McFarlane inks new two-book HarperCollins deal

Mhairi McFarlane has signed a new two-book deal for HarperCollins, with the publisher tipping the contemporary rom-com writer for a “major breakout”.

Editorial director Martha Ashby secured world all languages rights to the novels from Doug Kean at the Gunn Media Agency. The first, untitled, book will be published in 2022.

McFarlane's first novel You Had Me At Hello was published by Avon in 2012, and the publisher says it has now sold over half a million copies worldwide. Her latest novel, If I Never Met You, débuted at number one on digital charts when it was published in January 2020. Through Nielsen BookScan UK, she has sold almost 185,000 units for £784,000, with her début chalking up 80,000 sales.

HarperCollins has sold rights to her books in over 20 territories worldwide, and she has been published by HarperCollins US and Canada in the last year.

Ashby said: “No one captures contemporary women’s lives as brilliantly, as romantically or a hilariously genuinely as Mhairi. She is one of my most raved about authors and the overwhelming love for her at HarperCollins and around the world shows that she’s on the verge of a major breakout. She has a total command of the art of romcoms, and is always pushing herself to deliver something new and remarkable in one of the best-loved genres in fiction.”

McFarlane added: “It feels like such interesting times for the romantic comedy genre as a whole and I've always received so much enthusiasm and support for my writing from the HarperCollins team.”