Kirby Kim is a literary agent with Janklow & Nesbit Associates. A native of Los Angeles, California, Kirby attended Harvard-Westlake high school then went to Pomona College where he was a PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) major. He spent the year after graduation teaching English in South Korea and when he returned moved to San Francisco to get his JD at UC Hastings College of the Law.
Kirby moved out to New York in the spring of 2004 and got his first job in publishing working for Charlotte Sheedy Literary, at that time an affiliate of Sterling Lord Literistic. He then moved to Vigliano Associates where he gradually started representing his own projects. In 2008, he joined Endeavor which the following year merged with William Morris. He stayed at WME for five years before joining Janklow & Nesbit.
Kirby represents both literary and commercial authors. When it comes to literary work, heÕs alternatively drawn to rich, sweeping stories that try to encompass a time or a place or tightly written, narratively innovative stories that bridge genres. His commercial interests include thriller, horror, speculative and science fiction, young adult, and middle grade.
He also represents a range of nonfiction working with leaders and journalists in the areas of science, culture and current affairs. HeÕs also known for representing pop culture, in particular music and comedy.
Kirby is currently a board member of the Asian American Writers Workshop. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife and two kids.