Kerry Wilkinson

Last updated

Kerry Wilkinson
Born4 November 1980 (1980-11-04) (age 44)
Bath, Somerset, England
OccupationNovelist , Journalist
Education Frome Community College, Somerset, University of Central Lancashire
Period2011 –
Genre Crime fiction, young adult fiction
Notable worksThe Jessica Daniel novels, The Whitecliff novels
Notable awards RoNA Award, International Thriller Writers Awards
Website
www.kerrywilkinson.com

Kerry Wilkinson (born 4 November 1980) is a British author and sports journalist born in Bath, Somerset.

Contents

In 2018, his book Ten Birthdays won the Romantic Novelists' Association award for Young Adult Novel of the Year. Along with Marius Gabriel, he was the first man to win a RoNA Award in the organisation's 58-year history. [1] [2] He is also an International Thriller Writers Awards winner, with Close To You, for best ebook original.

In March 2023, he wrote an article for The Bookseller, entitled Autism can be a huge publishing strength—and challenge [3] about how he was an adult when he discovered he was autistic.

Work

Kerry Wilkinson is an author who has had bestselling ebooks in the UK, Canada, Australia and South Africa. In 2011, he became one of the United Kingdom's most-successful self-published authors, but has since worked with 'traditional' publishers. In the final quarter of 2011, Amazon UK announced he was their top-selling author for their Amazon Kindle chart - and that he had sold over 250,000 ebooks. [4]

His first novel, Locked In, went to number one on the Amazon Kindle chart [5] and Apple's iTunes crime books chart. [6] At one point in November 2011, he had the top three books in the crime chart. [7]

He signed a six-book deal with Pan Books in February 2012 to publish his Jessica Daniel series of novels. [8] Shortly after, it was announced he was one of Amazon's top-10 bestselling UK-born authors worldwide for 2011, [9] and then one of Amazon's top-10 bestselling Kindle authors overall for the following year. [10] [11]

In September 2012, Pan Macmillan announced they had acquired a "fantasy trilogy for young adults", [12] the Silver Blackthorn series, Meanwhile, when the same publisher released the fourth Jessica Daniel book, Think of the Children, it became Amazon UK's no.1 ebook pre-order in February 2013, with the paperback peaking at number 19 on the UK chart. [13]

In August 2013, The Bookseller reported that Pan Macmillan had bought two more books [14] from Wilkinson, including a standalone crime novel, Down Among The Dead Men; and Something Wicked, a spin-off from the Jessica Daniel series.

A further deal followed in 2014 for another book in the Jessica Daniel series, another Andrew Hunter book, and a standalone crime thriller entitled, No Place Like Home. In 2015, the Bookseller reported his sales were "fast approaching the one million mark". [15]

With the Jessica Daniel series continuing through Pan Books in the UK, publisher Bookouture secured the rights to publish the series in the United States, [16] as well as global rights for "two psychological thrillers". [17]

In 2017, the first of those thrillers, Two Sisters, peaked at No.1 in Canada's Kindle chart [18] and the iBooks chart. [19] It also reached No.14 in the UK Kindle chart and No.20 in the United States. [20]

The second, The Girl Who Came Back, reached No.1 in the UK Kobo chart [21] and No.2 in the UK Kindle chart. [20] It also became his second No.1 in Canada. [20]

In 2021, publisher Bookouture announced Wilkinson's novel, The Blame, was his "30th book with us: the most titles Bookouture has ever released from one author". [22] It also acquired "World All Languages rights for two more addictive psychological thrillers, plus the coming-of-age novel Truly, Madly, Amy" [23]

A year later, the publisher said they had "signed a four-book mystery series with bestselling author Kerry Wilkinson". [24] The Whitecliff series was then released in 2023. The company also signed "a pair of linked books, about a girl who goes to a teenage sleepover: but when she wakes up, her friends have vanished." [25] The Night Of The Sleepover and After The Sleepover were released in October and December 2023.

In August 2024, Wilkinson signed a deal with Bookouture for his 50th novel to be published. The company's publishing director, Ellen Gleeson, said: "Writing 50 books is an incredible accomplishment. Kerry has an unrivalled understanding of what makes a small town tick." [26]

Awards

DateAwardsCategoryBookOther nomineesResultRef.
March 2018 Romantic Novelists' Association Awards Best Young Adult Romantic NovelTen Birthdays
  • Juno Dawson - Margot And Me
  • Keris Stainton - One Italian Summer
Won [27] [28] [1]
July 2020 International Thriller Writers Awards Best Ebook OriginalClose To You
  • Brett Battles - Night Man
  • Sean Black - The Deep Abridging
  • Brian Shea - Murder Board
  • LynDee Walker - Leave No Stone
Won [29]

Education

Wilkinson attended Oakfield Middle School and Frome Community College [30] in Frome, Somerset. He has a degree in journalism from the University of Central Lancashire. [31]

Support

Wilkinson sponsors the annual short story competition for young writers in his home town of Frome. This is part of the Frome Festival. [32]

Bibliography

Miscellaneous

Jessica Daniel crime novels

The Jessica Daniel novels are also available as audiobooks, read by Becky Hindley.

