curtis brown australia rights newsletter october 2013

1 Curtis Brown Australia / Rights Newsletter / www.curtisbrown.com.au

Curtis Brown Australia

October 2013

Rights Newsletter

Curtis Brown (Aust) Pty Ltd | Literary Agents

PO Box 19 | Paddington NSW 2021 | Australia

T: [61 2] 9361 6161 or 9331 5301 | F: [61 2] 9360 3935

E: [email protected] | W: www.curtisbrown.com.au


ADULT

THE PECULIAR CASE OF THE ELECTRIC CONSTABLE

A True Tale of Passion, Poison and Pursuit

Carol Baxter (Oneworld Publications)

Genre: Non Fiction

Description: John Tawell was a sincere Quaker but a sinning one.

Convicted of forgery, he was transported to Sydney, where he opened

Australia’s first retail pharmacy and made a fortune. When he returned

home to England after fifteen years, he thought he would be welcomed;

instead he was shunned.

Then on New Year’s Day 1845 Tawell boarded the 7:42 pm train to

London Paddington. Soon, men arrived chasing a suspected murderer –

but the 7:42 had departed. The Great Western Railway was

experimenting with a new-fangled device, the electric telegraph, so a

message was sent: a ‘KWAKER’ man was on the run. The trail became a

sensation, involving no apparent weapon, much innuendo, and a pious man desperate to

save his reputation – and would usher in the modern communication age.

Told with narrative verve and rich in historical research, this is a delicious true tale of murder

and scientific revolution in Victorian England.

Rights Available: Translation, Film/TV

Agent: Tara Wynne [email protected]

THE BLUE DUCKS

Darren Robertson & Mark Labrooy (Plum/Pan Macmillan)

Genre: Non Fiction

Description: Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy are the faces of a

new, grassroots approach to cooking – delicious food based on an

ethos of community, sustainability and growing-it-local. Professional

chefs, mad surfers, keen gardeners and foragers, Darren and Mark

live by this philosophy in everything they do – when cooking in their

café, Three Blue Ducks, and in their garden, which is home to a

rambling vegetable patch and four very happy chickens.

In their first book, Darren and Mark share more than 80 of their most

enticing recipes, using eggs direct from their ‘Chook Mahal’, honey

from their own bees, local meat and seafood, and loads of herbs

and veggies grown in the garden. Enjoy mouthwatering Sticky Pork Ribs, Barbecued

Calamari, Spiced Chicken in a Brown Paper Bag, Home-Toasted Muesli, Salted Caramel

Banana muffins ... and meltingly good Char-grilled Peaches with Vanilla & Rosemary Ice

Cream.

This is a cookbook full of fresh ingredients and dishes bursting with flavour; a tribute to our

breathtaking coastal landscape; and an inspiring reminder of the joys of connecting with

the land, whether it be growing your own veggies, keeping chickens or making more

ethical food choices. The Blue Ducks will have you cooking up the most delicious and

seasonal delights, and looking at the food we eat in a completely new way.

Rights Available: Film/TV, Audio


mailto:[email protected]



UNDERSTANDING ALZHEIMER’S

Prof. Ralph Martins (Pan Macmillan)

Genre: Non Fiction

Description: A practical guide for the hundreds of thousands of people

dealing with this extremely challenging condition.

Each week, 1500 Australians are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a

dementia-related illness. This timely book answers many of the common

questions asked by carers, patients and the public, including:

How is Alzheimer’s diagnosed?

Is it possible to prevent and/or slow down the disease?

What are the risk factors for contracting Alzheimer’s?

What are the best current treatments, and what is the research telling

us about new treatments?

How can diet, physical activity and mental exercise be used to help manage the

disease?

What are the emotional and legal issues around caring for someone with Alzheimer’s?

Drawing on some of Australia’s top experts in the field, and containing numerous personal

stories and a section on where to get help, this guide offers the best and latest medical

information as well as compassionate and reassuring advice for those whose lives are

affected by Alzheimer’s.

Rights Available: World (excl ANZ), Audio, Film/TV

Agent: Fiona Inglis [email protected]

SUNSET RIDGE

Nicole Alexander (Bantam Australia, Random House)

Genre: Fiction

Description: A story of bravery and misadventure, of intolerance and

friendship – and most of all, a story of three young men who went to war

and fought for love.

Although Madeleine has grown up in the shadow of her grandfather,

the renowned artist David Harrow, she knows little about him. For David

died long before she was born, and his paintings sold off to save the

family property, Sunset Ridge.

