The Guide to Literary Agents blog polled a number of literary agents yesterday, initiating a “literary smackdown” between East Coast and West Coast agencies. Everybody had an opinion about the best place to pitch your book, kicking up plenty of literary dust.
East Coaster Stephen Barbara (of the Donald Maass Literary Agency) isn’t moving anytime soon: “Most of the top agencies are here, most of the major trade houses are here, not to mention the great writing community and a wonderful city with tons of culture and a great social scene which connects publishing folks regularly over lunch, drinks, book parties, award ceremonies, and the like. The energy here is really incredible.”
West Coaster Sandra Dijkstra (of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency) countered: “Proximity to the NY pub world can also be a disadvantage, because agents need to remember for whom they work–the author–and playing volleyball with publishers in the Hamptons, traveling up and down elevators with them in NYC, etc., can also lead agents, like the White House press corps at times, to dangerous confusion on this front.”
What do you think? Where, besides a sunny island in the Caribbean ringed by other islands containing satellite offices for all the major publishing houses, is the best place for an agent to live?