Association of American Literary Agents

We’re pleased to announce that registration for the AALA’s People of Publishing 2026 conference is now open. WHEN: September 30, 2026 WHERE: Fashion Institute of Technology 227 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 Registration for the conference opens now. You can book at a reduced rate with our Early Bird Pricing until May 31, 2026, or until Early Bird Tickets sell out. We have limited capacity so please don’t wait to book your tickets. *** PRICING EARLY BIRD AALA MEMBERS: $149 AALA MEMBERS: $199 EARLY BIRD GENERAL ADMISSION: $199 GENERAL ADMISSION: $249 Contact conference@aalitagents if you’d like to explore group pricing options for groups of ten or more. *** Following a strong inaugural year, the People of Publishing Conference returns this fall to convene literary agents, along with editors and publishing professionals from major publishing houses and independent presses, at a time when the industry is adapting to shifts in discovery, audience behavior, and technology. This year’s conference centers on the practical questions agents and editors are working through every day: How should professionals think differently about building lists, structuring deals, and navigating career paths? What practical shifts are needed in how projects are framed, pitched, and brought to market? Where are the most promising opportunities for growth, and how should the industry support authors in that expanded ecosystem? How should agents and editors be adapting to artificial intelligence as it reshapes editorial judgment, rights, and how books are positioned and protected? The program reflects the conference’s broader goal: to build a clearer, shared understanding of the marketplace and create direct points of connection for agents, editors, and publishing professionals. From high-level leadership conversations to focused roundtables, the conference creates space for both perspective and practice, bringing the industry into more direct, informed conversation.

The Association of American Literary Agents is thrilled to announce it has appointed Daniel O’Brien as our first-ever Executive Director. This is a major milestone for AALA, and we’re so excited about what this new chapter represents for our community and the future of the organization. * We want to extend our sincere thanks to Sam Stoloff, who chaired the Executive Director Search Committee, along with Lynn Johnston, Leslie Zampetti, Dan Mandel, and Cecilia de la Campa, for the care, judgment, and sustained commitment they brought to the selection process. * “We are excited to welcome Daniel to this role, and this appointment represents the next essential step in reinforcing AALA’s foundation and long-term sustainability. From the moment I stepped into the role of President, one of my priorities was to bring on an Executive Director. Daniel brings the leadership experience, publishing fluency, and industry-wide relationships needed to professionalize AALA’s internal systems and overall operational capacity.” - Regina Brooks, President of AALA

Learn more about AALA and how we support literary agents to better serve authors with integrity and excellence. Membership is open to all professionals working at literary agencies. 📝 —— The Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) is the preeminent organization of and for professional literary agents in the United States. Our mission is to help members maintain and expand their professional skills, stay informed about developments in publishing, and work toward increased diversity in both the profession and the wider industry. For members, AALA regularly holds panels, educational programs, and social events. Our committees meet monthly to discuss important issues and prepare alerts and announcements on the latest industry developments in areas such as contracts, royalties, and legal practices. AALA serves as the hub for the literary agent community and is a valuable resource for information and networking. For authors, AALA provides a searchable database of members for writers seeking representation. Members represent agents in all areas of the publishing process, handling the sale of rights through publication, and helping their clients develop successful publishing careers. Authors can be confident that our agents pledge to follow the highest standards of professional conduct in serving the needs of their clients. Members must agree to adhere to the Association of American Literary Agents’ Bylaws and Canon of Ethics. Learn more at aalitagents.org.

Join us next week (Tuesday, May 19 at 1pm ET) for a panel presented by the Illustration Committee: Deal Considerations for Illustrated Projects. Illustrated projects have their own deal dynamics and knowing how to navigate them and what questions to ask can make a huge difference to our clients. Join agents with experience across illustrated categories as they discuss their approach to negotiating different types of illustration jobs including covers, graphic novels, chapter books, and work for hire. A Q&A will follow the moderated panel discussion. This is a members-only event. You must log in to your account to register on the "Events" page of the AALA website. (Not a member? Apply today to join!)

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Don’t forget to register for the #peopleofpublishing2026 conference! Taking place Wednesday, September 30 at FIT. See link in bio for registration details. Note this is a conference intended for literary agents, editors and other publishing professionals.

AALA Members: Join us tomorrow (3/23) for the Copyright Committee's panel, The Landscape and Legalities of Work-For-Hire. Topics will include including building a portfolio and finding opportunities, the legal logistics about what is and isn’t work-for-hire, levels of creative control, terminations, work-for-hire in other countries, and generally what to be thinking about from a copyright framework when negotiating work-for-hire agreements. Tomorrow's panelists will be: Eric Smith, Neighborhood Literary Joshua Graubart, The Law Offices of Joshua Graubart, P.C. Claire Draper, Au Literary Management Natalie Lakosil, Founder of Looking Glass Literary & Media, will moderate the conversation. This is a members-only event. You must log in to your account to register on the AALA website. (Not a member? Apply today to join!)

