We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Joffe Books has been shortlisted for Publisher of the Year at the RNA Industry Awards.

The awards celebrate the work and talent of any person, group or organisation that has championed the broad genre of romantic fiction.

Laura James, the RNA Industry Awards organiser, commented, ‘For the past five years as Industry Awards Organiser, I’ve witnessed many changes in the world, including the role of social media within the publishing industry, but the passion for romantic fiction remains. It grows stronger by the letter; by the chapter; by each book.

In both self-published and traditionally published novels, industry professionals work together to produce quality happy ever afters, from writers to editors, cover designers and publishers, book bloggers, reviewers and social media experts, narrators, agents, booksellers and librarians. The RNA Industry Awards are our way of thanking and celebrating the hard-working industry professionals. Congratulations to all our finalists.’

The winners of the 10 awards will be announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Winter Party and Industry Awards ceremony on 13th November 2023. Many congratulations to all shortlisted!

Read more here.

We are utterly thrilled to announce two of our incredible authors took home a clean sweep of awards at the annual Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) Conference.

A big congratulations to Katy Turner for winning the Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers with her novel LET'S JUST BE FRIENDS!

And a massive congratulations to Sally Jenkins for winning the Elizabeth Goudge Award for her one-thousand-word opening for a novel on the theme: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder.

Poker, poverty, and the power of storytelling: 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award longlist revealed

A poker-playing sleuth, a poet’s gritty take on life on Aotearoa’s poverty line, a rural mystery entwined with heart-wrenching exploration of dementia, and the long-awaited return of a master of neo-noir are among the diverse tales named today on the longlist for the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel.

Now in their fourteenth season, the Ngaio Marsh Awards celebrate excellence in New Zealand crime, mystery, and thriller writing. They are named for Dame Ngaio Marsh, one of the Queens of Crime of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, who penned bestselling mysteries that entertained millions of global readers from her home in the Cashmere Hills. “I’d like to think Dame Ngaio would be proud of how our modern Kiwi storytellers are continuing her literary legacy, bringing fresh perspectives and a cool mix of fascinating tales to one of the world’s most popular storytelling forms,” says awards founder Craig Sisterson. “In recent years we seem to be going through our own golden age, with our local writers offering a treasure trove of terrific stories for readers at home and all over the world.”

The longlist for the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel includes a mix of past winners and finalists, several first-time entrants and new voices, and the long-awaited return of one of the leading lights of the early 2000s New Zealand literary scene. “In crime and thriller writing it’s natural for authors to make it really tough on their characters,” says Sisterson, “but our entrants made it tough on our judges too. This year’s longlist is a wonderful showcase of Kiwi creativity, with a great range of stories that explore some deep and very important issues in among the page-turning intrigue and thrills.”

The Ngaio Marsh Awards have celebrated the best New Zealand crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense writing since 2010. The longlist for this year’s Best Novel prize is: 

• TOO FAR FROM ANTIBES by Bede Scott (Penguin SEA)

• EXIT .45 by Ben Sanders (Allen & Unwin)

• REMEMBER ME by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)

• BLUE HOTEL by Chad Taylor (Brio Books)

• POOR PEOPLE WITH MONEY by Dominic Hoey (Penguin)

• THE DARKEST SIN by DV Bishop (Macmillan)

• THE DOCTOR’S WIFE by Fiona Sussman (Bateman Books)

• MIRACLE by Jennifer Lane

• BETTER THE BLOOD by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)

• IN HER BLOOD by Nikki Crutchley (HarperCollins)

• THE PAIN TOURIST by Paul Cleave (Upstart Press)

• BLOOD MATTERS by Renée (The Cuba Press)

• THE SLOW ROLL by Simon Lendrum (Upstart Press)

• PAPER CAGE by Tom Baragwanath (Text Publishing)

The longlist is currently being considered by an international judging panel of crime and thriller writing experts from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Finalists for Best Novel, Best First Novel, and Best Non-Fiction will be announced in August, with the finalists celebrated and the winners announced as part of a special event held in association with WORD Christchurch later in the year.

For more information on this year’s Best Novel longlist, or the Ngaio Marsh Awards in general, please contact ngaiomarshaward@gmail.com, or founder and judging convenor Craig Sisterson, craigsisterson@hotmail.com  

The Joffe Books Prize is looking for a talented new crime fiction writer of colour, with one of the UK’s largest literary prizes for the winner. 

The judging panel includes Nadine Matheson, bestselling author of The Jigsaw Man, and literary agent Nelle Andrew. 

