Archive for Uncategorized

Cover Launch: THE GAMESHOUSE by Claire North

A new Claire North novel is always a cause for excitement – and this year, we are publishing not one, but two books from the author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August! First up is THE GAMESHOUSE (UK|US|ANZ), which will hit shops in May. It’s a mesmerising tale of a mystical gambling house whose deadly games of chance and skill control the fate of empires.

The lovely people at Fantasy Hive revealed the stunning cover earlier this week. Click here to take a look, or  feast your eyes on it below.

 

Gameshouse

Cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio 

Read on for a taste of what’s in store:

Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets . . .

It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost though chess, backgammon – every game under the sun.

But those whom fortune favours may be invited to compete in the higher league where the games played are of politics and nations, of economics and kings. It is a contest where Capture the Castle involves real castles and where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent.

Among those worthy of competing in the higher league, three unusually talented contestants play for the highest stakes of all . . .

 

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS THREE DIGITAL-ONLY INSTALMENTS: THE SERPENT, THE THIEF AND THE MASTER.

 

Praise for Claire North:

‘North’s talent shines out’  Sunday Times

‘Claire North goes from strength to strength’  Guardian

‘An original and even dazzling writer’  Kirkus

‘Claire North is a true original, a master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination’  Alex Marwood

‘Claire North’s writing is terrific, smart and entertaining’  Patrick Ness

 

Cover Launch: THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND by Jackson Ford

Sh*t is about to hit the fan for Teagan Frost, AKA THE GIRL WHO COULD MOVE SH*T WITH HER MIND (UK|US|ANZ), in Jackson Ford’s action-packed debut. Full of imagination, wit and random sh*t flying through the air, this insane adventure from an irreverent new voice will quite possibly blow your mind.

You can meet Teagan when books hit the shelves in June. But in the meantime, we’re thrilled to reveal the shiny new cover below designed by our very own Steve Panton!

 

Jackson Ford

 

Read on for a taste of what’s in store:

Teagan Frost is having a hard time keeping it together. Sure, she’s got telekinetic powers – a skill that the government is all too happy to make use of, sending her on secret break-in missions that no ordinary human could carry out. But all she really wants to do is kick back, have a beer, and pretend she’s normal for once.

But then a body turns up at the site of her last job – murdered in a way that only someone like Teagan could have pulled off. She’s got 24 hours to clear her name – and it’s not just her life at stake. If she can’t unravel the conspiracy in time, her hometown of Los Angeles will be in the crosshairs of an underground battle that’s on the brink of exploding . . .

Orbit at 2018 New York Comic Con

NYCC 2018 attendees! Come visit us at booth #2218 for some FREE goodies, a fun in-booth challenge, and a preview of our upcoming books.

Check out the schedule below for information on where you can find our authors this weekend. See you at the show!

 

NEW YORK COMIC CON 2018 ORBIT SCHEDULE

Friday, October 5

1:00 PM: PANEL: Seanan McGuire (Mira Grant) on “Code Shift SFF: Crafting Fierce Female Characters Who Defy Stereotypes,” Shop Studios, Level 4, 528 W 39th St

1:30 PM: PANEL: Delilah S. Dawson (Lila Bowen) on “BOOM! Studios: Discover Yours,” Room 1A24

4:00 PM: PANEL: Jordanna Max Brodsky on “Revisiting History,” Room 1A18

5:15 PM: SIGNING: Jordanna Max Brodsky, Autographing Area Table 1

 

Saturday, October 6

11:00 AM: PANEL: Delilah S. Dawson (Lila Bowen) on “I’ll Take Dementors for $500, Obi-Wan: A Fan Game Show” panel, Room 1A18

12:15PM: SIGNING: Delilah S. Dawson (Lila Bowen): Autographing Area Table 1

4:00 PM: PANEL: N. K. Jemisin on “WNDB Presents: Does Your Fantasy or SFF World Have to Be Woke?” Room 1B03

5:00 PM: PANEL: Mur Lafferty and Delilah S. Dawson (Lila Bowen) on “Disney-Lucasfilm Presents: A Celebration of Female Writers in a Galaxy Far, Far Away,” Shop Studios, Level 4, 528 W 39th St

8:30 PM: PANEL: Seanan McGuire (Mira Grant) on “Shipwreck: Literary Erotic Fan Fiction Competition,” Shop Studios, Level 4, 528 W 39th St

 

Sunday, October 7

11:00 AM: PANEL: Delilah S. Dawson (Lila Bowen) on “Making Kids’ Comics the IDW Way!” Room 1A24

