Finally, the news I promised…

I’m a shy type so I’ll let my fabulous agent, Isobel Dixon, say this for me. Here’s her press release:

Isobel Dixon of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency is pleased to announce two new deals with UK publishers for Charles Lambert. 

Emlyn Rees of Exhibit A, Angry Robot’s crime imprint, has acquired World English Language rights to two novels by Charles Lambert. The first to be published will be THE VIEW FROM THE TOWER, a gripping psychological thriller about friendship, love and betrayal, which begins with the killing of a high-level Italian civil servant when his wife is in a Rome hotel room with her lover, not far from the scene of the assassination. She must cut through the complex web of deceit that surrounds her in order to discover who is responsible. 

In the same week, Scott Pack of The Friday Project at HarperCollins acquired UK & BC rights excluding Canada in Lambert’s haunting and highly original WITH A ZERO AT ITS HEART, a sequence of short texts, each of exactly 120 words. Arranged by theme, including objects, clothes, sex, danger, travel, work, theft, animals, money, language, among others, these form striking glimpses – comic, tender, shocking, enigmatic – of one man’s life. 

Charles Lambert was born in England and educated at Cambridge, but has lived in Italy for more than thirty years. His short fiction has been shortlisted for the Willesden Short Story Prize and his story ‘The Scent of Cinnamon’ won him an O. Henry Prize. His most recent novel ANY HUMAN FACE was described by the Bookseller as ‘immensely impressive…holds you completely enthralled throughout’ and in The Telegraph Jake Kerridge described it as ‘a slow-burning, beautifully written crime story that brings to life the Rome that tourists don’t see – luckily for them.’ THE VIEW FROM THE TOWER and his next novel THE FOLDING WORLD will continue this suspenseful exploration of Rome’s dark side. 

Emlyn Rees says: ‘This is an exquisitely-crafted psychological thriller that combines the suspense and wide appeal of a William Boyd or Le Carré  novel with a plot that will ensnare readers right from the start and keep them feverishly turning the pages all night.” 

Scott Pack says: ‘I have been a fan of Charles Lambert’s work for some years and have secretly wanted to publish him for all that time. It is great to be doing so with what is such a mesmerising and ground-breaking book. It has stunned people here at HarperCollins and will, I am sure, enchant readers when our beautiful edition hits bookshelves next year.’ 

 Isobel Dixon says: ‘Charles Lambert is a master of many genres. I’m thrilled to have concluded deals with two such enthusiastic editors for these books that demonstrate his immense versatility and talent.’ 

THE VIEW FROM THE TOWER and WITH A ZERO AT ITS HEART will be published in early 2014. 

I couldn’t be more delighted.