The prize invites submissions from unagented authors from Black, Asian, Indigenous and minority ethnic backgrounds writing in crime fiction genres including: electrifying psychological thrillers, cosy mysteries, gritty police procedurals, twisty chillers, unputdownable suspense mysteries and shocking domestic noirs. 

The winner will be offered a prize package consisting of a two-book publishing deal with Joffe Books, a £1,000 cash prize, and a £25,000 audiobook offer from Audible for the first book. 

The submission period ends at midnight on 30 September 2023. 

HOW TO ENTER 
Entrants are invited to submit their full-length manuscript, written in English, along with a synopsis of the book and author biography, to prize@joffebooks.com. 

This prize is open to UK residents and British citizens (including those living abroad) only. The opening date for entries is 1 June 2023. The competition closes 30 September 2023, 23.59 GMT. No entries received outside this period will be accepted. 

Read the full Terms & Conditions here. 

ABOUT THE PRIZE 
The winner will be offered a prize package consisting of the following: a two-book publishing contract with Joffe Books on its standard author agreement terms; a £1,000 cash prize; a two-year membership to the Society of Authors; a £25,000 audiobook contract with Audible for the first book. The prize is a package and can only be accepted in its entirety. 

The prize will be offered to the selected winner. Joffe Books may choose an alternative winner if acceptance is not confirmed within one week. 

Northumberland-based Christie J. Newport won the inaugural prize in 2021, followed by Sam Genever in 2022. Christie’s winning entry and debut novel, The Raven’s Mark, is available online and in all good bookshops now! 

THE JUDGES 
The 2023 judges are Nadine Matheson, Nelle Andrew, Emma Grundy Haigh, Jasper Joffe and Kate Lyall Grant. The winner of the competition will be selected by these judges based on the quality and commercial potential of the work. 

NADINE MATHESON, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE JIGSAW MAN: “I’m beyond excited to be judging the Joffe Books Prize. There are so many talented writers and the Joffe Books Prize is the perfect way for the voice of an exciting new writer to be heard. I’m looking forward to being part of the journey.” 

NELLE ANDREW, AWARD WINNING LITERARY AGENT: “I am really excited to be part of the judging panel for this prize. It had such a stellar year last year and I can't wait to discover the next cohort of new voices this year.” 

EMMA GRUNDY HAIGH, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR AT JOFFE BOOKS: “I am thrilled to see the Joffe Books Prize enter its third year — it’s been amazing to see how much it has grown. The prize underscores our commitment to amplifying a far greater diversity of talent, and we’re reaching more crime writers of colour than ever before. With Audible’s involvement, we now also offer the largest prize package for crime fiction in the UK. I can’t wait to dive into this year’s submissions!” 

ABOUT NADINE MATHESON 
Nadine Matheson lives in London and is a criminal solicitor. In 2016, she won the City University Crime Writing Competition and completed the Creative Writing (Crime/Thrillers Novels) Master’s Degree with distinction in 2018. In 2019, Nadine signed with A.M. Heath Literary Agents and her debut crime fiction novel, The Jigsaw Man, was won by HQ (HarperCollins) in a six-publisher auction. The Jigsaw Man was published in 2021 and has been translated into fifteen languages and optioned for television. 

ABOUT NELLE ANDREW 
Nelle Andrew represents an array of internationally bestselling and award-winning authors across both fiction and non-fiction. Among those on her list are Sara Collins (winner of the Costa Debut fiction award), Jing-Jing Lee (a longlistee for the Women’s Fiction Prize and Walter Scott prize), Beth Underdown (HWA Goldsboro Award winner) and six Richard and Judy book club picks, such as the bestselling Heidi Perks, Bryony Gordon and Elizabeth Day. 

Nelle was crowned Literary Agent of the Year in 2021 at The Bookseller Awards; the most prestigious accolade for a literary agent in the UK. Before then, Nelle was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. She is now a Trustee for the Royal Literary Fund. 

ABOUT JOFFE BOOKS 
Joffe Books is one of the UK’s leading independent publishers of excellent commercial fiction, especially crime and mystery fiction. Joffe Books is renowned for working closely with authors from across the world to create fantastic books and turning them into bestsellers. Since 2014, Joffe Books has published more than 500 books by more than 70 authors and has sold over 10 million books. The publisher’s roster of award-winning authors and New York Times, USA Today and Amazon bestsellers includes Joy Ellis, Faith Martin, Robert Goddard, Rick Mofina, Volker Kutscher, Simon Brett and Stella Cameron. Joffe Books won Trade Publisher of the Year at the Independent Publishing Awards in 2023 and was shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2023 for the fourth year in a row. 

While Joffe Books maintains open submissions for all authors, this competition is designed to offer an opportunity to Black, Asian and minority ethnic writers, who are particularly underrepresented in crime fiction publishing.

