
Illingworth, formerly a bookseller at Goldsboro Books, has been with the agency for almost seven years. He has been credited with developing the agency’s list of genre fiction authors, and has agreed a number of major deals this year. This summer, he was named a Bookseller Rising Star.
His clients include Stuart Turton, author of the Costa First Novel Award-winning The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (Raven); Anna Stephens, author of the Godblind trilogy (HarperVoyager); and Femi Kayode, whose forthcoming debut novel Lightseekers won the UEA/Little, Brown Crime Fiction Award and was sold to Bloomsbury Raven in a four-way auction.
He is also the UK agent for US clients such as bestselling debut author Micaiah Johnson and Hugo Award finalist Ada Palmer. Most recently, he negotiated the sale of Richard Swan’s The Empire of the Wolf fantasy trilogy in a six-figure pre-empt to Orbit, and Adam Simcox’s supernatural crime series to Gollancz, starting with The Dying Squad, which will be published as a lead debut in July 2021.
M.d. David Headley said: “It has been tremendously exciting seeing the agency grow in the 12 years since its inception, and there is no denying that a significant part of its recent accomplishments have been down to Harry and his brilliant client list. He is an inspiring and respected member of the team, and it felt like the natural next step for him. I am delighted to bring him on board as a director of the DHH Literary Agency.”
Illingworth, who joins fellow agents and directors Broo Doherty and Hannah Sheppard on the board, added: While this hasn’t been the easiest year for publishing, I am so fortunate to represent some truly fantastic authors who are all incredibly fun to work with and are constantly defying genres and pushing boundaries with their writing. They have helped shape what could have been a dire year into a positive one, and this next step really is the icing on the cake. I’m very grateful to David and my colleagues at the agency for their faith and support in me, and couldn’t be more excited to be joining the board of directors.”
From The Bookseller article | Mark Chandler