Now, decades on, with the possibility of a retrospective of David’s work,

Madeleine races to unravel the remarkable life of her grandfather, a

veteran of the Great War, unaware that his legacy extends far beyond

the boundaries of the family property…

It’s 1916, and as Europe descends further into bloodshed, three Queensland brothers –

Thaddeus, Luther and David Harrow – choose freedom over their restricted lives at Sunset

Ridge. A ‘freedom’ that sees them bound for the hell of the trenches.

With the world on fire around them, the brothers bear witness to both remarkable courage

and shocking carnage. But they also come to understand the healing power of love – love

for their comrades, love for each other, and love for the young, highly spirited girl they left

back home…

Rights Available: World (excl ANZ), Film/TV, Audio





INDELIBLE INK

Fiona McGregor (Scribe Publications)

Genre: Non Fiction

Description: ‘This is a superb book by one of our finest writers’ Christos

Tsiolkas

Marie King is fifty-nine, recently divorced, and has lived a rather

conventional life on Sydney’s affluent north shore. Now her three

children have moved out, the family home is to be sold, and with it will

go her beloved garden.

On a drunken whim, Marie gets a tattoo – an act that gives way to an

unexpected friendship with her tattoo artist, Rhys. Before long, Rhys has

introduced Marie to a side of the city that clashes with her staid north-

shore milieu. Her children are mortified by their mother’s transformation,

but have their own challenges to deal with: workplace politics; love affairs old and new;

and, of course, the real-estate market.

Written with Fiona McGregor’s incisive wit and keen eye, Indelible Ink uses one family as a

microcosm for the changes operating in society at large. In its piercing examination of the

way we live now, it is truly a novel for our times.

Rights Available: Translation, Film/TV

Agent: Fran Moore [email protected]

RETURN TO ME

Mae Archer (Momentum Books)

Genre: Fiction

Description: After a fatal car accident Lana Walters is transported to

a parallel world for a second chance with her dead husband. But her

husband and the world itself are very different to her own.

In her other life, Lana was married to Frank, who had a terminal heart

condition and died at thirty. In this new world, she is Alannah Walker,

and her husband is Tristan, a man who had a heart operation as a

child. But Tristan is nothing like Frank.

Born Frank Walters, Tristan hides his past under a new name. His

relationship with his wife, Alannah, is fraught with anger. But even

though Alannah has seemed like a different person since the car

accident, lessons of the past have taught him not to trust too easily

Will Tristan and Lana learn from their past mistakes? Does this new life give them a second

chance at love?

Rights Available: Film/TV

Agent: Pippa Masson [email protected]




DARKENING SKIES

Bronwyn Parry (Hachette Australia)

Genre: Fiction

Description: Deadly secrets hidden for years in a small country town are

finally revealed.

Investigative journalist Jenn Barrett never intended to return to Dungirri,

the small town she escaped as a teenager. But startling revelations

about local man Mark Strelitz have reopened the investigation into the

accident that killed Jenn’s cousin, Paula, and she is determined to find

out what really happened.

For eighteen years, a gap in Mark’s memory has concealed the facts –

that he was driving when Paula died and a corrupt police investigation

sent an innocent man to prison. Mark has finally learnt enough of the

truth to know he has to set the record straight.

As Jenn and Mark start to ask questions, evidence is destroyed and witnesses murdered.

Someone wants the past to remain buried and anyone probing into it to be stopped –

permanently. Mark and Jenn’s discovery will shock the whole town – but only if they live

long enough to reveal it.


Agent: Clare Forster [email protected]

BLOOD SECRET

Jaye Ford (Random House Australia)

Genre: Fiction

Description: She shouldn’t have stayed. Now she can’t leave…

Nothing ever happens in Haven Bay, which is why Renée Carter stayed

longer than she should – and why she thought it was safe to stop

running for a while. When Max Tully, the man she loves and the reason

she stayed, disappears after a party, Rennie wants to believe it’s the

obvious, that the out-of-control kid who tried to run them down is

responsible – and nothing to do with the violence of her past. Police

suspicions, though, fall on Max himself. Money is missing and he’s gone –

it can’t be a coincidence.

Max Tully is alone, injured and in pitch darkness. He doesn’t know where

he is or why. All he remembers is the last time he was in a place like this – eight years ago

when he was crushed under rock in a mining accident. But this time he can move and he’s

not lying around to wait for death. As he crawls, concussed and in pain, memories begin to

surface – the kind that make him fear for who he’s left behind.

The police are looking in the wrong places, they’re asking the wrong questions. Max may

not be who he seemed but there are reasons for hiding the truth – and Rennie knows it

doesn’t make you a criminal. She has a secret, one she’s run from all her life – one she’s

terrified has found her again … and the man she loves.

