Current Projects:  Non-Fiction

What If This Road. . . ?                    Memoir

Rediscovering Awe and Wonder on a Mid-life Gap Year

A Memoir by Susan Bennett

When each of them receives a diagnosis of the same life-changing illness in the same week (from the same neurologist), Susan Bennett and her husband Chris are left reeling. After the initial shock however, the 30-something couple quickly decide with typical stoicism to simply ‘keep calm and carry on’ – Chris with his job as a pioneering chaplain in Belfast city’s new Titanic Quarter, and Susan with their joint social enterprise projects in the same community.

But as the years pass and Susan and Chris continue to pour all their energies into their work, while living with the uncertainty of MS, a sense of burnout begins to set in. The tragic death of Susan’s brother, followed by a series of ‘final straw’ practical tribulations, leaves them both on the verge of breakdown and Susan in particular finds herself questioning everything she once held dear.

Radical action is clearly needed before they both hit rock bottom. The couple, now in their 40s, resign from their jobs, give up their house and put all their belongings into storage, deciding that the time has finally come for to take the road trip they’ve been dreaming of for the two decades of their married life. Dusting down the Hymer Exsis campervan which has been sitting in their drive for many years, they take to the open road on a journey around western Europe and Scandinavia and far, far away from everything about their lives in Belfast.

Seventeen countries, 361 days and 16,000 miles later, Susan and Chris have been on not only a physical journey, but in parallel with this, on a spiritual and emotional voyage of discovery. As well as making new connections, and experiencing art, beauty and many different cultures, they have learned how to look up at big skies, how to stop and breathe, and how to find courage. Looking inward too, Susan has found the space to say goodbye to a lost brother, and emerged with a renewed sense of her place in the world, and with replenished faith in the power of nature to heal and restore.

What if this Road. . . is a life-affirming true story of stopping in order to start again. It’s about coming to terms with grief and illness but it’s also about our capacity for joy and hope.

Susan Bennett is a writer and media commentator based in Belfast. She’s a regular contributor to BBC Radio Ulster, and has been writing her weekly blog, Shedwriting, since October 2020. In her day job, Susan works for The Reader initiative as a storyteller in prison settings across Northern Ireland.

World Rights:  susan@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

The Voice Beneath the Quince Tree         Memoir

A Memoir of Growing Up in Ceaușescu’s Romania

Maria-Cristina Necula

November 9^th, 2024 will mark 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. While, in domino-effect reaction, regimes behind the Iron Curtain crumbled peacefully after the fall, there was one collapse that brought about the sole bloody revolution in the Eastern Bloc, ending in the swift execution of one of the worst dictators of the time. On Christmas Day, 1989, Romania was forever liberated from the megalomaniac, oppressive, often deadly embrace of Nicolae Ceaușescu's 25-year reign.

Stories of resilience, survival, tragedy, and attempts to flee the communist regime abound, exposing the harsh and sad realities of various former Eastern Bloc countries. But this is a different kind of story. Told from the perspective of a child who knows no other universe and sees her Bucharest home with eyes of wonder, this is a story of growing up in a world that, to this child, seems as infused with magic as it is brutal.

Maria-Cristina Necula’s published work includes the books Life in Opera: Truth, Tempo and Soul (Amadeus Press, 2009), and The Don Carlos Enigma: Variations of Historical Fictions (Academica Press, 2022), two translations: Europe à la carte and Molière’s The School for Wives, and the collection of poems Evanescent. Her articles and interviews have been featured in Classical Singer Magazine, Opera America, Das Opernglas, Studies in European Cinema, Opera News, and the New York City-based website Woman Around Town. As a classically trained singer she has performed in the New York City area at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Florence Gould Hall, and the Westchester Broadway Theatre, and has presented on opera at The Graduate Center, Baruch, The City College of New York, and UCLA Southland. She speaks six languages, two of which she honed at the Sorbonne University in Paris and the University of Vienna, and she holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from The Graduate Center, CUNY. In 2022, Maria-Cristina was awarded a New York Press Club Award in the Critical Arts Review category for her review of Matthew Aucoin's Eurydice at the Metropolitan Opera. She is a 2022-24 Fellow of The Writers' Institute at The Graduate Center. She lives in Westchester County, NY.

