My name is Joe Yule and I’m the Publicity Assistant for Michael Joseph, Penguin Books. Michael Joseph is the commercial division of Penguin; we publish quality crime, historical and women’s fiction, celebrity non-fiction and have an unrivalled cookery list. We also have a brand new SF/Fantasy imprint called Berkley UK.

First thing to say is…I am the only boy in a team of girls. I initially thought that having such privileged access to a female only environment would be very advantageous but, as it turns out, it has only given me crippling insecurities about my inadequacies as a man. The main part of my role is to support the publicity director and the rest of the publicity team. I’m the first point of call for all enquiries from journalists, authors, book stores etc. I love that my job involves a lot of interaction on a daily basis but I think you have to be quite a confident person to be able to communicate with all these different types of people effectively – sometimes journalists can be rather abrupt on the phone!

So in amongst all the fun, there are some quite demanding administrative aspects and I have to make sure I am super organised in order to stay one step ahead. Even so, I can often be seen sprinting up the corridors of Penguin HQ trying desperately to avert some kind of crisis!

I’m also responsible for planning all of our big author events/book launches. This is definitely the bit of my job I enjoy the most as it means I get to swan around looking at nice venues, tasting canapés whilst pretending that I’m actually ‘working’.

However, as well as supporting my team and ‘working’ on organising book launches, I also look after publicity campaigns for my own titles. For example, I currently look after the PR for Berkley UK – and I suppose it is in this capacity that I’m posting today. As I mentioned at the top, Berkley UK is Penguin’s brand new SF/Fantasy imprint committed to publishing the highest quality commercial SFF fiction. As a publishing brand, I suppose Penguin is a pretty well known bird but Berkley UK is still very much in its fledging stage of development. Nevertheless, we have been welcomed with open arms by the community so thank you to BBC and everybody else that has supported us so far! We already have some fabulous US authors on our list and our editor will soon be looking to acquire some UK based authors which we are obviously hugely excited about! If there are any budding authors reading this with ideas for a fantastic new fantasy series – get your pencil sharpened!

Some titles to get excited about:

At the end of April we are publishing The Pack by Jason Starr, the first instalment in a gripping new trilogy. Jason is an award winning crime writer in the US and there are already talks of the book being optioned for a film by 20th Century Fox so you can imagine how excited we are!

Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid. This debut novel isn’t actually on the Berkley UK list but definitely worth mentioning. We read it for our team book club not long after the manuscript was delivered and I literally sat and finished it in one sitting. It’s a really powerful novel about the domestic horrors that can unfold within a small community – and one girl’s quest to stand up for the truth. It’s one of those books you will simply have to talk about and pass on to your friends.

Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook. Following The Iron Duke, this is the second title in Berkley UK’s Iron Seas steampunk series which sees the exotic and dangerous captain Yasmeen on a treasure hunt across Morocco. I know a lot of people of looking forward to this one! It’s published on 7th June so not too long to wait!

Grave Memory by Kalayna Price. Alex Craft, the tough, feisty heroine in this kick ass new urban fantasy series is proving to be really popular amongst our readers. If you haven’t read the first two instalments, Grave Witch and Grave Dance, get going so you’re ready and waiting for this one when it is published in July!

The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore. The third instalment in the hugely popular Lorien Legacies series, following I Am Number Four and The Power of Six.

A title that I am personally looking forward to reading is Joan Frances Turner’s Frail, the follow up to the amazing Dust, which is to be published in September. More fast paced, post-apocalyptic zombie action – what more could you need!? I think the cover of this book is just incredible. Seriously, how cool does it look!

I’d be more than happy to give away copies of the titles mentioned below so do let BCC know and I’m sure we can find a fair, non-violent way to coordinate! Then I’d love to hear any thoughts/feedback you may have – you can reach me on twitter @Joe_Christmas

Please also like and share our Berkley UK Facebook Page

GIVEAWAY

Berkley UK are kindly giving away the following books!

DUST by Joan Frances Turner, THE POWER OF SIX by Pittacus Lore, BLACK HEART BLUE by Louisa Reid

This giveaway is UK ONLYand ends 31st May 2012

To enter please follow Rafflecopter instructions below

GOOD LUCK!

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BERKLEY UK ONLINE
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Look out for a review of THE PACK later today!