THE PATHWAY TO PUBLISHING

Literary agents & partners
We can make the introduction.

For a traditional publishing contract, you need a literary agent; publishers rarely accept direct submissions. We work with over 40 leading literary agencies worldwide.

FROM BLANK PAGE TO BOOK DEAL

The path from manuscript to agent

Almost all new writers seeking to be traditionally published need a literary agent. The major publishing houses account for almost 80 percent of book sales worldwide and acquire books almost exclusively from literary agents.

We are in touch with literary agents on a daily basis and prime them on forthcoming manuscripts from our writers. Join The Finished Novel Course and, if your manuscript is a match for one of our trusted literary agents, you will be invited to enter our submissions process. We neither ask for nor accept a commission for this; it’s part of the service.

Why do you need a literary agent?

A good literary agent can get you a traditional publishing deal with major publishers and independents, as well as TV and film rights. If you want to be published by one of the Big Five; Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan, you will need an agent to get your manuscript in front of their editors.

Understanding agent listings

Agent listings are hard to navigate. You’ll research literary agents for many weeks to find those who represent your genre, pore through their submission guidelines and wish lists, and still be unsure whether you have found the right match.

Finding the right agent

Even if a literary agent shows interest, requests a full manuscript and likes your writing, you may still have questions. How well are they regarded in the industry? Do they have contacts at the publishing houses that acquire in your genre? Editors prioritize submissions according to the agency they come from.

Demystifying the publishing industry

Many new authors think the publishing industry is impenetrable, a closed shop. It isn’t. The writer’s market is stronger than it has ever been, and you might be closer than you think. A literary agent views a query letter with the same eye as the acquiring editor at a publishing house. They know immediately what they are looking for.

How we can help

We submit on your behalf, keeping you informed throughout and allowing you the choice of meeting the agents interested in taking things further. It’s a joy for us to make that life-changing call to say an agent loves your book. Submission is never guaranteed; it depends on your manuscript being ready.

A RELATIONSHIP BASED ON REPUTATION

Our trusted literary agencies

Our literary agents are AAA and AALA members, operating worldwide. They represent bestselling and award-winning authors including Tom Clancy, Meg Wolitzer, Philip Pullman, Michael Ondaatje, Hilary Mantel, Marilynne Robinson, Madeline Miller, Celeste Ng, Gail Honeyman, Richard Osman, Paula Hawkins, J.M. Coetzee, Jacqueline Wilson and many more.

CAA

CAA Books provides unparalleled representation for authors in publishing, film and television, representing best-in-class writers across genres. They work with established and emerging fiction writers, journalists, celebrities, and experts to inform, entertain and enrich readers of all ages. With offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., CAA Books works globally to ensure their clients’ work reaches audiences around the world.

More than 100 of their books appear on the Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller lists every year, and clients include myriad Nobel, Pulitzer, Booker, Baillie Gifford Prize and National Book Award winners.

WME

A famous global operation closing more than 1,000 international publishing deals a year, WME represents internationally bestselling authors, critically acclaimed literary writers, award-winning journalists, thought leaders, and up-and-coming talent. WME authors have been the recipients of such esteemed awards as the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Edgar Award, the Orange Prize, the Giller Prize, the Booker Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Medal of Literature, among others. Authors include Kiley Reid, Tom Clancy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Curtis Sittenfeld, Amor Towles, Jean Hanff Korelitz and Meg Wolitzer.

Writers House

Writers House is an independently owned full-service literary agency, providing individual client attention with in-house international licensing, media, contracts, and accounting teams. They represent both adult and children’s fiction in almost all genres.

Janklow & Nesbit Associates

The famous U.S. literary agency began as Morton L. Janklow Associates, founded by attorney Morton Janklow in 1977. The arrival of Lynn Nesbit created Janklow & Nesbit Associates in 1989. Janklow & Nesbit (U.K.) Ltd was established in 2000 to provide the same level of service and expertise to British- and European-based writers. The literary agency has represented books that have appeared on the New York Times bestseller lists cumulatively for more than 9,300 weeks between 2010 and 2017. Their amazing authors have garnered every major accolade from the Pulitzer Prize to the Academy Award.

Trident Media Group

Trident Media Group (TMG) is a prominent literary agency in New York City dedicated to championing authors throughout their careers. Founded in 2000, TMG represents a wide range of bestselling and distinguished authors, as well as newly emerging authors. Their clients have won major literary awards and prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN Faulkner Award, the PEN Hemingway Award and the Booker Prize, among others.

