US rights to Jasper Kent’s vampire novels purchased by Pyr
Helen Edwards, Rights Director at Transworld UK, has sold US rights for the first two historical vampire novels by UK novelist Jasper Kent.
World rights in the novels, which open with Jasper’s debut Twelve (the second-highest-selling trade paperback debut novel right across UK publishing in 2009), were acquired by Simon Taylor from John Jarrold in 2008. The sequel, Thirteen Years Later, will appear in the UK in March 2010.
"I’m thrilled to be welcoming Jasper Kent into the Pyr fold," said editorial director Lou Anders. ‘Twelve is a magnificent blend of a historical novel and a dark fantasy novel that could appeal equally to readers both in and out of genre. Jasper is a skilled storyteller, whose compelling prose had me hooked from his opening chapter. The book is "un-put-downable. I love that he has brought back a real sense of threat and danger to the classic monsters, something that has been lacking with too many vampires lately. I cannot wait to spring this on US readers."
"Jasper and I are delighted with this deal, and looking forward to working with Lou and his colleagues. Pyr is a terrific company, who publish many of my favourite authors, and Lou’s enthusiasm has to be seen to be believed!" John Jarrold.
Fantasy Book Review said of Twelve:
"Jasper Kent shows admirable restraint when it comes to the gruesome; there are moments in the book that genuinely make you squirm uncomfortably but it is the scarcity that makes them so effective. If an author dishes out the gore from page one then the reader becomes desensitised and the horrific becomes mundane. The author has an obvious passion for the subjects within his story and he has created an effortless and enjoyable read. The average reader will not possess a wide knowledge of Russian history and Twelve will lead to them carrying out further research on this most fascinating of countries. I personally would have liked for there to have been more tension and for the book to have ended rather differently but there can no denying that Twelve is a great read and a breath of fresh air to more than one genre. Twelve is an educational, entertaining and dark historical fantasy novel."
Read the full review
Jasper Kent has spent almost twenty years working as a software consultant both in the UK and Europe, whilst working on both fiction and music. He has co written several musicals, including The Promised Land, written and performed to mark the 3000th anniversary of the foundation of Jerusalem and Remember! Remember!, the story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.
Posted: October 30th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Jasper Kent, John Jarrold
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