News 12 March 2009

Search News Archive:

NEW ACQUISITION:

Mainstream is delighted to announce the acquisition of NOTHING LIKE A DAME, the autobiography of Elaine C Smith, Scotland's answer to Julie Walters. Her starring roles in TV comedy series, including the award winning Rab C Nesbitt, have earned her a place in the heart of the public.  She is currently wowing audiences throughout the UK in Calendar Girls, which begins a three-month run in the West End in April.  Bill Campbell at Mainstream bought world rights for a high five-figure advance from agent, Lynne Crossan.  In addition to her West End run in Calendar Girls, Smith will once again don the apron of iconic downtrodden housewife, Mary Doll, in a new much-heralded series of Rab C Nesbitt to be broadcast this Autumn which will coincide with publication.  For further information contact fiona.brownlee@mainstreampublishing.com

LATEST RIGHTS DEALS:

Our wonderful Amnesty International anthology, FREEDOM to Presenca in Portugal, adding to the deals already secured with the US, Canada, Poland and Serbia.

PUBLICITY:

One of Mainstream’s most comprehensive publicity campaigns ever has been for HOME FROME WAR by Martyn and Michelle Compton published on 2 March. After two national-newspaper serialisations and a full-length interview in The Scotsman Magazine (which made the cover), the couple's broadcast interviews began in earnest last week, with ITV1's This Morning, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 5 Live's Simon Mayo Show and Sky Lunchtime News all in the same week.  On top of this, Martyn and Michelle have done masses of local television and radio interviews, and their 2-page interview in Cosmopolitan magazine (now on shelves) will be followed on 17th March by Now magazine and on 9 April by Chat magazine.  As they finally take a breather after their week of mayhem, we'd like to thank Michelle and Martyn for all their work promoting the book over the last fortnight -- they seemed completely at home sitting on the This Morning sofa with Phil and Fern, and were asked to stay on Simon Mayo's show longer than planned because of the numbers of emails and texts that were flooding in from well-wishers from across the UK

In other publicity news, Colin Shindler's THE WORST OF FRIENDS got off to a great start, with a two-part serialisation in The Times and a piece, written by Colin, in the March issue of the Observer Sport Monthly.  The Manchester Evening News followed up with a double-page spread last Friday, and broadcast interviews are currently being confirmed, with Colin already due to take part in a BBC Radio 5 Live Show on 25th March between 8-9pm, discussing Manchester City's current travails.  The Herald's chief sportswriter Hugh MacDonald will also be covering the book in his back-page column.  The Independent on Sunday and BBC Sport website have already confirmed that they will run reviews later this month, and further reviews are guaranteed, so watch this space for more news.

We would like to say a big thank you to Kasey Edwards, author of 30 SOMETHING AND OVER IT, who was an absolute star during her recent trip to London, where she did a round of pre-publication interviews and photo-shoots for the book.  Interviews and photo shoots are now in the bag for Grazia (31st March), and the Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and the Irish Independent during the first week of April. We are also working on generating news stories and securing more broadcast and print coverage at the time of publication based on Kasey’s experience of life after a high flying career.

EVENTS:

March
WILD THING by Lew Yates
Waterstones, Brentwood on Saturday 21 March
BARE-ARSED BANDITTI by Maggie Craig
Yeadon’s of Elgin, 12noon, Saturday 28 March
Highland Launch at Culloden Visitor Centre, Saturday 11 April, time TBC
April
HOME FROM WAR by Martyn and Michelle Compton
Waterstones, Hastings, 11am, Saturday 4 April
Red Lion Bookshop, Colchester, 12.30pm, Saturday 11 April
THE WORST OF FRIENDS by Colin Shindler
Waterstones, Deansgate Manchester, 7pm, Thursday 2 April

AND FINALLY:

A fond farewell to Rights Exec, Amy Mitchell, who leaves Bonnie Scotland to join A P Watt in London as Rights Agent. She will be missed as much for her Girls Aloud dance routines as her consummate professionalism!

Other news: Current and Archive Search | 19 February | 29 January | 2009| 2008| 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001