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How (Not) to Have an Arranged Marriage

“Full of the compassion, humanity and mischievous sense of fun you would expect from Dr Amir. This is a complete delight from a born storyteller.” Lorraine Kelly

 

How (Not) to Have an Arranged Marriage is the heartwarming and entertaining multi-generational debut novel from Dr Amir Khan.

Amir has nearly 250k Twitter followers and he’s been getting some amazing exposure for the book so far, including an appearance on Graham Norton’s Virgin Radio show and Loose Women (on 19th Sept) – it’s also Heat Mag’s ‘book of the week’.

Set mostly in Birmingham and Manchester, the book’s an entertaining and heartwarming “east meets west” tale of love, friendship, family and South Asian culture, drawing in part on Amir’s own experiences of trying to find marriage by committee

We follow the romantic adventures of Yousef, his sister, Rehana and best friend, Rohit as they embark on the ups and downs of modern arranged marriage in British South Asian community, ending with two “Big Fat Asian Weddings” – which Amir was determined to show in all their glory!

 

He’s the perfect catch (according to his mother)

Yousef is the golden child to his strict Pakistani parents, overshadowing his younger sister, Rehana. As he finishes his medical degree in London, Yousef’s life appears to be mapped out for him: become a doctor, marry a suitable girl of his parents’ choosing and, above all, make his family proud. Then Yousef meets Jess.

A fellow medical student, Jess presents a complication to the plan. Suddenly, Yousef finds himself torn between two worlds – keeping each a secret from the other.

Then, as graduation day looms, Yousef’s mother informs him that she’s started looking for his wife . ..

 

Dr Amir Khan is an NHS doctor, GP Trainer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Leeds School of Medicine and the University of Bradford.

A regular contributor to ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Lorraine, he has presented and contributed to many popular TV shows. His first book, The Doctor Will See You Now was published by Ebury and was a Sunday Times bestseller.

Amir is represented by Barbara Levy and How (Not) to Have an Arranged Marriage is the first of his two-book deal with Macmillan.

Shieldmaiden

“A story of impassioned perseverance that whips along with mythological magic” SciFi Now

“As someone who has read countless retellings of legends from all different perspectives, I enjoyed Emmerichs taking the essence of Beowulf and making it [her] own… This is Fryda’s tale to tell” SFbook.com

“Emmerichs sets a lively pace with her bright and breezy prose” SFX

Sharon Emmerichs’ epic fantasy novel, SHIELDMAIDEN, is a rich and unique female-led take on the Beowulf universe, told from the point of view of characters rarely represented in the fantasy world; a disabled young warrior woman and her best friend and love interest, Theow, a slave from Ireland whom she is forbidden to be with.

 

Having grown up hearing tales of her uncle, the great King Beowulf, Fryda’s one desire is to become a shield maiden in her own right. Yet a terrible childhood accident has left Fryda disabled – thus, she believes, thwarting her dream of becoming a warrior-woman for good. But still, somehow, she feels an uncontrollable power begin to rise within herself.

Meanwhile, a great celebration of Beowulf’s reign is underway, and Fryda’s house is soon overrun with foreign kings and chieftains. Amidst the drunken revelry, a discovery is made that threatens the safety of Fryda’s entire clan – and her own life. Enraged, Fryda resolves to fight for her people, no matter the cost… and all the while, her powers seem only to grow stronger.

But she is not the only one to feel its effects. For, buried deep in her gilded lair, a dragon is drawn to Fryda’s untamed power, and is slowly awakening from a long, cursed sleep…

Sharon Emmerichs was born in Sweden to American parents and grew up in Wisconsin near Lake Michigan. She has been a writer all her life, from the time she scribbled ‘words’ and pictures on pieces of paper, stapled them together, and called it a book. Her love of stories later translated into an English degree, and then she went on to get her MA and PhD in medieval and early modern literature… and because she collects degrees the way some people collect stamps or baseball cards, she graduated her creative writing MFA in fiction in 2021. She is an Associate Professor of Shakespeare and medieval literature in beautiful Alaska, where she lives with Juneau, the derpiest Siberian husky ever.

