Jonathan Burnham was born in London and educated at Oxford. Previously President of Miramax Books, he is currently the Senior Vice President and Publisher of the Harper Division at HarperCollins. The Harper list includes Barbara Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, Harper Lee, Nicole Krauss, Milan Kundera, Anderson Cooper, Ann Patchett, Michael Chabon, Armistead Maupin, Jess Walter, Wally Lamb, Francine Prose, Simon Winchester, Douglas Brinkley, Bernard Cornwell, Daniel Silva, Mitch Albom, General Colin Powell, Secretary Madeleine Albright, Megyn Kelly and many others.

Jonathan Burnham is on the board of Senior Conservators at New York Public Library, and is a faculty member at New York University.