The Bookseller.com

8th September 2008

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Michel makes waves at PFD

20.09.07 Joel Rickett

Caroline Michel was this week battling to convince a band of rebel PFD agents to stay with the company. Michel, who was installed at PFD's headquarters in Covent Garden on Monday as chief executive, has been besieged by the media, authors and publishers since thebookseller.com first broke the news of her move on 12th September.

Lead agent Pat Kavanagh has confirmed that she handed in her resignation notice just before Michel's arrival, while reports have indicated that Anthony Jones, Caroline Dawnay and Maureen Vincent are also planning to depart. Authors including Robert Harris and Ruth Rendell have said they will follow their agents out of the door.

However, none of the agents has left their posts—as yet. Michel has been holding private meetings with each of them, attempting to convince them of her vision of developing PFD into a major international cross-media force.

But despite Michel's efforts, some key names were said to be determined to leave after reaching the "end of the road" with parent group CSS Stellar. Junior agents and assistants could follow the main players if they were to form a new, rival agency.

Publishers were split on the likely fall-out from the saga. The head of one literary imprint described Michel's appointment as "quite extraordinary", and was convinced that a group of agents would start afresh, taking their clients with them. "If I were a betting man, I'd be betting against [Michel]," he said. "It would be a miracle if Pat Kavanagh changed her mind and stayed—and it will leave a gaping wound [in PFD's roster] if she takes her authors."

However another publishing director said some authors had reacted positively to Michel's new role, seeing her as a much-needed figurehead for the historic agency.

Joel Rickett PFD Caroline Michel