

It appears that the Deputy Director of the CIA Ed Lonsa is reluctantly tasked to orchestrate a Cold War Psychological Operation against the Soviet Bloc. The Psy-Ops entitled Operation Facemelt is born, peopled by agents undergoing ‘disciplinary process’ though only three of them are aware that they are in this process. Firstly we have Amanda Price [aka Shawna Peppers] who works under the identity of rock and roll journalist Tawny Spice who is tasked with manipulating Drummer Rikki Thunders [from his band Qyksand] into joining Whyte Python. The other CIA agents being the insubordinates Catherine Stryker and Daryl Boone with the more conformist Bradford Mancuso.

As a thriller it is outstanding.

When I put the book down, I sat in silent contemplation and then downloaded the audio book narrated by Wil Wheaton as I wanted to revisit this crazy world again.

Read More HERE

After I put the book down, I had a few questions for the author Travis Kennedy, who kindly agreed to answer my queries.

I smiled during our dialogue, because it was little surprise to discover that I share the author’s enthusiasm for reading, including a passion for the works of Dennis Lehane - which I was unaware of when I read the book – and which may help [in part] to explain my own admiration for Travis Kennedy’s writing ability.

Ali: Welcome to Great Britain’s Shots Magazine.

Travis: Thank you for having me!

AK: We’re excited to introduce you to our readers, as this novel took over my life for two days as I read it over two sittings – is this really your first published work?

TK: Well, yes and no. It’s my first traditionally published novel, but I’ve had several short stories placed over the last dozen years or so - and I have been writing for my whole life. For many years, my career in public service demanded all of my creative energy, and I had to take a break from writing for myself. I was able to find my way back about twelve years ago, beginning with short stories and humour pieces. Believe it or not, this is chronologically the third complete novel that I have written.  My team made a decision to lead with THE WHYTE PYTHON WORLD TOUR, in part because of the speed of development on the film adaptation - but you will see the others!

AK: From your acknowledgements I see you come from a family that values books, libraries and reading. So would you care to tell us a little about your childhood and your reading?

TK: Oh, absolutely. Reading has been coded deeply into my personality since I was four years old. It’s the hobby that I love to do most. It makes my brain happy! My parents recognized this trait in me very early – especially my father, who I inherited it from. When I was very young, my family lived on a lake in New Hampshire. In many pictures from that era, you can see my parents and brothers playing in the water while I’m off in the distance, happily sitting under a tree with my nose in a book. When I was six years old, we moved to southern Maine, just outside of the City of Portland; and that first week, before all of the bags were unpacked, my father brought me to the Portland Public Library and signed me up for a library card. “There,” he said. “You’re home.”

What’s remarkable to me now as a dad myself is seeing the same quality in my own kids. My daughter is nine years old as I write this, and she is just like me. She reads relentlessly. Her school backpack is very heavy, because she never has fewer than two novels stuffed in between her lunchbox and schoolwork. Needless to say, she is delighted that her dad works in the publishing business now. She travels with me to book stores when I go in to sign stock, and she keeps a record of each store and what she found special about it. My son is six, and so he’s less impressed by Dad’s new line of work; it’s not strange or exciting to him at all, it's just what I do for a living. But reading came to him even more naturally than it did for me. Our house is absolutely littered with books.

AK: And of that time can you tell us which novels / stories were you favourites and why?

TK: I was an absolute book vacuum. I loved books across all genres, and had countless favourites. But I gravitated the strongest toward storytelling that put kids in the middle of adventures with genuine stakes. I probably loved Roald Dahl’s books the most. I read CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at least a dozen times throughout my childhood – in one instance, three times in a row. There’s a real ominous feeling in his work, that the little heroes actually might not make it out okay. I loved the film The Goonies for the same reason. Stories that took their child heroes seriously.

AK:….But what books was/were the one[s] that made you want to pick up a pen / pc and write yourself?