12:15 PM: PANEL: N. K. Jemisin on “America’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers,” Room 1B03

1:30PM: SIGNING: N. K. Jemisin: Autographing Area Table 1

1:30 PM: PANEL: Vivian Shaw on “Weirdness Accessible,” Room 1A18

2:45PM: SIGNING: Vivian Shaw: Autographing Area Table 1

Hillbilly Television Options M. R. Carey’s New Novel SOMEONE LIKE ME

See below for an exciting press release that has gone out about M. R. Carey’s new novel SOMEONE LIKE ME! (UK|US|ANZ)

 

SOMEONE LIKE ME

 

London-based production company Hillbilly Television has optioned rights for Someone Like Me, the new novel by M. R. Carey, author of the million-copy bestselling The Girl With All the Gifts.

Someone Like Me will be published worldwide in November 2018 by Orbit – an imprint of Little Brown Book Group in the UK and Hachette Book Group in the US. A modern take on the Jekyll and Hyde story, the novel is described by the publisher as “an extraordinary thriller with a twist you won’t see coming.”

Hillbilly Television was co-founded by Polly Leys and Kate Norrish, whose collective credits include The Full Monty and Second Coming, starring Idris Elba.

Leys and Norrish commented “We’re absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to adapt Someone Like Me for television. Mike’s reputation precedes him both as a novelist and screenwriter and it’s an exciting prospect to be working with him on this. Someone Like Me is a surprising and compelling story that will appeal to Mike’s existing fanbase as well as introducing more fans to his incredible work”.

Mike commented, “It’s a real pleasure to be working with Hillbilly. They’re amazing – and inspiring – in their insight, energy and commitment to story. I’m hugely enjoying the process of adapting the novel for a new medium with them.”

Over the past two years, Hillbilly has produced prestigious TV drama series for both UK and international broadcasters. Stand-out titles include ITV’s tense thriller The Level, whose all-star cast includes Phillip Glenister, Karla Crome and Laura Haddock; Debbie Tucker Green’s acclaimed Random for Channel 4, whose slew of awards include a BAFTA for Best Single Drama; and new comedy drama Loaded, co-produced by Keshet UK for Channel 4 and AMC, which has now been acquired by Netflix.

The deal was negotiated by Meg Davis at the Ki Agency Ltd, London.

 

2018 World Fantasy Award Finalists

The 2018 World Fantasy Award finalists have been announced, and we’re excited to report that JADE CITY by Fonda Lee (US | UK | ANZ) is one of the nominees for Best Novel!

The World Fantasy Award is nominated by members of the World Fantasy Convention, and by a panel of judges. Winners will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention in Baltimore, MD this November. Congratulations to Fonda Lee and the rest of the nominees! You can view the full list of awards and nominations on the World Fantasy Convention website.

Cover Launch: SPLINTERED SUNS by Michael Cobley

Here at Orbit we love an action-packed, galaxy-spanning space opera, and Michael Cobley’s new Humanity’s Fire novel, SPLINTERED SUNS (UK|US|ANZ), ticks all the boxes! With a spaceship crewed by rogues and scoundrels, this latest offering from the author of Seeds of Earth is perfect for fans of Star Wars, Firefly or Farscape  Feast your eyes on the recently revealed cover below:

 

Splintered SunsIllustration by Steve Stone. Design by Charlotte Stroomer.

 

Splintered Suns will hit the shops in December. Read on for a taste of what’s in store:

For Pyke and his crew it should have been just another heist. Travel to a backwater desert planet, break into a museum, steal a tracking device then use it to find a ship buried in the planet’s vast and trackless sandy wastes.
Except that the museum vault is a bio-engineered chamber, and the tracking device is sought after by another gang of treasure hunters led by an old adversary of Pyke’s, the devious Raven Kaligara. Also, the ship is a quarter of a million years old and about two kilometres long and somewhere aboard it is the Essavyr Key, a relic to unlock all the treasures and technologies of a lost civilisation . . .

