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The Directory of Literary Agents

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7 Insider Secrets to Get a Top Agent, Publisher, and Book Deal
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Literary Agent Directory

Important: Visit each agent’s website (links in their listings below) to see if they’re open to submissions before querying.

John Taylor “Ike” Williams

CalligraphAccepting SubmissionsQuery Method(s): Email >
Work 88 Broad St. Suite 503 Boston Massachusetts 2110 United StatesWebsite: https://www.calligraphlit.com/

Biography

John Taylor “Ike” Williams is a literary agent with Calligraph. Ike,a founder of Kneerim & Williams, specializes in biography, history, politics, natural science, and anthropology. He represents Frances Fitzgerald, the Estate of Richard Wilbur, Michael Porter, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, the Estate of E.O. Wilson, Nigel Hamilton, the Estate of James MacGregor Burns, and Lawrence Tribe, among others. He was a member of the NEA Literary Panel, chair of the Boston Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, co-chair of the Fine Arts Work Center, a member of the Advisory Board of The Biography Conference, and he is a former director of the Boston Book Festival. He also places dramatic rights for such feature films as The Ice Bucket Challenge (Netflix) starring Casey Affleck, based on the life of Pete and Julie Frates; The True American by Anand Giridharadas (Kathryn Bigelow), Captain Phillips based on the book A Captain’s Duty by Captain Richard Phillips and Stephen Talty; Public Enemies, from Vendetta by Alston Purvis; and television productions such as: the History Channel series based on Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States; Death and the Civil War (American Experience) based on Drew Gilpin Faust’s This Republic of Suffering; and a three part series based on E.O. Wilson’s The Social Conquest of Earth.

As a lawyer, Ike specializes in intellectual property and first amendment litigation, particularly in publishing, film, television, and new media. He is co-author of the widely used Perle, Williams & Fischer on Publishing Law. His legal clients include Muhammad Yunus, Jeff Kinney, and the Estates of John Hersey, Howard Zinn, and Norman Mailer. Ike is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (in every edition since 1991); The Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers from 2004 – 2019 for entertainment, first amendment, and media law; Fortune Magazine’s Top-Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law (2010-2018); and he was selected as a ‘2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law’ by American Lawyer Media. He is the recipient of the American Jewish Committee’s 2005 Judge Learned Hand Award and Middlesex School’s 2011 Henry Cabot Lodge Award for public service.

Ike is the author of The Shores of Bohemia: A Cape Cod Story 1910-1960 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2022), a rousing account of the artists and political revolutionaries who made the Cape a hub of American culture in the early twentieth century.

Notes

Accepting Submissions | General Nonfiction | Biography | History | Nature | Politics | Science |


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Directory Instructions

Use the drop-down menu on the left to search for agents by genre, gender, location, longevity, or AAR Status. To find a specific agent or agency, enter the agent’s name or the name of the agency into the search box.

Important: If you use the search box, you must remove the search term by pressing the “Clear Search” link before you look for more agents using the drop-down menu (or you won’t see the proper results). Click on the “Show Notes” and “Show Bio” links underneath each agent for more information about that agent.

Have a question or need support? Post a comment or question by clicking on the red button at the bottom of the page.

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About Mark Malatesta

Photo of Mark Malatesta - Former Literary AgentMARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company Literary Agent Undercover and The Bestselling Author. Mark’s authors have gotten six-figure book deals, been on the NYT bestseller list, and published with houses such as Random House, Scholastic, and Thomas Nelson. Click here to learn more about Mark Malatesta and click here for Reviews of Mark Malatesta.

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Author Coaching Testimonials

Photo of Nathaniel Lande“Mark, finding you has been both a treat and a treasure—I just signed a contract with my new literary agent!

My career has spanned publishing, TV, and feature film. I’ve served as Creative Dir. for the Magazine Group, TIME Inc.; Dir. of Time World News Service, a Founding Dir. of TIME-Life Films; Exec. Prod. for both the CBS and NBC TV Networks; Prod./Dir.: Movies of the Week: CBS Cinema Center Films and Universal MCA.

