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Mainstream Publishing Newsletter
June 2010
In this issue . . .
Mainstream is delighted to have acquired world rights to Hard Time by Shaun P. Attwood, the inside story of surviving Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail in Arizona, notorious for violence, insect-infested cells and food unfit for animals. Using a golf pencil sharpened on a cell wall, Shaun P. Attwood wrote one of the first prison blogs, Jon's Jail Journal, excerpts of which were published in The Guardian and attracted international media attention. A successful stockbroker in his late 20s, Shaun was convicted of money laundering and drug dealing and served almost six years in the infamous jail system run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the most controversial figure in American law enforcement who is making headlines again as the new immigration laws in Arizona mean that more people will be thrown into his jail and suffer the inhumane conditions while they await trial. Comparable titles include You Got Nothing Coming by Jimmy Lerner (Broadway / Corgi 2003). Bill Campbell bought world rights from United Agents.
Recent rights deals include A Different Kind of Courage to Bauer in Poland and End of Time to Noriu Books in Lithuania
We also have offers on the table for Take A Seat from the US and for House by the Dvina for audio
Extracts from The Hate Factory by David Leslie have just run in the News of the World, concluding with an interview on 13 June.
You Magazine have bought extract rights to Dear Joan by Tony Ross. They are running on 28 August, ahead of publication on 2 September. Saga Magazine has also confirmed they are reviewing the book in the October edition, out mid-September
Fantastic publicity at the moment for Mark Pougatch's Three Lions Versus The World, just ahead of the start of the much-awaited World Cup on Saturday. Mark appeared on BBC Breakfast and was a guest on BBC Radio 2's Steve Wright in the Afternoon show on the same day. The book has been featured in the Daily Mirror and an extract ran in Football Punk magazine on 10 June. It was also included in the Independent on Sunday's round-up of World Cup books on Sunday, 13 June. The Daily Telegraph's Henry Winter has already been tweeting about reading it in South Africa (and highly recommending it!) and Mark spent the days before his departure doing masses of regional radio, including BBC Radio London and covering many other major UK cities.
Also doing great things for us is Clare Gee, author of Hooked, who has had interviews in Cosmopolitan magazine and the Evening Standard (yet to run), and was such a hit on BBC Radio London's Late Show that they immediately asked her back again later that week! News of the World gave the book a fantastic 4-star review and Clare is confirmed to appear as a guest on This Morning on Thursday 24 June.
Great coverage also for Wensley Clarkson's memoir, Car Trouble, which the Daily Express has described as, 'A compilation of - stories from a forgotten era that might not always be, ahem, entirely law-abiding, but are always entertaining'. The Daily Mail described it as a 'Lovely, funny book [which] captures perfectly the flavour of Sixties England, an emptier and wilder place than it is today.' The Guardian will run a piece written by Wensley in their Family section over the next two weeks. Reviews are also being confirmed in specialist motoring magazines, inlcuding the bestselling Classic Car Weekly, and Wensley has been busy with regional radio interviews, including BBC Radio London.
In other news, Play Away Please by John Hagen was chosen as the Independent on Sunday's Sports Book of the Week, with reviewer Simon Redfern describing it as 'a good yarn'.
The ever-popular Nothing Like A Dame author Elaine C. Smith was invited to speak at a Gliterary Lunch in Glasgow last week. Entertaining a packed audience of women at Glasgow's Oran Mor, Elaine was a huge success.
This month Stephen McLaughlin, author of Squaddie: A Soldier's Story will be signing books at Waterstone's in Carlisle and Preston.
We are also looking forward to the launch of the Edinburgh International Book Festival programme this week. More to follow on Mainstream's involvement in the festival in the next newsletter.
Congratulations to our Editorial Coordinator, Graeme Blaikie, and his wife, Rachael, who have just had their second baby, a beautiful boy, Ruaridh Rhys.