TK: Jumping ahead to the modern era: think the two biggest inspirations for me as an adult to really GO FOR IT and dedicate myself to writing were Elmore Leonard and Dennis Lehane. When reading Elmore, you always get the feeling that he was smiling on the other side of his typewriter. There’s so much charm to his work, a sense that he’s enjoying himself. Elmore made it clear to me that you’re allowed to have fun with writing, and to let that sense of fun and joy in the exercise make its way onto the page. And then I picked up A DRINK BEFORE THE WAR by Dennis Lehane, and that voice just grabbed me with both hands in the first chapter and wouldn’t let me go. He was rewriting my own inner monologue in Patrick Kenzie’s sly Boston accent. I had to try to do that, too. I got such joy from reading both of those writers’ work, and I felt a kinship with them in how my own mind likes to tell stories, and together they pushed me into going for it.

AK: Who do you read now days?

TK: I’m still a vacuum! I still bounce around from genre to genre, fiction to non-fiction and back. I love great crime thrillers that break the standard mold. Every Michael Koryta book is a must-read for me. There’s a great writer who is also from Maine named Ron Currie Jr, who wrote an amazing crime fiction book called THE SAVAGE, NOBLE DEATH OF BABS DIONNE that has that grand, operatic feeling of Dennis Lehane and Don Winslow’s work. But I read everything. On the other end of the spectrum, I loved ATMOSPHERE by Taylor Jenkins Reid. John Scalzi’s WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE. Chris Whitaker, Fredrik Backman, Benjamin Stevenson, Richard Osman, Stephen King. I love Percival Everett. The book about Lorne Michaels was great.

AK: So onto The Whyte Python World Tour…..the central premise is what could be described as ‘Cherry’ - the CIA using a Heavy Metal band in the 1980s to influence disaffected East Europeans fed of Soviet Oppression…where did this weird idea come from?

TK:   Good question! I’ve had a longtime fascination with that specific era of music called “glam metal,” the party-themed rock anthems played by so-called “hair bands” of the 1980s. I was just a kid when they were on top of the world, and so they were really comical in my eyes. Like feral real-life muppets, wearing leather and spandex with makeup and wild hair and singing these infectious, harmless anthems. About twenty years ago, I started to read autobiographies of some of the big stars from that time – Slash, Motley Crue, Poison, etc – and I discovered that more often than not, the rock Gods on stage often came from challenging childhoods and were misfits until they found each other through music. They were overlooked and underappreciated, and then playing in these bands unlocked their superpowers. It seemed like there was a fun story in that; the idea that they had these secret identities that you only saw when the stage lights came on.

Then five years ago, I listened to a podcast called “Wind of Change,” produced by the very talented investigative reporter Patrick Radden Keefe. He was chasing a pervasive rumour that the CIA wrote the song “Wind of Change” for the hit German metal band The Scorpions, as a psyop to usher the Eastern Bloc’s youth into democracy at the end of the Cold War through the power of soft metal. He couldn’t prove it, of course; and I suspect that it isn’t true. But the concept married perfectly with the theme I had been chewing on, on and off, for almost twenty years about the glam metal guys having secret powers. This was it! And as a fiction story, divorced from any responsibility to tell the truth, I could make it whatever I wanted. 

AK: And so did you plot extensively or run with the idea until you had a narrative that could be licked into shape? And end-to-end how long did it take to physically write the novel?

TK: Before I wrote a word, I wrestled with the idea of how to tell the story. I wanted it to be a first-person narrative, like you’re reading a rockstar’s autobiography; but I also wanted the readers to understand pretty quickly what was going on, unbeknownst to our hero, Rikki Thunder. I didn’t really let myself think about the arc of the story until I figured out how to tell it, which took a little time. Once the solution came to me that the correct way to write this book is to break all narrative rules – it can be first person sometimes, and third person sometimes, and occasionally told through music montage – the book poured out of me as fast as I could keep up with it. Because breaking all the rules is metal! The unique format didn’t just allow me to tell the story how I wanted to tell it; it made it FEEL more like a frenzied, rule-breaking hair band video. The first draft took about three months. But that being said, I’ve worked more on this book than anything I’ve done in my life. There were, easily, twenty rounds of revisions; the first several by me alone, then a bunch with my agent and more again with my editor at Doubleday. So, while the first draft happened fast, the book took a little over two years to truly complete.