Rights Available: World (excl ANZ and Germany), Film/TV, Audio

Agent: Clare Forster [email protected]




THE PERFECT WIFE

Katherine Scholes (Penguin Australia)

Genre: Fiction

Description: From the internationally bestselling author – over two million

books sold worldwide.

Kitty Hamilton arrives in Tanganyika with high hopes for her new life. An

exciting adventure halfway across the world could be just what she and

Theo need to recover from the scandal that almost tore them apart.

She is determined to play the role of the perfect wife, but her dreams

soon begin to unravel. Theo is distracted with his important British

government post, and while Kitty had imagined doing valuable work of

her own, she finds that choosing the right frock to wear to the club is the

biggest challenge of her day.

In this wild and foreign land, where very different powers prevail, the head can’t always

rule the heart. As old wounds resurface and new passions ignite, Kitty and Theo confront

emotions that push them beyond the boundaries of all that they know and believe in.

The Perfect Wife is a breathtaking story about the struggle between duty and desire,

jealousy and love, commitment and freedom. And the need to follow the call of your

heart, wherever it may lead you…

Rights Available: World (excl ANZ, France and

Germany), Film/TV, Audio




YOUNG ADULT

PRETTY GIRL

JC Burke (Random House Australia)

Genre: YA Fiction

Description: One girl’s dead. One’s in hospital. And one has a secret.

Paige, Sarah, Jess and Tallulah were best friends at school. Now they’ve

begun university and are living together at college, but it’s not turning

out like it’s meant to. Tallulah’s partying too hard, Jess is being secretive,

Paige is embarrassing herself with an unrequited crush, and Sarah’s

struggling to keep up with her wealthier friends.

One night, Sarah saves Paige from drowning in the university swimming

pool. Paige can’t remember why she was there, and Sarah’s too afraid

to say what she thought she saw. Then Jess’s body is found outside the

college laundry.

It’s not until Sarah meets the gorgeous and charming Jonny that she can tell someone her

suspicions. But what really did happen that night at the pool? And what connects Paige’s

accident with Jess’s death? As Paige starts to piece together her memories, the most

terrifying question becomes clear: could it be happening again?

Rights Available: Audio, Film/TV


FAIRYTALES FOR WILDE GIRLS

Allyse Near (Random House Australia)

Genre: YA Fiction

Description: A deliciously dark bubblegum-gothic fairytale from a

stunning new Australian talent.

‘He’s gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their

awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music,

because you won’t stay out of my woods!’

There’s a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That’s not unusual. Isola

Wilde sees a lot of things other people don’t. But when the girl appears

at Isola’s window, her every word a threat, Isola needs help.

Her real-life friends – Grape, James and new boy Edgar – make her

forget for a while. And her brother-princes – magical creatures

seemingly lifted from the pages of the French fairytales Isola idolises – will protect her with

all the fierce love they possess.

It may not be enough.

Isola needs to uncover the truth behind the dead girl’s demise … before the ghost steals

Isola’s last breath.

Rights Available: World (excl ANZ and Russia), Film/TV, Audio





CHILDREN’S

THE LAST THIRTEEN

BOOK ONE: THIRTEEN

James Phelan (Scholastic Australia)

Genre: Children’s fiction

Description: 13 books. 13 nightmares. 1 destiny.

Are you one of them?

I click my fingers and everybody dies.

Sam wakes from his nightmare to discover the terrifying reality. It will

come true.

Kidnapped from school and finding out his parents aren’t who he thinks

they are, Sam is suddenly running from danger at every turn. Nothing will

ever be the same again.

With his life and identity shattered, Sam’s salvation is tied to an ancient

prophecy. He is in the final battle to save the world, up against an enemy plotting to destroy us all. He alone can find the last 13.

The first book of The Last Thirteen series, where each serialised installment will introduce a

new character to work with our protagonist, a new international setting, and ever-

increasing revelations, tensions, twists and turns as our thirteen teens must battle it out for

the control of our dream world.



THE 39-STOREY TREEHOUSE

Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Genre: Children’s fiction

Description: Join Andy and Terry in their astonishing 39-storey treehouse!

Jump on the world’s highest trampoline, toast marshmallows in an

active volcano, swim in the chocolate waterfall, pat baby dinosaurs, go

head-to-trunk with the Trunkinator, break out your best moves on the

dance floor, fly in a jet-propelled swivel chair, ride a terrifying

rollercoaster and meet Professor Stupido, the world’s greatest UN-

inventor.

Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!

Rights Available: UK, Translation, Film/TV




curtis brown australia rights newsletter october 2013

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