BFA shortlist announced

The 2018 British Fantasy Awards shortlist has been announced by the BFS. Congratulations to RJ Barker, M. R. Carey and Anna Smith Spark, who are all nominated! And an honourable mention to another Orbit author, Tade Thompson, who is nominated in the Best Novella category.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The full shortlist is below:

Best Newcomer (the Sydney J Bounds Award)

· RJ Barker, for Age of Assassins (Orbit)
· SA Chakraborty, for The City of Brass (HarperVoyager)
· Ed McDonald, for Blackwing (Orion)
· Jeanette Ng, for Under the Pendulum Sun (Angry Robot)
· Anna Smith Spark, for The Court of Broken Knives (HarperVoyager) [Orbit in the US]

 

Best Magazine / Periodical

· Black Static, ed. Andy Cox (TTA Press)
· Gingernuts of Horror, ed. Jim Mcleod
· Grimdark Magazine, ed. Adrian Collins
· Interzone, ed. Andy Cox (TTA Press)
· Shoreline of Infinity, ed. Noel Chidwick

 

Best Non-Fiction

· Gender Identity and Sexuality in Science Fiction and Fantasy, ed. FT Barbini (Luna Press)
· Gingernuts of Horror, ed. Jim Mcleod
· Luminescent Threads, ed. Alexandra Pierce & Mimi Mondal (12th Planet Press)
· No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters, by Ursula K Le Guin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
· Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of 70s and 80s Horror Fiction, by Grady Hendrix (Quirk)
· Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, by Maura McHugh (Electric Dreamhouse Press)

 

Best Comic / Graphic Novel

· Bitch Planet Vol 2: President Bitch, by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Taki Soma & Valentine de Landro (Image)
· Grim & Bold, by Joshua Cornah (Kristell Ink)
· Monstress, Vol. 2, by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda (Image)
· Tomorrow, by Jack Lothian & Garry Mac (BHP Comics)
· The Wicked + The Divine Vol 5: Imperial Phase Part 1, by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie (Image)

 

Best Independent Press

· 404 Ink
· Fox Spirit
· Grimbold Books
· Newcon Press
· Salt Publishing
· Unsung Stories

 

Best Audio

· Anansi Boys (by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs for Radio 4)
· Brave New Words podcast (Ed Fortune and Starburst Magazine)
· Breaking the Glass Slipper podcast (Lucy Hounsom, Charlotte Bond & Megan Leigh)
· Ivory Towers (by Richard H Brooks, directed by Karim Kronfli for 11th Hour Audio Productions)
· PseudoPod podcast (Alasdair Stuart and Escape Artists)
· Tea & Jeopardy podcast (Emma & Peter Newman)

 

Best Artist

· Ben Baldwin
· Jeffrey Alan Love
· Victo Ngai
· Daniele Sera
· Sophie E Tallis
· Sana Takeda

 

Best Anthology

· 2084, ed. George Sandison (Unsung Stories)
· Dark Satanic Mills: Great British Horror Book 2, ed. Steve Shaw (Black Shuck Books)
· Imposter Syndrome, ed. James Everington & Dan Howarth (Dark Minds Press)
· New Fears, ed. Mark Morris (Titan Books)
· Pacific Monsters, ed. Margret Helgadottir (Fox Spirit)

 

Best Collection

· Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)
· Strange Weather, by Joe Hill (Gollancz)
· Tanith by Choice, by Tanith Lee (Newcon Press)
· Tender: Stories, by Sofia Samatar (Small Beer Press)
· You Will Grow Into Them, by Malcolm Devlin (Unsung Stories)

 

Best Film / Television Production

· Black Mirror, Series 4, by Charlie Brooker (Netflix)
· Get Out, by Jordan Peele (Universal Pictures)
· The Good Place, Season 1, by Michael Schur (Netflix)
· Star Wars: The Last Jedi, by Rian Johnson (Lucasfilm)
· Stranger Things, Season 2, by Matt & Ross Duffer (Netflix)
· Twin Peaks: the Return, by Mark Frost & David Lynch (Sky Atlantic)
· Wonder Woman, by Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg & Jason Fuchs (Warner Bros.)

 

Best Novella

· Brother’s Ruin, by Emma Newman (Tor.com)
· Cottingley, by Alison Littlewood (Newcon Press)
· The Murders of Molly Southbourne, by Tade Thompson (Tor.com)
· Naming the Bones, by Laura Mauro (Dark Minds Press)
· Passing Strange, by Ellen Klages (Tor.com)
· A Pocketful of Crows, by Joanne Harris (Gollancz)

 

Best Short Fiction

· The Anniversary, by Ruth EJ Booth (in Black Static #61) (TTA Press)
· Four Abstracts, by Nina Allan (in New Fears) (Titan Books)
· Illumination, by Joanne Hall (in Book of Dragons) (Kristell Ink)
· The Little Gift, by Stephen Volk (PS Publishing)
· Looking for Laika, by Laura Mauro (in Interzone #273) (TTA Press)
· Shepherd’s Business, by Stephen Gallagher (in New Fears) (Titan Books)

 

Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award)

· Behind Her Eyes, by Sarah Pinborough (Harper Collins)
· The Boy on the Bridge, by MR Carey (Orbit)
· The Changeling, by Victor LaValle (Spiegel & Grau)
· The Crow Garden, by Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher Books)
· Relics, by Tim Lebbon (Titan Books)

 

Best Fantasy Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award)

· Age of Assassins, by RJ Barker (Orbit)
· The Court of Broken Knives, by Anna Smith Spark (HarperVoyager) [Orbit in the US]
· The Ninth Rain, by Jen Williams (Headline)
· Under the Pendulum Sun, by Jeanette Ng (Angry Robot)

 

 

 

Cover Launch: THE HOD KING by Josiah Bancroft

Josiah Bancroft’s stellar debut series, The Books of Babel, began with Senlin Ascends (US | UK | ANZ), which was called “a modern book that feels like a timeless classic” (Pierce Brown), and the sequel Arm of the Sphinx (US | UK | ANZ) publishes in March. But today we can’t wait to show you the cover for book three, The Hod King.

Senlin’s journey up the dangerous and labyrinthine world of the Tower continues in December.

Art by Ian Leino with design by Lauren Panepinto.

Praise for The Books of Babel:

“I’m wildly in love with this book.” – Pierce Brown, author of Red Rising

“One of my favorite books of all time.” – Mark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns

“Senlin is a man worth rooting for, and his strengthening resolve and character is as marvelous and sprawling as the tower he climbs.” – The Washington Post

“What is remarkable about this novel, quite apart from its rich, allusive prose, is Bancroft’s portrayal of Senlin, a good man in a desperate situation, and the way he changes in response to his experiences in his ascent.” – The Guardian

“Senlin Ascends crosses the everyday strangeness and lyrical prose of Borges and Gogol with all the action and adventure of high fantasy. I loved it, and grabbed the next one as soon as I turned the last page.” – Django Wexler, author of The Thousand Names

“With deceptive simplicity Bancroft brings this gothic place and its denizens to a colourful life…I loved it!” — Adrian Selby, author of Snakewood

“Senlin Ascends is an adventure rife with character, voice and beauty – a well-polished knife drawn out slowly.” – Sam Sykes, author of The City Stained Red

“Senlin Ascends is a unique masterpiece. A brilliant debut. Highly recommended!” – Michael R. Fletcher, author of Beyond Redemption

“This is fantasy storytelling of a high order.” – The Toronto Star

“Brilliant debut fantasy . . . This novel goes off like a firework and suggests even greater things in the author’s future.” – Publishers Weekly

“Like a blend of Kafka’s The Castle and Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast, Josiah Bancroft’s ambitious first chapter in his The Books of Babel series is an impressive display of imagination and humor.” — SciFiNow

Acquisition Announcement: EMPIRE OF SAND by Tasha Suri

As announced in Publishers Weekly, Orbit has acquired World English rights to debut author Tasha Suri’s EMPIRE OF SAND, a captivating epic fantasy inspired by Mughal-Indian history. If you loved City of Brass, Uprooted, or The Wrath & the Dawn, EMPIRE OF SAND is your new must-read.

A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. 

The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited. Unbeknownst to her, she can manipulate the dreams of the gods to alter the face of the world.

When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she is coerced into their service, as they are determined to harness her magic for the glory of the Empire. She must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist the mystics’ cruel agenda—and should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…

Look out for EMPIRE OF SAND this fall! While you’re waiting with bated breath, go say hello to Tasha on Twitter at @tashadrinkstea. Please give her a warm welcome to Orbit!

Cover Launch: EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU by Heather Child

We’re beyond excited to share the cover for Heather Child’s cutting-edge debut novel EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU (UK|AUS). Gripping, heartrending and quietly terrifying, this  novel imagines a world where people can be recreated as data ghosts and lives can be changed by the information they’ve left behind. It’s perfect for fans of Black Mirror and Margaret Atwood.

 

Everything About You

Cover designed by Ellen Rockell at Little, Brown Book Group

Read on for a taste of what’s in store:

Freya has a new virtual assistant. It knows what she likes, knows what she wants and knows whose voice she most needs to hear: her missing sister’s.

It adopts her sister’s personality, recreating her through a life lived online. This data ghost knows everything about Freya’s sister: every date she ever went on, every photo she took, every secret she ever shared.

In fact it knows things it shouldn’t be possible to know. It’s almost as if her sister is still out there somewhere, feeding fresh updates into the cloud. But that’s impossible. Isn’t it?

EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU will be available in hardback, ebook and audio from 26 April.