Conan Doyle Estate to collaborate with Simon and Schuster

 

Arthur Conan Doyle © Conan Doyle Estate

Simon & Schuster UK has entered into an official collaboration with the Conan Doyle Estate on a programme of new and backlist titles following on from their recent collaboration, Holmes & Moriarty by Gareth Rubin.

The partnership will see the creation of “new works based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle”, and some backlist titles, both inside and outside the Holmes canon, “repackaged and republished”. All titles will be officially endorsed by the Conan Doyle Estate.

To launch the publishing programme, Simon & Schuster UK will be publishing a short-story anthology entitled Sherlock, which will feature an introduction by Stephen Fry, along with new stories from Kate Mosse, Anthony Horowitz, SA Cosby, Sarah Perry, Joe Hill, Vaseem Khan, Janice Hallett, Abir Mukherjee and Steve Cavanagh. Sherlock will be published in autumn 2026.

Katherine Armstrong, deputy publishing director for Crime and Thriller Fiction, agreed the deal with Jon Wood at Rogers, Coleridge and White for world all-language rights including audio. Atria, part of Simon & Schuster US, will also be publishing the new works and distributing the backlist titles.

Armstrong said: “I am particularly delighted to be working with the Conan Doyle Estate on these projects. Not only do I – and everyone at Simon & Schuster – share the Estate’s aim to create a lasting legacy of Conan Doyle’s works for many generations to come, but the Sherlock Holmes stories were some of my favourites growing up. I could not be more thrilled to be collaborating with the Estate on a full programme of backlist and new projects to take us to at least 2030”.

“Doyle’s influence on the crime-fiction genre has been immense and the character of Sherlock Holmes has seen and inspired many iterations over the past 140 years, but Doyle was also an intrepid traveller, a soldier, a campaigner for justice, and a scientist, among other things, so there is a wealth of material to explore. I am incredibly excited by the brilliant authors who have already agreed to write new short stories for our Sherlock anthology, and we are also working on a new official biography of Conan Doyle to publish on the anniversary of his death in 2030. There are many exciting projects in the pipeline that I can’t wait to share with existing fans and to introduce to new readers!”

Richard Pooley from the Conan Doyle Estate said: “The Conan Doyle Estate’s mission is to further the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and keep a torch shining on him and his characters for generations to come. Nearly 140 years ago, Conan Doyle created one of the world’s most famous fictional characters. To our knowledge, Sherlock Holmes is still the most depicted character in print, film and TV. But it was Conan Doyle’s genius and significant involvement in so many aspects of life we must also remember. As he himself wrote: ’I have had a life which, for variety and romance, could hardly be exceeded.’  The Simon & Schuster official collaboration with the Conan Doyle Estate will help to bring Sir Arthur out of the shadow of Sherlock Holmes and to continue to tell the life story and work of this remarkable renaissance man.”

Jon Wood added: “Arthur Conan Doyle was a renaissance genius in so many ways – a crime writer, a science-fiction novelist, a politician, a thinker and a visionary. He was also the creator of unarguably the most successful fictional character of all time – Sherlock Holmes. This new relationship with Simon & Schuster worldwide is an unparalleled opportunity to rediscover Arthur and revitalise all his works. I’m so grateful to be part of these efforts along with the Estate, Katherine Armstrong and the whole team around the world.” 

 

Call for Papers: Murder, She Tweeted: Crime Narratives and the Digital Age

Murder, She Tweeted: Crime Narratives and the Digital Age

August 23-24, 2018

University of Tampere, Finland

Keynote speakers: Andrew Pepper (Queen's University Belfast) & Fiona Peters (Bath Spa University) First Call for Papers

The advent of new technologies and digital media have transformed society and influenced cultural narratives. The changes brought about by technological innovations, digitalisation, and globalisation have affected not only the subject matter and themes of contemporary crime narratives but also the production, distribution, and consumption of crime fiction on the global market, as well as the analytical tools, techniques, research methods, and theories available to scholars. 