Click here to go to our submissions page. 

We are absolutely delighted to announce that our beloved bestselling author Gretta Mulrooney has been longlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger award with the gripping historical murder mystery Death at the Dolphin.

Created in 1955, the prestigious CWA daggers serves as the oldest crime fiction awards and honours the greatest authors and publishers in the genre. Past winners include Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell and Chris Whitaker.

The shortlist will be announced at a reception at CrimeFest in Bristol on Friday 12 May and winners on Thursday 6 July.

Best of luck to all the talented authors nominated.

Sam Genever has won the second Joffe Books Prize for Crime Writers of Colour with the "thoroughly gripping" first instalment in a brand-new psychological thriller series.

The annual competition aims to champion authors from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, who are particularly underrepresented in crime fiction publishing, and is open to debut, previously published or self-published writers. 

Ten writers were longlisted, judged by award-winning author of My Sister, the Serial Killer, Oyinkan Braithwaite, literary agent Ella Diamond Kahn, Joffe editorial director Emma Grundy Haigh and press founder Jasper Joffe. Genever’s book, which has the working title Savage Terrority, is set in Johannesburg and follows detective Segert Berger as he tries to find a woman and her son who have gone missing. But all is not as it seems . . .

Emma Grundy Haigh, editorial director at Joffe Books, says: "I'm delighted that Sam has joined Joffe Books as our second prize winner! From the moment I picked up Sam Genever's South Africa-set thriller I couldn't put it down. The opening scene took my breath away. The cat-and-mouse between Augustine -- desperate, on the run and not afraid to pack a knife if it means protecting her son -- and detective Segert Berger is so tantalising. And then there's ruthless, vicious Teddy . . . The novel tackles some of the most deep-seated issues that remain pervasive in South African society with depth and nuance."

Notes from the judges: "Such an intriguing work, raw and lyrical in one. The opening scene is powerfully dramatic. The excellent setting and tense atmosphere combine with an ambitious plot to create a novel with massive potential."

From Sam Genever: "I never thought I would win -- never in a million years, I was really happy to be shortlisted and told my friends and family that's good news to get to this stage, but not to get too excited about winning, please! It's great to be recognised for my craft and it's great to introduce myself as an author. I stopped writing for a while when I was in the corporate world, but I always felt writing is my calling and I'm glad I'vemade my way back home to it.

CLICK HERE TO READ SAM’S Q&A WITH THE BOOKSELLER

JASPER JOFFE, CEO of leading independent publisher Joffe Books, has acquired Lume Books from previous owner Matthew Lynn for an undisclosed sum. This second acquisition in a matter of weeks means Joffe becomes the UK’s largest independent fiction publisher by title count.

Founded in 2018, Lume Books boasts a wide-ranging and eclectic list featuring many award-winning authors of both fiction and non-fiction including A.J.P. Taylor, H.R.F. Keating, Keith Waterhouse and many more.

All Lume members of staff will be moving over to Joffe Books. Joffe will be taking over the Lume list of approx. 5,000 titles by 800 authors, and with a laser-like focus on marketing and design, will be relaunching the books to a whole new gamut of readers.

JASPER JOFFE: “I couldn’t be more delighted to take over the Lume mantle. Matthew Lynn is a true pioneer of digital publishing and has built one of the largest lists of digital books in the UK, with a focus on the genres that Joffe excels in. With this acquisition, Joffe Books becomes the largest independent publisher in the UK by title count. And our aim will be to increase sales in the same way we’ve achieved with Robert Hale. Lume authors will benefit from the scale we will offer and the superb attention to detail our editors and marketers bring to every single book. There is no backlist at Joffe, just great books people haven’t read yet.”

MATTHEW LYNN: “Jasper Joffe has proved himself the most ambitious and innovative publisher in the UK over the last decade. Joffe Books will be a fantastic home for Lume’s brilliant staff and authors. By putting the two businesses together, Joffe Books will not only create the largest independent publisher in the UK by title count, but a genuine challenger to break into the Big Five that dominate the industry. Joffe Books is a new force in British and world publishing, and I am immensely proud that Lume will be a part of that.” 

In 2019, Joffe Books acquired the Robert Hale backlist from Crowood Press, reissuing and revitalizing the sales of authors including Roger Silverwood, Frances Lloyd, David Hodges and Bill Kitson. And in 2022, Joffe Books acquired Ostara Publishing, reissuing and rebranding such classic crime writers as D.M. Greenwood, V.C. Clinton-Baddeley, Frank McAuliffe and Ian Morson. These authors’ works now regularly feature in the Top 100 UK Kindle chart. The overall digital sales of ex-Hale and Ostara titles have increased tenfold since the acquisitions. Joffe Books also took over Choc Lit, the award-winning romance publisher, last week.

