Harvill Secker wins Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees romance in six-figure deal

Harvill Secker has secured the next novel from bestselling authors and real-life couple, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees, in a six-figure deal.

Publishing director Liz Foley acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Rosie Pierce and Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown and Philip Patterson at Marjacq as part of a six-figure deal. Putnam will publish in the US.

Foley said: "I could not be more excited about You & Me & You & Me & You & Me. It has it all: fun, suspense, relatability, emotional punch and a truly uplifting message. Josie and Emlyn write with such warmth and humour about long-term relationships and the temptations of time travel, accompanied by a fantastic 90s mixtape soundtrack.

"It’s impossible not to fall in love with their characters and want to follow them through every universe they encounter. We intend to make it the massive bestseller it deserves to be, fuelled by an unmissable creative campaign that celebrates reader recommendations at every opportunity."

Lloyd and Rees said: "We’re both absolutely buzzing at the thought of being published by Liz and the awesome team at Harvill Secker.

"From the moment we first got to meet them and hear their fantastically creative ideas for getting You & Me & You & Me & You & Me out into the world, we knew they were the perfect home for us. Hearing all their reactions to the book on the Walkman they then sent us was the icing on the cake. We’ve been bowled over by their enthusiasm and are so looking forward to working with them."

You & Me & You & Me & You & Me follows Adam and Jules, married for 25 years and stuck in a rut. While clearing out the attic, Adam stumbles across a pile of old mixtapes he and Jules made for each other when they were young and falling in love. He dusts off his antique stereo, inserts one of the cassettes, presses play... and the unbelievable happens.

With the power to travel back in time, he and Jules can revisit key moments in their pasts. Is this the key to getting their sparkle back? They embark on an epic hunt through the multiverse for their perfect love story but things soon start to spiral out of control. Will they be able to find their way back to themselves, or will they lose each other forever?

It is 25 years since the publication of Come Together (Arrow), the pair’s first co-authored novel. A Sunday Times number one bestseller, it was translated into 27 languages and made into a film by Working Title. They have continued to write together and separately.