INDUSTRY NEWS
Jenny Colgan's novel Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe, has won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance at an award ceremony in London. The synopsis says: "Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that - Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe's bakery, she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. So when she's made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment and open up her own cafe. It should be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. As her friends point out, she has trouble remembering where she left her house keys, let alone trying to run her own business. But Issy is determined. Armed with recipes posted to her from Grampa, and with her local bank manager fighting her corner, Issy attempts to prove everyone wrong. Following your dreams is never easy and this is no exception. Can Issy do it?" The sequel, Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe, is due to be released in October. The award honours best-selling chick lit author Melissa Nathan, who died of cancer in 2006.
The shortlist for the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance for 2012 has been announced. They are: Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan; Girl on the Run by Jane Costello; An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson; Please Don't Stop the Music by Jane Lovering; You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning and Summer Loving by Allie Spencer. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on June 12. The award honours best-selling chick lit author Melissa Nathan, who died of cancer in 2006.
Helen Simonson's debut novel Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, has won the 2011 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance at an award ceremony in London. The synopsis says: "In the small village of Edgecombe St Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired). The Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honour, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?" Simonson was brought up in England but now lives in the US. The award honours best-selling chick lit author Melissa Nathan, who died of cancer in 2006.
Chrissie Manby, Katie Fforde, Lucy Diamond and Jane Fallon have all made the shortlist for the 2011 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance. The six nominated books are: Foursome by Jane Fallon; Getting Over Mr Right by Chrissie Manby; Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson; Obstacles to Young Love by David Nobbs; A Perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde and Sweet Temptation by Lucy Diamond. Fforde was also nominated last year. The award, which honours best-selling chick lit author Melissa Nathan, who died of cancer in 2006, will be presented at a ceremony in London on June 21.
Moonlight in Odessa, the debut novel from Janet Skeslien Charles, has won the 2010 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance at an award ceremony in London. The award was judged by comedian Jo Brand, authors Sophie Kinsella and Joanna Trollope, actress and TV presenter Liza Tarbuck and actress Morwenna Banks. Moonlight in Odessa, a story about Eastern European e-mail order brides, was inspired by Skeslien Charles' two years as a Soros Fellow in Odessa, Ukraine. Daria becomes a secretary at a foreign firm but her new boss, David Harmon, believes sleeping with him is part of the job description. So Daria evades his advances by recruiting her neighbour, Olga, to be his mistress. But soon Olga sets her sights on Daria's job. Fearing she may lose her job, Daria begins to moonlight as an interpreter at Soviet Unions, an internet matchmaking agency for American men to meet Ukrainian women. Her grandmother pushes Daria to marry one of the foreigners, but Daria already has feelings for a local mobster. Skeslien Charles is an American currently living in Paris. Here's our recent interview with her.
The shortlist for the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance for 2010 has been announced. They are: I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk; Wedding Tiers by Trisha Ashley; Tug of Love by Allie Spencer; Love Letters by Katie Fforde; Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles; and Blue Collar by Danny King. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on June 15. The award honours best-selling chick lit author Melissa Nathan, who died of cancer in 2006. The judging panel includes Jo Brand, Joanna Trollope and Sophie Kinsella.
