Has the avalanche of celebrity book deals hurt literary agents?
According to a report at The Bookseller, it has been a rough year for agents. The company measured the performance of six different literary agencies in the UK, finding that only one of those agencies managed to turn a profit in the last financial year. They spoke with Clare Alexander from Aitken Alexander Associates about the trend.
Here’s more from the article: “Alexander also blamed the downturn on the medium-term trend of publishers eschewing literary authors for celebrities: ‘Publishers’ focus has been on celebrities, and most agents play very little, if any, role in that,’ she said. ‘I think we are at a turning point now. The search for good writing is still on in most of the world, and in some of England too.'”