firstwriter.com's database of literary agents includes details of 2,408 English language literary agents and agencies that don't charge reading fees. The database is continually updated: there have been 58 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
EXCLUSIVE: Verve has upped coordinators Jessica Zou and Noah Liebmiller to Agents in the Motion Picture Literary Team.
The agency, which has a tradition of surprising staffers with promotions, last week tasked Liebmiller and Zou with putting together a video as part of a signing exercise. I understand they were told that the video was not only important but needed to convey the theatrical gravitas of the signing pursuit. During a recent all-company staff meeting, the video was played to great reception and the promotions were announced by the co-heads of the Motion Picture Lit Team who reflected on how deserving both Liebmiller and Zou were of their new titles.
United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire U.K. literary and talent agency Curtis Brown Group.
Under the terms of the deal, London-based Curtis Brown Group, founded in 1899, will continue to operate under its current name and management, including CEO Jonny Geller. The structure will allow both parries to continue their longstanding relationships with other agency partners in the U.K. and U.S.
Literary scouts Naja Baldwin and Katie McCalmont have joined forces to launch a new international consulting and scouting agency called Zephyr.
The new agency is based in Soho, central London. It scouts UK and international books for publishers and film and TV companies, and has already signed up its first clients, including Hanser Verlag in Germany, Nieuw Amsterdam, Podium and Fontaine (Park Publishers) in the Netherlands, Polaris in Sweden, Kagge in Norway and Todavia Livros in Brazil.
Baldwin said: “Zephyr is named after the west wind, bringing change, warmth and fresh ideas. This captures the energy we want to bring to our new venture. I can’t think of a better partner than Katie to launch this agency with — she’s an innovative and creative thinker, bold in her ambitions and an absolute joy to work with."
Morton Janklow, one of the nation’s most powerful literary agents who elevated the power of the profession in advocating for authors, died Wednesday morning of heart failure at his home in Water Mill, N.Y.. He was 91 years old.
Janklow’s clients included the likes of Sidney Poitier, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Jackie Collins, Nancy Reagan and Ted Turner. His death was confirmed by publicist Paul Bogards to The New York Times.
Janklow began his career as a literary agent in 1972 when his client and friend William Safire asked him to help with a book he was writing about President Richard Nixon. The corporate attorney educated himself on the publishing industry and successfully negotiated a contract for Safire’s book. After the Watergate scandal broke, the book’s publisher attempted to back out of the $250,000 contract.
Articles
Adrienne Schwartz recently acquired an agent using firstwriter.com's database of literary agencies. We asked her about her writing, and how she found success.
Charlie Carroll recently signed a deal with the esteemed Paterson Marsh literary agency, as a result of searching firstwriter.com's database of over 850 literary agents. We asked him about his writing, and how he found success.
firstwriter.com
For as long as there have been writers eager to get published, there have been con artists ready to prey upon them for a quick buck. Nowadays, the internet is rife with phony literary agencies offering writers false hope in return for a small (or not-so-small) sum of money. In this article I'll look at some of the ways you can spot a dodgy agency, and avoid your time, money, and aspirations being abused. While none of the points below guarantee by themselves that an agency is dubious, together they can make a compelling case, and they should all make you tread a little more cautiously.
Rob Riley recently acquired an agent using firstwriter.com's database of literary agencies. We asked him about his writing, and how he found success.
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