07/29/2010 (4:53 am)
Poetry agents in New York Best answer on the web
Regards,
nancylynn-ga
From the Author Network:
http://www.author-network.com/agents.html
Eddison Pearson Ltd.
"Handles literary fiction and non-fiction, contemporary fiction, children's books, poetry for the literary market. Please enquire in writing, enclosing s.a.e. Email enquiries also welcome. No unsolicited mss. Clare Pearson, 3rd Floor, 22 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1X 9PB.Tel: 02076292414. Fax: 020 7629 7181. Email: box1@eddisonpearson.com"
Your best bet would be to approach niche publishing houses that specialize in poetry.
Poet & Writer Magazine online has an alphabetized list of a whopping 152 small publishing houses that are open to submissions from un-agented poets: http://www.pw.org/links_pages/Small_Presses/
(Click on the names and that will bring up Web sites and contact info for each publishing house.)
Writer Matya Dio maintains this directory of publishers of poetry:
http://www.matyadio.com/literaryagents.html
(Scroll to bottom of the page for the listing of clickable links, including Avec Books and Chatoyant Press. The easiest way to navigate the listings is to use "Find," under "Edit" in your browser, with the search term "poetry.")
If you get a deal at one of these houses, you may then want to hire an attorney who specializes in publishing law (aka communications, media law, intellectual property law), to ensure that your contract is fair.
Go to the directory "FindLaw":
http://lawyers.findlaw.com/
Under "Browse By Practice," click "More Practice Areas" to bring up the next page where you'll see a link for "Intellectual Property Law." Click on that link to bring up: http://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practice/Intellectual%20Property%20Law which is a directory of lawyers whose practice areas include publishing, listed by state. Just click on the state where you reside.
Here are some other resources:
The popular site "Literary Agents":
http://www.literaryagents.org/
contains this very helpful FAQ:
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~tjp4773/faq.html
"Question: Which agents will represent a first-book of poetry?
Answer: None. Most first books of poems are sold to small, independent or university presses. You can find an excellent list of these presses in a book called Poet's Market . Some of these presses accept submissions directly. Others require that you enter a contest . . . . Take for example, Billy Collins, whose last two books were published by Random House. His first book of poems was published by the University of Arkansas Press. (He submitted it himself.) His next three books were published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, which has an extensive line in contemporary poetry. Finally, in 2001, Random House published a New and Selected volume of poems as well as a subsequent volume of all-new poems. This is the arc of an ideal publishing career in poetry. Billy Collins didn't need an agent until long after his first book of poems was published. "
Here are some advice books on getting your poetry published: "How to Publish Your Poetry: A Complete Guide to Finding the Right Publishers for Your Work (Square One Writer's Guide)" by Helene Ciaravino (Square One Publishers; January 2003):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0757000010/qid=1065722435/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/104-2107965-0631145
"2004 Poet's Market: 1,800 + Places to Publish Your Poetry (Poet's Market, 2004)"; editors: Nancy Breen and Vanessa Lyman. (Writers Digest Books; 19th edition; August 2003):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1582971870/qid=1065722435/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-2107965-0631145
If you get a publishing deal and an agent then offers to represent you, before signing, you can check the agent's reputation at Preditors & Editors: http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm
(Btw, agencies named for their owners are generally listed by first name. So, "John Doe Literary Agency" would be listed under "J.")
As a general rule, writers are discouraged from signing with agents who charge "reading" or "handling fees," or who tell you your work needs to go through an "editorial service"; such services usually charge high fees.
Most reputable agents belong to the AAR, the Association of Authors
Representatives. Read the AAR's "Canon of Ethics" at:
http://www.aar-online.org/canon.html
Regarding contact information: e-mail only if the agency's or publishing house's Web site encourages that practice; otherwise, use regular mail.
Also, most agents and editors really hate it when writers call them! They want to know how well you write; not how good a conversationalist you are! Mail your cover letter and poetry samples to the agent or publisher. If your work is well received, you'll get an e-mail or phone call in response.
DO feel free to call a publishing company and ask to whom you should address your submission. Once you're given the contact name, double-check the spelling of the name and the person's correct title.
It is standard practice to enclose a SASE for reply when sending material to an agent or publisher. Send a manila SASE so that all materials can be returned to you. Check the post office's site for postage according to weight, so you put enough stamps on each SASE: http://wwww.usps.gov
Please note: most writers -- in any genre -- wind up having to approach far more than three agents (or publishing houses) in order to achieve success. Most agents report that they reject 99% of the query letters, manuscripts, and proposals they receive. (That, according to The 2001-2002 Writer's Guide To Book Editors, Publishers, And Literary Agents (Roseville, CA: Prima Publishing, 2000, author Jeff Herman), which contains interviews with
hundreds of agents (none of whom represent poetry). The same ratio holds true for most publishers who accept un-agented material.