AK: I consider a major strength in the narrative are the [very] minor characters, who you define so very deftly, but yet they sit up straight on the page, such as Bass Guitarist Spencer Dooley’s [possibly] imaginary friend ‘Kevin’ or the East Berlin shopkeeper Josef Weidermann, or the Plumber Ben Pratt and Rikki’s old school friend Ron……less is more….would you care to comment?

TK: First, thank you! That compliment means a lot to me, because there is definitely some risk in introducing a large cast of characters in a novel and asking your readership to try to keep them all arranged in their minds. I’m glad to hear it worked for you. I think if you’re going to create a character, you owe it to them to make them unique and feel lived-in, and cared about. I think the old writing adage of “show, don’t tell” is CRITICAL when you’re creating minor characters who still need to feel real; we don’t need to know everything about Ron and his personal backstory, but we feel like we know it anyway only because of how he looks and dresses and moves. Same with Ben Pratt; the minor details (clean shirt, soft voice, big, pawlike hands) tell us he’s a gentle giant, and give us the warm feelings toward him that Rikki feels and remembers. That should be enough for the reader to get an imprint without feeling smothered by description about someone they’re not going to spend much time with, especially because I’m going to ask you to keep track of a lot of supporting characters more thoroughly.

AK: Are you a follower of Heavy Metal yourself? And if so, which bands do you rate form that genre?

TK: I am – but not at all exclusively. Music is very much like books to me – I love it if it’s done well, and spend time in whatever genre that matches my mood. I’ve mellowed quite a bit in my 40s now, but writing the book has been a really fun exercise in reconnecting with these musical roots from my youth! The fun thing about “metal” or “glam metal” or “hair bands” is that they’re all such flexible terms, and a lot of music aficionados love to fight over your exact question:

what qualifies? Because Poison is so different from Guns N’ Roses, which is so different from Van Halen or Motley Crue, or Def Leppard, or Iron Maiden, or Motorhead or Metallica or Bon Jovi and so on. Fans of all of that music – which is an enormous spectrum of sound – love to fight over this. I think that when we think of the era, we qualify bands with these titles (metal, glam, hair, etc) based on the look and the attitude, more than the melodies and the themes. We see massive hair, defying gravity thanks to cans of Aquanet; and ripped jeans, and spandex, and makeup, and we say “that’s metal.” It’s a time and a place and a vibe, more than a uniform style of music.

AK: So what’s next for Travis Kennedy?

TK: Lots! I’m plotting out a new novel now – it’s not in the world of Whyte Python, but I have a strong feeling that those muppets will be back eventually. I’m also supporting the work of the film adaptation of the book, and I have a few other film projects in various stages of development. I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to write full-time now, and it feels like I finally have time for all of the ideas that have been scrambling over each other to get to the front of the line. It’s a very exciting time!

AK: Thank you your time and insight.

TK: Truly, it’s my pleasure. Thanks for reading!

Shots Magazine would like to thank Publisher and Senior Editor Rowland White and from Publicity Lily Evans at Michael Joseph imprint of PenguinRandomHouse UK

For more information > https://whytepython.com/ and https://traviskennedy.com/

Promotional Photos / Images are © Brian Fitzgerald / Fitzgerald Photo / Travis Kennedy / PenguinRandomHouse / Little Brown Publishing / Ali Karim / Audible

Elmore Leonard - Penguin Modern Classics

Penguin are delighted to announce the re-release of fourteen books by the legendary American crime writer Elmore Leonard, as part of the hugely successful Penguin Modern Classics Crime series. The first three titles are set to publish on 5th June: fan favourites Swag, The Switch and the brilliant Rum Punch, which spawned Quentin Tarantino’s hit film Jackie Brown. 

