Tue 18 November 2008 at 5.00 pm

Antony Harwood: ‘The Business of the Literary Agent’

Publishing Research Seminar Series

Taking Place: Buckley BG01 in Semester 1 2008

Over the past hundred years, literary agents have become key intermediaries in the publishing business. They select authors, negotiate publishing and other rights deals, and manage authors' business affairs. They also frequently perform an editorial function, working closely with authors on their work before it reaches a publisher.

In this talk, Antony Harwood, a leading literary agent, will introduce the business of the literary agent, examining agents' relationships with the rest of the publishing industry, with related media industries, and with authors. He will also discuss some of the current issues in the publishing market affecting the business of the literary agent.

Antony Harwood began his publishing career as a Production Assistant at Chatto & Windus, later becoming head of the Publicity Department and eventually Commissioning Editor (working with authors including Angela Carter, Toni Morrison and Iris Murdoch). He then moved into literary agenting, working at Gillon Aitken and the Curtis Brown Group before founding his own agency in 2000, which has been based in Oxford since 2003.

His clients include literary, mass-market and young adult authors, including Alan Hollinghurst, A L Kennedy, Louise Doughty, Dorothy Koomson, George Monbiot and Garth Nix.