World Rights:  paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

From Holywood to Hollywood:                                  Law/Memoir          

A legal memoir for the Internet Age

Thoughts and Insights from one of the World’s Top Media Lawyers

Paul Tweed

A fascinating and enlightening overview covering the past four decades of Tweed’s career and examining the legal and other pitfalls we are all facing in the social media age.  Tweed brings the reader close to the big celebrity defamation lawsuits which have dominated the headlines and explains how they evolved. The book outlines the pros and cons of verdicts by juries versus judges sitting alone in celebrity lawsuits (like the most recent Depp v Heard case). It lays bare the machinations of social media giants like Google and Facebook in their strategies to make it difficult for people to seek redress when they have been defamed, and it explains how the world of today is a global village in which a lie published on Facebook or Twitter is seconds later in London, Beijing and New York. It describes the famous cases the author has fought for the mighty, the powerful, for Royals, and for many notable Hollywood A-listers. It will undoubtedly spark controversy in the corridors of power and in the tabloids on both sides of the Atlantic. Tweed does not shy away from expressing opinions about Prince Andrew’s legal plight (and other cases) and his words will make news. This book will surely attract considerable attention from major newspaper and social media outlets. Tweed takes a complex, fascinating topic and distills it with considerable skill for a wide readership.

The book, part memoir and part overview of the development and ramifications of media law in the 21^st century, charts the dramatically changing landscape from the 1980s through to the present-day era of the social media and search engine giants, in conjunction with related highlights from Paul Tweed’s career as a libel lawyer of renown….and how he got there!

Having represented prominent individuals from across the world, Tweed has been in the front line of the battle against Google, Facebook et al, as they build up their financial war chests and powerful global influence, while harvesting our personal data to enhance their power and control over our daily lives.

While much has been written about this dramatically increasing threat, Tweed has had the first-hand experience of dealing with the jurisdictional and other challenges.  He also questions the traditional media’s obsession with “libel tourism”, while the social media and other platforms continue to benefit from “tax tourism” and continue to argue that they should not have the same responsibilities as publishers.

In the meantime, Facebook and Google have been taking advertising revenue and investigative reports from the traditional media, while providing only limited financial reciprocation in the form of the odd full-page advertisement on the occasion that these platforms need to justify their actions to the public.

Tweed has also had to face attempts by the likes of the BBC to take him out of action, while at the same time battling against cyberattacks from hostile forces as a result of the work he undertakes for Middle Eastern clients.

In the modern era of sanctions, fake news, and misinformation for political and commercial motives, the book discusses likely future developments and ongoing failures and the disinformation, data breaches and cyber warfare emanating from the Middle East and North Africa, Russia, China, and elsewhere.

And of course, a book about Tweed’s career would not be complete without references to his high profile and sometimes controversial clients (at least those who have given permission for their stories to be included in the book or where details of their cases are already in the public domain), with a few lesser mortals thrown in for good measure!

Paul Tweed is the founder of W P Tweed & Co. With over thirty years’ experience, he is an internationally recognised expert in the field of media law and reputation management. With offices in London, Dublin and Belfast he is widely recognised as being among the leaders in his area of expertise.

Having been described as “the most powerful man in Hollywood”, Paul has represented A-List celebrities, global entrepreneurs and controversial characters from the worlds of politics, music, film, entertainment and sport. He advises governments and large corporations, and also represents journalists and publishers.

His clients have included:  Tony Robbins, Ashton Kutcher, Sinead O’Connor, Liam Neeson, Sylvester Stallone, Justin Timberlake, Meat Loaf, Sarah, Duchess of York, Uri Geller, Louis Walsh, and back in the day when they were still together, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Paul is a regular contributor on media law issues in both traditional and online media. He has made many appearances on the UK, US and international news services including Sky News, the BBC, RTE and Bloomberg News.

In 2012 Paul published Privacy and Libel Law; The Clash with Press Freedom (Bloomsbury). He is a regular contributor to a number of international and professional publications and periodicals.

More info can be found at his website news section, www.wptweed.com.

All Rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

Translation Rights

Being with Cows                Mind, Body, Spirit/Memoir

Dave Mountjoy

An intensely transformational story of how grief became gratitude in the presence of a humble herd of cows.

Being with Cows is an intensely powerful yet heart-warming antidote to the stresses, strains and suffering of modern life. Through a deeply tangible sense of gratitude, it tells of how tragedy became healing and transformation in the midst of a humble herd of cows and how acceptance is the key to unlocking the door to our most natural self and happiness.

The world is crying out in pain. War, climate change, health concerns (COVID – 19) and the wholesale destruction of the natural world feeds billions a daily diet of fear, confusion and uncertainty. Masses are slaves to their mobile phones and the swirling circus that is social media. Being with Cows, though apparently gentle and rhythmic in nature, smashes right through the illusion of our plastic selves and reaches out to touch the heart that lives inside us all.

The author’s brother committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in October 2016. The shock of his loss was total. Devastation does not come near it.

Being with Cows was inspired by his tragic death, for out of the ashes the phoenix does rise. It focuses both on the fallout from such a deeply shattering event and most importantly, how Life, at each and every turn, provides an opportunity for healing and total acceptance.

Healing and acceptance came in the form of the herd of cows Dave raised on his organic farm in the French Pyrenees mountains. Unlooked for and unexpected, he discovered complete and utter acceptance of the loss in their company, a healing so clean and deep that not a trace of grief remained, just gratitude for having known such a brother as he.

The book details the incredibly moving story behind these events, how a personal quest for inner healing and transformation received such unimagined support in the midst of such tragic and painful circumstances.

Dave Mountjoy is a cattle breeder, founder of Being with Cows Retreats and father of two slightly wild young boys. He is inspired by living in dedication to quietness, to acceptance and the understanding that behind the rough and tumble of everyday life, the unchanging presence of Love seeks only to guide us back into the lasting peace of the Heart.

World English Rights to Bedford Square Publishers

Translation Rights:  paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk 

Never Waste a Good Hysterectomy:                 Memoir/Women’s Health

Life lessons from a crisis

Melanie Verwoerd

“I’m a very level-headed person,” Melanie Verwoerd told the gynecological oncologist. “However, I feel like my dogs during a thunderstorm. I’m desperately trying to find somewhere to hide, but everywhere I go, it is still there.”

A week earlier, another gynecologist had paused mid-sentence during a routine ultrasound examination. Something big was wrong.

Blood tests showed elevated tumour markers and scans revealed a huge ovarian tumour with at least a 70% chance of being cancerous. A few days later a radical hysterectomy was performed.

As the terror grew, the only way for her to make sense of what was happening was to write. This book is the brutally honest reflection of the year that followed the operation.

Although it is brutally honest, it is also hope giving, and insists that women’s voices be heard.

Melanie Verwoerd is a former Member of the South African Parliament, South African Ambassador to Ireland and Executive Director of UNICEF. She is a published author, columnist and top-rated political analyst from Cape Town, South Africa.

Melanie was born into an Afrikaner family and grew up during the height of Apartheid in South Africa. At the age of twenty she married Wilhelm Verwoerd, the grandson of the former Apartheid Prime Minister HF Verwoerd, generally regarded as the architect of Apartheid. In 1990, after a brief spell at Oxford in the UK and following the unbanning of the ANC, she and her then husband returned to South Africa.

Shortly after their return Melanie met with Nelson Mandela, who encouraged her to “use her surname and voice for the bigger good”. She stunned many by joining the ANC. Her political involvement also led to her being ostracized by her community and numerous death threats from the far-right Afrikaner movements. During the first democratic elections in 1994, Melanie was elected as a Member of Parliament for the ANC under the presidency of Nelson Mandela. At the age of 27 she was the youngest female MP in the history of the South African parliament. During her time in parliament she worked closely with, amongst others, Nelson Mandela and participated in the writing of the South African Constitution. She was re-elected in 1999 and in 2001 was appointed as South African Ambassador to Ireland.

