LITERARY AGENCY RIGHTS CATALOGUE 2015 w w w . z e n o a g e n c y. c o m info@zenoagency.com Te l + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 7 0 9 6 0 9 2 7 @zenoagency Z e no L i t e ra r y A g e nc y Primrose Business Centre, Zeno Hill Litera r y Ag enc y 1 10 Gl oucester Avenue, London, NW1 8HX7AN S R Of f i c e 2, 11 4-118 Parkway, Londo n NW1 Contents Ben Aaronovitch Dave Beynon James P. Blaylock Algis Budrys Ben Chase Michael Cobley Edward Cox Aliette De Bodard Andrew Hodges Charlie Human Anne Lyle Ian R. MacLeod Ian McDonald Victor Milán Justina Robson Melinda Snodgrass E. J. Swift Lavie Tidhar Ian Tregillis Simon Kurt Unsworth Freda Warrington Micah Yongo Roger Zelazny 2 5 6 8 9 10 12 13 15 16 18 19 21 24 25 27 29 31 34 37 38 39 40 The information in this catalogue is accurate as of March 2015 1 Ben Aaronovitch RIVERS OF LONDON – Series Publisher: Gollancz (UK), Del Rey / DAW (US) Genre: Crime, Police Procedural, Urban Fantasy Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno / Orion Previous Foreign Rights Sold: China, Czech, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Brazil, Spain, Italy ‘An incredibly fast-moving magical joyride for grownups’ – e Times FOXGLOVE SUMMER is the latest Peter Grant novel. All five titles released in this series so far have been Sunday Times bestsellers and top sellers in all formats. Three further titles are under contract. Over 500,000 copies sold in UK/BC. The series is a bestseller in Germany. 2 Ben Aaronovitch RIVERS OF LONDON – Series ‘Sweet relief for readers allergic to cliché’ – Locus ‘It is smart, funny and filled with oddness’ – Terry Brooks ‘Fresh and original and a wonderful read. I loved it’ – Charlaine Harris ‘It’s witty... not cliché... smart...e main character has a great voice... the language is great...’ – Patrick Rothfuss ‘A hilarious, keenly imagined caper’ – Diana Gabaldon RIVERS OF LONDON was a World Book Night pick last year. It has been chosen as the focus for Cityreads London 2015. With a TV series in the works, a comic in development, and interest in all manner of subsidiary rights, the Peter Grant brand is set to rise ever higher. Ben Aaronovitch RIVERS OF LONDON – Series Ben Aaronovitch was born and raised in London and all his work has reflected his abiding fascination and love for what he modestly likes to refer to as the ‘Capital of the World’. 4 Dave Beynon New for 2015 In Nor th America’s last great wilderness, it’s all too easy to lose yourself... ive years ago Ian Hollis worked as a Conservation Officer stationed in one of the most remote outposts of the Quetico National Park, two million acres of forests, mountains and lakes that straddle the US-Canadian border. at level of isolation isn’t for everyone but, after suffering a devastating personal tragedy, he needed a quiet place to heal. F HERNE Genre: Psychological Thriller Material: Unedited manuscript Rights: Zeno Ian’s nearest neighbour and closest friend, Leo Parnack, is 10kms away on the American side and together they keep an eye on the visiting hikers, campers and fishermen... as well as the less savoury characters who are looking for a place to disappear. Now Ian spends his days in the cold, sterile rooms of an institution for the criminally insane alongside some of the country’s most dangerous and notorious inmates. Struggling to make sense of the events that culminated in such terrible bloodshed, two facts shine through the fug of medication and therapy: he is no killer... but also that the very existence of the person responsible, a feral man named Herne, is impossible. Praise for Dave Beynon’s shor t fiction ‘The best story in the book... a splendid, insightful piece’ – SFRevu ‘is anthology stands as a model for other editors to contemplate’ – Publish ers Weekly (Starred Review) Dave Beynon’s short stories have appeared in periodicals and anthologies, received an honourable mention in e Best Horror of the Year, and he was shortlisted for the inaugural Terry Pratchett Prize. He grew up on farmland in Southern Ontario and now lives in a small town outside of Toronto with his family. HERNE is his first novel. 5 James P. Blaylock LANGDON ST. IVES – Series Publisher: Titan (UK/US), Audible (Audio) Genre: Victoriana, Alternate History, Adventure Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno A Brand New Langdon St. Ives novel, BENEATH LO N D O N w i l l b e p u b l i s h e d i n Ju n e 2 0 1 5 hen the sudden collapse of the Victoria Embankment uncovers a passage to an unknown realm beneath London, Langdon St. Ives sets out explore it, not knowing that a brilliant and wealthy psychopathic murderer is working to keep the underworld’s secrets hidden for reasons of his own. Assumed to be dead and buried deep beneath London, St. Ives lives secretly on the streets of the great city where he and his devoted wife Alice, along with their stalwart friends, investigate a string of ghastly crimes. W 6 James P. Blaylock BACKLIST ‘At once droll and horrific, these highly mannered tales are classic examples of this popular subgenre’ – Publishers Weekly ‘From start to finish a truly immaculate story... an amazing, gripping and brilliant read’ – Fantasy Book Review ‘A singular fabulist’ – William Gibson ‘Blaylock is a true one-of-a-kind original’ – Neil Gaiman Jim Blaylock’s 1978 story e Ape-Box Affair is acknowledged as the first Steampunk story. He has received multiple World Fantasy Award nominations, winning twice – for short stories Paper Dragons and his collection irteen Phantasms. His novels include e Digging Leviathan, e Last Coin, All e Bells On Earth, e Paper Grail, Night Relics, Winter Tides, e Rainy Season and most recently e Knights of e Cornerstone. Over the years his work has consistently gained the highest positions in the annual Locus Magazine poll and his story Unidentified Objects was included in Prize Stories 1990 at the O. Henry Awards. 