What is an agent and how do I get one?

How Books Are Made

Good agents are the fairy grandparents of page and screen. They get writers; and they get writers paid.

Most jobs in publishing are done by humans flying solo – writers and freelancers working from home, running their own show. That can be lonely work. Especially as a writer, it's just not possible, on your own, to know everything and everyone you need to know to turn your talent into a viable business. For that, most writers need an agent. What does an agent do? And how do you get one?

Aoife Lennon-Ritchie is the founder of the Lennon-Ritchie Agency, which works in commercial book publishing, and the managing director of Torchwood, which represents writers in film and TV. She joins Arthur to talk about being and getting an agent, negotiating contracts, and writing for TV and film.

Links from the show:

• The Lennon-Ritchie Agency
• Torchwood Literary & Scouting Agency
• Screen Daily article about the launch of Torchwood.
• Publisher’s Weekly article on the 2022 Sharjah Book Fair, quoting Aoife.
• Sharjah International Book Fair
• ‘Behind the Scenes: African Filmmakers and Writers on Interplay and Adaptation’ – a panel discussion including Aoife.