Widely regarded as one of the greatest crime writers of all time, Elmore Leonard (1925-2013) began his long and extraordinary career as a writer of Westerns, most famously a story which was made into the film 3:10 To Yuma. He later became known for a remarkable sequence of crime novels, generally set in Michigan or Florida. A master of funny and threatening dialogue, his influence has been incalculable, inspiring numerous successful film and TV series including Jackie Brown, Get Shorty, Out of Sight and Justified. Leonard received the Lifetime Achievement Award from PEN US and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

With the centenary of Elmore Leonard’s birth approaching later this year, this is the perfect opportunity to revisit the unmatched brilliance of the king of crime.  

FROM THE PAGE TO THE SCREEN

'Get Shorty' TV Series Ordered By EPIX Epix has set its third original scripted series, handing out a 10-episode order to Get Shorty, a  reimagining of Elmore Leonard’s 1990 bestselling thriller comedy novel previously directed by Barry Sonnefeld’s in 1995 starring John Travolta, Danny DeVito, Gene Hackman and Rene Russo. Written by Davy Holmes, Get Shorty centers on Miles Daly, who works as muscle for a murderous crime ring in Nevada. For the sake of his daughter, he attempts to change professions and become a movie producer, laundering money through a Hollywood film. But instead of leaving the criminal world behind, he accidentally brings it with him to Los Angeles. More Nesbo... Jake Gyllenhaal and the production company behind his critically-acclaimed turn in Nightcrawler are joining together to bring a popular crime novel to the big screen. Nine Stories which has a first-look deal with its partner Bold Films are developing a feature adpatation of Jo Nesbo’s crime novel The Son with Sicario director Denis Villeneuve set to helm More Hap & Leonard? SundanceTV is close to renewing Hap And Leonard for a second season. The network is looking for a new showrunner, we’re hearing, so all the pieces haven’t formally come together yet. But if it does, James Purefoy, who plays blue-collar ex-con Hap Collins, and Michael Kenneth Williams as his unlikely partner and Vietnam vet Leonard Pine would both return. Like Season 1, Season 2 would be for six episodes. Bourne Again   Watch the official trailer to Jason Bourne Fear is the Key     Cassian Elwes and Andre Gaines are producing a remake of the 1972 classic revenge thriller Fear is the Key after closing a deal to acquire the rights from StudioCanal. The story, based on a book by Alistair MacLean, takes place in Louisiana and follows the character of John Talbot as he plots an elaborate revenge scheme on the people who killed his family in a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico. By pretending to be a criminal, Talbot gets close to the culprits, helping them retrieve the priceless cargo of the lost plane from the bottom of the Gulf. Previous MacLean novels include The Guns of Navarone and When Eight Bells Toll, which were also adapted into classic adventure movies.

WhoWunnit?

On the night of their 60^th anniversary the Crime Writers’ Association will announce the hotly anticipated results of the CWA Best Ever Poll.

On a dark and stormy Guy Fawkes night, three-score years ago, a group of shadowy figures met in a candle-lit room, to sign in blood the document that would bind them together in a mysterious organisation known as... the Crime Writers' Association. Ok, so they probably had a pen, but what is true is that in 2013 the CWA are celebrating 60 years of supporting and promoting the work of crime writers, one of the most popular of literary genres, with a staggering capacity for reinventing itself. 

And on the night of their 60^th anniversary the CWA will announce the results of a poll to determine the Best Ever Crime Writer, Crime Series and Crime Novel as voted for by members of their association.