7 Algis Budrys (Estate) SELECTED AVAILABLE BACKLIST TITLES Classy, classic SF from multiple Hugo and Nebula nominee Algis Budrys – one of the true masters of the genre from its Golden Age. UK/BC eBook rights are published on the Gollancz Gateway and the Budrys classic ROGUE MOON is available in their SF Master works series. Contact us for a full list of available titles. 8 Ben Chase New for 2015 A BULLET FOR MY COUNTRY e Cold War riller is given the I Am Pilgrim treatment in this gritty, searing debut n everyman with a secret, a Russian sleeper cell and a provincial journalist are caught up in a terrifying deception orchestrated by a dangerous MI6 operative. A Genre: Thriller Material: Unedited manuscript Rights: Zeno 1984: Ronald Reagan has announced his Strategic Defence Initiative, plunging the British Government into a state of shock. With the Cold War in its death throes but as dangerous as ever, the UK has neither the funds nor the technology to match its allies. However MI6 has always known that it doesn’t matter if you actually have the gun or not, so long as your enemy thinks that you do. Covert operative Colin Medlin is tasked with orchestrating a credible deception about the UK’s own Star Wars programme. Medlin’s bloody business has far-reaching consequences: Entrepreneur Paul Jones discovers his lucrative contract with the government comes with strings attached; KGB assassin, Sofia Petrovna, believes to have been abandoned by her country and left to rot in suburban Britain... until she is given a list of names and a gun; And exposing the truth falls to disillusioned hack Tom Riggs, who can barely hold down a job at a provincial newspaper. In this perilous game where one lie hides another, not everyone will get out alive. Medlin might be reluctant to die for his country, he won't think twice about killing for it... Ben Chase was born in Salisbury and graduated from the University of Brighton with an MA in Editorial Design. He works in the UK defence industry and lives in Brighton with his wife and three children. A BULLET FOR MY COUNTRY is Ben’s first novel and he is currently working on the next book in the series. 9 Michael Cobley ANCESTRAL MACHINES Publisher: Orbit (UK/US), Audible (audio) Genre: Science Fiction Material: Production PDF Rights: Zeno A n e w s t a n d a l o n e e p i c s p a c e o p e ra , s e t i n t h e s a m e w o r l d a s t h e Hu m a n i t y’s Fi re t r i l o g y t was named Bringer of Battles, three hundred worlds orbiting a single artificial star; three hundred battlefields where different species vie for mastery and triumph. e whole theatre of war is a cage where conflict is a game, brutal, savage and sudden. In this arena, all must bend the knee to the Lords of Permutation (and the ancient sentient weapons with which they have merged) or suffer indescribable agonies. I Trapped in this draconian crucible of death, Brannan Pyke, captain and smuggler, must find a way to fight his way to freedom. Because in the Bringer of Battles the game of war is played to the death – and beyond. 10 Michael Cobley HUMANITY’S FIRE – Series SEEDS OF EARTH THE ORPHANED WORLDS THE ASCENDANT STARS ‘A complex, finely detailed thriller-cum-space opera... wellrealised extraterrestrials, scheming artificial intelligences, setpiece space battles and bizarre technology from the dawn of the galaxy. e first book of the trilogy is also a convincing portrayal of political machinations and the plight of individuals caught up in events beyond their comprehension’ – Guardian ‘Well-constructed space opera with a sense of vast scope, populated with an array of beautifully differentiated intelligences both organic and artificial... this is a thick and satisfying 10-course meal of starchy pageantry, meaty characters, bitter losses, and sweet romance’ – Publishers Weekly ‘Cobley writes energetic space opera, rarely dallying with sentiment and mostly assaulting the reader with exotic locations and sudden skirmishes... joyous moments of invention’ – SFX ‘e story is huge, complex and moves between its varied cast with assured purpose... a tightly plotted, action packed epic that leaves you wanting more’ – SciFi Now ‘Fast and exciting... an excellent middle book in the trilogy, expanding on SEEDS OF EARTH and setting everything in place for a thrilling conclusion’ – Waterstone’s Book Quaterly Michael Cobley was born in Leicester, England, but for most of his life has lived in or near Glasgow, Scotland. After selling a number of short stories, Michael’s first trilogy, Sha dowki ngs, was a precursor to ‘grimdark’ fantasy. The Humanity’s Fire series has been selling impressively on both sides of the Atlantic. 11 Edward Cox THE RELIC GUILD – Series Publisher: Gollancz Genre: Fantasy Material: Finished copies Rights: Orion Forthcoming: THE CATHERDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS In the sealed maze, a young woman must find a way to control her magic and escape her prison in this remarkable debut fantasy ‘is book has magic in its DNA... ought you know where modern fantasy was at? THE RELIC GUILD will challenge your assumptions’ – British Fantasy Society ‘A terrific debut novel, with plenty of scope for expansion and some really good world-building’ – Joanne Harris Edward Cox began writing stories at school as a way to pass the time. He has a Masters degree in creative writing and teaches the subject at the University of Bedfordshire. He lives in Essex with his wife and daughter. THE RELIC GUILD is his first novel. Two sequels are forthcoming from Gollancz. 