Sharon is represented by Kristina Perez at Perez Literary

The Chief Shepherdess

The Film/TV Rights are currently under option.

“I grab the motionless lamb, which is frighteningly slippery, and scramble on my feet, swinging its little body around to help it breathe. I see its chest move, then it sneezes and starts breathing. It’s stunned by its delivery experience. As am I. I’m high on adrenaline. Tears are streaming down my face. I pop the lamb down on the ground and start frantically rubbing its tiny body… Looking back, I can see that this was one of the first moments of questioning whether I’m truly cut out for farming and realising that the answer might be… yes”


Zoë Colville spent years in a fancy hair salon with a long list of clients, living on cigarettes, croissants, and a shoestring. It was everything she’d ever wanted. But when an unexpected and overwhelming loss caused her life to shift unexpectedly, she found herself on a different path. One where the only use for a hairdryer is warming new-born lambs; where the cycle of life on a farm gives new meaning on purpose, and where nature is both a strict teacher and a balm to soothe the pressures of everyday life.

In this memoir, she speaks vivaciously, humourously, and candidly about the lessons learned along the way, from mental health, social media and identity to surviving as an entrepreneur in a shifting economy. And through those lessons – in love, loss, and lambing – discovering something even more important: that it’s always the right time to take a bold step and try something new.

Zoë is represented by Charlie Campbell at Greyhound Literary Agency. Zoe has also featured in Country Living’s ‘Nature & My Mental Health’ video series, which you can see here.

Wolf Road

The Times ‘Children’s Book of the Week’

‘A fine storyteller’ Philip Pullman

‘A wonderful book – exciting, fascinating, gripping, beautifully written’ Anthony McGowan

‘Highly atmospheric, this impressive story asks questions about human fears across the ages.’ Daily Mail

Wolf Road is the debut middle grade novel from Professor Alice Roberts and is the first in her pre-historic adventure series published by Simon & Schuster. Set against a deadly Ice Age back drop, we follow Tuuli, a young prehistoric girl, as she and her tribe travel through the seasons. Wolf Road is both an action-packed tale of friendship and a vivid imagining of life as a hunter-gatherer.

 

Tuuli is a prehistoric girl, travelling with her tribe through the seasons – making camp, hunting for food and protecting themselves against the many hazards that the climate throws at them. Tuuli knows there’s a bigger world out there, and when she spots a strange boy lurking outside their camp, she realises that he might hold the adventure she is looking for.

He is from another tribe, sent to find safer ground and as he and Tuuli strike up an unlikely friendship, they set out on a journey that will impact the rest of human history.

A vast adventure with a very human heart, full of wild animals, huge scenery and heart-stopping danger and inspired by real anthropological discoveries. The stunning debut novel from Digging for Britain presenter, Professor Alice Roberts, for fans of His Dark Materials, Wolf Brother and The Last Bear.

 

Professor Alice Roberts is an academic, author and broadcaster, specialising in human anatomy, physiology, evolution, archaeology and history. In 2001, Alice made her television debut on Channel 4’s Time Team, and went on to write and present The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us and Ice Age Giants on BBC2. She is also the presenter of the popular TV series Digging for Britain. Alice has been a Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012.

The Irregular: A Different Class of Spy: (The Irregular Book 1)

‘Irresistible’ Guardian

‘Impressive’ Daily Mail
‘Captivating’ Mick Herron
Nominated for the 2018 Best First Novel, Barry Award

 

London 1909

Captain Kell of the War Office knows the Empire is under threat – from Russia and Germany, from terrorists and anarchists, spies and infiltrators.

But he can’t prove it to his superiors. He needs an agent he can trust, someone who knows the street, not the playing fields of Eton.

Kell needs Wiggins. Trained as a child by Kell’s old friend Sherlock Holmes, who used to call his little band of urchins the Baker Street Irregulars, Wiggins is now an ex soldier with an expert line in deduction and the cunning of a bare-knuckle fighter.