A panel of experts, including Barry Forshaw (Nordic Noir), Zoë Sharp (Die Easy), Belinda Bauer (Rubbernecker) and David Stuart Davies (Brothers in Blood), discuss the poll's findings and reflect on the past, present and future of the genre.

It has been fifteen years since the CWA did a similar poll. On that occasion the Dead triumphed convincingly over the Living.

But a lot can change in fifteen years and Alison Joseph, Chair of the CWA, thinks many contemporary crime writers will give the Late Greats a run for their money.  She says:

‘Crime fiction has always had a deservedly huge readership, but, more than ever, readers expect a lot.  We see authors today stretching the limits of the genre, examining the truth of criminality, its causes, its effects, yet still telling page-turning stories.’

So, for example, could Val McDermid depose Agatha Christie as Queen of Crime?  Elmore Leonard take over Chandler’s Mean Streets?  P D James or Ruth Rendell ring the changes on Dorothy L Sayers?  Ian Rankin replace Arthur Conan Doyle as crime’s Top Scot? 

Or will the posthumously-famous Stieg Larsson leap over the lot of them? 

Joseph concludes: ‘Personally I think it will be close-run thing. A great work of fiction, in whatever genre, whenever it was written, is a rare thing, and it may well be that Sayers, Chandler et al, still merit their place at the top.  Watch this space.’

The results will be announced on the 5^th November at The Gallery, Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London 6pm – 8.00pm. Tickets for this event are free to CWA members but must be booked in advance. Non-members prices are £5.00/£3.00 (concessions) and can be booked directly via Foyles.

This poll and CWA reception is kindly sponsored by HW Fisher, chartered accountants.

                                                           (Ends)

Notes To Editors:

Membership of The Crime Writers’ Association is open to an author with one crime novel produced (or about to be produced) by a bona fide publisher, with associate membership also offered to those in the publishing industry. 

John Creasey, founder of the CWA, wrote over seven hundred books under almost thirty names.

Alison Joseph is a crime novelist and radio dramatist.  A Violent Act, her latest novel, is out now.

HW Fisher are chartered accountants www.hwfisher.co.uk

For further information please contact Lucy Santos, Director of the CWA, at director@cwa.co.uk or on tel: 0792125291

Elmore Leonard Remembered

Over at The Rap Sheet, the hardest working editor in Crime Fiction, Jeff Peirce is running a wonderful homage to Elmore Leonard, featuring many names from the genre all paying their respects.

Included in part one of this feature is a contribution by the Shots Editors -

I was fortunate to have met Elmore Leonard a few years ago in London, when the British Crime Writers’ Association presented him with its Diamond Dagger award for lifetime achievement. My friend and Shots editor Mike Stotter was excited that day. He had been heavily influenced by Leonard’s work, and it had even given him the confidence to pen his own Westerns, all the way from London.

Mike went on to write about that event for Shots, recalling:

I managed to grab five minutes with Dutch and I told him that he was my inspiration in writing Westerns, and he was genuinely pleased. I also had with me a hardback copy of The Fatal Frontier, which contained my very first short story (actually an extract from McKinney’s Revenge, my first full-length Western). I asked Dutch to sign it for me. He took a look at the cover, and said, “This is an odd one.” To which I replied, “It’s the first anthology in which I have a story published alongside you.” He laughed and said, “Well, a Brit Western writer. Well done.”

Read part one of The Rap Sheet’s Homage to Elmore Leonard here

Photos © A Karim 10^th May 2006 The London Savoy, Elmore Leonard receiving the CWA Diamond Dagger Award [for lifetime achievment from Monsieur Arnaud Bamberger of Cartier [Top]; Colin Dexter listening to Elmore Leonard's acceptance speech; Mike Stotter and Elmore Leonard and at bottom, London critics Barry Forshaw, Ali Karim and Mike Stotter congratulating Elmore 'Dutch' Leonard for his outstanding contribution to the Crime Fiction Genre

So let us celebrate the legacy Elmore Leonard left us, and as we imagine him riding into the sunset, remember he is leaving behind some wonderful writing and cinematic works for future generations to discover.