#TitleOutISBN
1Locked In (UK)2011 978-1447225645
The Killer Inside (US)2016
2Vigilante2011 978-1447225669
2½As If By Magic2012
3The Woman In Black2011 978-1447225676
4Think Of The ChildrenFeb 2013 978-1447223405
5Playing With FireJul 2013 978-1447223412
6Thicker Than Water (UK)Oct 2013 978-1447223429
The Missing Dead (US)Mar 2017
7Behind Closed DoorsJan 2013 978-1447247852
8Crossing The LineSep 2014 978-1447247876
9Scarred For LifeJan 2015 978-1447247890
10For Richer, For PoorerFeb 2016 978-1447280927
11Nothing But TroubleFeb 2017 978-1447285441
12Eye For An EyeJan 2018 978-1509806652
13Silent SuspectJan 2019 978-0957016422
14The Unlucky OnesJul 2019 978-0957016446
15A Cry In The NightJan 2020 978-0957016453

Whitecliff mystery novels

The Whitecliff mystery novels are also available as audiobooks, read by Helen Keeley.

#TitleOutISBN
1The One Who FellApr 2023 978-1837900527
2The One Who Was TakenApr 2023 978-1837900985
3The Ones Who Are BuriedApr 2023 978-1837901388
4The Ones Who Are HiddenMay 2023 978-1837903559

Andrew Hunter crime novels

The Andrew Hunter novels are also available as audiobooks, read by Nigel Patterson.

#TitleOutISBN
1Something WickedJun 2014 978-1447262091
2Something HiddenJun 2015 978-1509806638
3Something BuriedFeb 2019 978-0957016439

Silver Blackthorn novels

#TitlePublisherOutISBN
1Reckoning Pan Books, UKMay 2014 978-1447235309
St. Martin's Press, USJul 2014 978-1250053534
2RenegadePan Books, UKMay 2015 978-1447235316
St. Martin's Press, USJul 2015 978-1250061331
3ResurgencePan Books, UKMay 2016 978-1250061331
St. Martin's Press, USJul 2016 978-1250090799

Other crime novels

#TitleOutISBN
1Watched: When Road Rage Follows You HomeNov 2013N/A
2Down Among The Dead MenSep 2015 978-1447253303
3No Place Like HomeNov 2016 978-1509804443
4Two SistersJun 2017 978-1786812094
5The Girl Who Came BackSep 2017 978-1786812667
6Last NightMar 2018 978-1786814241
7The Wife's SecretOct 2018 978-1786817075
8A Face In The CrowdJun 2019 978-1786817648
9Close To YouOct 2019 978-1838881627
10After The AccidentMar 2020 978-1838885168
11The Child Across The StreetJul 2020 978-1838887490
12What My Husband DidNov 2020 978-1838888602
13The BlameFeb 2021 978-1800195028
14The Child In The PhotoJun 2021 978-1800195042
15The Perfect DaughterSep 2021 978-1800197299
16The Party At Number 12Mar 2022 978-1803142777
17The BoyfriendJun 2022 978-1803142753
18The Night Of The SleepoverOct 2023 978-1835250235
19After The SleepoverDec 2023 978-1835250266
20The CallApr 2024 978-1835254691
21The Missing BodyJul 2024 978-1835254301
22Home Is Where The Lies LiveDec 2024 978-1836183266
23My Son's GirlfriendFeb 2025 978-1836185178

Other novels

#TitleOutISBN
1Ten BirthdaysApr 2017 978-1786811837
2The Death And Life Of Eleanor ParkerJul 2018 978-1786812544
3Truly, Madly, AmyJul 2022 978-1803142739