About Joffe Books

Founded in 2014, Joffe Books is proud of its history of innovative publishing. Thanks to the unflagging passion and dedication brought by everyone at Team Joffe, we have built a reputation for crafting great books for readers, long-term relationships with authors and agents, and fleet-footed marketing. We are now the largest independent publisher of e-Books in the UK. In 2022, Joffe sold over 3 million books across crime, mystery, thriller, romance and historical fiction (and another 6 million through Kindle Unlimited). Joffe was shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and won Independent Trade Publisher of the Year at the IPG Awards in 2023. The Joffe Books Prize aims to increase the diversity of voices in crime writing and has become one of the UK’s most valuable literary prizes.

Jasper Joffe, chief executive officer of independent publisher Joffe Books, has acquired Choc Lit from previous owner Lyn Vernham for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2009, Choc Lit is an independent publisher of romance and women’s fiction. Joffe will be taking over Choc Lit’s list of around 250 titles, and relaunching the books specifically for the digital market, with a focus on marketing and design.

Joffe said: “We love Choc Lit and are delighted to acquire the company from Lyn Vernham. Lyn has built one of the most outstanding publishers of women’s fiction and romance in the UK. It’s an honour to take forward this brilliant publisher with its unique tasting panel of readers who help select the books to publish.

"We aim to build on the list’s exceptional quality and to find new opportunities to reach even more readers. It’s a great fit for our future as an all-genres commercial publisher.”

Vernham added: “I’m delighted to see my baby go to such a good home in Joffe Books. It has been almost 14 years of absolute fun and an honour to help so many authors. We set out to create a romance brand that would support debut and lesser known authors on the road to publication.

"We have launched over 60 authors, two-thirds of which were debuts. Some have gone on to be very successful in our genre. I’m very proud of them all and what the team has achieved. I wish Jasper every success as they continue to develop the brand.”

In 2019, Joffe Books acquired the Robert Hale backlist from Crowood Press, reissuing authors including Roger Silverwood, Frances Lloyd, David Hodges and Bill Kitson. The publisher went on to acquire Ostara Publishing in 2022, reissuing and rebranding crime writers as D M Greenwood, V C Clinton-Baddeley, Frank McAuliffe and Ian Morson. 

READ THE BOOKSELLER ARTICLE HERE

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Joffe Books won the Trade Publisher of the Year Award at the IPG Awards yesterday.  This was very much a team effort, and is testament to the extremely high quality of the books we've been privileged to publish this past year and our wonderful readers who we appreciate.

Thank you to the IPG judges and a massive well done to the Joffe Books team!

READ MORE HERE

We’re delighted to announce #JBPitch, the Joffe Books Twitter pitch party series, on 14 March, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. GMT. Pitch your unpublished novels in 280 characters or less directly to the Joffe Books acquisitions team. If we ‘like’ your pitch, we’ll request three chapters and a synopsis to read more closely. And one lucky writer will receive a 30-minute consultation.

We’re looking for our next bestselling author — and it could be YOU!

At Joffe Books, we want to see many more diverse voices in commercial fiction! If you are or are writing commercial fiction with characters that are BAME, LGBTQ+, working class and/or have disabilities, we especially want to hear from you!

HOW IT WORKS

On 14 March, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. GMT, tweet us your pitch in 280 characters or less, using the #JBPitch hashtag. You can also indicate your novel’s genre by using the optional hashtags listed below.

If we ‘like’ your pitch, that means we want to see more and welcome you to send three chapters and a synopsis to info@joffebooks.com.

WHO CAN SUBMIT

We would like to read a pitch from any writer working on a novel in one of our favourite genres of commercial fiction (see below), who has written at least three complete chapters and a synopsis, ready to submit if we ask for it.

We especially want to invite writers from communities typically underrepresented in the publishing industry to participate. If you identify as a writer from an underrepresented community and would like to flag this in your pitch, please feel free to use the hashtag #UC in addition to any genre hashtags below.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The pitch tweet should be no more than 280 characters. If we ask to see more from you by ‘liking’ your tweet, please submit three chapters and a synopsis of the whole story, including spoilers (no more than a page).

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We want to see punchy pitches that immediately grab us, whatever the genre. We want to be excited by pitches that reveal an addictive plot and fresh voice, and characters we want to root for.

We are looking for pitches in one of our favourite genres, including:

·         Cosy crime

·         Chiller thriller

·         Crime thrillers

·         Domestic noir

·         Historical mystery/romance

·         Murder mystery

·         Police procedural

·         Psychological thriller

·         Reading group

·         Romance contemporary/romcom

·         Saga

·         Traditional mystery

·         Women’s fiction

·         WWII mystery/romance

To get a great feel for what we publish, head to our books page.