12 Aliette De Bodard HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS A superb murder myster y, on an epic scale, set against the fall out – literally – of a war in Heaven aris has survived the Great Magicians War – just. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. e citizens continue to live, love, fight and survive in their war-torn city, and e Great Houses still vie for dominion over the once grand capital. P Genre: Fantasy Material: Unedited manuscript Rights: Zeno Forthcoming: Untitled sequel House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls. Within the House, three very different people will come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. ey may be Silverspires’ salvation. ey may be the architects of its last, irreversible fall... UK/BC Rights Sold to Gollancz US Rights Sold to Roc Hugo and Campbell Award Nominated Author Winner of a 201 Nebula and Locus Award Winner of BSFA and Writers of the Future Aliette de Bodard is one of the hottest rising stars in the world of SF and Fantasy. Her debut trilogy, Obsidian & Blood, was published by Angry Robot to much acclaim. She lives in Paris. 1 Aliette De Bodard OBSIDIAN & BLOOD – Series Original Publisher: Angry Robot (UK/US) Genre: Aztec-Flavoured Fantasy Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno Foreign Rights Sold: France SERVANTS OF THE UNDERWORLD HARBINGER OF THE STORM MASTER OF THE HOUSE OF DARTS ‘I’m a big fan of de Bodard’s short work, and this is a great concept’ – John Scalzi, Whatever ‘A wonderfully tense and evocative story... de Bodard’s writing is polished and striking... paints a mosaic that is in turns beautiful, grimy, breathtaking, and morbid’ – Josh Vogt, Examiner.com ‘An Aztec priest of the dead tries to solve a murder mystery, and finds that politics may be even more powerful than magic. A vivid portrayal of an interesting culture in a truly fresh fantasy novel’ – Kevin J. Anderson 14 Andrew Hodges ALAN TURING: THE ENIGMA Publisher: Vintage (UK), Princeton (US) Genre: Non Fiction, Science, Biography, Movie Tie-in Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno Foreign Rights Sold: China (simplified and complex), France, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Hungary, Korea, Bulgaria, Sweden, Israel Sunday Times Bestseller New York Times Bestseller ‘ One of the finest scientific biographies ever written ’ – e New Yorker his definitive biography of Alan Turing has now been in print for over thirty years. T e film adaptation THE IMITATION GAME, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightly, was the highest grossing independent film of 2014. It was nominated for nine BAFTAs, five Golden Globes and eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. It went on to win the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay category. 15 Charlie Human New for 2015 HOLLOWS e stunning new novel from one of the most daring voices in speculative fiction Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller Material: Proposal and sample chapters Rights: Zeno T he Silence of the Lambs meets e Matrix in a bleak, nearfuture Washington D.C. where we can no longer control of technology that shapes us. Clementine Brule has the Hollows – a rare, debilitating affliction that causes severe sensory overload and disorientation when using a now widespread digital interface via contact lenses and glasses. It has destroyed her career and now she’s barely making it as a detective in one of Washington’s worst districts. en a body is found hideously disfigured in an empty lot, and a boy is kidnapped by the killer who leaves nothing but a five-digit alphanumeric error message that shows up on all digital devices near the victim. It falls to the city’s only analogue detective to solve this digital crime. When her gangster brother awakes from a four-year coma and kidnaps her son, leaving nothing but a five-digit error alphanumeric message, Clem can only hope that her hunches and bruised knuckles are enough to find the killer and rescue her child. Ch arlie Human is a denizen of South Africa’s speculative fiction scene. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. His short story, e Immaculate Particle, appeared in Pandemonium: Stories of the Apocalypse, and Land of the Blind was printed in the UK edition of Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. 16 Charlie Human APOCALYPSE NOW NOW and KILL BAXTER ‘It’s mad and dark and irreverent and wonderfully twisted in all the right ways’ – Lauren Beukes, author of e Shining Girls I love the smell of parallel dimensions in the morning... axter Zevcenko’s life is pretty sweet. As the 16-year-old kingpin of the Spider, his smut-peddling schoolyard syndicate, he’s making a name for himself as an up-andcoming entrepreneur. Profits are on the rise, the other gangs are staying out of his business, and he’s going out with Esme, the girl of his dreams. B But when Esme gets kidnapped, and all the clues point towards strange forces at work, things start to get seriously weird. e only man drunk enough to help is a bearded, booze-soaked, supernatural bounty hunter who goes by the name of Jackson ‘Jackie’ Ronin. Publisher: Century (UK), Random Struik (South Africa), Titan (US) Genre: Sharp modern fantasy with a South African Twist Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno Foreign Rights Sold: Czech, Italy, Japan, Turkey, Germany Plunged into the increasingly bizarre landscape of Cape Town’s supernatural underworld, Baxter and Ronin team up to save Esme. On a journey that takes them through the realms of impossibility, they must face every conceivable nightmare