Jennifer Powers

literary agent

Jennifer Powers Literary Agency

I began my career as a literary agent with the Schaffner Agency, representing a list of distinguished authors including Maxine Hong Kingston, Charles Bowden, C.E. Poverman, Gary Paul Nabhan, the James Beard Estate, and many others. During my time with Schaffner I managed first serial sales and foreign rights, prepared manuscripts to submit to editors, issued royalty payments, read and evaluated incoming submissions, and handled permission requests and option queries. Once I became fluent in all aspects and intricacies of author representation, I began negotiating publishing contracts.

After the Schaffner Agency shuttered, I went on to establish Powers Agency, with a focus on international syndication, licensing, and merchandising in addition to author representation. I spent eleven wonderful years working with authors, editors, publishers, and producers before the agency succumbed to the 2008 recession, after which I pursued a career in public relations, where I continued to consult with authors and independent presses. But the challenge and excitement of being a literary agent has always held a strong appeal to me, and during the pandemic I decided it was time to return to the career closest to my heart and I opened the Jennifer Powers Literary Agency, where I am eager to utilize my years of experience to help a new generation of authors find a home for their work.

let's talk about your book...

fiction I’m looking for literary and mainstream fiction featuring distinctive voices, well-drawn characters, and solid plotting. The setting can be either contemporary or historical, as long as it’s vividly brought to life. I am also interested in the following types of crime fiction: Hardboiled, Psychological Thrillers, Legal Thrillers, Spy Novels, and Capers. Please do not send Whodunits or Cozies.

nonfiction Full-length works of Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Journalistic Expose, and some True Crime will be considered. As with fiction, I’m drawn to distinctive voices and compelling narratives well-told.

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about the agent

jpowers_headshot

Before becoming a literary agent, I paid the rent photographing houses for an insurance investigator, selling clothing, makeup, and stereos (not at the same time), opening accounts for a brokerage firm, and doing commercial voice-overs.

I also worked a stint in music management, interacting with artists and road managers, record companies, producers, venue operators, and song publishing companies. Having a background in both the book and music industries gave me a thorough understanding of how rights are handled and the costs involved, knowledge that served me well while in public relations, where I was often the lone voice of reason when clients wanted to use a song or quote that would far exceed their budget.

When it comes to nonfiction, I’m a big fan of Charles Bowden, Robert Caro, Joan Didion, Thomas Frank, Roxane Gay, William Langewiesche, Samantha Irby, Fran Lebowitz, David Sedaris, Mary Roach, Patricia Lockwood, Jonathan Ames, Hunter S. Thompson, and Sarah Vowell, among others. On the fiction side, I like Elmore James, Mary Miller, Raymond Chandler, Patrick DeWitt, Megan Abbott, Kevin Barry, Ottessa Moshfegh, Margaret Atwood, Annie Proulx, Toni Morrison, Sam Shepard, Dashiell Hammett, Richard Price, Helen DeWitt, Patricia Highsmith, Katherine Dunn, Karen Brennan, and Margaret Broucek, to name a few. I’m a voracious reader and always on the lookout for writers of nonfiction and fiction that will excite, enlighten, and entertain me as much as these authors have. Maybe the next one will be you.

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