THE PRIZE

The prize for pitches we have liked is editorial and marketing feedback on your first three chapters and a synopsis of the whole story. So if we have ‘liked’ your pitch, please send your chapters and synopsis to info@joffebooks.com. We will return feedback within a week of the receiving your email. From the submissions we receive, we’ll choose one author to receive a 30-minute online consultation with an editor from the Joffe Books acquisitions team. We’ll email the winner within a week receiving their email to set up a date and time.

FAQ

Do I have to have completed my full manuscript to enter?

No. All you need are three chapters and a synopsis ready to share.

Can I pitch multiple novels?

No. Only your strongest work, please.

Can I give multiple pitches for the same novel?

No. Please only tweet one pitch for your novel.

If I’ve already submitted my book to the Joffe open submissions, can I pitch it?

Absolutely!

If my book was previously self-published, can I pitch it?

Yes, go for it.

Can I participate even if I don’t live in the UK?

Yes, we are a global publisher with authors from all over the world. So long as the manuscript is written in English, we will happily consider your pitch.

Can I pitch outside the requested genres?

No. We do not publish sci-fi, fantasy, novellas or short story collections, YA or children’s, non-fiction, or anything paranormal. Please do not pitch any of these genres.

I can’t be on Twitter on that day, what do I do?

You can schedule your pitch tweet, so you don’t miss out.

My pitch was ‘liked’! What’s the next step?

Please email your first three chapters and synopsis to info@joffebooks.com. We will return feedback within a week of the receiving your email. We can guarantee that we write back to everyone who submits.

My pitch wasn’t ‘liked’. What should I do?

Don’t be defeated! There are still ways to get your book noticed. You can also submit via our open submissions. What we connect to during the pitch party depends on a host of factors. Some pitches are more in line with what the acquisitions team are looking for right at that moment. Some writers are more practiced at pitching than others. Some books are simply easier to pitch than others.

We actively encourage you to keep writing, keep honing your pitch and keep trying to get published.

OPTIONAL HASHTAGS TO DESCRIBE GENRE/THEME

Please find a list of hashtags below, to help identify your pitch’s genre at a glance.

#CC = Cosy crime

#CHT = Chiller thriller

#CT = Crime thrillers

#DN = Domestic noir

#HMR = Historical mystery/romance

#MM = Murder mystery

#PP = Police procedural

#PT = Psychological thriller

#RG = Reading group

#RCR = Romance contemporary/romcom

#S = Saga

#TM = Traditional mystery

#WF = Women’s fiction

#WWMR = WWII mystery/romance

Gretta in 1997

Gretta in 1971

We are very sad to announce the death of our author, Gretta Mulrooney. She will be missed by her many readers as well as by everyone lucky enough to work with her at Joffe Books. She was a brilliant writer who dazzled both in psychological insight and at the level of the sentence. She was a wonderful person who brought laughter and warmth wherever she went.

Gretta Mulrooney (1952–2023) was born in London to Irish parents, Hugh and Peg. She took a degree in English at the University of Ulster, Derry, and lived for a few years in Dublin, working various jobs. Gretta returned to England to teach before taking up social work and started writing in her thirties, publishing for children and young adults with Poolbeg Press, Dublin. She was commissioned by BBC Radio Four, who broadcast her short stories. These were followed by five novels of literary fiction, published by HarperCollins, Robert Hale and 4th Estate. The first of these, Araby, gained critical acclaim for its accurately observed characters and pathos. Margaret Forster wrote, ‘I loved it. It’s such a sweet story, without being in the least sentimental. There are moments when the reader is absolutely there, so acute is this novelist’s ear and eye.’

It was when Gretta began working with Joffe Books in 2015 that her focus moved to crime fiction and psychological thrillers, which had long been her passion. She developed Tyrone Swift, a detective who appeared in a series of books, in parallel with DI Siv Drummond in another series. Tyrone allowed her to explore a character with a complicated personal life, while Siv is grieving and lonely — a fighter, but smart. She introduced a new character with Daisy Moore. These books excited her, and, like many authors, she spoke through her protagonists. Her commitment to both character and plot was testament to her skill as a writer.

Gretta died suddenly but peacefully in January 2023. She leaves behind four siblings — Mary, Jim, Kath and Hugh — who, in her own words, were her very own diaspora. The space she leaves behind is mischief-shaped, adventurous and caring. Gretta loved a stomp along the coast (but never beaches) and spent time with family in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall. She was acutely perceptive in her understanding of people and never lost her good sense of fun. With her son, Darragh, she was a part of every corner of a large and scattered family.