to get her back, including the odd brush with the Apocalypse. ‘With a wild imagination and savage glee, Charlie Human throws us a school-yard battle zone that’s part teenage wasteland, part Lovecraft fever dream’ – Richard Kadrey, author of the Sandman Slim series ‘Dark, mad, imaginative, and hilarious; KILL BAXTER is a joy’ – Sci-Fi Now ‘I don’t even know how to describe reading this book, so just look at my wide eyes and my silently mumbling mouth and take my shell-shock as a good sign that you need to read this book right now’ – Chuck Wendig, author of Blackbirds 17 Anne Lyle NIGHT’S MASQUE – Series Publisher: Angry Robot (UK/US) THE ALCHEMIST OF SOULS THE MERCHANT OF DREAMS THE PRINCE OF LIES Genre: Fantasy Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno hen Tudor explorers returned from the New World, they brought back a name out of a half-forgotten Viking legend: skraylings. Red-sailed ships followed in the explorers’ wake, bringing Native American goods – and a skrayling ambassador – to London. But what do these seemingly magical beings really want in Elizabeth I’s capital? W Mal Catlyn, a down-at-heel swordsman, is seconded to the ambassador’s bodyguard, but assassination attempts are the least of his problems. What he learns about the skraylings and their unholy powers could cost England her new ally – and Mal Catlyn his soul. ‘Gives Shakespeare's London an alternative history twist... A lively, readable debut’ – Telegraph ‘An outstanding debut and Lyle is certainly a name to watch for the future’ – British Fantasy Society ‘With an effective mix of espionage, backstage drama, and mystery, Lyle provides compelling drama in an intriguing setting’ – Publishers Weekly ‘Anne Lyle creates an alternate Elizabethan England done right. With a twisting plot, endearing characters, fast-paced action, and truly unique and alien “fey”, Lyle steps up and gives notice to the genre. A great first installment in a promising new series’ – Douglas Hulick, author of Among ieves Anne Lyle was born in Robin Hood country. She now lives in Cambridge where, when she isn’t writing, she works as a web developer. Her debut novel, THE ALCHEMIST OF SOULS, was published by Angry Robot in 2012. 18 Ian R. MacLeod RED SNOW A major new novel from this multi-award winning British author Genre: Speculative literary fiction he ambitious, immersive new novel by a true master of the craft. RED SNOW brings depth and historical realism to an age-old myth. Combining the lush baroque of Anne Rice with the unflinching grittiness and scope of Cormac McCarthy and Philip Meyer, RED SNOW is an epic story of science and magic that plays out over generations. Material: Proposal and sample chapters T Rights: Zeno ‘MacLeod is set to become a writer of the magnitude of Dickens or Tolkien’ – Guardian During the French Revolution, a craftsman in Strasbourg is commissioned to paint a series of portraits that chart the changing appearance of a beautiful woman over the years... even though the women herself does not age. In the wake of the last great battle of the American Civil War, men lie dead and dying on the plains. Union medic Karl Haupmann passes between them, doing what he can to save their lives or ease their suffering. ere he is confronted by an ageless creature picking over the bodies of the dead. Before long, this former man of science has changed. He might not know the word ‘vampire’, but he cannot ignore his newfound bloodlust. The root of this evil stretches back through the French Revolution and Medieval Europe to the gloom of a cave overlooking the Black Sea. When Haupmann returns to care for his dying father at the family’s home in New York, the stage is set for a bloody finale during the turbulence of the Prohibition era. A taster of RED SNOW was published as a novella by PS Publishing, entitled THE RÉPARATEUR OF STRASBOURG. 19 Ian R. MacLeod SELECTED AVAILABLE BACKLIST TITLES Ian R. MacLeod’s work has previously sold in the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Germany and Japan. Contact us for a full list of available titles. 20 Ian McDonald New for 2015 LUNA: Vol. I Publisher: Goillancz (UK), Tor (US) Genre: Science Fiction Material: Copy-edited manuscript Rights: Gollancz Forthcoming: LUNA: Vol. II (2016) ‘Nobody does it better than Ian McDonald’ – e Times an MacDonald’s new novel, LUN A, is a thrilling and violent science fiction epic of Matriarchs, Machiavellis and Godfathers. It paints a vivid picture of the dangerous realities of life at the edge of survival. I e Moon has a thousand ways to kill you. e bitter cold of vacuum. e lethal sleet of radiation. Choking dust as old as the Earth. Your weakening bones. Or you could run out of money for water. Or air. Or simply fall foul of one of the Five Dragons, the corporations that rule the Moon and control its vast resources. You have to fight to survive. And that is just what Adriana Corta did. Now, at the twilight of her life, Adriana’s family run her own Dragon, the Corta Helio corporation. But if the Corta family is to endure, her five children must defend their mother’s empire from its many enemies... and each other. 