The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

Dead authors prove good business

14.07.08

What any literary agent worth his salt needs in 2008 is a classic author with form: famous, prolific and deceased within the past 70 years, reports the Times. In recent months, the literary estate - the body of work belonging to a dead author - has suddenly and unexpectedly become big business.

PFD appointed a single agent, Marcella Edwards, primarily to manage its estates. She says that, within a month, PFD will announce the bagging of the estate of "a very big British author". Meanwhile, its hated rival, United Agents has pipped it to the post. United announced the arrival of Ian Fleming's estate on Monday.

What's going on, asks the Times? Some rivals put PFD’s new enthusiasm for estates down to the fact that they have lost all their good living authors, but Edwards says, "I think estates are the most important part of the agenting business. They are the jewel in the crown for us. People talk about them being ‘backlist’. They are not - they are absolutely ‘frontlist’ authors."

The Times

PFD United Agents

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