Photo of The 10 Best of EverythingIn today’s publishing marketplace, agents come and go. They also very often seem to just want an easy pathway to make a buck. Many authors are let go by their agents because their last book didn’t do well enough and the agent doesn’t want to devote the time to help the author. That’s not what you’re about Mark. Even established authors need this type of support in today’s marketplace.”

Nathaniel Lande

Author of ten fiction and nonfiction books

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Photo of Amy Jo Goddard“I’m psyched to have this be official. After getting five different offers for representation from top literary agents, I signed with Stephanie Tade who got me a 6-figure book deal with Penguin!

Photo of Woman on FireGetting multiple agents interested in my work was really important to me. I’ve dealt with agents before and gotten screwed on things contractually so I wanted to do it differently this time. I wanted choices.

Having you help me create that, and navigate my options, was really helpful. I heard other authors talk about their great relationships with their agents and it made me want the same thing. Now I have that.”

Amy Jo Goddard

Author of Woman on Fire
(Penguin Books)

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Photo of Daniel Cohen“After sending out the query Mark revised for me, I had the opportunity to speak with literary agents from top agencies such as Janklow & Nesbit, Trident Media, Anderson Lit, and Folio. I signed with Don Fehr at Trident and, a short time later I had a publishing contract with Berkley Books, which recently published my book in hardcover.

Before that, I sent my query letter out on my own to 30 or 40 agents and got a lot of rejections. I then found Mark online while I was researching agents. I was surprised that he offered so much during his initial consultation—for a very modest amount of money.

Photo of Single HandedI don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t worked with Mark. I can’t even imagine that now though, because of the grief and detours I experienced before we worked together. It was a time-consuming pain in the neck. If you want to get the attention of top literary agents and publishers, there is no substitute for working with an insider. You can’t beat experience. And having Mark on your side is incredibly valuable.”

Daniel Cohen

Author of Single Handed
(Berkley Books, a Division of Penguin Random House)

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Photo of Miri Leshem-Pelley“AHHH! OMG, it happened! I got three offers of representation for my children’s picture book in the United States, even though I live abroad! When I woke up and found the first offer for representation in my email in box, I wanted to scream. But my family was still asleep so I couldn’t. 🙂

Photo of Lon-Lon's Big NightJust 8 minutes after I sent a query letter to one of my favorite agents, she replied and asked to see my manuscript. A short time later we had a lovely conversation. She was interested in representing me and sounded very positive and enthusiastic about my book. Since I also got offers from two other agents, I had to turn two of them down. One of them was upset and it felt like I was breaking her heart, but you just have to do it. I kept reminding myself that this is a good problem to have!”

Miri Leshem-Pelley

Author/Illustrator of Lon-Lon’s Big Night
and many other children’s books

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Photo of Dave Hamme“Mark, after you helped me land a top literary agent, I got publishing offers from THREE well-known publishers: Amacom, Palgrave Macmillan, and McGraw-Hill (they’re publishing my book in hardcover)!

I was at Disneyworld with my family, in the Haunted Mansion, when I got the call. I went outside and listened to the voicemail message from my agent. A huge smile came over my face. It was a fantastic feeling. For a moment I felt like life was perfect and the angels were singing.

Photo of Customer Focused Process InnovationYou’re filling an important need so I’ll say this to every other author reading this testimonial. Mark showed me that getting a top literary agent is a science. If you’ve written a book, or you’re in the process, you’ve already invested a lot—a lot more than money. Don’t stop yourself from getting out there to fulfill your purpose and dreams. Thank you so, so much, Mark!!!”

Dave Hamme

Author of Customer Focused Process Innovation (McGraw Hill)

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Photo of Erika Armstrong“I got a book deal! After I started sending out my new query letter I had 6 literary agents request my manuscript in a short amount of time, which is awesome. Then, within 2 weeks of my agent starting to pitch my story to publishers, we had an offer. I signed a book contract yesterday. A little while later my agent told me that a TV co-producer asked for more info about my book.

