Closed for submissions

Amanda Harris joined YMU in 2019 and became Global MD of the Literary division in 2021. She has worked in publishing all of her career, at houses including Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and Hachette. She founded two imprints at Orion, and has published an eclectic list of high-profile, award-winning and Sunday Times bestselling authors including Jackie Collins, His Majesty, King Charles, Sir Paul McCartney, Bryan Cranston, Fearne Cotton, Davina McCall, Dr Giles Yeo, and Amy Cuddy.

Since joining YMU, Amanda has been shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year twice (2021 and 2023) and was named an industry Top 150 Influencer. She has agented over 25 Sunday Times bestsellers by Claudia Winkleman, Matt Lucas, Ant and Dec, Fearne Cotton, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, Stacey Solomon, Tom Daley, Gary Barlow, Jake Humphrey, Joe Swash, Jemma Solomon and more. She also agented the double-award winning, and 2023 Nibbies Overall Book of the Year, Menopausing by Davina McCall.

What I’m looking for

I’m not led by genre but by quality of writing and ideas, and by great storytelling. My tastes span reading group and commercial fiction but are not limited to these areas – I’ve recently signed authors of literary and historical fiction. I love championing fresh new voices in non-fiction too, particularly across wellbeing, smart thinking and narrative non-fiction. As a publisher, I was responsible for, and championed, debut writers through to international bestsellers. As a literary agent, my passion remains the same: helping writers find their readers across the world.

Books I’ve recently enjoyed: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller; Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin; Trespasses by Louise Kennedy; We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman; Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver; and Yellow Face by Rebecca F Kuang. I also appreciate the page-turning elements and/or compelling characters of authors including Colleen Hoover, Lisa Jewell, Brit Bennett and Bonnie Garmus.