It was the glitziest party I had ever been to: the V&A Museum lit up at night, free-flowing champagne and just the right dose of celebrity guests. I was newly published in 2019 and the HarperCollins Summer Party felt like the Oscars of literature. The biggest names in publishing were drinking and chatting on the lawn. In fact, an Oscar winner or two, among them Eddie Redmayne, have been known to come along.