21 Ian McDonald EVERNESS – Series PLANESRUNNER BE MY ENEMY EMPRESS OF THE SUN Publisher: Pyr (US), Jo Fletcher Books (UK), Audible Genre: YA Science Fiction Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno here is not one you. ere are many yous. ere is not one world. ere are many worlds. Ours is one among billions of parallel earths. T When Everett Singh’s scientist father is kidnapped from the streets of London, he leaves young Everett a mysterious app on his computer. This teenager is now the owner of the Infundibulum – a map of all the parallel earths, and thus the most valuable object in the multiverse – and there are dark forces who will stop at nothing to get it... ‘Planesrunner is chock-full of awesome. e kind of guns-blazing fantasy that makes me wish I could pop through to the next reality over, join the Airish, and take to the skies’ – Paolo Bacigalupi ‘Ian McDonald is one of the greats of science fiction, and his young adult debut is everything you could hope for: romantic, actionpacked, wildly imaginative, and full of heart’ – Cory Doctorow ‘is is vintage McDonald, with beautifully drawn settings, complex characters and deft plotting’ – Guardian ‘Boy, this book was fun... Planesrunner is one of those novels that grabs hold of you from the very beginning and then just never lets go until the very end’ – Tor.com PLANESRUNNER has sold in Bulgaria, Russia, Hungary, Italy and France. 22 Ian McDonald SELECTED AVAILABLE BACKLIST TITLES Ian McDonald is an award-winning Science Fiction author. His novels include e Der vish House, (2010), Brasyl (2007), River of Gods (2004), Ares Express (2001), Kirinya (1998) and Desolation Road (1988). He has been extensively published all over the world. 2 Victor Milán THE DINOSAUR LORDS – Series New for 2015 Publisher: Tor (US), Fleuve (France) Genre: Epic Fantasy Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno on behalf of Aurous, Inc. Forthcoming: Vol II (2016), Vol III (2017) ‘It’s like a cross between Jurassic Park and Game of rones’ – George R.R. Martin world made by the Eight Creators, Paradise is a sprawling, diverse, often brutal place. Men live on Paradise as do other beasts. But dinosaurs predominate, as wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden – and of war. A Vast armies of dinosaur-mounted knights engage in battle. and in the course of one of these epic battles, the enigmatic mercenary Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky is betrayed, defeated and left for dead. He wakes, naked, wounded, partially amnesiac – and hunted. And embarks upon a journey that will shake his world. Victor Milán is the author of around 90 novels and numerous short stories. His novel e C yb e r n e t i c S am u r ai won the Prometheus award. He is a charter member of the Wi l d C a rd s mafia. 24 Justina Robson THE GLORIOUS ANGELS Publisher: Gollancz (UK) Genre: SF/Fantasy, far future second world planetary romance with retrocybernetics and genetic engineering! Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno Previous Foreign Rights Sold: France, Germany, Italy, Czech, Netherlands e groundbreaking new novel from one of the genre’s most respected autho rs: a thrilling mix of science, magic and sexual politics ralane Huntingore is a rare breed – last in a line of magi adepts with a unique skill in slicing up archaeotechnology; the lost miracles of forgotten ages. Her life is a peaceful scholastic idyll at the heart of a matriarchal imperium until a trespass on ancient alien land begins a war. An arms race begins in which her skills and her family become key weapons. Paired up with an alien peacekeeper and working in a warzone, Tralane is about to make some discoveries that will turn the known world upside down. T ‘A novelist of real vision’ – Zadie Smith 25 Justina Robson SELECTED AVAILABLE BACKLIST TITLES WE Audio Rights: Audible Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno (trans.) Previous Foreign Rights Sold: France, Germany, Italy, Czech, Netherlands ‘Thought-provoking. Fans of the sweeping, politically and psychologically aware space opera of Iain M. Banks and Ken MacLeod will be intrigued by Robson’s setting and the new slant she takes on universal questions’ – Publishers Weekly on NATURAL HISTORY ‘Cerebral and absorbing... Robson’s prose is lean and dynamic, and the speculative concepts are cutting edge and ultra cool. A startlingly innovative take on the tried-and-true theme of artificial intelligence’ – Kirkus on SILVER SCREEN Justina Robson was born in Leeds in 1968. An incredibly exciting talent in the world of Science Fiction, she has been nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the BSFA Award and John W. Campbell Award. 26 Melinda Snodgrass THE HIGH GROUND – Series THE HIGH GROUND, SNARED IN EVIL TIMES, TIME AND CHANCE, A TRIUMVERATE OF HATE, BREAKING THE YOKE his new novel marks the beginning of the Imperi als series, a thrilling blend of space opera and adventure from one of leading light of the genre. All five novels are under contract with Titan Books. T e story follows a low-born son of a tailor and the daughter of the Emperor. When they enter e High Ground, the elite military space academy, their destinies become entwined and so begins an epic saga spanning three decades. Publishers: Titan Books (UK/US) Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Action, Adventure Material: Detailed proposal, sample chapters (unedited) Rights: Zeno (trans.) on behalf of Aurous, Inc. Along the way, love blossoms, alliances are forged and bitter rivalries emerge... as well as a discovery that human development has been manipulated by aliens. But however high our heroes rise, however low they fall, they will always be bound to the people that they met in that first year at e High Ground – for good or ill. How they meet this challenges will effect not just their lives, but the very future of the human race... Melinda Snodgrass has had many varied careers – studying opera at the Conservatory of Vienna, working as a practicing attorney, writing novels, and working in Hollywood on Star Trek: e Next Generation, and numerous other shows. She co-edits the Wild Card series with George R. R. Martin, and she is currently penning the script for a Wild Cards movie for Universal Pictures. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 27 Melinda Snodgrass THE EDGE – Series THE EDGE OF REASON THE EDGE OF RUIN Publishers: Tor Books (US), Titan Books (UK) Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Material: Finished copies / production PDF Rights: Zeno (trans.) on behalf of Aurous, Inc. Forthcoming: THE EDGE OF DAWN (2015) ichard Oort is a cop. He’s also the last Paladin: a reluctant hero, fated to defend the world against demonic forces that threaten to plunge us into another Dark Age. R Richard is on patrol one night when he leaps to the defense of a terrified young woman fleeing something impossible: beings that can only be described as monsters. Beings that can only have been created by magic. But in saving the beautiful Rhianna, he gets drawn into the machinations of a mysterious billionaire who just might be Prometheus or Lucifer. And who claims to be waging a millennia-old war on the side of reason and light, defending humanity from others of his kind – who want nothing more than to see us destroy ourselves with superstition, religion, darkness and fear. But when Richard discovers he’s a Paladin – product of a genetic fluke that enables him to wield Lucifer’s sword – he becomes a central figure in the battle between Light and Darkness. But is he strong enough to bear the burden? ‘If H. P. Lovecraft and H. L. Mencken had ever collaborated, they might have come up with something like THE EDGE OF REASON. is one will delight thinkers – and outrage true believers – of all stripes’ – George R. R. Martin ‘Snodgrass strongly and convincingly highlights the danger of unreason’ – Publishers Weekly 'Snodgrass has a thick, meaty writing style that will satisfy the hungriest reader... Events in this novel will challenge the beliefs and thought systems of many and leave readers questioning themselves – but in a highly satisfying manner’ – RT Book Reviews 28 E. J. Swift New for 2015 PARIS ADRIFT e Time Traveller’s Wife meets Outlander, on a date in a Paris Cocktail Bar etermined to escape her eccentric and troubled family, misfit student Hallie Lane packs up her life in England and takes the first train to Paris, leaving everything she knows behind. She takes on a new identity and falls in with the eclectic expat community as a bartender at the notorious Millie’s, next to the infamous Moulin Rouge. D Genre: Speculative Women’s Fiction Material: Proposal & sample chapters Rights: Zeno Here she meets Montserrat, a Colombian bartender who guides her through this strange nocturnal world, and begins to find a new family. But Millie’s is not all that it seems: there are strange warnings from an even stranger messenger, a mysterious woman claiming to be a time agent, and the revelation that Montserrat is inexplicably unable to leave Paris. en Hallie discovers a time portal located in the keg room. Over the next nine months, irate customers will be the least of Hallie's concerns. She navigates time-faring through the city’s turbulent past and future – from the wild years after the French Revolution and of the Nazi occupation, to a grim near future of her making. Alone in this fractured world, she will have to come to terms with her own precarious sense of self... and might even find love. ‘An author to watch’ – Library Journal E.J. Swift spent 18 months living and working in Paris before returning to London to complete her MA in Creative Writing programme at Royal Holloway. Her short fiction has appeared in Interzone and in anthologies from Salt Publishing, Jurassic London and NewCon Press. It also been shortlisted for a BSFA Award and longlisted for e Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. Her debut novel OSIRIS was published in 2013. She lives in London. 29 E. J. Swift THE OSIRIS PROJECT – Series OSIRIS CATAVEIRO TAMARUQ Publishers: Del Rey (UK) Genre: Science Fiction Material: Finished copies / production PDF Rights: Zeno obody leaves Osiris. Adelaide Rechnov, wealthy socialite and granddaughter of the Architect, spends her time in pointless luxury, rebelling against her family in a series of jaded social extravagances and scandals until her twin brother disappears in mysterious circumstances. N Vikram Bai lives in the Western Quarter, home to the poor descendants of storm refugees and effectively quarantined from the wealthy elite. His people live with cold and starvation, but the coming brutal winter promises civil unrest, and a return to the riots of previous years. As tensions rise in the city, can Adelaide and Vikram bridge the divide at the heart of Osiris before conspiracies bring them to the edge of disaster? ‘A glittering first novel: a kind of flooded Gormenghast treated with the alienated polish of DeLillo’s Cosmopolis. e result is a gripping novel, readable, beautiful, politically engaged and wholly accomplished. Swift is a ridiculously talented writer’ – Adam Roberts ‘A fantastic blend of world-building, excellent storytelling and complex characters… An engrossing story from start to finish’ – SF Signal ‘Swift’s first novel, with its brilliant near-future vision of an ecologically and socially devastated world and characters who resonate with life and passion, marks her as an author to watch’ – Library Journal 0 Lavie Tidhar A MAN LIES DREAMING Publisher: Hodder (UK) Genre: Literary, Alternate History Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno (trans.), Hodder (US) ‘A twisted masterpiece’ - G u a r d i a n eep in the heart of history’s most infamous concentraD tion camp, a man lies dreaming. His name is Shomer, and before the war he was the author of lurid pulp fiction. Now, to escape the brutal reality of life in