LYNDA LA PLANTE
and Bonnier Books UK to celebrate 30th anniversary of Prime Suspect with spectacular year of activity in 2021
After a sensational year in 2020, with four Sunday Times bestsellers and the launch of a brand-new, contemporary series, Lynda La Plante and Bonnier Books UK have even bigger plans for 2021.
2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the first airing of Prime Suspect, created by Lynda La Plante and starring Helen Mirren as the tenacious DCI Jane Tennison. The BAFTA award-winning show went on to become an iconic hit – famous for its use of forensic science and DNA testing at a time when the technique was in its infancy, as well as for its groundbreaking portrayals of a lead female character overcoming sexism and adversity in the workplace to succeed.
The anniversary will be celebrated with a number of promotions including a repackage for the TENNISON series with retailer promotions across the backlist and a new author website launching in March. Alongside, there will be major publicity campaigns to support Judas Horse (April) and Unholy Murder (August), and La Plante will make a number of major events appearances throughout the year to celebrate the anniversary.
The anniversary is also being celebrated with a second series of Lynda La Plante’s true-crime podcast series, Listening to the Dead. Co-hosted by CSI Cass Sutherland, the show features interviews with specialists in the field of criminal science.
The first series, which focussed on forensic science was an Apple Podcast bestseller. The new series, launching on 24thFebruary 2021, will look at how investigators approach different causes of death – from blunt force to poisoning – with a focus on the methods used in the Prime Suspect and Tennison series. Lynda La Plante and Cass Sutherland will be guests at CrimeCon UK in 2021, with a panel discussing the show. The podcast is a contributing factor to the incredible success Lynda La Plante enjoys in audiobook format, with sales of Buried in 2020 55% higher than her previous audio bestseller, Widows, in 2018.
La Plante will also be continuing her Detective Jack Warr series with a new book, Judas Horse, publishing on 1stApril 2021. The first in the series, Buried, waspublished at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020, but despite this became a bestselling sensation, reaching #2 in the Sunday Times bestseller charts in both hardback and paperback, and going on to sell over 100,000 units in the UK and 130,000 units worldwide, making it La Plante’s biggest seller since Bloodline in 2011.
Lynda La Plante said “I am thrilled with all the activity taking place this year, re-packaging, online festivals, my podcast and the new Tennison, Unholy Murder, and Jack Warr novel, Judas Horse. I am also so grateful to the publishers, retailers and especially the readers, who have encouraged and supported me over the years. I’m looking forward to being able to meet and thank them all in person, hopefully in the not too distant future.”
Kate Parkin, MD of adult trade publishing at Bonnier Books UK, said: “After an astonishing year in 2020, 2021 promises to be even more exciting for the undisputed Queen of Crime Drama! Lynda is an absolute phenomenon and we are very proud to be publishing her work and increasing her readership across so many different platforms.”
About Lynda La Plante
#1 Sunday Times Bestselling author
Over 30 internationally bestselling novels
Over 170 hours of international television scripted
One of the best-loved authors in the world and 6thmost popular in the UK
Recipient of four BAFTA awards
CBE since 2008 for services to Literature, Drama and Charity
1 of only 3 screenwriters to have been made an honorary fellow at the British Film Institute
The first lay person to be awarded with an honorary fellowship by The Forensic Science Society
Biography
Lynda La Plante was born in Liverpool. She trained for the stage at RADA and worked with the National theatre and RDC before becoming a television actress. She then turned to writing– and made her breakthrough with the phenomenally successful TV series Widows. Her novels have all been international bestsellers.
Her original script for the much-acclaimed Prime Suspect won awards from BAFTA, Emmy, British Broadcasting and Royal Television Society, as well as the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award. Lynda has written and produced over 170 hours of international television.
Lynda is one of only three screenwriters to have been made an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and was awarded the BAFTA Dennis Potter Best Writer Award in 2000. In 2008, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to Literature, Drama and Charity.
If you would like to hear from Lynda, please sign up at here or you can visit Lynda’s website for further information. You can also follow Lynda on Facebook and Twitter
Lynda’s latest Young Tennison novel Blunt Force is out now, Hardback, eBook and Audio, Zaffre, £18.99 and will be out in paperback 8thMarch 2021
The brand new DC Jack Warr novel Judas Horse will publish in April 2021, Hardback, eBook and Audio, Zaffre, £14.99.
The forensics podcast Listening to the Dead is available via all good audio platforms. Season 2 will feature episodes on; blunt force homicide, poisoning, gun shot wounds, terrorism & mass disaster, strangulation & cause unknown. Find out more here
