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Who wants to be a literary agent?

24 September 2001

Who wants to be a literary agent?

'There's no entrance exam to becoming an agent; anyone can put up a shingle. What attracts people to it are the love of books and writers - and the knowledge that if you have the right property to sell on any given day, any given agent, even the youngest, could strike it rich, could even make the biggest sale in the history of publishing. From the oldest and most experienced to the youngest and newest, no matter how publishing has changed, there's that sense of excitement and adventure in the belief that the very next writer coming round the corner headed towards your office might be the next John Grisham or J K Rowling.'

Martin Arnold in the New York Times