But he has no wish to be recruited – until he sees a route to taking his sworn revenge on the killer of his best friend.

 

HB Lyle (Ben) worked in the film industry for many years, first at the Film Council, then Fine Line Features in acquisitions and for a long time in development at Working Title Films. He’s worked on such films as Darkest Hour, Everest, I Give it a Year, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy. After completing his MA in creative writing (prose) at UEA, he was funded to conduct and complete a PhD study into the culture and practices of screenplay development in the UK.

Ben’s short, HELP, was directed by Leslie Manning and produced by Annalise Davis and was screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide. He’s represented for his screenwriting by Nick Marston at Curtis Brown and currently has original script projects in development with Wilder Films and Lionsgate UK and his publishing rights are represented by Jemima Hunt at The Writers Practice. Spy Hunter (out November 2023) is the fourth novel in The Irregular series, all published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK and Mobius in the US. The Irregular was nominated for the Barry Award, as well as making the Daily Telegraph’s books of the year 2017.

The Red Ribbon and The Year of the Gun were both books of the year in the Financial Times.

Reasonable People

REASONABLE PEOPLE is a sharp, funny and timely comedy-of-errors about a feuding family, published by Orion on 3rd August 2023.

CantBeArsed8: Am I the villain for being furious my partner’s father changed my daughter’s pirate party into a princess party?

After a kid’s party faux-pas, mother Janine anonymously vents about her father-in-law’s behaviour on internet forum Am I The Villain Here? When the community is invited to take sides the post goes viral, with mild-mannered Roy ending up in the national newspapers and sparking protests at his local library. REASONABLE PEOPLE explores how judging others reveals our deepest, most unreasonable selves.

Caroline Hulse lives in Manchester with her husband and a small controlling dog. She is the author of ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR, LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE and THE ADULTS. Her books have been published in fourteen languages and optioned for television.

She is represented by Hellie Ogden at WME Agency.

Eye for an Eye

EYE FOR AN EYE is the gripping new thriller by Sunday Times bestseller, MJ Arlidge, published by Orion. A thought-provoking novel set in the world of the probationary services, EYE FOR AN EYE explores reform and empathy within our justice system, asking the question “Who deserves justice? And who gets to decide?”.

 

Some people deserve to die… But does anyone deserve to kill?

There are just six criminals in the UK who have been granted lifelong anonymity. This is because their crimes were either so heinous, or they were committed when they were children – or both. That means that once they are released, they are given new identities – new homes in new towns, with new jobs and new neighbours – and they cannot by law be named as who they are, or were…

This is a story about what happens if someone starts exposing their true identities, one by one, systematically leaking their names and addresses to the families of their victims who seek swift retribution – and even vigilante justice.

But what about the newly released prisoner, given a second chance at building a life? Or the mother, who has raised her son – the only thing she’s got right in her life – who is suddenly dragged back into the nightmare of her true past? Or the father who lost everything – and now has a chance to go down the rabbit hole of revenge that he’s fantasised about for years?

And the probation service officers on the frontline – broken people in a broken system – managing the biggest crisis in its history, while trying to find the source of the leak as their world falls apart?

Matthew Arlidge is a bestselling author whose previous books include the hit eleven-book ‘Detective Helen Grace’ series, which includes HIDE AND SEEK, LITTLE BOY BLUE, THE DOLL’S HOUSE and his debut EENY MEENY, which was a Richard and Judy pick and was sold in 29 countries. These are under option with Endor.

Matt is also a writer and creator of TV – he wrote and co-created the ITV series, INNOCENT, and has written on several other prime time TV series, as well as executive producing shows such as UNDENIABLE and MISTRESSES. He currently has several original screen projects in development.

His publishing agent is Hellie Ogden at WME.

Murder at Church Lodge

MURDER AT CHURCH LODGE is the first in Greg Mosse’s 4-book ‘Maisie Cooper Mystery Series’  set in 1970s Sussex. Published by Hodder, the second book, MURDER AT BUNTING MANOR, will be out in November 2023.