These changes are readily visible in detectives' digital investigations or in how criminals employ digital technology in committing cybercrimes such as online stalking or theft. Moreover, the potential of digitalisation in modifying crime narratives nowadays ranges from podcasts such as "Serial" to Sherlock Holmes fan fiction to transmedia narration in "Sherlock" and the Twitter adaptation of Agatha Christie's The Body in the Library.

We invite proposals for paper presentations on crime narratives and the digital age from different language and cultural spheres. The conference's approach to crime and the digital context is wide and covers a variety of contemporary crime narratives (e.g. novels, films, TV series, adaptations, true crime, fan fiction, vlogs, blogs and other social media) that can be examined in a number of ways.

We would like to welcome proposals which address one or several of the following topics (please note that the list is by no means exhaustive):

- production and the global market of crime narratives

- crime narratives, participatory production and fan practices

- new modes of narration and serialised storytelling in crime narratives

- multimodality and transmedia crime narratives

- remakes and social media adaptations of crime narratives

- social media and mobile technologies in or about crime narratives

- crimes and criminal agency

- criminal networks and transnational crime

- crime and thriller narratives and digital geopolitics

- policing, detective agency and (digital) methods of detection

- true crime narratives and cold case archives

- digital humanities and the study of crime narratives

- crime and digital culture in the postcolonial world

- virtual crime

- ecology, crime and digital technologies

Participants may contribute with individual presentations (20 min) or panel proposals (three presenters).

Please submit your proposal (max 300 words for individual presentations; for panels, please submit titles and abstracts of each paper) and a short biographical statement (including name, email address, institutional affiliation) to t.helen.mantymaki@jyu.fi and maarit.piipponen@uta.fi as attachments in rtf or doc format by March 20, 2018.

Conference fee: there is a conference fee of 70 euros (coffee, lunches, reception) and participants are expected to cover all costs for travel, accommodation, and subsistence themselves.

Organising committee:

Dr Helen Mäntymäki, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

Dr Maarit Piipponen, University of Tampere, Finland.

Dr Aino-Kaisa Koistinen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

Dr Andrea Hynynen, University of Turku Finland​

Criminal Snippets

© The Guardian

Excellent interview with Sophie Hannah in the Guardian.   It can be read here.  One of the most important points she makes and something that has constantly annoyed me is the fact that many people think that crime fiction can’t be literature.  I often wonder what books they have been reading.

According to the Bookseller Michael Fassbender is to star in the film adaptation of Jo Nesbø’s bestselling novel The Snowman. Filming starts in the middle of January 2016 and is currently set for release in the cinema in October 2017.

Alison Flood in the Guardian interviews author Paula Hawkins on becoming a literary sensation with her novel Girl on the Train.

According to Cinemablend xXx: The Return of Xander Cage will see the return of a major character.  More information can be found here.

Sherlock fans might be interested in the short trailer for BBC’s Christmas special The Abominable Bride.  It can be seen below.

Fans of Ann Cleeves Shetland series will be pleased to note that a six part series is due to start on BBC One on 15 January 2016.  More information can be found here.

Look out for Deutschland 83 which is an 8 part Cold War Spy thriller set amidst a divided Germany.  It is to be shown on Channel 4 starting on 3 January 2016.  More information can be found here.

Interested in knowing what are the world’s greatest spy films? If so then in the run up to the launch of Deutschland 83 Channel 4 are counting down the ten most thrilling spy movies as chosen by “real spies” and spy masters.  More information can be found here.  The programme is due to be shown on 2^nd January 2016 on Channel 4 at 21:00.

Remember the Robert Rodriguez film From Dusk to Dawn? Well the series is due to launch on Spike at 9:00pm on 4 January 2016.  More information about the series can be found here.

Publishers Weekly have issued their list of best mysteries of 2015.  The full list can be found here and includes The Cartel by Don Winslow, James Lee Burke’s House of the Rising Sun and Charles McCarry’s The Mulberry Bush to name a few.

Whilst not strictly crime fiction – fans of actor Idris Elba who plays Luther may be interested to know that he will be sharing his favourite music on BBC Radio 6 on Sunday 27 December 2015 between 1:00pm and 2:00pm.

CWA Dagger Awards and the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards

The results of the CWA Dagger Awards and the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards are out!

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.

