Overview
Transatlantic Agency is a leading literary management company with a vibrant and diverse team of 20 experienced agents based in cities across North America. We offer a full spectrum of career representation to authors (Adult, Children’s & YA, and illustrators) and storytellers (Speakers, Industry leaders & Influencers) across all genres and formats for book, content development, speaking and TV & Film. We are recognized in the industry for our sales success and our reputation for integrity, passion and commitment.
Transatlantic represents more than 700 American, Canadian and internationally bestselling and award-winning clients. Our clients’ books range from commercial to literary for fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books and they regularly appear on notable bestseller lists across North America and have won major awards such as the Newbery Medal (U.S.), the Giller Prize (Canada), Michael L. Printz Honor Book (U.S.), and the Governor General’s Award for both adult and children’s literature (Canada).
Founded 25 years ago by literary agents David and Lynn Bennett, the Transatlantic is a vibrant collective of tenacious, independent professionals with diverse backgrounds and specialties, and is headed by agent and President Samantha Haywood, who joined the company and began building her prestigious client list in 2004.
Specialties
Our agents actively represent a broad spectrum of writers, creators of intellectual property, and speakers, helping them to connect with readers and audiences throughout the world and in all media. We respect and encourage each client by working closely to define and support their specific needs, establish goals for their careers, and create thoughtful and effective strategies for placing their work in the most appropriate areas of opportunity. We work non-exclusively with a variety of out-of-house specialists in the areas of freelance editorial, publicity, and PR, and we have a special affiliation with customized publishing professionals, Page Two Strategies. Additionally, we work extensively with scouts and film/TV agents in L.A., New York, and London.
Alongside our vibrant and recently launched Speakers Division, the agency also proudly represents a select number of photographers and voice artists. For information on our speakers mandates please see the Speakers Division.
Domestic and International Reach
As a literary agency known for our active international rights track record, Transatlantic’s agents consistently attend industry book fairs in Frankfurt, London, and Bologna, and travel to wherever book publishing professionals gather in conferences and festivals.
We sell directly into all the major English-language markets including U.S., U.K., Australia & New Zealand, and Canada, and sell collaboratively with our valued co-agents in 28 translation territories worldwide to help achieve a global presence for our clients’ work. Transatlantic represents foreign rights for a select group of quality independent publishers, including Drawn & Quarterly.
Transatlantic’s Anti-Harassment Policy
Transatlantic Agency supports those who confront bullying, harassment, intimidation and defamation both in their writing and in their daily lives. The agents of this agency believe we have a responsibility to work to protect our clients and agents from predatory behavior whether this abusive behavior takes place in a workplace environment, during school visits, at industry events or conventions, and whether it discriminates by gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or countries of origin.
Transatlantic’s Privacy Policy
Transatlantic Agency is committed to respecting the privacy of the individuals with whom we work and recognizes the need for the appropriate management and protection of personal information and data.
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which includes the Digital Privacy Act, sets out rules for how private sector organizations in Canada, such as Transatlantic Agency, may collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of its commercial activities.
PIPEDA is based on framework of fair information practice principles (FIPPs) and incorporates these 10 principles:
- Accountability
- Identifying Purposes
- Consent
- Limiting Collection
- Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention
- Accuracy
- Safeguards
- Openness
- Individual Access
- Challenging Compliance
These principles were developed internationally by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and are endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission in the USA. Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) are the basis for most privacy laws in the world including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The agency’s Privacy Notice is available here.