List of UK literary agencies
This is a list of the major UK literary agencies, by order of the year of their establishment, including selected notable clients.
Literary agencies
| Year founded | Agency | Management | Notable clients | Website | Notes |
| 1875 | A P Watt | Caradoc King, Derek Johns | Philip Pullman | Oldest literary agency in the world. In December 2012 A P Watt joined the United Agents Partnership. | |
| 1898 | WME | Simon Trewin | Formerly William Morris Endeavor. The largest talent agency in the world, having been created in 2009 by the merger of the William Morris Agency and the Endeavor Agency. | ||
| 1899 | Curtis Brown | Jonathan Lloyd, Jonny Geller | Bonnie Garmus,Bono, Monica Ali, John Le Carré, Daphne du Maurier | ||
| 1919 | AM Heath | Bill Hamilton | Hilary Mantel, George Orwell | - | |
| 1924 | Peters Fraser & Dunlop | Caroline Michel | Simon Schama, Jeanette Winterson, C. S. Forester | Part of the Rights House Group, which was established in 2010, PFD is the result of a 1989 merger between the A. D. Peters Agency and the Fraser and Dunlop Agency. | |
| 1932 | Eric Glass Ltd | Founded in 1932 by Eric Glass. | |||
| 1935 | David Higham Associates | Anthony Goff | J. M. Coetzee, Roald Dahl, Stephen Fry, Eric Hobsbawm, Jacqueline Wilson, Rosemary Sutcliff | Originally Pearn, Pollinger & Higham; David Higham Associates since 1956. | |
| 1956 | Johnson & Alcock | Michael Alcock, Andrew Hewson | Candace Allen, Beryl Bainbridge, Lawrence Scott, D. M. Thomas | Created in 2003 by the merger of Michael Alcock Management and the John Johnson Agency. | |
| 1961 | Roger Hancock Ltd | Lucy Hancock | Tony Hancock, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Annie Leake | Founded in 1961 by Roger Hancock. | |
| 1962 | Sheil Land Associates | Sonia Land | Peter Ackroyd, Melvyn Bragg, Susan Hill, Patrick O’Brian | Based in London, UK. Incorporates Richard Scott Simon Ltd and Christy & Moore Ltd. Overseas associates: Georges Borchardt, Inc.. | |
| 1963 | Greene & Heaton | Carol Heaton | Michael Frayn, Richard Reed | Founded by Elaine Greene, who was later joined by Carol Heaton. | |
| 1967 | Rogers, Coleridge & White | Gill Coleridge, Peter Straus | David Aaronovitch, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Nick Hornby, Kazuo Ishiguro, James Kelman, Ian McEwan, Caryl Phillips, Zadie Smith, Meera Syal, Donna Tartt | Founded as Deborah Rogers Ltd by Deborah Rogers who was soon joined by Pat White and in 1988 by Gill Coleridge when Rogers, Coleridge & White was formed. Representing adult fiction and non-fiction, and children's and YA. | |
| 1970 | Watson, Little Ltd | James Wills | Lynne Reid Banks, D. J. Enright, Margaret Mahy, James Wong, Evie Wyld | Founded by Sheila Watson and Mandy Little. Based in London, UK. | |
| 1973 | Janklow & Nesbit | Will Francis | Alan Rusbridger, Rebecca Stott | London office opened in 2000. | |
| 1974 | Independent Talent Group | Duncan Heath, Sally Long-Innes, | www.independenttalent.com | Founded as Duncan Heath & Associates, which was bought by ICM in 1985. In 1991, ICM merged Duncan Heath & Associates with its UK office and, in 2002, a management buyout took place. The agency was renamed Independent Talent in August 2007. | |
| 1974 | MBA | Diana Tyler, Laura Longrigg | Represents writers in all media, including books, and scripts for film, television, radio and theatre. | ||
| 1976 | Ed Victor Literary Agency | Ed Victor, Sophie Hicks, Margaret Phillips | Acquired by Curtis Brown in 2017. | ||
| 1976 | Aitken Alexander Associates | Gillon Aitken, Clare Alexander, Sally Riley | Originally Gillon Aitken Associates, and operated for a time as Aitken & Stone. | ||
| 1982 | Blake Friedmann | Carole Blake, Julian Friedmann | Created by the merger of Julian Friedmann Literary Agency and the Carole Blake Literary Agency, which were founded in 1976 and 1977 respectively. | ||