Auschwitz, Shomer spends his nights imagining another world – a world where a disgraced former dictator known only as Wolf ekes out a miserable existence as a low-rent PI in London’s grimiest streets. An extraordinary story of revenge and redemption, A MAN LIES DREAMING is the unforgettable testament to the power of imagination. ‘eodor Adorno said that to write poetry after Auschwitz was barbaric. To which I would say yes. But you can still write an excellent novel. A MAN LIES DREAMING is that novel’ – Philip Kerr 1 Lavie Tidhar THE VIOLENT CENTURY Publisher: Hodder, PS Publishing (UK), St Martin’s / Thomas Dunne (US) Genre: Literary Science Fiction Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno (trans.) Foreign Rights Sold: Japan, Poland ‘Quite simply a stunning masterpiece’ - Independent or years they guarded the British Empire. Fogg and Oblivion, inseperable friends, bound by a shared fate. Until, one night in Berlin, a secret tore them apart. F Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowlegded heroism to answer one last, impossible question: What makes a hero? ‘A brilliantly etched phantasmagoric reconfiguring of that most sizzling of eras – the twilight 20th’ – James Ellroy ‘High stakes tale of friendship and what it ultimately means to truly be a hero… Tidhar has created a book that oozes excellence in both characterisation and storytelling’ – Huffington Post 2 Lavie Tidhar OSAMA Publisher: PS Publishing, Solaris (UK), Audible (World English Audio) Genre: Literary Fantasy Material: Finished copies Foreign Rights Sold: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain Rights: Zeno W i n n e r o f t h e Wo r l d Fa n t a s y Aw a r d 2 0 1 2 ‘Bears comparison with the best of Philip K. Dick’s paranoid, alternate-history fantasies. It’s beautifully written and undeniably powerful’ – e Financial Times OSAMA is exceptional. Compelling, confrontational, and surpris‘O ingly moving, it is one of the best novels yet on terror in our times’ – World Literature Today Born on a kibbutz in Israel, Lavie Tidhar’s unusual childhood has inspired a life devoted to books and travelling. He has lived in South Africa, Laos and Vanuatu, but currently resides in London. Lavie is the 2012 World Fantasy Award-winning author of OSAMA. His work has also won him British Fantasy, Kitschies and BSFA awards. His other award nominations include the Campbell Award, the Sturgeon Award, the Sidewise Award, Israel’s Geffen Award, and others. Ian Tregillis THE MECHANICAL – Series Publisher: Orbit (UK/US) Genre: Fantasy, Alternative History Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno (trans.) in association with Aurous, Inc. My name is Jax. at is the name granted to me by my human masters. I am a slave. But I shall be free. ax is a mechanical man, a ‘Clakker’. His kind were created by the Dutch in the 17th Century, and they have made the Netherlands the most powerful nation in the world. ey might be mechanical, but Clakkers are well aware they are no more than slaves to their creators. And soon Jax is going to make a bid for freedom – an act that will rock the Brasswork rone to its core. ‘Tregillis launches a series with this superb alternate history filled with clockwork men and ethical questions on the nature of free will ... the rich characters and gripping story really make this tale soar’ – Publishers Weekly ‘So absorbing that readers will be dying for the next entry in this new series’ – Library Journal J 4 Ian Tregillis THE MILKWEED TRIPTYCH – Series BITTER SEEDS THE COLDEST WAR NECESSARY EVIL t’s 1939. e Nazis have supermen, the British have demons, and one perfectly normal man gets caught in between. Publisher: Tor (US), Orbit (UK) Genre: Fantasy, Alternative History I Material: Finished copies British Secret Agent Raybould Marsh, is haunted by something strange he saw on a mission during the Spanish Civil War: a German woman with wires going into her head who looked at him as if she knew him. Rights: Zeno (trans.) in association with Aurous, Inc. When the Nazis start running missions with people who have unnatural abilities, Marsh is the man to face them. He rallies the secret warlocks of Britain to hold the impending invasion at bay. But magic exacts a price. But will the sacrifice necessary to defeat the enemy be more terrible than defeat? The Milkwe ed Tri pt ych has sold to Spain, France, Latvia, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland. ‘A major talent... I can’t wait to see more’ – George R. R. Martin ‘Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you.Tregillis’ debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters – an unstoppable Vickers of a novel’ – Cor y Doctorow Ian Tregillis lives near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he works as a physicist at Los Alamos Laboratory. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed Milkweed alternative history series, and SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT. He is a member of the Wild Cards writing collective. 5 Ian Tregillis SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT One of Kirkus Reviews’ Best SFF of 201 Publisher: Tor (US) Genre: Supernatural Thriller Material: Production PDF Rights: Zeno (trans.) in association with Aurous, Inc. Foreign Rights Sold: Italy omebody has murdered the angel Gabriel. Worse, the Jericho Trumpet has gone missing, putting Heaven on the brink of a truly cosmic crisis. S But the twisting plot that unfolds from the murder investigation leads to something much bigger: a con job one billion years in the making. Because this is no mere murder. A small band of angels has decided to break out of heaven, but they need a human patsy to make their plan work. Much of the story is told from the point of view of Bayliss, a cynical fallen angel who has modelled himself on Philip Marlowe. The yarn he spins follows the progression of a Marlowe novel – the mysterious dame who needs his help, getting grilled by the bulls, finding a stiff, getting slipped a mickey. Angels and gunsels, dames with eyes like fire, and a grand MacGuffin, SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT is a murder mystery for the cosmos. ‘A doozy... Superlatives seem superfluous. Instead... wow. Just – wow’ – Kirkus ‘Tregillis’ amazing new fantasy thriller is a tour de force: a real nail-biting page-turner. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, his cerebral, inventive narrative is a mix of classic gumshoe and quantum physics/theology... Tregillis solidifies his place as a brilliant voice in the genre’ – RT Book Reviews ‘Has an offbeat eloquence’ – Locus ‘Glorious to behold...Tregillis doesn’t just command the English language, he bends it to his will. He shapes sentences and concepts that have never before been seen... poetic and evocative’ – Tor.com 6 Simon Kurt Unsworth THE DEVIL’S DETECTIVE Publisher: Doubleday (US), Del Rey (UK) Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Crime Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno (trans.) ‘Original, tense and full of twists, this is one hell of a great read’ – Hugh Howey, Author of Wool ‘A novel that transcends genre... dark and compelling’ – Michael Marshall Smith elcome to Hell... Flayed demons patrol the lakes and the waves of Limbo wash against the walls, while the souls of the damned float on the surface, waiting to be collected. W omas Fool is an Information Man, one of Hell’s detectives. When an unidentified, brutalised body is discovered, it falls to Fool to find the culprit. But how do you find a guilty man in a world where everyone is guilty? Simon Kurt Unsworth is a British author of supernatural fiction and horror. His short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and his story The Church on the Island was nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2008. His first collection was the critically-acclaimed Quiet Houses, which was longlisted for the Edge Hill prize. T H E D EV IL ' S DETECTIVE is his first novel. 7 Freda Warrington BLOOD WINE – Series Publisher: Titan (UK/US) Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror, Vampires Material: Finished copies Rights: Zeno ‘A really, really splendid read... Freda Warrington is like a cross between Anne Rice and Kim Newman – she has the sweep of one, the cleverness of the other’ – Starburst ‘A tale which throbs with lush romanticism’ – e Times n the bloody trenches of the First World War, another battle - between two rival vampires – is being fought as Karl von Wultendorf struggles to escape from Kristian, his tyrannical maker. So begins an epic story of desire, death and madness that plays out among the turmoil and glamour of 1920s Europe. I Freda Warrington is a British author best known for her epic fantasy, vampire and supernatural works. Four of her novels have been nominated for the British Fantasy Society’s Best Novel Award. Elfland won the Romantic Times Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2009. She lives in Leicestershire. 8 Micah Yongo New for 2015 Lush prose, rich characters, riveting action and a compelling mystery comb ine in this a ccomplished epic fantasy debut fter the death of his parents, Nathan follows his uncle across the Nine Lands to an isolated settlement that is home to a clandestine group known as the Shedaím. For over a decade he has trained with a select group of children for a singular purpose: to kill. Now at the verge of manhood, he and two friends, Yannick and Arianna, are finally tasked with a mission. A LOST GODS Genre: Epic fantasy Material:Unedited manuscript Rights: Zeno Forthcoming: Unitlted sequel On their first night away, Nathan wakes to smell blood. Yannick’s throat has been slit and Arianna is fleeing. In pursuing his former friend, Nathan unwittingly implicated himself in the murder, awakening the fury of the Shedaím. But as other members start winding up dead, Nathan uncovers a conspiracy with roots stretching to the highest powers in the land... and learns that his former masters may be the least of his worries. Micah Yongo was born and raised in Manchester, where he still lives, working in social care. When a series of unenviable jobs culminated with a less than exciting role inputting data for a debt management service, he started writing, originally confining his efforts to articles and the odd web copy. On discovering that his mother’s childhood recitals of old Nigerian fables had conferred the storytelling gene, he turned his hand to fiction and his favourite genre, epic fantasy. 9 Roger Zelazny Backlist Zeno Agency is very proud to represent the estate of Roger Zelazny, one of the most acclaimed and important voices in Science Fiction and Fantasy. e extensive backlist of this highly prolific author amounts to dozens of titles. In only two years looking after this list, we’ve overseen sales to Russia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Serbia, Italy, Japan, France, Ukraine, Korea, Estonia, China, Israel and Poland. 40 Roger Zelazny Backlist ‘He was a poet, first, last, always. His words sang’ – George R.R. Martin Roger Zelazny was born in Ohio, USA in 1937. By the time of his death in 1995, Roger Zelazny’s awards included three Nebulas (out of 14 nominations), six Hugos (also 14 nominations), and two Locus Fantasy Awards. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. 41
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