Gretta — never Margaret ­— was a remarkable person; she shaped so many lives for the good and she will be much missed. To use her own words, spoken by Tyrone Swift, “May you live as long as you want to, and want to as long as you live . . .”

We are THRILLED to announce that Joffe Books has been shortlisted for the Independent Publishers Guild Award for PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year!

Thank you to the IPG committee for the nomination and a massive THANK YOU to all our incredible authors and dedicated readers who helped make this possible.

Words from the judges: ‘Joffe Books had a best-ever year with growth in sales, staff and output. The judges admired its collaboration with authors and its direct to consumer approach, powered by extensive digital marketing, including via TikTok. It acquired more crime titles from Ostara and partnered with other publishers on digital rights. The standards of acquisitions and production at Joffe Books are very high, and the online marketing is exceptionally good.’

Discover the full list of shortlisted publishers on the IPG’s official website and congratulations to all the IPG shortlisted publishers! 

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Publishing Director Kate Lyall Grant has signed World rights in the latest gripping Detective Rachel King thriller by bestselling author Helen H. Durrant.

Kate says: "From the dramatic opening scene in which the body of an elderly woman is found carefully posed on the altar at her local church, her  hands bound with white ribbon, a white rose grasped between her fingers, I was hooked.  With twist after twist, this is one rollercoaster of a read.  Readers will be thrilled by this outstanding new series entry from an author at the top of her game."

Helen says: "I'm thrilled to be working once again with the great team at Joffe Books on the latest Rachel King adventure. After an enforced sabbatical of three months a gruesome murder throws Rachel into the thick of it. But Rachel is doubting her ability to cope. The pressures of the job and of being a one parent family are taking their toll."

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ONE OF BRITAIN’S FAVOURITE CRIME AUTHORS SURPASSES 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD!

 Lincolnshire author Joy Ellis has achieved the incredible milestone of 3 million copies sold. Joy Ellis has been a much-loved, bestselling author on the Joffe Books list since 2016 when Jasper Joffe succeeded in tracking her down via a story in a local Lincolnshire newspaper and persuaded her to sign up with his eponymous publishing company. Since the relaunch of Joy’s backlist with Joffe, her combined works have sold more than 3 million copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Ellis, who has just signed her 30th book with Joffe Books, started out as a florist. After having her manuscripts rejected over 40 times, getting paid 45p in postage stamps by her first publisher, Joy has become not only a multiple #1 bestseller but has now also surpassed the milestone of over 3 million copies sold and over 1 billion pages read on Kindle Unlimited, which is equivalent to another 5 million sales.

Ellis is the author of three #1 bestselling series: Detective Nikki Galena, Matt Ballard and, recently optioned for TV by Richard Armitage, the Jackman and Evans series. The 6th instalment in Ellis’s Jackman and Evans series, The Patient Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Crime & Thriller book of the year in 2021.

Joy Ellis says: “Three million books sold, one billion pages read on Kindle Unlimited… well, I can write a novel, but how to describe in a few words, what this means to me, is almost impossible. It’s quite surreal, and I almost feel like it’s happening to someone else! All I can say is that this could never have happened without my incredible publisher, Joffe Books, so a huge thank you to them for believing in me. Thank you too, to my amazing readers… thank you for believing in Nikki, Jackman, and Matt! I’m overwhelmed by your kindness in taking them into your hearts and onto your bookshelves! Speechless! (For once….!)”

Publisher Jasper Joffe says: “The day I finally managed to track Joy Ellis down was one of the best days of my life as a publisher. She is an outstanding storyteller who with every finely crafted sentence draws the reader further into her fiendish plots. And her characters are rounded and inspire real love and connection— even her villains are complex and human. I couldn’t be prouder that we’ve sold three million of her books and have just signed her thirtieth title, and not only that, I’m lucky enough to call her my friend as well as her publisher.”  

KEY FACTS

·       Joy was shortlisted for British Book Awards Crime & Thriller Of The Year in 2021 alongside Richard Osman, Lee Child and Ian Rankin.

·       Ten UK number one bestsellers on Amazon.

·       Translated into 14 languages including Arabic, Croatian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Swedish and Turkish.

·       Her Jackman & Evans novels are audio bestsellers narrated by acclaimed actor Richard Armitage.

·       Bookseller magazine number one bestselling author.

Joy Ellis Bio

Joy grew up and lived in Kent, trained in floristry in Mayfair and ran her own highly successful floristry business in Weybridge for many years. In the mid-1990s, she followed her lifelong love of books, first as the manager of an independent bookshop in Leatherhead, Surrey, then as a writer. When she retired, Joy and her partner Jacqueline and their two spaniels settled in a village just outside Boston, captivated by the Lincolnshire Fens. Two spaniels have now become seven, and 45p stamps have become 3 million copies!

