Emily Barrett

After ten years at HarperCollins, Orion and Little, Brown – where I was latterly the Publisher of Sphere Non-Fiction – I am excited to be building a list of clients who I can work with more closely.

Throughout my career I have been lucky enough to edit and publish a wide variety of authors and brands, from household names and social media stars such as Ant & Dec, Fearne Cotton, Have I Got News for You and comedy platform Very British Problems, to people with extraordinary expertise or experience, including Nuremberg Trials prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, River Café chef Joseph Trivelli, astrophysicist YouTuber Dr Becky Smethurst, talented nature illustrator Angela Harding, and Lee Lawrence, whose memoir The Louder I Will Sing about fighting racism in the police force won the Costa Biography award. Books I’ve edited have been Sunday Times bestsellers, translated into multiple languages, exported around the world and sold TV options. As such, I have extensive experience across the spectrum of non-fiction with which to help and support aspiring authors.

I love and am very open to seeing most non-fiction so long as it fits this criteria: it has an eye-catching hook or an appealing promise; you have proof that there’s an adult audience for the idea (please do also tell me upfront if you personally have an existing engaged audience); you have strong reasons why you’re the right author for the project; it’s written with flair – and, perhaps, includes beautiful illustrations.

More specifically, I’d love to see engaging history (both broad brushstrokes and specific stories from the past that read as compellingly as fiction); eye-opening but sympathetic true crime; supportive parenting guides backed up by a digital community; accessible pop science; stories with animals at their heart; useful cookery that does something new; and puzzle and humour books. I’m also keen to see books that are seeking to bring readers joy, could improve their health, wellbeing, career or lives in general, and will help readers understand the world today (e.g. books on politics, climate, nature etc). 

I’m not looking for fiction at this time.

In terms of my taste, here’s a selection of books and podcasts I’ve particularly enjoyed:

Books: Chris Van Tulleken’s Ultra-Processed People; Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women; Rory Stewart’s Politics on the Edge; Greg Jenner’s Ask a Historian; Carlo Rovelli’s Seven Brief Lessons on Physics; Rukmini Iyer’s The Roasting Tin; Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse; Anne Glenconner’s Lady in Waiting; Guy Scrubsole’s The Lost Rainforests of Britain.

Podcasts: The Rest is History; Believe in Magic; Filthy Ritual; In the Dark; Ghost Story; Leading; 1619; The Orgasm Cult; I’m Not a Monster – The Shamima Begum Story. 

You can submit to me at: [email protected]