| 1985 | Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency | Caroline Sheldon | John Agard, Patrice Lawrence | Representing a roster of authors and illustrators, the agency's particular areas of interest are fiction and all types of children's books. | |
| 1986 | Artellus Limited | Gabriele Pantucci, Leslie Gardner | Anthony Burgess,Robert Aickman, Roger Lewis | - | |
| 1988 | Andrew Lownie Literary Agency | Andrew Lownie | |||
| 1988 | Darley Anderson | Darley Anderson | Lee Child, Martina Cole | ||
| 1995 | David Godwin Associates | David Godwin, Heather Godwin | Sade Adeniran, Lucy Ellmann, Aminatta Forna, Ian Jack, Vikram Seth, Marina Warner | Based in London, DGA represent a varied list of international writers, including novelists, poets, biographers, historians and journalists. | |
| 1996 | Lucas Alexander Whitley | Mark Lucas, Julian Alexander, Araminta Whitley, Philippa Milnes-Smith | Frank Gardner, Sophie Kinsella, Andy McNab, Kate Mosse, Condé Nast, Philip Reeve, Chris Riddell, Nigel Slater, Alison Weir | http://www.lawagency.co.uk/ | Based in London, UK, LAW was founded in 1996 by literary agents Mark Lucas, Julian Alexander, and Araminta Whitley. In 2001 Philippa Milnes-Smith joined the agency from Penguin Children's Books to create a children's and YA department. |
| 1997 | Annette Green Authors' Agency | Annette Green, David Smith, | Adam Macqueen, Elizabeth Haynes, Maria McCann, Ian Marchant, Louis Barfe, Katherine Clements | http://www.annettegreenagency.co.uk/ | AGA was founded in 1997 by Annette Green. In 2001 David Smith, previously of Time Out magazine, joined the agency from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer law firm. |
| 1997 | BookBlast Ltd | Georgia de Chamberet, Jemma Jupp, Ben Fiagbe | Lesley Blanch, George Elton Mayo | http://www.bookblast.com | London-based agency set up by a commissioning editor specialising in translations, representing literature with a cross cultural focus and literary estates. Also promotes the output of independent publishers. First website launched in 2000. |
| 2000 | Conville & Walsh | Clare Conville, Patrick Walsh, Jake Smith-Bosanquet, Alan Oliver | DBC Pierre, S. J. Watson, Charlie Brooker, Belle de Jour, Vic Reeves, Francis Bacon | ||
| 2002 | Jenny Brown Associates | Jenny Brown | The largest literary agency in Scotland. | ||
| 2003 | Eve White Literary Agency | Eve White, Ludo Cinelli | Andy Stanton, Ruth Ware, Yvvette Edwards, Eloise Head, Abie Longstaff, Tracey Corderoy, Rae Earl Johnson, Sarah Ockwell-Smith, Luan Goldie. | Independent literary agency founded in 2003 by Eve White and based in London, UK. Eve White Literary Agency represents authors of fiction, non-fiction and children's/YA fiction. Its authors' books have gone on to become bestsellers, win awards and be longlisted for the Booker Prize and Women's Prize for Fiction. | |
| 2005 | Graham Maw Christie Literary Agency | Jennifer Christie, Jane Graham Maw | Raynor Winn, , | A UK agency in London specialising in non-fiction, with a host of international bestsellers and Sunday Times Bestsellers across a wide range of subjects. | |
| 2007 | United Agents | Peter Bennett-Jones, Lindy King, St. John Donald | In October 2013 Jon Elek of United Agents sold the North American rights for Tina Seskis's debut novel One Step Too Far to HarperCollins’s William Morrow imprint for $500,000. | ||
| 2008 | Writers House UK | Angharad Kowal | In April 2008, Writers House opened Writers House UK, a London-based office run by Angharad Kowal, dedicated to selling and supporting US Authors directly in the United Kingdom, British Commonwealth, Australia, and New Zealand. The UK office closed in 2017. | ||
| 2009 | The Bent Agency | Jenny Bent, Molly Ker Hawn | http://www.thebentagency.com | Based in London and New York. representing adult fiction and non-fiction, and children's and YA with a commitment to building bestsellers. | |
