THIS WEEK ZOE ROSS UNITED AGENTS T
he “delight of being an agent”, Zoe Ross says, “is you can follow your instincts and whatever
piques your interest.” With self- confessed “magpie tastes”, Ross’ eclectic list ranges across literary fiction (A K Blakemore, whose The Manningtree Witches just won the Desmond Elliott Prize), to thought- provoking non-fiction (Nels Abbey, Nell Frizzell), celebs (Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish’s Clanlands), cookery (Olivia Potts’ award-winning foodie memoir, A Half Baked Idea) to a YouTube vegan chef (Gaz Oakley, a.k.a. @AvantGardeVegan). Her eye- popping deals are all the more impres- sive as Ross has only been a full-time agent for 16 months, having previ- ously worked at United as a foreign rights and film/TV agent. That back- ground holds her in good stead as she knows what works abroad—Alice Slater’s début thriller Death of a Bookseller, sold to Hodder in April, has gone to six territories—and across media. Ross adds: “Working at an agency like United is a perfect harmony of independence and having people behind you. You feel secure to explore and do what you want to do.”
Rising Stars Class of 2021
CHARLOTTE SEYMOUR ANDREW NURNBERG ASSOCIATES C
harlotte Seymour studied modern languages and worked as a scout in France and the UK, so when the opportunity arose six years ago at Andrew Nurnberg, with a dual remit to rep some of the agency’s foreign authors in Britain and build a UK list, she leapt at the chance.
Seymour has a 50/50 split between homegrown and foreign talent, and she has had a remarkable strike rate for translated titles, such as Italian author Elena Varvello’s English PEN award-winning thriller Can You Hear Me? On the UK side, Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium has been 2021’s monster hit, a bestseller for Transworld and sold into 28 territories. Going forward, Seymour thinks a large part of her job will be nurturing long-term careers, and that may include more cross-media properties. She adds: “While I expect my focus will always be on books, the more opportunities around them that I can identify, the better. If I can keep on top of an ever-changing landscape and help my authors navigate it, so that they can focus on producing their best work, I think I’ll be pretty happy.”
Working at an agency like United is a perfect harmony of independence and having people behind you. You feel secure to explore Zoe Ross, United Agents
NICHOLA SMALLEY AND OTHER STORIES H
aving a book that you’ve publicised on the International Booker Prize longlist is no mean feat, but it was a double celebration for Nichola Smalley when Andrzej Tichý’s Wretchedness made this year’s list, as she also translated the novel. In her own words, Smalley’s journey
into publishing was “long and winding”, taking in a fashion degree, time abroad, then a language BA and PhD. During the latter, she became increasingly inter- ested in translation, leading to a traineeship in publicity, marketing and sales at Sheffield-based indie And Other Stories. After taking maternity leave a couple of years ago, she returned part-time to the firm as publicity director, dedicating one day a week to translation. Currently, she is working on the final draft of a Swedish novel she has translated for Scribe and she is “really excited” about And Other Stories’ autumn list, particularly Tice Cin’s Keeping the House. She describes getting to know authors and other industry professional as a career highlight, saying: “I’m in this for the people as well as the books.”
The biggest impact we have had is making the company think about who is having these conversations and calling for marginalised folks to be heard Delanya Spencer, SAGE
DELAYNA SPENCER SAGE D
elayna Spencer joined SAGE in 2015, and was promoted to senior commissioning editor at the start of this year. One of her first projects as commissioning editor was the Little Guides for Teachers series. A key part of the project was running a survey for practition-
ers, making the final product “something by teachers for teachers”. The leading title in the series is now a major bestseller in the professional teacher market. She is also spearheading Social Science for Social Justice, a new international book series for SAGE on social justice topics, written by authors of colour. “This series is a response, a speaking back to the Ivory Tower of academia,” she says. After spotting “a clear lack of intersectionality” in SAGE’s diversity work, Spencer co-founded employee-led BAME and LGBTQIA+ groups with colleagues Lina Ashour and Sarah Brook. She says: “The biggest impact we have had is making the company think about who is having these conversations and calling for marginalised folks, especially those at lower quartiles, to be heard.”
16 9th July 2021
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