Criminal Splatterings : Elmore Leonard and Patricia Cornwell!

©Vince Bucci / Getty Images / May 24, 2007

According to the LA Times and the Detroit News acclaimed author Elmore Leonard is recovering from a stroke that happened over a week ago.  He is currently recuperating at an undisclosed Detroit Hospital.  Leonard has written 45 books so far and the hit series Justified is based on his novella Fire in the Hole that inspired him to write the novel Raylan. In 2011, Justified received A Peabody Award. A number of his books have also been turned into movies including Get Shorty, Out of Sight and Jackie Brown, which was based on his novel Rum Punch. 3:10 to Yuma has also been made into films twice. Initially in 1957 and more recently in 2007. The 2007 version featured Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. The Switch, which is the predecessor to Rum Punch, has recently been filmed as Life of Crime.

In 1992, Elmore Leonard was honoured with an Edgar Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and in 2006; he was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award in its 21^st year marking a lifetime's achievement in crime writing.  He has also received the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Award for outstanding achievement in American literature (2008) and most recently in 2012 A National Book Award Medal for Distinguished Contribution. In 1984 his novel La Brava also won an Edgar for Best Novel.

More information can be found on the BBC, Huffington Post and The Guardian.

Crime writer Patricia Cornwell has moved to HarperCollins for her next two books in a deal that sees her publishing combined under the roof of one global publisher for the first time. Cornwell has been published by Little, Brown in the UK, and Penguin in the US.

HarperCollins will publish Cornwell around the world in the English language including the UK, US, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, and India. The first book will be published in autumn 2014, and will feature her lead character medical examiner Kay Scarpetta.

The deal was negotiated by David Highfill, vice-president and executive editor at Harper US imprint William Morrow with Esther Newberg of ICM Partners. Brian Murray, president and chief executive of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, added: "We are thrilled to partner with Patricia Cornwell to publish her books globally in all English language markets. Patricia has a long history of entertaining readers around the world and we look forward to expanding her audience even further."

In the UK Patricia Cornwell will be published on the HarperFiction imprint. Julia Wisdom, crime & thriller publisher HarperCollins UK described it as "a major coup for HarperFiction’s growing crime and thriller list". It is also the first major acquisitions announcement made since new HarperCollins UK chief executive Charlie Redmayne took over. Redmayne said: "In my first week in the role of c.e.o., it is a great honour to be involved in publishing the undisputed queen of crime fiction, Patricia Cornwell.”

Cornwell is the author of 21 Scarpetta novels, five non-Scarpettas, two cookbooks, a biography and Portrait of a Killer. She has been worth £56.3m to UK booksellers since Nielsen BookScan records began in 1998, and her last two books have sold 398,000 copies in the UK, taking £2.7m at bookshop tills. Dust, the 21st Scarpetta book, will be published by Little, Brown in the UK in November.

David Shelley, publisher at Little, Brown Book Group in the UK, said: "For all of us at Little, Brown, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to publish Patricia Cornwell for the last 23 years—from her truly groundbreaking debut novel Postmortem onwards. We are very much looking forward to the publication this autumn of Dust, the 21st Scarpetta novel, and we wish Patricia and the Kay Scarpetta series all the best for the future."

Cornwell added: "I am extraordinarily excited about the opportunities ahead, and really looking forward to working with the innovative and talented team at William Morrow and HarperCollins."

Fox 2000 Pictures President Elizabeth Gabler, who is developing a film based on Cornwell’s novels, added: "We are tremendously excited about bringing Kay Scarpetta to life in the feature film adaptation of Patricia Cornwell's fantastic books.  Scarpetta is one of those rare, larger than life characters—brilliant, intuitive, tough and sexy—and it is one of our greatest priorities to begin production on the film as soon as possible."