Herman's book lists a few book publishers of poetry that I didn't find at Poet & Writer. They are:
Black Sparrow Press:
http://www.blacksparrowbooks.com/main.html
City Lights Publishers:
http://www.citylights.com
The W.W. Norton Company accepts submissions via e-mail at its "Norton Poets Online" page: http://www.nortonpoets.com/contact_us.htm
David R. Godine, Publisher, Inc.:
http://www.godine.com/
According to Herman, Grove Press, a division of the Atlantic Monthly Press, "produces a significant poetry list." Go to: http://www.groveatlantic.com/
then go to the menu at the top left and click on "Contact Grove/Atlantic."
The Overlook Press:
http://www.overlookpress.com
Contacts Page, including "Submissions":
http://www.overlookpress.com/contact.shtml
Pentland Press:
http://www.pentlandpressusa.com/InfoPages/
See contact info for its USA office (Raleigh, NC), at bottom of that page.
Sheep Meadow Press, a division of The University of New England Press (UPNE): http://www.dartmouth.edu/~upne/smplist.html
You'll have to contact UPNE re: how to submit:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~upne/aboutupne.html#submit
as I can't find a direct link for Sheep Meadow.
Herman's book also recommends some good online sources for publishing opportunities for poets. These include:
The Atlantic Unbound Poetry Pages:
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/poetpage.htm
The Electronic Poetry Center:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc/
National Poetry Association:
http://www.nationalpoetry.org
Poetry Society of America:
http://www.poetrysociety.org
Check out About.com's poetry site:
http://poetry.about.com/index.htm?terms=poetry
A good strategy would be to enter as many poetry contests as you can find listed at the above sites.
Also, attempt to get your poetry published in small magazines and e-zines, then see if you can work your way up to such well-known markets as the "Atlantic Monthly" or "Yankee" or any notable, fairly wide-read magazine. (Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of general interest magazines that use poetry these days.) Submit your poetry to the magazine's poetry or essay editor. If one isn't listed in the masthead, submit it to the fiction editor or associate fiction editor.
Placing well in poetry contests and racking up some publishing credits in noteworthy magazines will impress editors at the publishing houses you approach.
Search Terms:
"literary agents poetry"
"agents represent poets"
"find literary agent"
Please post a request for clarification if you have difficulty navigating any of the above sites.
I wish you success in your endeavors.
Regards,
nancylynn-ga
just to advise, I have deleted all names of all literary agents from my site, mentioned above - http://www.matyadio.com .
The web is saturated with websites offering names and contact details of literary agents for all genres, I don't want to compete with any of them.
In any case, out of all of those thousands of people, who logged into my website, searching for an info, very few had the sense of gratitude of at least bothering to write in a 'thank you' note into my guestbook.
Best of luck in your publishing endeavours.
Matya Dio
Yes, that would be great! Thank you!
Kriswrite
Even fewer agents than I'd thought represent poetry. In fact, so far, I've found only one agency that represents poets.
The good news is I've found quite a few small publishing houses that accept submissions from un-agented poets. I've also found some books you can purchase that list the best publishing resources for poets, and some online forums where you can learn more about publishing opportunities for poets.
Would that information be satisfactory to you?
Regards,
nancylynn-ga
Attempting to qualify the "three best agents in NYC" is nearly impossible; it is far too subjective. Compounding that dilemma: there are VERY few agents who represent poetry because the genre doesn't sell well.
Also, are you adamant that these be NYC agents? There are many fine agents across the nation, and since so few agents handle poetry, it might be better if you cast your net a bit wider.
Would you be satisfied if a researcher gave you a list of successful, reputable agents who handle poetry, including some agents who aren't located in NYC?
Thanks for any clarification.
Regards,
nancylynn-ga
There is a book called the Writer's Market, you can purchase it at any major book store, it costs about $30.00. This book has over 1000 names of book publishers, agents and presses. I am a published poet that took the time to read this book. The publisher of your choice is the most important. Getting published is very easy, just make sure you get the contract you want. Do not sign away all rights, ever... and you need a detailed quarterly statement of ALL your sales. Do not sign unsolicited manuscript documents, they can be coercive. It is in my experience that if you submitt a sample of your work to a publisher with a clear query of why the publisher should sign you, and what your basic requirements for contract are, you will see the results you are looking for.
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