Beth Morrey, a debut author, has written one of the most anticipated releases of 2020, with ten different publishers fighting for the acquisition.

The 42 year old was inspired to write her ‘coming-of-old’ novel, Saving Missy, about a lonely woman saved by the people around her, when she got to know her community while on maternity leave. The result of her four month writing stint was a six figure book deal with HarperCollins, which is now the publishers’ lead title of 2020, described by The Sunday Times Culture as the ‘most buzzed-about novel at the Frankfurt Book Fair’. Morrey was previously the Creative Director at RDF Television, where she helped create Channel 4’s The Secret Life of Four Year Olds and devised 100 Year Old Drivers for ITV.