 

The CWA Gold Dagger – sponsored by Constable & Robinson

The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (Harvill Secker)

The other nominees were –

The Flight by MR Hall

Bereft by Chris Womersley 

Vengeance in Mind by NJ Cooper

© Midaspr

The John Creasey New Blood Dagger – sponsored by Goldsboro Books

A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (Bantam)

The other nominees were -

Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

What Dies in Summer by Tom Wright

Good People by Ewart Hutton

© Midaspr

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger – sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications

A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins) 

The other nominees were –

Dare Me by Megan Abbott

The Fear Index by Robert Harris

Reamde by Neal Stephenson

The Specsaver’s Bestseller Dagger 2012:

      Kathy Reichs

©Ali Karim

The Film Dagger

      Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger

      Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The International TV Dagger

 The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger

      Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Best Actor Dagger

      Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger
Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

      Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

Best Detective Duo: 

      Lewis - DI Robbie Lewis & DS James Hathaway

The press notice is below –

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012

Winners revealed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London, Thursday 18^th October, 2012—Cactus TV and ITV3, in partnership with the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA), are pleased to announce the winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012, a showcase of the UK’s most wanted crime fiction and drama, hosted by Bradley Walsh. 

A host of famous faces from TV, Film and Publishing which included Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Penry-Jones and Steven Berkoff gathered on the black carpet for a gala awards ceremony celebrating the very best offences of the year at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. The awards ceremony, now in its fourth year, formed a crescendo to ITV 3’s six week season of crime and drama programming including a specially commissioned documentary series called Crime Connections, featuring crime writers, actors, producers and directors.

Winners on the night were:

<    Specsaver’s Bestseller Dagger 2012: Kathy Reichs

<    CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year sponsored by Constable and Robinson: Gene Kerrigan, The Rage

      CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller, sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications: Charles Cumming, A Foreign Country

      CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger, sponsored by Goldsboro Books: Wiley Cash, A Land More Kind than Home

Gene Kerrigan’s The Rage won the CWA Gold Dagger. His suspense driven storm of violence set in the backstreets of Dublin proved unbeatable, an immense accolade given the literary oomph of his co-nominees: MR Hall’s The Flight, Chris Womersley’s Bereft and Vengeance in Mind by NJ Cooper, previously Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association.

Gene Kerrigan commented: "I'm aware of the writers who have previously received the Gold Dagger and I'm honoured to have my name on the same page."

The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller was taken home by Charles Cumming for A Foreign Country. Despite being regarded as one of the best of the new generation of British spy writers, A Foreign Country was by no means assured of success, pitted as it was against some monumental thrillers: Megan Abbott’s Dare Me, which revealed the bitter power rivalries of a cheerleading squad, Robert Harris’s much lauded The Fear Index andNeal Stephenson’s Reamde which portrays the world of hacking.

Charles Cumming said "For spy writers, the Steel Dagger is our Booker prize, so I'm thrilled to have won such a prestigious award. Some great writers have picked up the Steel Dagger, including Henry Porter, Dan Fesperman and Tom Rob Smith. I'm honoured to have joined their ranks."

The CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger was awarded to Wiley Cash, named the best new crime author of the year for A Land More Kind than Home.Cash toughed it out against serious competition from Tanya Byrne’s Heart-Shaped Bruise, Tom Wright’s What Dies in Summer and Ewart Hutton’s Good People to win the title for his tale of the smarting underbelly of religious fanaticism of his Deep South youth.

Wiley Cash said "As an American writer, it's a shock and a real honor to win an award in a genre with such a proud British tradition."

The Bestseller Dagger was awarded to Kathy Reichs. All five shortlisted authors were also inaugurated into the Crime Thriller Hall of Fame alongside such all-time greats as Colin Dexter, Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Kathy Reichs said “Given the extraordinary company in which I find myself nominated for this award, I can't express how shocked and delighted I am.  This is truly an unexpected honor.”

Amanda Ross, creator and executive producer of the Awards, said: “This has been a fantastic year for the genre, and it was great to see so many star authors and actors at the event.”

The cream of acting talent is also recognised at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards with categories for Best UK and International Crime Series, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Crime series and Best Film. The British public also voted for their favourite detective duo by phone vote. Winners are as follows:

Best Detective Duo: 

      Lewis - DI Robbie Lewis & DS James Hathaway

The Film Dagger

      Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger

      Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The International TV Dagger

      The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger

      Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Best Actor Dagger

      Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger

      Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

      Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

####

The Winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012 are as follows:

The CWA Gold Dagger – sponsored by Constable & Robinson

      The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (Harvill Secker)

The John Creasey New Blood Dagger – sponsored by Goldsboro Books

      A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (Bantam)

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger – sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications

      A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)

The Specsaver’s Bestseller Dagger 2012:

       Kathy Reichs

The Film Dagger

      Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal)

The TV Dagger

      Sherlock: Series 2 (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The International TV Dagger

      The Bridge (Danmarks Radio, Sveriges Television/BBC4)

The Best Actress Dagger

      Claire Danes for Homeland (Teakwood Lane Productions, Showtime Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet Media Group, Fox 21/Channel 4)

The Best Actor Dagger

      Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

The Best Supporting Actress Dagger

      Kelly Macdonald for Boardwalk Empire (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

      Martin Freeman for Sherlock (Hartswood Films/BBC1)

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Media enquiries:

Please contact Eleanor Riches at Midas Public Relations on 02073617860 or Eleanor.riches@midaspr.co.uk  

Pictures of the awards can be supplied upon request.

Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2012 took place on Thursday, 18^th October at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel and will be televised on ITV3 on the 23^rd October. The 2012 Awards are the fifth annual produced by Cactus TV for ITV3, and the fourth annual sponsored by Specsavers and in conjunction with the Crime Writers' Association.

The vote for the Specsavers Bestseller Dagger is promoted by Agile Marketing and is not endorsed, controlled or associated with ITV or ITV3.

                                                                                                                                                                               

Specsavers

Specsavers was founded by Doug and Dame Mary Perkins in 1984 and is now the largest privately owned opticians in the world. The couple still run the company, along with their three children. Their eldest son John is joint managing director. Specsavers has almost 1,600 stores throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Australia. Specsavers was voted Britain’s most trusted brand of opticians for the eleventh year running by Reader’s Digest in 2012. More information can be found at: www.specsavers.co.uk.

Cactus TV

Cactus TV is an independent production company run by husband and wife team Simon and Amanda Ross. The company have produced over 3000 hours of television. Cactus formatted the Book Awards and brought them to television for the first time in 2004. They devised and ran the Richard & Judy Book Club which grew into 8 successful series of The Specsavers TV Book Club, the longest running ad-funded deal in the TV industry. Cactus’ other productions include Saturday Kitchen for BBC1, Hairy Bikers Food Tour of Britain for BBC2, The Roux Scholarship and The Roux Legacy, Rachel Allen, Galaxy British Book Awards and 8 years of the Richard & Judy show live from Cactus studios.

ITV3

ITV3 is the UK’s second most popular digital channel and its focus on character driven narrative and drama helps the channel attract an upmarket audience. ITV3 is available on Freeview (channel 10), Freesat (115), Sky Digital (119) and Virgin Media (116).

Crime Writers’ Association

The Crime Writers’ Association has a membership of over 500 writers of fiction and non-fiction. Its main aims are to promote the crime genre and to support professional writers. The CWA has been

providing social and professional support for its members for more than half a century, as well as administering the prestigious Dagger Awards. The Daggers name and Crossed Daggers logo are

registered Trade Marks of the Crime Writers’ Association, and are used under licence. For further information on the CWA: www.thecwa.co.uk or contact info@thecwa.co.uk.

Agile Marketing

Agile Marketing is a publishing-specialist promotions & project management agency. They project manage the Crime Thriller Awards in the book trade, liaising with publishers and retailers to ensure the campaign to raise the profile of Crime Fiction is maximised in store and amongst readers. They also manage the supporting website: www.crimethrillerawards.com

  

Eleanor Riches
Midas Public Relations

10-14 Old Court Place, London W8 4PL
T: 020 7361 7876
midaspr.co.uk | twitter.com/midaspr