As part of the AALA’s recent virtual mixer on Organization and Motivation, we invited a special guest, Kerry Cullen (@kermichele ), to do a tarot reading on the publishing industry. We thought it would be fun to share the results of the reading with the wider community. ✨ Question 1: What energy are we bringing to the year 2026 in this industry, and with authors, and with publishers? ✨REVERSE KNIGHT OF SWORDS✨ Reading: Reversals are usually a slanted version of what the card typically means. The Knight of Swords has this really forthright, direct, ready-for-action personality to it, kind of a masculine energy. And the reverse suggests that maybe we don’t need to enter every interaction as if it’s gonna be a fight. Maybe we can pull back a little bit and let the interaction tell us what it is before going in as if it’s going to, like, require us to lay down our lives. That in 2026, it would be a good idea to take a moment and assess whether the situation requires direct and intentional and intense action, or whether it requires a little bit of observation and a little more consideration and reflection before jumping to fisticuffs. ✨ Question 2: What might surprise us this year? ✨THE EMPRESS✨ Reading: The Empress energy is interesting here. It’s early in the Major Arcana, and it’s dealing with learning and becoming the person that you are becoming. It has a less regimented and rule-based energy to it, and it’s a about absorbing situations around you, learning, and being nurtured by your environment. Teaching a younger person how to see the world with childlike wonder, because it’s an empress, it’s a card of authority in a lot of ways, but it also has an element of youth to it, it’s like a mentor card that deals in how to process the world around you. As agents, this is, in some ways, your role. You are helping people access their creativity, It suggests that maybe this is the place that you go when you realize that the battle you were expecting isn’t quite as harsh as you thought it might be. (Question 3 reading is in comments) 📷: Tarot deck images are from astrala.com

The @aalitagents International Committee is excited to announce the winners of the 2026 London Book Fair Raffle. Congratulations to Debbie Clayman (@debbieclayman ) at Lynn Johnston Literary and Mitch Hoffman at The Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency! @londonbookfair

#SerendipityLit CEO and Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) President Regina Brooks will be a guest panelist on the "Understanding Illustration Representation" panel, hosted in collaboration by the AALA and the Society of Illustrators (SOI), tomorrow, Wednesday, February 11th. The panel will focus on demystifying the process of representation for illustrators, and panelists will provide insight into what representation can look like for illustrators at different stages in their careers, how agents assist with portfolio development, and how they advocate for artists. Following the discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to network with panelists, AALA agents, and other illustrators. Featured panelists: - Regina Brooks, AALA President, Founder and President of Serendipity Literary Agency - Marietta B. Zacker (@agentzacker ), Co-Owner and Literary Agent, Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency - Adriana Domínguez (@adrianadominguez1 ), Partner and Literary Agent, Aevitas Creative Management - Susan Graham (@grahamophones ), Literary Agent, Dunow, Carlson, and Lerner Agency (moderator) Tickets are required to attend. You can visit the link in our bio to purchase. . . . #ReginaBrooks #AssociationofAmericanLiteraryAgents #SocietyofIllustrators #IllustratorRepresentation

The @aalitagents Illustration Committee is excited to welcome artists, illustrators, and our member agents who represent illustrators to an in-person evening networking event, “Understanding Illustration Representation: A Panel with AALA Literary Agents,” at the Society of Illustrators (@soi128 ) in New York City. The event will begin with AALA members Adriana Domínguez, Susan Graham, Regina Brooks, and Marietta B. Zacker discussing what representation can mean for illustrators at different stages of their careers. The next part of the evening will be a networking session focused on fostering connections between agents and artists by giving all who attend the opportunity to mingle and continue the conversation in a more informal setting.

The @aalitagents Copyright Committee wants to highlight works entering the public domain this year—e.g. titled published before 1930. The list includes Betty Boop and the original Nancy Drew mysteries, as well as works by Agatha Christie, William Faulkner, and Bertrand Russell. Full list and helpful breakdown is available at https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2026/

AALA members! Join us next week for a virtual mixer. We’ll be chatting about the systems, tools, and methods we use to keep ourselves organized and accountable. Are you a spreadsheet person, a planner person, or a Post-It person? What are the best ways you’ve found to manage your time, and what skills are you hoping to build and improve? Join us to swap tips and tricks for staying on top of reading, handling client care, tracking projects and contracts, and juggling all the other (many) hats we wear as agents. Plus, we’ll have a fun special guest coming in to offer a bit of forecasting about what’s in store for the publishing industry in 2026!