Literary agent Amanda Harris is leaving YMU to set up her own literary agency. Harris will be leaving the company in early 2025, however she will continue to work with YMU clients on future projects.
Speaking exclusively to The Bookseller, Harris, managing director of Literary, said: “I have had a great time at YMU, and I am thrilled to be continuing my work with YMU clients as I take the next step in my agenting career. I feel very honoured to have launched a bespoke literary business within the company, and to have worked with such a talented team of award-winning agents.
“YMU Literary’s impact on the group, and the UK publishing industry, is reflected in the bestseller charts, national book awards and huge TCM sales figures achieved by our authors and their publishers.”
More details of Harris’ agency will be released in the new year. Harris joined YMU in 2019, after 14 years at Orion, and has been shortlisted three times for Literary Agent of the Year at The British Book Awards. She was made managing director of the literary division in 2021.
YMU Literary clients have achieved over 60 Sunday Times bestsellers, including the most recently published MILF by Paloma Faith. The division has brought in book deals worth more than £22m to the group. The team has three agents, plus a literary executive and social/digital lead. Agents include The Bookseller “Rising Star” Anna Dixon and Broadcast “Hot Shot” Millie Lean. Its title Menopausing by Davina McCall was Non-Fiction Illustrated and Lifestyle winner in 2023, as well as Overall Book of the Year.
YMU, which recently confirmed a change of ownership, is understand to have already begun to search for a replacement. YMU, formerly James Grant Group, is home to a range of celebrities such as Claudia Winkleman, Ant and Dec and Graham Norton; its literary wing looks after the book interests of bestsellers such as Noel Fitzpatrick, Davina McCall and Fearne Cotton. It also operates music and sports divisions.
