firstwriter.com's database of literary agents includes details of 2,466 English language literary agents and agencies that don't charge reading fees. The database is continually updated: there have been 73 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.
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David Vigliano has bought back the assets of his eponymous literary agency from Y Entertainment Group.
The boutique firm was sold to Y Entertainment in 2014. (That same year Y Entertainment formed a lifestyle group called AGI.) Vigliano said he was "grateful for all I have learned from AGI’s constellation of superstar agents." He added: " I’m excited to take what I’ve learned and put it to use as I return to operating independently."
Hollywood’s talent agencies may be significantly impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but agents are still making moves in an unprecedented crisis.
Television literary rep Laura Gordon, who has risen from the assistant level at ICM Partners nearly a decade ago to senior agent, left the shop amicably this week after the expiration of her contract, sources said. CAA is in the process of finalizing her deal, added another insider.
Gordon will join a company that has just instituted across-the-board salary reductions, not to mention one of the majors currently in a contentious battle with the Writers Guild of America over packaging fees. It was not immediately clear if Gordon will be subjected to the cuts made across CAA, which will see “our highest compensated colleagues shouldering a greater responsibility,” a CAA spokesperson said this week.
The tightening of publishers’ purse strings in response to the economic fallout of Covid-19 has added a new wrinkle to an age-old dilemma for agents: when is the best time to submit their clients’ new manuscripts?
In normal times, deciding when to submit books, and whom to submit them to, is something agents constantly weigh. Now, with huge swaths of the country under quarantine, pub dates of forthcoming titles in limbo, and questions about how long the pandemic will last, literary agents are divided on the best approach. All agents interviewed acknowledged that publishers will need to keep buying books, but many are uncertain about whether they want to send new projects out at such a difficult moment.
“I am definitely thinking about which projects make sense to submit now—in terms of author profile and subject matter—and which ones it’s better to hold,” said Markus Hoffmann, a partner at Regal Hoffmann Associates. “Arguably the right project will get more attention, since there will be fewer submissions overall. And even if lists contract across the board, publishers will need new books for when this crisis is over.”
The Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency is launching a six-month mentorship programme for aspiring authors.
Seeking to "find new and exciting voices in fiction and to guide writers during the early steps of their career", the mentorship programme will cover editorial guidance and insight into getting books published including current trends, what editors look for, international rights and film & TV.
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In last month's article, Avoiding literary agency scams (fwn 44), we identified the warning signs to watch out for in order to avoid bad agents. In this article I'll be reversing the question and providing tips on how to find good agents.
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