As we celebrate our 100th digest, we would like to take a moment to honour our beloved author Roy Lewis, creator of the Arnold Landon and Inspector Crow mystery series, who recently reached the impressive benchmark of over half a million books sold!
To commemorate this extraordinary achievement, we were delighted to receive a testimonial to Roy from his son, John.
Roy was born in Ton Pentre, Rhondda, South Wales on 17/1/1933. He died on 18/8/2019.
He probably started writing as a teenager, but I have no record to support this, apart from an old photo of him at a typewriter about 1950 (picture on the right).
In the late 1950s he contributed a number of short stories to an Australian publication, Man Magazine (and possibly also Adam). Suffice it to say that these publications mostly consisted of photos of young women in bathing suits with some articles and stories thrown in!
Roy Lewis pictured in the 1950s.
He was first published by Collins in 1969, I think, and stayed with them in their Crime Club series for many years. He took inspiration for his books from what he saw around him, from his early years in the Rhondda, through his years as a Further Education college lecturer, college inspector, and the places where he lived — Wales, the North-East, Spain and France. He also travelled widely in the Far East, which features in his writing as well. Archaeology was of particular interest to him, as was mediaeval history (e.g. the Knights Templar), which is reflected in the Arnold Landon series of books.
Joffe Books Publisher CEO Jasper Joffe on Roy Lewis:
“For a long time I wanted to publish Roy Lewis’s excellent crime novels. We used to speak occasionally on the phone and I always really enjoyed the charming lilt of his voice and his warmth.
I am very proud to publish his books and that we have sold over half a million of them, reaching a whole new generation of crime lovers. There’s a little sadness that he’s not alive to see the new-found success of his titles, but his books live on for his many loyal readers and I am so happy that we are his publisher.”
Picture above: Roy Lewis looking out over The Rhondda from the mountain behind his parents former house in 2000.
Detective Rob Miller is back for the sixth and seventh instalments!
Joffe Books Editorial Director Emma Grundy Haigh has signed two more books in Biba Pearce's bestselling Detective Rob Miller series.
Biba says:
"I'm delighted that Joffe Books have signed for the sixth and seventh books in the DCI Rob Miller series. Once again, Rob and his team are on the trail of a very clever serial killer, and the twists and turns will keep you guessing right up until the very end. A huge thanks to Team Joffe for all they do, and for helping to make the books such a success."
Emma says:
"Tense, dark and utterly thrilling, Biba Pearce's Detective Rob Miller has won legions of fans and I am proud to count myself among them! This gripping London-set series just keeps going from strength to strength, thanks to Biba's characteristic blend of heart-racing action and propulsive plotting. I can't wait for readers to see what Biba puts Rob Miller and his team through next!"
Book 6 will be released in e-book and paperback in spring 2023.
Have you met Rob Miller yet? Get acquainted with the series here:
Detective Rob Miller series on Amazon.
AUTHOR ANNOUNCEMENT: Joffe Books Associate Commissioning Editor Steph Carey has signed a new dark and twisty psychological thriller by Lizzie Fry.
Lizzie Fry is a debut author of high-concept thriller The Coven (published by Sphere books), but you might know her better as L.V. Hay.
L.V.’s previous books, The Other Twin, Do No Harm and Never Have I Ever were published by Orenda and Hodder. The Other Twin is currently being adapted for the screen by Agatha Raisin producers Free@Last TV.
Lizzie says:
"I am delighted to be publishing with Joffe Books. I’m a super-fan of their forward-thinking digital strategy and it’s thrilling to be working with them on Over My Dead Body. I don’t think I could be in better hands!"
Steph says:
"As soon as I started reading Over My Dead Body I knew I had to finish it — it's completely unputdownable and absolutely chilling! Lizzie is a fantastic writer and I'm so pleased to have her on the list. I can't wait to get to work on this fantastically gripping book!"
Over My Dead Body will be released in eBook and paperback in early 2023.