| 2012 | Madeleine Milburn Ltd | Madeleine Milburn, Giles Milburn | CJ Daugherty, Cally Taylor Fiona Barton, Holly Bourne, Nuala Ellwood, Gail Honeyman, C.J. Tudor | Literary, TV & Film Agency based in Mayfair, London, founded by Madeleine Milburn in February 2012 Representing adult fiction and non-fiction, and children's and YA, with a reputation for launching new writers on a global level in major deals | |
| 2012 | Hardman & Swainson | Caroline Hardman & Joanna Swainson, Hannah Ferguson | Based in London, UK, Hardman & Swainson was founded in June 2012 by Caroline Hardman and Joanna Swainson. In September 2014, Hannah Ferguson joined the agency from the Marsh Agency. Hardman & Swainson represents a range of fiction and non-fiction. | ||
| 2012 | Elise Dillsworth Agency | Elise Dillsworth | Robert Antoni, Roy Heath, Anthony Joseph, Irenosen Okojie, Yewande Omotoso, Courtney Pine, Noo Saro-Wiwa | Based in London, Elise Dillsworth Agency represents literary and general fiction and non-fiction, with an aim to reflect writing that is international. | |
| 2013 | Collective Talent | Steven Russell | Collective Talent represents screenwriters, directors, book and graphic novel rights. | ||
| 2013 | Rocking Chair Books Literary Agency | Samar Hammam | Warsan Shire, Lakambini Sitoy | Dedicated to original page-turning books. | |
| 2014 | Greyhound Literary Agents | Charlie Campbell, Sam Edenborough | SJ Bennett, Edward Brooke-Hitching, Rebecca Front, Maisie Hill, Will Hill, Julian Gough, Lias Saoudi | Founded as Kingsford Campbell, the agency became Greyhound Literary Agents in 2022. Based in London and represents a range of fiction, non-fiction and children's books. | |
| 2014 | Skylark Literary | Amber Caraveo, Joanna Moult | http://www.skylark-literary.com | Specialist Children's and YA Literary Agency | |
| 2016 | Pew Literary | Patrick Walsh | Tom Holland, Andrea Wulf | https://www.pewliterary.com/ | Founded by Patrick Walsh, previously of "Conville & Walsh" agency, which was sold to Curtis Brown and then renamed "C+W Agency". |
| 2016 | Golden Quill UK | John Grout | Victoria Ewart | https://goldenquilliterary.co.uk/ | Located in UK, US and Spain. Represented Fiction and Nonfiction books. |
| 2016 | Blue Boar Books | Children's, YA and Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction Literary Agents | |||
| 2016 | Outlaw Agents UK | Sam Bellis, Tom Edwards | Adam Manuel, Danny Martin | http://www.outlawagentsuk.com | UK Screenwriting Agent specialising in Film, TV, Video Games and viral campaign industries. |
| 2017 | Tin-Can Telephone Literary Agency | Cassian Hall | http://tctliteraryagency.com | Literary Agency based in Edinburgh, UK. Representing adult fiction, children's and YA. Breaking new ground by building a writers community around the agency. | |
| 2017 | The Ruppin Agency | Jonathan Ruppin | http://www.ruppinagency.com | London-based literary agency set up by former bookseller, handling fiction and non-fiction for adult market; particularly keen to find voices from unrepresented communities. | |
| 2017 | The Good Literary Agency | Joy Francis | https://www.thegoodliteraryagency.org | Only represents writers from a background under-represented in UK publishing, including writers of colour, working-class, disability, LGBTQ+. | |
| 2020 | Exprimez Literary Agency | Matthew Smith | Philip Norman, Jenny Boyd | Representing UK authors including film/television and translation rights. | |
| 2020 | Laxfield Literary Associates | Emma Shercliff | Brian Chikwava, Idza Luhumyo, Olumide Popoola, Tom Shakespeare | Represents authors in Norfolk and Suffolk, and writers from under-represented backgrounds, with a particular interest in working with authors based in Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine. | |
| 2020 | Riviera Artists Agency | Justin Jones, Gemma Harris | London - Miami - Monaco. Representing screenwriters, authors and motion picture/television talent. | ||
| 2023 | Rebecca Carter Literary | Rebecca Carter | Ferdia Lennon, Timothy Coulson, Olivia Laing, Diana Athill | Representing UK authors including film/television and translation rights. |