Rebecca Winfield Interview

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WriteWords talks to Rebecca Winfield, literary agent

Tell us about the agency- history, how you began

Like a lot of other agents, I have a background in publishing. I worked
for Transworld Publishers (part of the Random House Group) for thirteen years as their Rights and Contracts Director. It was a fantastic job and I loved it, but I had always longed to start my own business and so, after a great deal of discussion with friends in the business, I finally took the leap and started my agency in September 2003.

Who is on your list?

My authors are, for the most part, either already published or have a background in journalism. They include Dr Robin Royston, the co-author of a book called Out of the Dark, who is currently working on a book on dreams entitled Whose Mind Is It Anyway, which Bantam will publish next year, Dr Chris Lavers, author of Why Elephants Have Big Ears, whose next book, The Natural History of Unicorns, has been bought by Granta, and Nick Warren, whose biography of his father, the union activist Des Warren, is being published this May by Ebury.

How do you find your writers?

For the most part, they come to me on recommendation from other people in the business. But I do read every submission I receive. I was recently contacted by someone who had the most extraordinary personal story to tell and I knew right away that it would make a fantastic book. It took just a matter of weeks between us first meeting and the book being placed with a major publisher – it will appear later in the year but that is as much as I can say for now.

What kind of work are you looking for now?

Very strong non-fiction that is likely to attract newspaper coverage and overseas sales. I would also love to discover the next Anne Tyler because, although I don’t handle much fiction, I am confident that there is room in the market for another really strong woman’s voice aimed at slightly older readers who are looking for intelligent and engaging fiction.

Who are your favourite writers and why?

My own clients top the list! My taste is pretty varied and includes Monica Ali, Maeve Binchy, Alice Sebold and Michael Houellebecq.

What excites you about a piece of writing-

For novels, it’s ambitious plotting and a strong sense of the visual. With non-fiction, I am most interested in books that make the reader re-examine their values and beliefs.

A longer version of this interview is available to WriteWords Full and Community Members.
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Comments by other Members

Silverelli at 22:00 on 28 January 2005 Report this post

Rebecca(if you are out there),
Have any of the books you represented been optioned for film?
Is that a particular goal that an agent considers when taking on a project? If so, please elaborate on this topic, if you can.

Thanks for the interview,
WW Silverelli