Joy’s happy home life is far removed from her storylines, however, and while she loves living in the misty Fens, the area provides a remote and eerie backdrop to her novels. Joy is also able to add the authenticity vital to any crime thriller by drawing on Jacqueline’s inside knowledge, to confirm procedures and the reality of tackling brutal crime and criminals in a modern police force.

About Joffe Books

Founded in 2014, Joffe Books is proud of its history of innovative publishing. Thanks to the unflagging passion and dedication brought by everyone in Team Joffe, they have built a reputation for crafting great books for readers, long-term relationships with authors and agents, and fleet-footed marketing. It is now the largest independent publisher of e-books in the UK. Joffe was shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The Joffe Books Prize aims to increase the diversity of voices in crime writing.

For more info, images or review copies contact

office AT joffebooks.com

www.joffebooks.com

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that C.J. Connolly, has been shortlisted in the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award category with her novel, The Love of My Other Life, for the UK based Romantic Novelists’ Association’s (RNA) annual Romantic Novel Awards for 2023. The awards celebrate excellence in romantic fiction in all its forms. 

CJ Connolly is a writer and communications professional based in Vancouver, Canada, and originally from theUK. She is the author of The Love of My Other Life, a contemporary romance novel with a magic realism premise, set in present-day New York City. CJ has a background in  communications and journalism, with two decades of editing, writing, and marketing experience in the Vancouver and London media and tech industries under her other identity, Joannah Connolly. She has also hosted a real estate focused talk radio show and has experience reporting on local TV news and speaking on conference panels. In her free time – in addition to writing novels – she is a passionate singer, and a member of a vocal harmony group in Vancouver.

She commented, 'As a debut author, I never imagined I would be shortlisted for an incredible award such as this one! I couldn't be more thrilled and honoured that The Love of My Other Life was
popular enough among the reader-judges to be placed alongside such great competition. How exciting!’

Jean Fullerton, the RNA Chair, commented, ‘Once again, our lovely reader-judges have had the  almost impossible task of creating award shortlists from what is an unbelievable number of cracking, page-turning novels. Thankfully they have, and I can only say this year’s shortlist books are the crème de la crème of romantic fiction.’

Sharon Ibbotson, the RNA Awards Coordinator, said, ‘Our genre continues to go from strength to strength, providing escapism, delight and delicious romance with the turn of every page. Our
shortlisted books, voted for by real, everyday readers, are a testament to wordmanship and the dedication of their authors, who we congratulate today.’ 

The awards, which have been held since their inception in 1960, are highly respected in the UK publishing industry. Previous winners include Santa Montefiore, Joe Heap, Julie Cohen and Milly 
Johnson. The awards are unique in that they are judged entirely by readers, without input from any industry professionals. 

The winners of the awards will be announced during the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Novel Awards ceremony on Monday 6th March 2023 at 6.30pm.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF C.J. CONNOLLY’S DEBUT NOVEL THE LOVE OF MY OTHER LIFE

Nina Kicul has been promoted to managing editor of Joffe Books as Lahli Trevis, who has freelanced for the publisher, steps into Kicul’s former role of production editor and Jasmine Callaghan joins as project editor.

Kicul, who starts in her new role immediately, joined Joffe Books in 2019 and has, the publisher said, made significant contributions to the company, overseeing, for example, the rebranding of Pauline Rowson’s Detective Andy Horton mysteries in early 2022.

Chief executive Jasper Joffe said: “I am delighted to promote Nina to managing editor at Joffe Books. She was our third employee, starting as publishing assistant in 2019, and through her talent, hard work and amazing energy she has proved herself with every promotion. I am sure she will do an outstanding job.”

Kicul said: “I feel extremely lucky to have been part of Joffe Books from the beginning. It’s been an honour watching the company and team grow and go from strength to strength and being a part of its evolution and success. I’ve worn many hats over my time at Joffe Books but donning the cap of managing editor is a privilege.”

Trevis has moved from the royalties team at HarperCollins to fill the position of production editor, left vacant by Kicul’s promotion, and Callaghan, previously with the Mark Allen Group, rounds out the editorial team as project editor. Callaghan will oversee the rebranding of backlist titles to bring them to a new audience.

Callaghan said: “Words can’t describe how thrilled I am to have joined the dynamic and innovative team here at Joffe Books. It’s such an exciting time to join the company as it expands and brings its impressive list to a wider international audience. I feel privileged to be in a prime position to see Joffe Books go from strength to strength and play a part in its incredible development.”

Trevis added: “Over the last year I’ve enjoyed working with the Joffe editors as a freelancer and getting a glimpse at upcoming titles. Now I’m even more excited to have the opportunity to join the team full-time and get more hands-on with producing books for digital and print.”

Editorial director Emma Grundy Haigh described Kicul as “a huge asset to our team right from the start, demonstrating ambition, innovation and diligence at every turn".

She continued: “She bears that lovely combination of being both exceptionally perceptive and highly organised. This is a very natural move for her. I am also delighted to welcome Jasmine and Lahli to our ever-growing team. They bring great enthusiasm and precision to their respective roles. These three changes collectively mark an exciting turning point of the whole of Joffe Books.” 

We are delighted to announce that Joffe Books have signed the latest Hillary Greene novel by bestselling author Faith Martin.

Author Faith Martin says: 'I'm so happy and thrilled that Joffe Books are delighted with my latest Hillary Greene novel, and have agreed to publish it this spring. Although I have written a number of series now, readers continually ask me if there are any more Hillary Greene investigations in the offing, so I hope they'll all be glad to know that Hillary is indeed still going strong and solving cold cases! Joffe Books have done so much to bring Hillary to the reading public's attention, and I can't thank them enough for their continuing championing of her by bringing her stories to my readers in both ebook and paperback form. I hope this latest novel will be of particular interest to everyone, as this one really is all about Hillary! No spoilers though!'

Publishing Director Kate Lyall Grant says: “We are thrilled to have signed up the intriguing new Hillary Greene mystery from bestselling author Faith Martin. In this, the 20th entry in this much-loved series, dark secrets are unearthed in a pretty Oxfordshire village when retired Detective Hillary Greene and her cold case team investigate the murder of a country vicar thirty years before. With its idyllic rural setting, cast of credible suspects and a thoroughly likeable detective heroine at its core, Cold Case Murder kept me gripped and guessing right to the end.”

Joffe Books Publisher CEO Jasper Joffe says: A new Faith Martin is something to celebrate. I'm so proud to publish a new book by one of Britain's favourite crime writers.

The latest in the DI Hillary Greene series by Faith Martin will be released spring 2023.

Read THE BOOKSELLER article here

We are thrilled to announce the shortlist for the Joffe Books Prize for Crime Writers of Colour 2022!

The second Joffe Books Prize received a flood of fantastic entrants. Completely anonymised for judging, the pool of scripts covered the gamut of gritty police procedurals to wrenching domestic suspense, evocative historical mysteries to page-turning cosies.

Out of the longlist of twenty, five really stood out, forming our official shortlist:

FQ Yeoh, The Labelled Bones
Kingsley Pearson, Everyone Is Going To Know
Mai Le Dinh, The Smiling Mandarin
Rose Lorimer, Red Obsession
Sam Genever, Savage Territory

The winner will be announced in January 2023, so watch this space!

PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF THESE BESTSELLERS NOW!

Graves on the Fens by Joy Ellis: CLICK HERE
Little Sister by Patricia Macdonald: CLICK HERE

We are overjoyed to launch our brand-new Ostara Classics list with four critically acclaimed crime mysteries by V.C. Clinton-Baddeley.

In the words of Joffe Books publisher, Jasper Joffe:

‘I'm delighted to introduce a new series of classic crime mysteries, which heralds the launch of our brand-new Ostara Classics list. V.C. Clinton-Baddeley’s charming series featuring mild-mannered, opera-loving Cambridge academic Dr Davie will appeal to anyone who loves a traditional, character-led mystery with a beautiful setting.

Originally published in the 1960s, these critically-acclaimed cozy mysteries are little gems — and great value for money. We are excited to be introducing a whole new generation of readers to the books, or if you have read them before, we are happy to reintroduce old friends. Enjoy!’

CLICK HERE TO GET THE CAMBRIDGE CLASSIC MURDER MYSTERIES BY V.C. CLINTON-BADDELEY

PRAISE FOR V.C. CLINTON-BADDELEY'S CAMBRIDGE CLASSIC MURDER MYSTERIES:

‘The most likeable of elderly don-detectives.’ Observer

‘The pleasure lies in the literacy and intelligence of the narrative and of the dialogue.’ Tablet

‘Mr Clinton-Baddeley’s first thriller is as likeable as his old-fashioned amateur detective.’ Times Literary Supplement

‘For intelligence, humour, observation and unforced charm, Mr Clinton-Baddeley is splendid value.’ Sunday Times

‘Those whose tastes rise above beatings-up and nudes, please note. Oh! yes: and it's a very good detective story too.’ Guardian