PREVIEW Four literary
agents share their experiences of
departing esteemed firms and setting up on their own in the midst of the pandemic
n
CarolineCarpen @carolinec1988
D
penter 88
espite the unpredictabilit of the past couple of years, several literary agents
have departed well-established agencies to strike out on their own. Kate Shaw leſt The Viney Shaw Agency, taking her existing client list—including several high-profile authors such as Isabel Ashdown, Vashti Hardy and Holly Smale—with her, just over two years ago. She says: “Aſter 18 years working as an agent, I wanted to do something different for my clients. Writers mainly work alone and I believe they thrive when they are valued, celebrated and supported, in the good times and the difficult ones, by an agency that makes them feel at home. An agency family is what I wanted to achieve with The Shaw Agency.” Shaw reports that business has been progressing “really well” so far. She adds: “I’ve not looked back or regreted a minute of it. What I’ve discovered about running my own agency is that it’s far less about me and even more about my clients.” Reflecting on the impact of the pandemic, she considers herself “very fortunate that the business I started is in a resilient sector of the economy”. She expands: “There have of course been, and continue to be challenges for publishing and bookselling, which has had knock-on effects for publication dates, clients’ income and books’
06 1st October 2021
Frankfurt Book Fair Special Branching out: New agencies
Going solo: Four literary agents on setting up their new firms
discoverabilit. But we have found new ways of working together as an agency and I’ve focused even more on my clients’ needs.” She believes that the chal- lenges she has faced during the pandemic have been “much the same as for a larger agency: juggling home-schooling, cancelled fairs and events, industry uncertaint, and having to become expert at Zoom”. In some ways, it’s been “simpler at The Shaw Agency, not having colleagues to worry about and already being set up to work from home”. Abigail Bergstrom, founder of publishing consultancy and literary agency Bergstrom Studio, agrees that there are positives
to being a smaller operation during the current climate. She leſt her role as head of publishing at Gleam Titles this spring aſter five years there, and launched her own company in June. She acknowledges it is “a brave thing to do in a climate with so many unknowns”, adding: “As a younger business you can adapt and be more responsive. We’re acclimating and integrating the change rather than fearing it.”
A broad church Bergstrom’s new venture offers a range of services to help authors build their brands and it represents authors including Munroe Bergdorf, Florence Given and Laura Bates. Explaining her
decision to open it, she says: “I had set up a thriving and success- ful agency for Gleam Futures and I was ready to do it for myself. Bergstrom Studio was also about diversifying. Rather than get pigeonholed, I wanted to create a business model that made space for my skills as an editor, agent and published author, one that would create roles for people who have a lot to offer to different parts of the industry.” According to Bergstrom, things are going “brilliantly” for her team, who are currently editing and developing books with authors who have been commis- sioned by publishers and those who are still seeking representa- tion. One of the benefits of being
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