Photo of A Chick in the CockpitBy the way, the acquiring editor that fell in love with the manuscript jumped in with both feet and we just worked out our timeline for publication. She’s as passionate about getting my book out as I am, and that means everything. She read the manuscript in two days and said she couldn’t put it down. And the book is going to be published as a hardcover!”

Erika Armstrong

Author of A Chick in the Cockpit
(Behler Publications)

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Photo of Michael Thompson“Thank you Mark! After you helped me get a well-known agent with Hartline Literary Agency (for my previously self-published murder mystery), he got me a deal with an American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) approved publisher. I’m hard-pressed to find anything that I had an expectation for that you didn’t deliver on.

Photo of The RectorBefore I worked with you I sent out queries, but no one ever requested my complete manuscript. Comparing your new version of my query to the one I wrote before, I can see a vast difference.

I’ve been in business for 35 years so I’m not just saying this… what you’re doing is phenomenal. There are other people offering similar services, but the difference is your success. Others might say they do similar things but, if you research them, they don’t have your background or track record.”

Michael Thompson

Author of The Rector

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Photo of Ruth Finnegan“Mark, you’re a miracle worker. Thanks to your help with my book, query letter, and synopsis… I now have a legitimate publisher who described my book as ‘Powerful Magic’ and it’s now available in bookstores and online!

Photo of The Black Inked PearlI’m a lifelong academic writer who one day found myself writing inspired short stories that came to me in dreams and I began thinking of them as novels. That’s when I had a momentous conversation, an introductory coaching call with Mark Malatesta, the American creative writing coach, or rather, to be precise, a how-to-sell-yourself-and-your-work adviser. It was the best-spent money of my life apart (possibly) for my wedding ring.”

Professor Ruth Finnegan FBA

Author of The Black Inked Pearl

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Photo of Lakshmi Subramani“Within 4 minutes of sending out my query letter, a top literary called me on the phone (the #1 agent on my wish list). Less than 30 days later I had three major publishers making offers. A few days after that, I signed a deal with Random House. Mark, your query letter did that.

Photo of Lights OutMy agent talked about the query letter you helped me create for a long, long time. When he first called me on the phone, he hadn’t seen any of my sample chapters. It was just the query letter that did it. Communicating the right thing is so important. You are a wonderful medium helping authors find their voice and elevate their writing from just a hobby to a real business… a source from which they can both learn and earn.”

Lakshmi Subramani

Author of Lights Out
(Random House)

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Photo of Mardell Hill“MARK, MARK, MARK!!!!!!! Holy smokes… I just signed my book deal. First, two well-known literary agents asked to represent me. One of them responded to my query letter in less than 4 minutes!!

Photo of Intestinal HealthThen THREE different publishers wanted my book and started talking about making offers. The publisher I chose is perfect for me because they produce titles for the trade, educational, and scientific markets. And they agreed to publish my book as a hardcover!!!

When I met you, Mark, it was a pivotal time. I was under the belief that I could self-publish my book with a vanity press and then seek a publisher. I didn’t know what a literary agent was, why I needed one, or how to get one. I was wandering in the dark. You guided me in the right direction and gave me a solid plan.”

Mardell Hill

Author of Intestinal Health
(Rowman & Littlefield)

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Photo of Scott LeRette“Boom!!! I just signed a contract with Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins for (what I’ve been told by several people) is a very large advance for a first-time author.
Before working with Mark I submitted my book to agents but didn’t get any interest. This time around I got a top NY literary agency (Fine Print Lit). What cloud is higher than 9?

Photo of The Unbreakable BoyI had several agencies interested before deciding to go with Fine Print. And, to be honest, all of the attention didn’t surprise me. The query letter and proposal that Mark helped me develop were incredible. Agents actually said things to me like: ‘Scott, I read your proposal and I’m just blown away by it!’ Mark is extremely talented at what he does. If you have the opportunity to work with him, take advantage of it.”

Scott LeRette

Author of The Unbreakable Boy
(Harper Collins/Thomas Nelson)

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