Her #1 best-selling memoir, When We Dance, was published in Ireland in November 2012. It entered the Irish bestseller list at number two and reached number one the next week. It remained in the top 10 best sellers for six weeks. The book was also published in South Africa in May 2013 under the title, The Verwoerd who toyi-toyied.  Melanie’s next book, Our Madiba: Stories and reflections of those who met Nelson Mandela was launched in 2014 by Archbishop Tutu. In 2015 she co-authored 21 at 21: A nation coming of age which features interviews with South Africans born in 1994. It was published in Germany by Peter Hammerverlag in 2017 under the title Südafrika mit 21.

In 2007 Melanie received the Tatler International Woman of the Year Award in Ireland.

World English ex SA to Dalzell Press, SA rights to SheSaid Press

Translation Rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

In Ordinary Time: Fragments of a Family History            Memoir

Carmel Maria Mc Mahon

In Ordinary Time is a hybrid memoir comprised of essays, poems and photographs (45,000 words). It looks at the ways “ordinary traumas”, personal and historic, reverberate through time and resonate through a life. Trauma interrupts the unity and linearity of temporality, so time is a central concern.

Drawing attention to different constructions of time, Carmel Mc Mahon sketches the evolution of a consciousness from her upbringing in the Catholic and conservative Ireland of the seventies and eighties to the New York City of today.

It is a beautifully written, unique and compelling memoir.

Carmel Mc Mahon graduated with an MA in the Liberal Arts (Biography and Memoir Track) from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in September 2020. While there, she was made the 2018/2019 writer-in-residence of the Irish Studies Department at Queens College (CUNY). She is passionate about Irish literature and particularly interested in the ways writers make use of the material of their lives.

Carmel emigrated from Ireland to the US in 1993 at age 20. She carried $500, two suitcases and a ton of invisible baggage. It has been a long journey, and she is ready to return home. With her partner and their dogs, she looks forward to taking up residence again in Ireland in October, 2021. Her writing has been published in the Irish Times, A Woman’s Thing, The Irish Echo, the Humanities Review, Longreads, and the Australian-Irish Heritage Journal. 

World English Language Rights: Duckworth Books (Feb 2023)

Translation rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

As the Smoke Clears        Memoir         

A True Story of Love, Loss, Resilience and Survival

Zoe Holohan

The harrowing true story of the Irish woman, who, on honeymoon with her new husband, was caught up in the Greek wildfires of 2018, in which her husband perished but she survived.

Zoe Holohan has worked in media for over two decades, in advertising, marketing and on creative campaign design. She has had numerous travel articles published in The Irish Independent and the Sunday World magazine . 

UK and Ireland Rights: Gill Books March 2021

All Other Rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

The Upside of Down                   Memoir/Mental Health

Tara West

The novelist’s memoir of depression and recovery.

Published by Dalzell Press in October 2020.

Tara West is the author two novels. Poets are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan (Liberties Press, 2012) and Fodder (Blackstaff Press, 2002).

Translation rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

Afraid of the Dark            Memoir/Mental Health/Fatherhood

Jonny McCambridge

The Irish journalist’s memoir about his struggles with mental health issues as well as the trials and tribulations of being a full-time ‘stay-at-home’ dad to his infant son.

Published by Dalzell Press on January 26th, 2021.

Jonny McCambridge is an Irish journalist and blogger.

Translation rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

Treasury of Mindfulness                       Mind, Body, Spirit

Tips and Techniques for Every Day

Paddy Brosnan

A collection of simple yet precious resources which will enhance readers’ lives and add to the quality of their everyday experiences Each page or entry in the Treasury will feature one of four different kinds of mindfulness tools: A Mindful Meditation, Everyday Mindfulness, Mindful Ideas, 1-Minute Mindfulness.

Published by Dalzell Press in March 2020.

Paddy Brosnan is a mindfulness teacher and inspirational speaker. A committed Buddhist, he has practiced mindfulness for 14 years and has been teaching for over four years. Paddy’s first book, This Works: How to Use Mindfulness to Calm the Hell Down and Just Be Happy was published by Hay House in October 2018.  

Audio Rights to Bolinda.

Translation rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk