Courtney

Summers

New York Times Bestselling Author

Award Winning Young Adult Novelist

Travels from: Toronto, ON

“Summers’ latest masterful thriller takes on the world of wealth and privilege to examine questions of power, predatory behavior, and, ultimately, complicity, and agency… a heartbreaking, brutal, and devastatingly realistic novel.” ― Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Courtney Summers is an “uncompromising writer” (Quill and Quire) with “a history of risky artistic choices” (Kirkus Reviews) “known for pushing boundaries” (Shelf Awareness) with a body of work that’s “not for the faint of heart” (The New York Times).

Hailed “a master of the bitch” (Electric Literature) for years of writing “nuanced, wrenching stories about angry [and] unlikable girls,” Summers’s reputation as an unapologetic and incisive storyteller has earned her praise from a readership that crosses category lines. Her critically acclaimed books have earned over 20 starred reviews, received numerous awards and honors—including the Edgar and ITW Thriller Awards. Courtney has reviewed for The New York Times and is the founder of the 2015 worldwide trending hashtag #ToTheGirls. She lives and writes in Canada.

Courtney's Featured Titles

Master of the Bitch

“What is it like to write books about a world that hates women in a world that hates them? A more pertinent line of inquiry would be what it’s like to publish them. Whenever a book is in conversation with subjects like patriarchy and rape culture, so to—at every stage—is the response. Which is why, whenever I finish a book and the publication process begins, this is the question its release is essentially built around: How do we make people care about a girl?”

* This talk is best suited to an in-conversation and Q&A format, after Courtney gives a brief speech about her experiences writing and publishing books about young women designed to push readers out of their comfort zone and into a space that invites them ‘not to look away.’

Focused Conversation and Q&A

Courtney can narrow her lens and speak about writing, publishing, and to the broader themes of any of her three most recent titles.

I’M THE GIRL
“Based loosely on the Epstein case, I’m the Girl is a bold, deeply intimate, and unflinching account of how one sixteen-year-old lesbian feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure that can only fail her while challenging readers to answer one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?”

THE PROJECT
“Inspired by the early days of Peoples Temple, The Project explores the insidious duality, complexities, and contradictions of cults and by wrapping them up in a human story that does not seek to sensationalize its subject matter or define itself by how far removed we are from the world it presents—but how disconcertingly, and heartbreakingly, close.”

SADIE
“We live in a time where violence against women and girls is often consumed as a form of entertainment. The consequence of that is an indifference to female pain and suffering unless we’re entertained by it. Maybe it’s not a missing girl’s responsibility to entertain anyone. Maybe the real question is: what is our responsibility to a missing girl?”

“Courtney Summers books are not for the faint of heart.” ―The New York Times

“Courtney Summers is a master of the bitch. For [years], she has written nuanced, wrenching stories about angry girls, unlikable girls . . . explaining why they are the way they are without apologizing for it.” ―Electric Literature

“Summers is a master of the Culturally Necessary Life Ruiner.” ―Buzzfeed

“Known for her powerful young adult novels . . . Summers has pulled no punches when it comes to diving into the darker side of teen lives.” ―Bustle

“No one writes about teen girls and young women like Canadian novelist Courtney Summers.” ―Elle Canada

“One of the sharpest and hardest-hitting of Canada’s writers about high school life.” ―Toronto Star

“[An] emotionally raw and brutally captivating novel…Summers expertly weaves together drama, mystery, and romance via George’s guileless narration for an intense look into one girl’s wish to be seen as mature, and the powers that manipulate her, in this powerful, ultimately hopeful performance.” ―Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“From the opening scene, Summers propels readers into an unwavering staring contest with some of the darkest truths the world has to offer young women…A powerful and important story.” ―School Library Journal, Starred Review

“Devastating yet honest…Courtney Summers’s eighth YA novel–part murder mystery, part thriller, part queer romance–is a brutal, raw account of truths behind power and privilege.” ―Shelf Awareness

Courtney’s Substack

Courtney’s Press Kit & Reader Resources

Honors, Awards & Recognition

New York Times Bestseller
Indie Bestseller
Finalist, 2023 ITW Thriller Award for I’m the Girl
Winner, 2022 ITW Thriller Award for The Project
Finalist, 2022 Audie Award for The Project
Finalist, 2022 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award for The Project
Winner, 2021 Templo Revista’s Best Foreign Standalone Award for All the Rage
Winner, 2020 Ontario Library Association’s White Pine Award for Sadie
Winner, 2019 Edgar Award for Sadie
Winner, 2019 Canadian Children Book Centre’s John Spray Mystery Award for Sadie
Winner, 2019 Audie Award for Sadie
Winner, 2019 ALA Odyssey Award for Sadie

Media clips

The New York Times | Girl Hunter or Girl Hunted?

GoMag | Courtney Summers On Coming Out, Lesbian Love Stories & Her Highly Anticipated 8th Book

Rolling Stone | Courtney Summers’ ‘The Project’ Is Not Your Average Novel About Cults

Quill & Quire | YA novelist Courtney Summers and the complicated allure of cults

Electric Lit | This Book and Podcast Examine How We Consume Stories About Dead Girls

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

Summers

Master of the Bitch

Focused Conversation and Q&A

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Media clips

Media Kit

Similar Authors

Related Topics

©2025 AUTHORS UNBOUND AGENCY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS