firstwriter.com's database of literary agents includes details of 2,448 English language literary agents and agencies that don't charge reading fees. The database is continually updated: there have been 5 listings added or updated in the last month. With over a dozen different ways to narrow your search you can find the right literary agent for your book, fast.
News
The Good Literary Agency (TGLA) will close at the end of March with all staff, including agents, being made redundant.
Co-founders Julia Kingsford and Nikesh Shukla said they had tried to save the business but “failed” to be awarded additional funding they applied for. The founders said that, despite cutbacks and a restructure, they had taken the "heartbreaking" decision to close the agency.
All book contracts and all future earnings will revert to their authors and TGLA said it will work with publishers to transfer them over the coming months.
Amandeep Singh and Kerry-Ann Bentley, who joined as literary agents in 2023, and agency assistant Arden Jones are among those being made redundant.
TGLA was founded as a social enterprise agency for British writers from under-represented backgrounds in 2018. It was launched with an initial three years’ worth of funding by Arts Council England as part of their Ambition for Excellence programme and later became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
Sphere’s Ed Wood is joining The Blair Partnership as fiction agent and director of fiction development.
Wood joins from publisher Little, Brown, where he was Sphere fiction publishing director for brands and creative partnerships and Little, Brown IP director.
The news follows Emily Barrett and Liane-Louise Smith joining The Blair Partnership as agents from Little, Brown and the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, respectively, in 2023.
In his role as fiction agent, Wood will be responsible for finding the best in new writing talent, continuing his specialism in crime and thrillers, while as director of fiction development he will have a broader remit to uncover and nurture IP opportunities across publishing, as well as in film and TV, brand licensing and other areas.
Full-service marketing agency, Agent, has donated over £50,000 worth of children’s books since launching All You Read is Love in 2020 and is hoping 2024 will be the campaign’s biggest year yet.
Agent, which has studios in Liverpool and Manchester, launched its All You Read is Love campaign in 2020 and has donated brand-new books to underprivileged children across the region over the last four years, including works from well-known authors, emerging talent and voices from BAME and LGBTQ+ communities.
Ex-Hodder & Stoughton managing director Oliver Malcolm has launched his own consultancy, Oliver Malcolm Publishing Transformation.
Designed to empower publishers, agents and authors, the consultancy “aims to help navigate the rapidly changing world of publishing” and includes free support for neurodiverse individuals.
The announcement follows news of Malcolm’s departure from Hodder & Stoughton after two years as managing director.
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