With shades of Agatha Raisin and Midsummer Murders and led by a smart and intriguing central female character, these books are perfectly suited to a returnable crime series set in rural England.

 

The Maisie Cooper mystery series is set in the Sussex countryside in the ’70s, where the villages are picturesque but secrets and murders abound.

In Murder at Church Lodge, Maisie Cooper returns to her childhood home to visit the brother she hasn’t seen in years, but when she arrives, she discovers he’s been murdered.

Determined not to leave all the investigating up to the incompetent police — and trying not to be distracted by the handsome lead detective — Maisie does some digging of her own and starts to uncover a sinister mystery at the heart of the perfect village.

And when another death rocks the community, Maisie must race to find the clues and solve the case before the killer strikes again.

 

Greg Mosse is a ‘writer and encourager of writers’, husband of international bestselling author, Kate Mosse. He has lived and worked in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Madrid as an interpreter and translator, but grew up in rural south-west Sussex. In 2014, he founded the Criterion New Writing playwriting programme in the heart of the West End and, since then, has produced more than 25 of his own plays and musicals. His creative writing workshops are highly sought after at festivals at home and abroad. His superbly reviewed future thriller, The Coming Darkness, was published by Moonflower in 2022.

We Pretty Pieces of Flesh

WE PRETTY PIECES OF FLESH is a blistering and gritty account of working-class female friendship, set in the schoolyards, nightclubs, and the alleyways of Doncaster. Chatto & Windus acquired the book at auction and will publish in the UK in Spring 2025, alongside Holt in the US.

Rach, Kel and Shaz bonded on the first day of big school, after Shaz lost a fight with older girls round the back of the skating rink. Since then, they shared everything from blagging their way into nightclubs, how to masturbate with an electric toothbrush and trips to the FP (Family Planning) when they’re late. Everything, except what happened to Shaz in the cornfield that one summer night.

So why, when Shaz and Rach bump into each other in town centre – late twenties, after the Brexit vote – are they strangers to each other? If they are ever to understand what happened to them as girls, Shaz must decide whether she has the courage to tell her secret, and risk destroying everything.

Colwill Brown was born and raised in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, though is now based in the US.  She holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a recipient of a James A. Michener Center Fellowship, and an MA in English literature from Boston College.  Her work has appeared in Granta, Prairie Schooner and elsewhere.  A proud Donny lass, she claims to have played bass guitar in every rock venue on South Yorkshire’s toilet circuit. Colwill is represented by Henry Dunow at Dunow, Carlson and Lerner.

From Now Until Forever

FROM NOW UNTIL FOREVER follows Ben Church, a man running out of time and trying to grab every bit of life he can, and Vita Ambrose, a widow trying to run down the clock – and asks the question: is it ever too late to fall in love? It is funny, charming, and has a wonderful compelling twist.

Vita Ambrose’s life looks glamorous from the outside, but she’s stopped trying to really live it. What use is a life when you have spent it losing those who are closest to you?

Ben Church has never done anything risky. He’s never been on an adventure. He’s never fallen in love. Now he wants to do it all – because Ben is running out of time.

Time seems to stop altogether when Ben and Vita meet. Brought together by their shared passion for the art and work of Leonardo da Vinci, their attraction is powerful and instantaneous. As they grow closer, life’s great joys suddenly feel within reach.

But Ben and Vita know they don’t have long together. Unless they can find a way to make their love last forever?

Rowan Coleman is the internationally bestselling and award-winning author and screenwriter of sixteen novels including THE MEMORY BOOK, THE SUMMER OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS and THE GIRL AT THE WINDOW. A life-long Bronte fan, under the Bronte inspired pen name Bella Ellis, Rowan also writes the Bronte Mysteries – a carefully researched series of novels that imagine that before they were famous the Bronte Sisters were amateur detectives. Rowan is represented by Hellie Ogden at WME Agency.