I found only one agent online who is actively seeking poets:
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 [I listed that book, below]. 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 |
