Is Samantha Shannon the next EL James? The 21-year-old author of the The Bone Season set for success

The Bone Season author Samantha Shannon (Mark Pringle)

A first-time novelist has been named as the next literary sensation set to follow in the footsteps of Fifty Shades of Grey writer EL James.

Samantha Shannon received a six-figure advance for The Bone Season, the first of what is set to be a seven-part series described by its publisher as "Beauty and the Beast written with the imagination of the Bronte sisters".

The 21-year-old told Forbes Magazine her success, before she has even been published, was "overwhelming".

She said: "It's a lot of pressure. There's a lot of expectations."

The Bone Season is the story of a young clairvoyant struggling against a powerful supernatural government.

Rights to the book, which she wrote at university, have been sold in 20 countries and the film rights have already been sold.

James features in this year's Forbes list of the most powerful celebrities at number 42 with the magazine estimating she has made more than 100 million US dollars over the last two years.

PA