Translations

Original titleTitleCountryPublisherOutISBN
Locked InΚλειδωμένοιGreeceBell2012 978-9605070465
Locked InEncerradaSpainB2012 978-8466651905
Locked InKilitliTurkeyOptimum Kitap2012 978-6056291210
Locked InSlučaj HoudiniCroatiaArk Books2013 978-9531414173
Locked InEingesperrtGermanyAmazonCrossing2013 978-1477849668
Locked InW potrzaskuPolandDragon2019 978-8378878896
VigilanteCzarna listaPolandDragon2019 978-8381720946
VigilanteInfazciTurkeyOptimum Kitap2013 978-6054688043
The Woman In BlackKobieta w czerniPolandDragon2020 978-8381724418
The Woman In BlackSiyahlı KadınTurkeyOptimum Kitap2014 978-6054688135
Think Of The ChildrenGra pozorówPolandDragon2021 978-8381727235
Playing With FireZabawa z ogniemPolandDragon2022 978-8381729154
The Girl Who Came BackΤο κορίτσι που γύρισε πίσωGreeceMati2017 978-6185021849
The Girl Who Came BackA lány, aki visszatértHungaryÁlomgyár2018 978-6155875489
The Girl Who Came Back13 anni dopoItalyNewton Compton Editori2018 978-8822718150
The Girl Who Came BackDas Mädchen, das zurückkamGermanyBookouture2025TBC
The Wife's SecretIl matrimonio degli inganniItalyNewton Compton Editori2019 978-8822727824
The Child In The PhotoFotoğraftaki ÇocukTurkeyNemesis Kitap2022 978-6258400823
The Night Of The SleepoverPřespávačkaCzech RepublicGeorge Publishing2024 978-8053022064

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frome Community College</span> Community school in Frome, Somerset, England

Frome Community College, styled as Frome College, is a comprehensive school in Frome, Somerset, England for students aged 13 to 18. Approximately 1,200 were enrolled in December 2021, within the three tier system. Students' studies at the college lead up to GCSE, GNVQ, AS-Level and A-Level qualifications. Adult learning courses are also offered, as well as a nursery for preschool children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Leather</span> British author (born 1956)

Stephen Leather is a British thriller author whose works are published by Hodder & Stoughton. He has written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock, and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. He is one of the top selling Amazon Kindle authors, the second bestselling UK author worldwide on Kindle in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karin Slaughter</span> American crime writer (born 1971)

Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer. She has written 24 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, Blindsighted (2001), was published in 27 languages and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kia Abdullah</span> British novelist and travel writer

Kia Abdullah is a British novelist and travel writer. She is the best-selling author of courtroom dramas Take It Back, Truth Be Told, Next of Kin and Those People Next Door. She has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Times,The Financial Times, The Telegraph and the BBC, among other publications.

Adam Hamdy is a Sunday Times best-selling British novelist, screenwriter and film producer best known for his novels, Pendulum, Black 13, and Private Moscow, co-written with James Patterson.

Rakuten Kobo Inc., or simply Kobo, is a Canadian company that sells ebooks, audiobooks, e-readers and formerly tablet computers. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is a subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten. The name Kobo is an anagram of book.

The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year.

Rebecca Cantrell is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She has published nine novels in over ten different languages. Her novels have won the ITW Thriller, the Macavity, and the Bruce Alexander awards. They have been nominated for the GoodReads Choice award, the Barry, the RT Reviewers Choice, and the APPY award. She and her husband and son live in Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Abbott</span> British author

Rachel Abbott is an English author of psychological thrillers. A self-publisher, her first seven novels have combined to sell over three million copies, and have all been bestsellers on Amazon's Kindle store. In 2015, she was named the 14th bestselling author over the last five years on Amazon's Kindle in the UK.

Cally Taylor, also known as C.L. Taylor, is an English Sunday Times bestselling crime author. As Cally Taylor she wrote romantic comedies published by Orion Publishing Group and as C.L. Taylor, she publishes psychological thrillers through HarperCollins. On 16 July 2024 she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle-on-Tyne

Neil Spring(born 8 June 1981) is a Welsh novelist of supernatural horror, known for his bestselling books, The Ghost Hunters (2013) and The Lost Village (2017).

Louise Ross, known by her pen name LJ Ross, is the author of the DCI Ryan, Summer Suspense and Doctor Gregory series of mystery thrillers. Her debut novel, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and, by May, it had reached number one in the Amazon UK chart. Its sequel, Sycamore Gap, released in September 2015, is also a UK bestseller. She released further books in the DCI Ryan series, amassing more than twenty UK No. 1s and selling over ten million copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Croft</span> British writer

Adam Croft is an English writer of crime fiction. He is a self-published author and is an advocate of independent publishing.

<i>Secrets of The Last Nazi</i> Debut novel by non-fiction writer Iain King

Secrets of The Last Nazi is the debut novel by non-fiction writer Iain King. It became the United Kingdom’s best-selling spy story of 2015, and was classified in the United States as a ‘Number One New Release’ in espionage.

Bookouture is a British digital publishing company. It was founded in 2012 by Oliver Rhodes, a former marketing controller for Harlequin/Mills & Boon. Bookouture is notable for growing its e-book sales dramatically, and for having several of its publications sell substantial numbers.

Howard Linskey is a British novelist and former journalist. He is best known for the David Blake crime fiction series. This series and his subsequent crime novels are set in the north east of England. Linskey is also the author of two historical thrillers set during the Second World War.

Oyinkan Braithwaite is a Nigerian-British novelist and writer. She was born in Lagos and spent her childhood in both Nigeria and the UK. Braithwaite is best known for her debut novel My Sister, the Serial Killer.

The Bestseller Experiment is a podcast by two writers, Mark Stay and Mark Desvaux, who each week discuss different aspects of writing and publishing with guests from the publishing industry, such as other authors, editors, or marketing experts.

Alex Michaelides is a bestselling British Cypriot author and screenwriter. His debut novel, the psychological thriller The Silent Patient, is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, with over 6.5 million copies sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Edwards (British writer)</span> English author (born 1970)

Mark Edwards is an English London-based, best-selling fiction writer. His books have sold over four million copies and been translated into 12 languages. Edwards has written over a dozen thrillers since his 2013 solo debut, The Magpies, and his 2022 novel No Place to Run made it into the top ten Kindle chart. He has co-authored six books with Louise Voss.

References

  1. 1 2 "Atkins wins Romantic Novel of the Year accolade; The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. ↑ Singh, Anita (13 March 2018). "New romantics: after 57 years, men break through at the Romantic Novel Awards". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2021– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "Autism can be a huge publishing strength—and challenge; The Bookseller". The Bookseller. 1 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  4. ↑ Alison Flood (8 February 2012). "Self-published ebook author becomes Amazon's top seller". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  5. ↑ "Locked In is the No.1 Kindle novel in the UK". 29 October 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Locked In is the No.1 crime book on iTunes". 28 April 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Locked In, Vigilante and The Woman In Black are at No.1, No.2 and No.3 in Amazon Kindle's Women Sleuth chart". 23 November 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Singh, Anita (1 March 2012). "Self-published author Kerry Wilkinson lands 6-book deal". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  9. ↑ "Lee Child most successful UK Kindle author". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Malik, Shiv (6 August 2012). "Kindle ebook sales have overtaken Amazon print, says book seller". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2021– via www.theguardian.com.
  11. ↑ "Amazon selling more Kindle ebooks than print books". BBC News. 6 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  12. ↑ "Pan Macmillan - Latest news and information from Pan Macmillan". Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  13. ↑ The Bookseller Magazine, 15 March 2013, page 20
  14. ↑ "Another Pan Mac deal for Wilkinson; The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  15. ↑ "Wilkinson says publishers 'need to try harder' to innovate; The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Bookouture to publish Kerry Wilkinson in the US". 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "Million-copy bestseller Kerry Wilkinson to write psychological thrillers for Bookouture". 27 February 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  18. ↑ @kerrywk (12 July 2017). "885253624049225729" (Tweet) – via Twitter.[ permanent dead link ]
  19. ↑ @kerrywk (16 October 2017). "920057612422471680" (Tweet) – via Twitter.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. 1 2 3 "Sales Rank Tracking for Author Book Sales on Amazon". NovelRank. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  21. ↑ @bookouture (18 September 2017). "Oooooh! Look who is Number 1 on @kobo!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  22. ↑ "BESTSELLING AUTHOR KERRY WILKINSON PUBLISHES 30TH NOVEL WITH BOOKOUTURE!". Bookouture. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  23. ↑ "Bookouture re-sign contracts with Clarke, Stelljes and Wilkinson". 17 December 2021.
  24. ↑ "Bookouture re-sign more of your favourite thriller authors". 28 April 2022.
  25. ↑ Bookouture Team (19 July 2023). "Bookouture re-sign contracts with thriller authors Croft, Jenkins and Wilkinson".
  26. ↑ Spanoudi, Melina (16 August 2024). "Bookouture signs Kerry Wilkinson's 50th novel". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 19 August 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  27. ↑ "Colgan and Haig make RNA shortlists | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  28. ↑ "The RoNA Shortlists for 2018 are announced – RNA". Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  29. ↑ "2020 Thriller Awards – International Thriller Writers". Thriller Writers. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  30. ↑ "Former pupil's novel in iTunes chart spot | This is Somerset". www.thisissomerset.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  31. ↑ "Overnight best seller - News & Events - University of Central Lancashire". Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  32. ↑ "Frome Festival Short Story Competition Announced". 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.