Bryony Rheam's short story collection to be published in July 2023

 

'Bryony Rheam’s short stories are skilled, perfectly formed, and compelling; the characters are largely outsiders – whether geographically, culturally or emotionally – and completely realised, inhabiting detailed and believable worlds. In all, Whatever Happened to Rick Astley? is a deeply satisfying collection.' Karen Jennings

'Whatever Happened to Rick Astley?, Bryony Rheam’s brilliantly titled and wonderful collection of short stories, deals with loss—loss of identity, loss of memory, loss of country, loss of someone you love. While the theme seems to be a heavy one, the stories capture the beauty and the magic of the ordinary. There is nostalgia here for what once was, but there is also a lot of hope for what could be. Anything that can give us hope in today’s day and age is truly amazing—and that is what this collection is.' Siphiwe Ndlovu

'Bryony Rheam's wry humour is a bridge that connects genre fiction to literature. These beautifully crafted stories will satisfy all expectations.' John Eppel

Whatever happened to Rick Astley? She imagined that he was happily married with children. A record producer, perhaps? That was the usual way with singers, wasn’t it?

From Bryony Rheam, the award-winning author of All Come to Dust and This September Sun, comes a collection of sixteen short stories shining a spotlight on life in Zimbabwe over the last twenty years. The daily routines and the greater fate of ordinary Zimbabweans are represented with a deft, compassionate touch and flashes of humour.

From the potholed side streets of Bulawayo to lush, blooming gardens, traversing down- at-heel bars and faded drawing rooms, the stories in Whatever Happened to Rick Astley? ring with hope and poignancy, and pay tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.

Whatever Happened to Rick Astley? is due to be published by Parthian Books and amaBooks in the UK in July and by amaBooks in Zimbabwe at a date to be announced.

Bryony says of the collection that: 'Each story reflects something of my life in Zimbabwe over the last twenty years. It has not been an easy time for this country, but it is also not one without hope and joy.'

Parthian Books celebrate 30 years

 

Congratulations to our UK 'partner' Parthian Books who celebrate their 30th anniversary this year with an exhibition of their books and covers.

Parthian have published several of amaBooks' titles in the UK - the short story anthologies Where to Now? Short Stories from Zimbabwe and Moving On and Other Zimbabwean Stories, and the novels  This September Sun and All Come to Dust by Bryony Rheam and The Maestro, The Magistrate and The Mathematician by  Tendai Huchu. 

Bryony Rheam's short story collection Whatever Happened to Rick Astley? is to be co-published by amaBooks and Parthian later this year and will also be published in Zimbabwe.

Bulawayo's Reading Africa Panel Discussion

 

Bulawayo writers discuss their writing, Zimbabwe's reading culture and their new projects as part of Catalyst Press' Reading Africa Project.

The recording is available through the link below:

Bulawayo's Reading Africa Panel 

Agatha in Africa - The International Agatha Christie Festival 2022

South Africa writers Michael Sears and Stan Trollip, with Zimbabwean writer Bryony Rheam on Agatha Christie's visit to Southern Africa, recorded as part of the 2022 International Agatha Christie Festival.

Bryony Rheam is the author of the double award-winning crime novel All Come to Dust. Michael Sears and Stan Trollip (writing as Michael Stanley) are the authors of the Detective Kubu series.

To watch, please use the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbQqDDPGCqs&t=21s

Garden Party welcomes Bryony Rheam to Wales

 Parthian Books organised a garden party to welcome Zimbabwean writer Bryony Rheam and her two daughters Sian and Ellie to Wales. The event, which took place in the garden of the Parthian offices in Cardigan, was attended by Parthian Directors Richard Davies and Gillian Griffiths, Publishing Manager Carly Holmes, several Parthian writers and supporters, and the directors of amaBooks, Bryony's Zimbabwe publishers and the co-publishers in the UK of All Come to Dust, Jane Morris and Brian Jones. Bryony and her daughters are spending time in west Wales (Bryony's mother's birthplace) as part of a visit to the United Kingdom.

Bryony's two novels, This September Sun and All Come to Dust, have already been published in the UK by Parthian, and in Zimbabwe by amaBooks, and her debut short story collection is due for publication next year.

Richard Davies, Bryony Rheam and Gillian Griffiths

Bryony Rheam

Bryony with Sian and Ellie

Bryony was delighted to discover that her novel All Come to Dust had been on display at the Book Council of Wales bookshop at the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron.

Bryony Rheam to talk at the 2022 Agatha Christie Festival

 Reproduced from The Standard (https://thestandard.newsday.co.zw/2022/06/26/rheam-to-take-part-on-agatha-christies-trip/)

AWARD-WINNING Bulawayo author Bryony Rheam (pictured) is preparing to give a speech on Agatha Christie’s 1922 trip to Southern Rhodesia, which is part of the Agatha Christie Festival 2022. Rheam, a winner of the international Write Your Own Christie competition, is an enthusiast for the writing of Agatha Christie.  The event will be held on September 15 at the Spanish Barn, Torquay at 12.30, admission is free.

“In September of this year, I will be giving a talk on Agatha Christie’s 1922 trip to Southern Rhodesia,” Rheam told Standard Style. “Earlier this year, I was contacted by a South African writer, Michael Sears, who, together with his co-author, Stanley Trollip, had been invited to give a talk on Agatha Christie’s trip to South Africa (as part of the same trip).“As he knew, I had written on Agatha Christie’s trip to Rhodesia, Sears asked me if I would like to join them in the talk.”

She said not many people know that Agatha Christie came to Rhodesia and many people just lump Rhodesia/Zimbabwe with South Africa.“I am really excited to be shedding light on this part of her journey and making people aware of the fact that Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and South Africa are two different countries,” Rheam said.

Zimbabwe cover

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“My interest in Agatha Christie began when I was a child. “My grandmother loved reading her books and I would go to the library for her to change her books so I knew all the covers and the titles. We used to watch all the series and films as a family and so they were very much a part of my life growing up. I was excited to discover that one of her lesser-known books, The Man in the Brown Suit, was partly set in Southern Rhodesia, mostly in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.”

UK cover

Rheam added: “I then set out to investigate her journey and see if I could find any evidence that she had been here.  I wrote about this in my blog.”

All Come to Dust is Rheam’s second book,  written in the style of a Christie detective storyThe novel is set in modern day Zimbabwe, but it also looks back to the time just before independence.

How do authors create their characters - with John Eppel, Violette Kee-Tui, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu and Bryony Rheam

 Four Bulawayo novelists John Eppel, Violette Kee-Tui, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu and Bryony Rheam in discussion about how they create characters in their novels with Dr Drew Shaw. 

Recorded at The Orange Elephant in Bulawayo, with the support of The Centre for English Excellence and The Orange Elephant.

The links to the three sections of the discussion are below:

Section One

Section Two

Section Three