Orion signs 'laugh out loud' Harvey debut

Orion Fiction has signed a “laugh out loud” debut by former English teacher Gillian Harvey about what happens with a PR whizz and clean-eating influencer’s life falls apart.

World rights were bought by commissioning editor Victoria Oundjian from Ger Nichol at The Book Bureau. Everything is Fine will be published in paperback and e-book in May 2020.

Its synopsis explains: “On the surface Jessica Bradley has it all – but in reality her personal life is falling apart. Her boyfriend has left her, she just polished off five chocolate biscuits with a milky tea and her gym bag hasn’t seen the light of day in weeks. But if you checked out her social media you’d never know… It’s time for Jessica to discover that likes and retweets don’t equal happiness, but when everything is fine online, can she learn how to step out of her comfort-zone and find happiness in real life?”

Oundjian said: “Unique and hilarious, Gillian Harvey is a future star in the making. Full of sharp one-liners, laugh-out-loud situations and a truly relatable heroine, Jessica Bradley is the heroine everyone can connect with. This is an incredibly timely book, questioning our obsession with our lives as shown online, versus our reality, Gillian hones in on the importance of finding happiness everywhere especially when it seems like everything is falling apart.”

Harvey moved to France in 2012 and has since written articles including the Guardian, Telegraph and Sun, as well as lifestyle magazines including Prima and Women’s Weekly.

She said: “Joining the ranks of some of my favourite authors at Orion is a dream come true, and I am truly delighted to be working with such a prestigious publisher. I’m looking forward to bringing my novel - with its particular brand of humour - to the market in 2020 and hope that readers will have as much fun reading about Jessica Bradley as I did in writing about her.”