Jasper Joffe, CEO of leading independent publisher Joffe Books, has acquired Ostara Publishing from previous owner Andrew Cocks for an undisclosed sum.
Joffe Books will be taking over the Ostara list of approximately 120 titles. They will publish new editions in late 2022 and 2023, with Joffe’s laser-like focus on marketing and design relaunching the books to a whole new gamut of readers.
Award-winning crime writer and former Ostara consultant editor Mike Ripley has been approached to write new introductions to the Ostara Classics.
Kate Lyall Grant, Joffe Books Publishing Director: “Ostara has a well-deserved reputation for the superlative quality of its crime list, and with Joffe Books’ commercial success and expertise in the digital market, we think this is the perfect fit to reach a widespread new readership for these fantastic books. We will be staying true to the spirit of Ostara, and keeping the Ostara name, branding the books as ‘Joffe Books presents Ostara Classics.”
Andrew Cocks: ‘Regrettably I am no longer in a position to publish new books and give my existing titles the attention they deserve in an fast-developing publishing environment. I am delighted to have found in Joffe Books a kindred spirit to take over the Ostara list of authors and truly believe that Joffe will give the Ostara authors the opportunity to reach new readers and prosper. It has been a privilege to have been involved with all these books and I could not have wished for a better home for them.’
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. These authors’ books now regularly feature in the Top 100 UK Kindle chart. The overall sales of ex-Hale titles have increased over tenfold since the acquisition.
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, 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 2021, 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, and 2022. The Joffe Books Prize aims to increase the diversity of voices in crime writing.
For more info contact Ostara@joffebooks.com
There’s no end in sight for award success this year as Joffe Books bags another nomination for 2022. Joffe Books has been shortlisted for the Diversity and Inclusivity Award at the Independent Publishers Awards 2022!
The award recognises efforts to make publishing a more diverse and inclusive industry. Despite the continuing challenges of the pandemic, 2021 was a landmark year for Joffe Books in this regard. We launched the Joffe Books Prize for Crime Writers of Colour, which was developed to promote systemic change and to build sustainable careers for underrepresented writers.
On top of that we also quantifiably expanded freelancer diversity through active outreach (The Literary Consultancy, social media, LinkedIn). Seven out of ten new freelancers regularly receiving work in 2021 (at least one project every six weeks) self-identify as people of colour, working class, immigrant or LGBTQ+. We also increased access by advertising every in-house post on Creative Access and BAME in Publishing.
It means more than words can express to be honoured this way and that our efforts to promote lasting change within the industry are being acknowledged.
Thank you to IPG!
Joffe Books has been shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year for the third year running at The British Book Awards 2022.
This has been a record-breaking year for Joffe: we doubled our staff numbers, hugely increased our revenue and became the sixth-biggest e-Book seller in the UK.
Last year Joffe Books also launched its very first prize for crime writers of colour, which was awarded to Christie J. Newport, alongside a two-book deal.
The past year has truly been remarkable and all of us at Joffe Books want to thank our amazing authors and readers for this honour.
The winners of this year’s British Book Awards will be announced on Monday 23 May 2022.
Third time a charm?
Since 2019 we have waited, the anticipation rising exponentially with every little snippet revealed over the past three and a half years. Now, the wait is finally over. Adapted from Taylor Adams’s bestselling thriller, the No Exit film has finally arrived!
Directed by Damien Power and starring Havana Rose Liu and Dennis Haysbert, the film is now available to watch on Hulu and Disney +.
Although there won’t be a glamourous Hollywood style screening party, we will be celebrating No Exit appearing on the big screen with the usual: tea and doughnuts.
Congratulations to Taylor Adams! One of our first bestseller and our first on the silver screen!
Get your copy of No Exit here.
Since starting at Joffe Books in November 2021 Kate has acquired some brilliant new talent to join an already exceptional pool of authors.
Among them are a new police procedural series by Bafta-nominated screenwriter and author Mark Mills; the first three "hard-hitting thrillers" from a serving police superintendent writing as Adam Lyndon (pictured in the middle); and a heartbreaking debut from radio-host-turned-author C.J. Connolly (pictured right).
The trio is turned into a quartet with the acquisition of a “darkly twisting" thriller by Stephen Williams (pictured left).
I think it’s safe to say this year has started with a bang and an array of fireworks indeed!
Read more about the upcoming novels in the Bookseller.
We at Joffe Books love many things: doughnuts, tea, office dogs, doughnuts, doughnut-shaped coasters . . . oh, and did we mention doughnuts?
But above all else (even doughnuts) we love crime fiction! That is why we are absolutely thrilled to announce Joffe Books will be joined by crime-writing star Pauline Rowson!
Pauline Rowson is the author of twenty-three crime novels — fifteen featuring the rugged and flawed Portsmouth detective, Inspector Andy Horton. It is this very Andy who will join the likes of Rachel King, Jackman and Evans and other beloved Joffe detectives.
The series makes its debut on the Joffe programme in February 2022, so make sure to subscribe to the mailing list so you won’t miss out on the introduction party for Andy!
The results are in and we’re absolutely delighted to announce the winner of the first-ever Joffe Books Prize for crime writers of colour: Christie J. Newport!
Although competition was fierce, the decision, made by literary agent Susan Yearwood, bestselling author Dorothy Koomson, Joffe Books editorial director Emma Grundy Haigh and publisher Jasper Joffe, was unanimous.
From the judges: “Christie has written an enormously promising, immediately immersive police procedural with a fantastically hooky opening scene followed by twist after twist. Detective Beth Fellows is the refreshing female lead, whose identity as a gay, mixed-race officer struggling to separate her professional and personal lives is wholly identifiable. This novel has excellent series potential, and we can see readers eagerly devouring the pages.”
From Christie J. Newport: “Receiving the phone call to tell me I had won was unbelievable. It was akin to winning the lottery. Dorothy Koomson is an inspiration, her enjoying my writing is incredible.”
Please join us in congratulating Christie for winning a two-book publishing deal with Joffe Books. Christie’s first book is set to be released in autumn 2022. Keep an eye out for this dazzling debut!
We are thrilled to announce the shortlist for the Joffe Books Prize for Crime Writers of Colour! The inaugural Joffe Books Prize was enthusiastically received resulting in a brilliantly diverse list of entries. Completely anonymised for judging, the pool of scripts covered the gamut of gritty police procedurals to wrenching domestic suspense, forensic thrillers to island-hopping private eyes. The one thing they all had in common was their enormous potential.
From an eventual longlist of ten, four swiftly leaped out as the front runners that formed the official shortlist:
Gautam Das, Unholy Liberties
Christie J. Newport, Branded
Mahalia Smith, Unpleasant Creatures
Mithran Somasundrum, Bangkok Phantom
Come back Friday 3 December to find out who the judges unanimously awarded the Joffe Books Prize 2021.
Christmas came early for Joffe Books this year, with Joy Ellis stealing the top spot in the charts last week with the latest addition to the bestselling Jackman and Evans series!
The Night Thief, a gripping thriller, sees Jackman and Evans hunting an unusual perpetrator, who only steals pictures of little children. That is until stealing isn’t enough anymore . . .
Not only has book eight in the Jackman and Evans series (or what we’re all calling the juggernaut of crime thrillers) dominated the charts, but book seven, The Patient Man, was also shortlisted in this year’s British Book Awards. If that doesn’t deserve a round of applause, I don’t know what will!
It’s been a big year of growth here at Joffe Books and on top of new hires we are delighted to announce two new promotions!
Since joining Joffe Books in 2019 Emma Grundy-Haigh has been the backbone of the editorial team and she will continue to lead the team as Editorial Director this November.
As Editorial Director, she will play an expanded role in strategic planning and continue to commission commercial genre fiction, alongside new Publishing Director Kate Lyall Grant and CEO Jasper Joffe.
Emma says: “Joffe Books is a such a dynamic place to work and I have loved being part of this brilliant, tight-knit team. During my time here, I have been given tremendous scope to pursue initiatives and expand our reach, especially through material actions such as the Joffe Books Prize.”
Steph Carey, who joined as a Project Editor last year, will join Emma in the pursuit of finding talent, in her new role as Associate Commissioning Editor. Steph says: “I’ve loved my time so far at Joffe Books and I’m thrilled to be promoted to Associate Commissioning Editor. I can’t wait to dive further into our submissions inbox to find more authors to join Joffe Books’s already stellar roster.”
Join us in congratulating Emma and Steph in their new roles!
An audiobook edition of The Guilty Man by bestselling author Helen H. Durrant has won the Earphones Award for Suspense and Mystery!
The Guilty Man is book 1 in Lennox and Wilde Thrillers series. The detectives investigate a connection between two cases while battling with issues in their personal lives. Can the partners solve a case with Lennox hiding his past from Wilde?
The award is given by AudioFile to truly exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterizations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text. The book is narrated by John Voce.
If there’s a better way to sail into a new week than this, please let us know! We’re all ears (on Helen’s book that is).
Click on the images below to listen to The Guilty Man on Audible!
In the eight edition of Amazon’s What’s On My Bookshelf, bestselling Joffe author Joy Ellis talks about the books that inhabit the many shelves in her home.
She is joined by fellow authors to share their favourite reads and hidden gems. Spoiler alert: it’s not all Agatha Christie that is found amongst Joy’s thirteen bookcases!
Find out what Joy reads when she’s not writing here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=27012022031
The People’s Book Prize voting has begun and we’re delighted to see so many Joffe Books authors represented in this year’s nominations.
Not one, but three Joffe Books authors are in this year’s collection looking to snatch that award. Last year’s winner, Victoria Dowd, is in the running this year with the second novel in The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder series, Body on the Island.
Joining Victoria are debut novelists Kerry Buchanan with Knife Edge and Lyn Yeowart with The Silent Listener.
Grab your copies of these amazing novels today and vote for your favourite here!
Body on the Island by Victoria Dowd: https://geni.us/bodyislandfbt
Knife Edge by Kerry Buchanan: https://geni.us/knifeedgefbt
The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart: https://geni.us/silentlistenerfbt
Severn House publisher Kate Lyall Grant is joining Joffe Books as publishing director in November.
Following a decade at Severn House, Kate is joining Team Joffe at an exciting time of evolution and growth.
Welcome to the team of tea and doughnuts, Kate!
Read about Kate’s transition to Joffe Books in the Bookseller.
Murder Now and Then by two-million-selling author Faith Martin has launched with a bang and gone straight to number five in the Bookseller’s Bookstat E-Book top 10 chart!
Hillary Greene, together with her cold-case team, investigates an unsolved murder from over a decade ago when two recent murders spike her interest. Has the same killer struck again? It’s up to Hillary to catch the murderer both now and then.
Thank you so much to everyone at the Bookseller and our wonderful readers who love Hillary Greene and Faith Martin as much as we do! Congratulations to Faith on yet another fantastic novel!
If you've yet to get your hands on Murder Now and Then, grab your copy today: https://geni.us/nowandthenfbt
We’re delighted to share the news that Marshlight by bestselling author Joy Ellis has reached #1 in the Bookseller’s Bookstat eBook top 10 chart!
‘Joy Ellis’s Marshlight (Joffe) illuminated the Bookstat number one spot for the week ending 10th July, with the fourth Detective Matt Ballard title debuting at the top.’
Thank you so much to everyone at the Bookseller for the great write-up. We're so proud of our brilliant Joy – congratulations from us all!
If you've yet to get your hands on Marshlight, grab your copy today for only 99p / 99c: https://geni.us/marshlightfbt
