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Hodgson and Shemilt on WHS Richard & Judy list
Five debut novels – including one by Little, Brown editor-in-chief Antonia Hodgson – have been chosen for WH Smith’s Autumn Richard and Judy Book Club list, released today (28th August).
The collection of titles, which always win a lot of sales with customers, kicks off with debut thriller Daughter by Jane Shemilt (Penguin).
The title has been particularly acclaimed by Judy Finnigan, who said: “We absolutely loved this book. It’s about a GP and her family and the sudden horror that devastates their lives when their 16-year-old daughter disappears one night. It’s difficult to believe that this accomplished book is a debut.”
Another debut in the pack is The Devil in the Marshalsea (Hodder, Hachette), by novelist and Little, Brown editor-in-chief Antonia Hodgson. The book won the CWA Historical Dagger prize this year.
The other three are The Martian by Andy Weir - originally a self-published e-book bestseller snapped up by PRH’s science fiction and fantasy imprint Del Rey, Someone Else’s Skin by Sarah Hilary (Headline, Hachette) and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North (Orbit, Hachette).
Of the eight book club titles, four are published by Penguin Random House and the other four are published by Hachette – the two biggest trade book publishers in the UK. Ebury, a division of Penguin Random House, has claimed three titles on the list, which it says is an "industry first" in the history of the book club.
Fiona MacIntyre, m.d of Ebury, said: “To have secured three of the eight Richard and Judy Book Club selections this autumn is a milestone not only in our history but also that of the industry. It is a tremendous endorsement of the commercial fiction lists of Gillian Green and Michael Rowley, as well as the strength of non-fiction publishing within Ebury.”
The other PRH titles on the list besides Weir's are Rick Stein’s “evocative and honest autobiography” Under a Mackerel Sky (Ebury Press, PRH); and The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman (also Ebury Press, PRH).
The other Hachette book in this Autumn’s WHS book club is The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin (Headline, Hachette).
Richard Madeley said: “Judy and I have had a great summer reading and selecting the titles for this list. We’re always astounded at just how many talented writers are out there and we can assure you that these titles will not disappoint.”
Khaled Hosseini’s And The Mountains Echoed (Bloomsbury) was also announced as the winner of the readers’ vote for the summer collection Book Club of 2014.
Hosseini said: “My heartfelt thanks go to Richard and Judy and to all the readers who chose And The Mountains Echoed as their favorite of the Richard and Judy summer book club titles. It is a thrill to know that UK readers have connected with a book that means so much to me personally. I am honored to once again have the support of Richard and Judy and their readers. As we say in Afghanistan, Tashakor!”
The Richard and Judy Book Club launched in September 2010 and issues collections for spring, summer and autumn.
