SPONSOR
DESCRIPTION
LITERARY AGENT OF THE YEAR KAROLINA SUTTON
THE SHORTLIST
WINNER Karolina Sutton CURTIS BROWN
AITKEN ALEXANDER ASSOCIATES
UNITED AGENTS
GLEAM TITLES
JENNY BROWN ASSOCIATES
Sam Copeland RCW
Clare Hulton CLARE HULTON LITERARY AGENCY
MADELEINE MILBURN
LITERARY, TV & FILM AGENCY
F
or Karolina Sutton, 2019 was the culmination of a 12-year career at Curtis Brown during which she has built one of the most distinctive
and diverse lists in publishing. As Margaret Atwood’s sole agent since 2016,
she was the mastermind of the literary event of the year, scoring rights deals in 38 territories for The Testaments and supporting live events, backlist rebranding, merchandising, major- league media coverage and much more. By the end of the year, the novel had sold more than 700,000 copies in all editions in the UK, and scooped a share of the Booker Prize. Remarkably, the other winner, Bernardine
Evaristo for Girl, Woman, Other, had also been Sutton’s client until a switch before the Booker. Her work for Evaristo showed her commitment to lifting lesser-known names into the mainstream, and an instinct for literary talent that has also
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seen her launch the likes of Emma Healey and Imogen Hermes Gowar in recent years. On the non-fiction side, she had a trio of bestsellers in 2019 with Philippa Perry’s The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, Tara Westover’s Educated and Oliver Bullough’s Moneyland, while continuing to manage the doyenne of the colouring book, Millie Marotta. Gentle with clients and tough at the negotiat-
ing table, Sutton is a champion of both authors and publishers, and squeezes the last drop of potential out of every book. The judges app- lauded the glowing testimonials from both sides of the publishing fence. “She’s kind, supportive, protective and honest… she changed my life,” said one of her authors, while a leading publisher added: “Karolina is one of the greatest agents of our time and is constantly learning, adapting and pushing to be the best she can be. Our industry is lucky to have her.”
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