Aevitas Creative Management

Aevitas Creative Management is a full-service literary agency, home to more than twenty literary agents in five cities in the U.S.A. (New York; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Seattle) and in London, England. Their list includes Riley Sager, Neil Patrick Harris, Andrew J. Graff and Tara Conklin. Their authors have won the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, National Book Critics Circle Award, PEN/Hemingway, Pushcart Prize, Whiting Writer’s Award, and the Nobel Peace Prize. They represent our own Olesya Lyuzna.

Inkwell Management

Inkwell is one of the world’s leading literary agencies, with an international reputation for representing bestselling and prize-winning writers and working closely with every New York publisher. Their literary agents are particularly interested in original ideas, riveting stories, and great writing. Their clients include Kate Atkinson, Sophie Kinsella, Lionel Shriver, Lauren Oliver and Markus Zusak.

Sterling Lord Literistic Inc.

In 1952, Sterling Lord founded his distinguished agency and counted such literary icons as Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey among his early clients. Peter Matson established his firm Literistic in 1979 and rose to prominence representing such writers as Dee Brown and John Irving. In 1987, the two joined forces, creating the prestigious agency that continues to flourish today. In 2001, Matson became partners with Philippa Brophy and Laurie Liss, who now run the agency.

Folio Literary Management

Folio Literary Management is an independently owned literary agency committed to providing its clients with comprehensive career support. They represent a wide range of authors in both fiction and non-fiction, including Dolly Parton, Jenny Han, Misty Copeland, Andrew Morton, Carolyn Brown, and Lois Lowry, to name a few, from New York Times bestsellers and winners of the Newbery and Caldecott to iconic celebrities. With over 30 agents—including a dedicated audio and dramatic rights team—Folio Literary Management helps bring authors’ visions to life.

Folio Jr., the division devoted exclusively to today’s most stellar children’s book authors and artists, is wholly committed to offering clients impeccable, individually tailored care. Folio Jr. strives not only to discover and cultivate compelling new voices and original and memorable styles of illustration, but also to indefatigably and strategically support established writers and illustrators as they thrive and develop their careers. 

The Book Group

The Book Group was founded in 2015. They work with every major New York publisher and represent award-winning novelists and illustrators, book club favorites, bestselling thrillers, and fantasy, horror and Young Adult classics. Their clients include Celeste Ng, Liane Moriarty, Madeleine Miller, Joshua Ferris, Rumaan Alam, Alice Sebold and other writers.

Jane Rotrosen Agency, NYC

The Jane Rotrosen Agency on 51st Street, Manhattan has represented authors of fiction since 1974. Their literary agent list includes over 1,000 international and domestic bestsellers in all formats. They represent women’s fiction, crime, suspense, thrillers, mystery, historical fiction, romance, New Adult fiction, Young Adult fiction, and children’s middle-grade fiction. Their authors include Tami Hoag, Lisa Gardner, Tess Gerritsen, Kristin Hannah and Iris Johansen.

The Frances Goldin Literary Agency

The Frances Goldin Literary Agency has been the leading progressive agency in New York since it was established by Frances Goldin in 1977 to champion voices of the feminist, racial justice, LGBTQ, and other social justice movements. Now comprising a team of nine agents, they represent work in many genres, from literary and speculative fiction to investigative journalism, graphic novels to literary essays, history and sociology to memoir and biography, but with a special focus on excellent, serious, groundbreaking fiction and non-fiction that engage struggles for human dignity. The agency represents a wide range of emerging and esteemed authors, journalists, artists, poets, activists, and scholars, many of whom publish globally and have appeared on national bestseller lists and have won or been shortlisted for major awards and prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize, National Humanities Medal, National Book Award, Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize), Pushcart Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, PEN/Faulkner Award, Carnegie Medal for Excellence, New York Public Library Young Lions Award, O. Henry Award, Graywolf Literary Nonfiction Award, Rona Jaffe Award, Edgar Award, Eisner Award, Nebula Award, Triangle Award, and many others, and have received NEA, Whiting, Guggenheim, and Lannan Foundation grants.

“I have been so impressed by the talent coming out of The Novelry and I’m thrilled to have the chance to consider future projects.”
— Nicole Cunningham
Trellis Literary Management, USA
The pathway to publishing

Is it time to take your writing seriously?

Getting your novel in front of literary agents

Finish your novel to submission standard with a Big Five editor at your side ... and when it’s ready, we can make the introduction.

The Finished Novel Course

The complete program

For those looking for the full novel-writing experience from start to finish.

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4995
  • Membership (1 Year)
  • The Big Idea, The Big Write, The Big Edit
  • The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
  • 6 Coaching Sessions
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