New Year, Same M.E.
Get to know the Mushens Entertainment team better as they chat their favourite books of 2023, career highlights, what they’re looking forward to in the year ahead, and what is top of their submission wishlists!
What was your highlight of 2023?
JM: Going to Harrogate as my first work jaunt after having my baby! So lovely to see so many of my authors and see Claire Douglas on a panel, Kate Gray launch The Honeymoon and Richard Osman being awarded a Nielsen award for selling 1M copies.
AAP: Definitely starting at Mushens and having the opportunity to work with Liza before she went on Maternity Leave.
RN: I did my biggest deal to date this year, my first film deal and had the opportunity to work more closely with Alba and Catriona when that book went on to sell in 10 countries for international rights – it’s really exciting to know that it will be translated into so many languages!
CF: My first trip to Frankfurt!
ED: Starting at Mushens Entertainment and being so thoroughly welcomed into the team.
KE: I loved being able to start building my own list! Signing my very first client was such a highlight.
What are you looking forward to in 2024?
KE: I’m very excited to be working with some very talented authors in 2024.
JM: I have a ton of new releases coming up which will all be exciting - a blend of debuts and fresh novels from existing authors.
AAP: This will sound very weird to anyone that has gone to one but the London Book Fair. I love fairs and I can’t wait for the next one!
CF: In 2024 I’m looking forward to more book fair madness and securing new foreign rights deals for the agency. We’ve had lots of exciting signings recently and I can’t wait to see how those manifest in our international submissions.
RN: What I’m most excited about is seeing the first books I signed for my list finally publish! With most books being signed by publishers two years in advance of publication it’s been a long wait, so I’m excited to see them hit the shelves! I’m also judging two competitions for debut novelists, which I’m really looking forward to!
ED: I’m most looking forward to the book launches of the many wonderful ME books in 2024, though my colleagues may have to deter me from dressing up in the correct historical period for some of the historical fiction launches!
What’s on your current wishlist?
JM: What’s on your current wishlist? Hooky and smart upmarket thriller.
RN: A brilliant twisty thriller is top of my list; I would love to find great commercial writing paired with an unusual concept!
What has been your career highlight so far?
JM: Impossible to pick one! I will never forget selling my first novel at auction (Natural Causes by James Oswald), my first number 1 bestseller (The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton) or representing the fastest selling debut in U.K. history (The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman).
AAP: I did my biggest deal this year, which was an absolute delight.
RN: Joining Mushens Ent! And signing my first major deal this year was incredibly exciting too!
CF: Joining ME too!
ED: Getting to work with Juliet at ME!
What was your favourite book of 2023?
JM: I loved Pineapple Street - pure unadulterated fun.
AAP: I’ve read some amazing books this year but if I had to pick one it would be The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez. Jimenez is in complete control in this novel – his writing is so assured and his vision is so clear. What he does with the form and his prose is a sight to behold, like I get giddy thinking about this book. I also love that it has some scenes that could belong in a horror novel – I love when authors mixed genres. One outcast and one soldier full of regrets rescue a god – a story told in five days that felt like a full realised world with complete history and future (!).
ED: My favourite book that I read this year is Mother Ship by Francesca Segal, a memoir that led me to read her two wonderful novels immediately afterwards. Mother Ship is a beautiful memoir about having very premature twins and the strange existence of practically living in a neonatal intensive care unit that Francesca and her husband experienced. If you’re looking for stories about the incredible power of female friendship and about women who are as tough as nails while also vulnerable, this is one for you.
RN: I read Fourth Wing over Christmas (and then immediately ordered and devoured Iron Flame having accidentally seen a spoiler online when ordering it… that ending!!!) – and I’m obsessed! I really enjoyed immersing myself in that world – it was pure, escapist fun, especially as it is so different from what I usually work on. Next on my list is Babel, which I’m really enjoying so far.
CF: In 2023 I read a lot of memoirs, including Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and of course, Britney Spears’ The Woman in Me. I loved all of them, but Crying in H Mart was special. I enjoy reading anything about food and the way Zauner writes about her complex relationship with her mother was so moving. In terms of fiction, hands down my favourite read of the year was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – a bestseller for a reason!
KE: I loved Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll – a great recommendation from Juliet! I also loved Mrs S by K Patrick, which I read over the Christmas break.
Do you have any new years’ resolutions?
JM: Never!
AAP: It feels like the past few months have been personally hectic so I would love to get back into cooking!
ED: No, I refuse to make them anymore! But I do have a broader aim of getting a cat or a dog in the next few years, so maybe 2024 will be the one where my dreams come true? We’ll see!
CF: This year I’m making a vow to read more widely. I enjoy reading lots of genres but find that I naturally gravitate towards similar books (literary/upmarket with a speculative twist) and this doesn’t always challenge me as a reader. In 2024 I want to read more SFF, more chunky books and more bestsellers!
What’s top of your TBR?
JM: My next book club read is Hamnet so I need to get cracking before the meeting.
AAP: I’m going to read the whole series of Heaven Official’s Blessing by MXTX over Christmas (I can’t wait, I love everything she writes) and the Poison Wars duology by Sam Hawke (I’ve read City of Lies a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it so time for a re-read and to finish the series).
ED: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith, as I feel like reading about divorce during this happy festive season!
CF: Top of my TBR is Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman and Bunny by Mona Awad. I’ve heard great things about both!
RN: I’ve just started Babel and am really enjoying so far!
KE: I can’t wait to dive into Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - I’m excited to be completely immersed in another world! And I’m very much looking forward to reading Greta and Valdin when it comes out in February.