List of UK literary agencies


This is a list of the major UK literary agencies, by order of the year of their establishment.

Literary agencies

Year foundedAgencyManagementNotable clientsWebsiteComments
1875A P WattCaradoc 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.
1899Curtis BrownJonathan Lloyd, Jonny Geller Jeffery Deaver
1919AM HeathBill Hamilton Hilary Mantel, George Orwell
1924Peters 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.
1935David Higham AssociatesAnthony Goff J. M. Coetzee, Roald Dahl, Stephen Fry, Eric Hobsbawm, Jacqueline Wilson, Rosemary SutcliffOriginally Pearn, Pollinger & Higham; David Higham Associates since 1956.
1956Johnson & AlcockMichael Alcock, Andrew HewsonCreated in 2003 by the merger of Michael Alcock Management and the John Johnson Agency.
1962Sheil Land AssociatesSonia 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..
1963Greene & HeatonCarol HeatonFounded by Elaine Greene, who was later joined by Carol Heaton.
1967Rogers, Coleridge & WhiteGill Coleridge, Peter Straus 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.
1970Watson, Little LtdJames Wills Lynne Reid Banks, DJ Enright, Margaret Mahy, James Wong, Evie WyldFounded by Sheila Watson and Mandy Little. Based in London, UK.
1973 Janklow & Nesbit Claire Conrad London office opened in 2000.
1974Independent TalentDuncan Heath, Paul Lyon-Maris, Lyndsey Posner 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.
1974MBADiana Tyler, Laura Longrigg
1976Ed Victor Literary AgencyEd Victor, Sophie Hicks, Margaret Phillips Acquired by Curtis Brown in 2017.
1976Aitken Alexander AssociatesGillon Aitken, Clare Alexander, Sally Riley Originally Gillon Aitken Associates, and operated for a time as Aitken & Stone.
1982Blake FriedmannCarole 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.
1985Caroline Sheldon Literary AgencyCaroline Sheldon
1988Andrew Lownie Literary AgencyAndrew Lownie
1988Darley AndersonDarley Anderson Lee Child, Martina Cole
1995David Godwin Associates David Godwin, Heather Godwin
1996Lucas 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 Weirhttp://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.
1997Annette Green Authors' Agency Annette Green, David Smith,Adam Macqueen, Elizabeth Haynes, Maria McCann, Ian Marchant, Louis Barfe, Katherine Clementshttp://www.annettegreenagency.co.uk/AGA was founded in 1997 by Annette Green. In 2001 David Smith, previously from Time Out Magazine, joined the agency from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer law firm.
2000Conville & WalshClare Conville, Patrick Walsh, Jake Smith-Bosanquet, Alan Oliver DBC Pierre, S. J. Watson, Charlie Brooker, Belle de Jour, Vic Reeves, Francis Bacon
2002Jenny Brown AssociatesJenny BrownThe largest literary agency in Scotland.
2003Eve White Literary AgencyEve WhiteAndy Stanton, Tracey Corderoy, Rae Earl Johnson
2005Graham Maw Christie Literary AgencyJennifer Christie, Jane Graham MawRosie Millard, Sheila ChandraBased in London, UK.
2007United AgentsPeter 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.
2020Ben OliverScottish-based literary agency representing writers of children's, young-adult, sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
2008Writers House UKAngharad 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. Angharad is now actively looking to expand her representation of UK authors.
2009The Bent AgencyJenny Bent, Molly Ker Hawnhttp://www.thebentagency.comBased in London and New York. representing adult fiction and non-fiction, and children's and YA with a commitment to building bestsellers.
2012Madeleine Milburn LtdMadeleine Milburn, Giles MilburnCJ 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
2012Hardman & SwainsonCaroline 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.
2013Collective TalentSteven Russell Collective Talent represents screenwriters, directors, book and graphic novel rights.
2013Rocking Chair Books Literary AgencySamar Hammam Dedicated to original page-turning books.
2014Kingsford CampbellJulia Kingsford & Charlie Campbell Rebecca Front, Charlotte Philby, Will Hill, Julian Gough, Nikesh ShuklaBased in London and represents a range of fiction and non-fiction. Also offer marketing services.
2014Skylark LiteraryAmber Caraveo, Joanna Moulthttp://www.skylark-literary.comSpecialist Children's and YA Literary Agency
2016Golden Quill UKJohn GroutVictoria Ewarthttps://goldenquilliterary.co.uk/Located in UK, US and Spain. Represented Fiction and Nonfiction books.
2016Blue Boar BooksChildren's, YA and Adult Fiction/Non-Fiction Literary Agents
2016Outlaw Agents UKSam Bellis, Tom EdwardsAdam Manuel, Danny Martinhttp://www.outlawagentsuk.comUK Screenwriting Agent specialising in Film, TV, Video Games and viral campaign industries.
2017Sinead Heneghan Literary AgencySinead Heneghanhttp://www.sineadheneghan.comLiterary agency based in Manchester, UK, specialising in contemporary fiction from the crime and thriller genres to romance and high-concept.
2017Tin-Can Telephone Literary AgencyCassian Hallhttp://tctliteraryagency.comLiterary Agency based in Edinburgh, UK. Representing adult fiction, children's and YA. Breaking new ground by building a writers community around the agency.
2017The Ruppin AgencyJonathan Ruppinhttp://www.ruppinagency.comLondon-based literary agency set up by former bookseller, handling fiction and non-fiction for adult market; particularly keen to find voices from unrepresented communities.
2017The Good Literary Agencyhttps://www.thegoodliteraryagency.orgOnly represents writers from a background under-represented in UK publishing including writers of colour, working class, disability, LGBTQ+.