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Historical writer Ben Kane moves to Orion
Historical writer Ben Kane, currently published by Cornerstone, has signed a three-book deal with Orion.
Two books in the deal will be part of a new series called Clash of Empires. The first of these, Clash of Empires: Rising Tide, will publish under the Orion Fiction imprint in May 2018 in hardback, audio and e-book, to be followed by Clash of Empires: The Falling Sword at a later date.
The Clash of Empire series will tell the story of Rome’s invasion of Greece at the turn of the third century BC, with novels following both soldiers on the ground as well as great political figures of the day.
The third book in the deal will be a standalone historical novel, which is as yet untitled.
Jon Wood, group publisher, bought world all language rights from Charlie Viney of The Viney Agency.
Wood said: "Ben Kane has a unique ability to engage with the great stories of the past. He brings them to life through his amazing characters – from all walks of ancient society – and drives them forward with huge pace and action. All of this is underpinned by an unstinting attention to authenticity and detail which his fans adore. We are very proud that he’s joining the new team at Orion Fiction, and with our long history of building huge fiction brands we are looking forward to him becoming an even bigger bestseller than he already is."
Kane published his first novel, The Forgotten Legion, with Preface in 2008 and has since written four series of Roman novels. He added: "I’m thrilled to be writing two novels spanning the Roman invasion of Greece at the turn of the third century BC. This was a tumultuous time, when the Roman Republic was morphing into an international superpower capable of bringing down the mightiest of empires. Carthage had just fallen to the legions; Macedon and the city states of Greece were next. The encounter between the legions and the phalanx was one of the great 'What if?' moments of history, and I cannot wait to bring these history-changing events to life."
