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Ed Victor – an honoured literary agent Ed Victor – an honoured literary agent
(about 1 hour later)
The veteran literary agent Ed Victor has been awarded a CBE in the New Year honours list.The veteran literary agent Ed Victor has been awarded a CBE in the New Year honours list.
With a client list that ranges from Joan Collins to U2 and from Nigella Lawson to the estate of Irish Murdoch, Victor is one of the books business’s most glamorous figures, leading a jet-set lifestyle divided between homes in London and the Hamptons.With a client list that ranges from Joan Collins to U2 and from Nigella Lawson to the estate of Irish Murdoch, Victor is one of the books business’s most glamorous figures, leading a jet-set lifestyle divided between homes in London and the Hamptons.
The 76-year-old was awarded the Commander of the British Empire on New Year’s Eve for services to literature, an accolade which comes as the literary agency he set up in 1976 prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary.The 76-year-old was awarded the Commander of the British Empire on New Year’s Eve for services to literature, an accolade which comes as the literary agency he set up in 1976 prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
Speaking from Florida, Ed Victor told the Guardian: “When I first became an agent, literary agents were regarded by publishers as being ‘below the salt’. I vowed to change that, and put literary agency into the key position it now occupies in the chain of progress towards publication. I hope I – and the other agents who crossed the then impermeable border between publishing and agenting – have helped accomplish that.”
Born in the Bronx in 1939, Victor has been a regular fixture at celebrity parties not only in the world of books, but also in fashion and film. During a Hay festival appearance, a member of the audience asked him how they could get their manuscript under his nose if they weren’t part of his high-octane party circuit. Victor replied: “You don’t.”Born in the Bronx in 1939, Victor has been a regular fixture at celebrity parties not only in the world of books, but also in fashion and film. During a Hay festival appearance, a member of the audience asked him how they could get their manuscript under his nose if they weren’t part of his high-octane party circuit. Victor replied: “You don’t.”
His agency website reinforces the message, informing would-be authors that they do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Writers must move in different circles to get Victor’s attention, or show something of the creativity which allowed him to forge an unconventional encounter into his first big break in publishing.His agency website reinforces the message, informing would-be authors that they do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Writers must move in different circles to get Victor’s attention, or show something of the creativity which allowed him to forge an unconventional encounter into his first big break in publishing.
Victor came to Britain in 1961 on a scholarship to Cambridge, shortly afterwards marrying his first wife Micheline Samuels and starting to work on coffee table books at Weidenfeld and Nicholson. The literary side of an imprint that published Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov soon caught his eye, so he approached George Weidenfeld in the office toilets and asked for a move to fiction.Victor came to Britain in 1961 on a scholarship to Cambridge, shortly afterwards marrying his first wife Micheline Samuels and starting to work on coffee table books at Weidenfeld and Nicholson. The literary side of an imprint that published Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov soon caught his eye, so he approached George Weidenfeld in the office toilets and asked for a move to fiction.
By 1970 he was running the department, but his marriage was failing. He teamed up with two of the founders of the counter-cultural magazine Oz, Felix Dennis and Richard Neville, to launch a newspaper called Ink, but this met with little success. Victor returned to the US to take stock, taking a job with Knopf, and met his second wife, lawyer Carol Ryan, with whom he has been ever since.By 1970 he was running the department, but his marriage was failing. He teamed up with two of the founders of the counter-cultural magazine Oz, Felix Dennis and Richard Neville, to launch a newspaper called Ink, but this met with little success. Victor returned to the US to take stock, taking a job with Knopf, and met his second wife, lawyer Carol Ryan, with whom he has been ever since.
It was then that Victor made the most momentous decision of his life, returning to London in 1976 to spend more time with his children and set up his own literary agency. This he did against the advice of publishing colleagues, one of whom dismissed the business of literary agents as “women’s work”.It was then that Victor made the most momentous decision of his life, returning to London in 1976 to spend more time with his children and set up his own literary agency. This he did against the advice of publishing colleagues, one of whom dismissed the business of literary agents as “women’s work”.
It didn’t take long for Victor to find success: his first deal was to sell book and film rights to Stephen Sheppard’s novel The Four Hundred for $1.5m (£1m). The Midas touch has been with him ever since. Victor not only sold Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy series throughout the 1980s, he also appeared as a space cop in an illustrated edition of the first book. He made an instant bestseller out of Nigella Lawson, her first cookbook, 1998’s How to Eat, selling over 300,000 copies. In 2005 he sold Eric Clapton’s memoirs for a reported $4m (£2.7m) – the day after his client John Banville won the Booker for his novel The Sea. Victor also represents Johanna Basford, whose first adult colouring book, The Secret Garden, has sold 1.4m copies.It didn’t take long for Victor to find success: his first deal was to sell book and film rights to Stephen Sheppard’s novel The Four Hundred for $1.5m (£1m). The Midas touch has been with him ever since. Victor not only sold Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy series throughout the 1980s, he also appeared as a space cop in an illustrated edition of the first book. He made an instant bestseller out of Nigella Lawson, her first cookbook, 1998’s How to Eat, selling over 300,000 copies. In 2005 he sold Eric Clapton’s memoirs for a reported $4m (£2.7m) – the day after his client John Banville won the Booker for his novel The Sea. Victor also represents Johanna Basford, whose first adult colouring book, The Secret Garden, has sold 1.4m copies.
The secret of Victor’s success? “[To be] a killer agent, a shark in the water.”The secret of Victor’s success? “[To be] a killer agent, a shark in the water.”
Victor has some experience of life on the other side of the fence, publishing a diet book in 2002, The Obvious Diet, which he wrote after getting fed up with his own paunch. He preferred not to represent himself, promising Jonathan Lloyd he’d be a “model client”.Victor has some experience of life on the other side of the fence, publishing a diet book in 2002, The Obvious Diet, which he wrote after getting fed up with his own paunch. He preferred not to represent himself, promising Jonathan Lloyd he’d be a “model client”.
Speaking to the Financial Times in 2012, Victor confessed that despite his own venture into ebook publishing, Bedford Square Books, he was worried about the future of bookshops. But the role of the writer – and the literary agent – would not be diminished.Speaking to the Financial Times in 2012, Victor confessed that despite his own venture into ebook publishing, Bedford Square Books, he was worried about the future of bookshops. But the role of the writer – and the literary agent – would not be diminished.
“What I’m dealing with is like crude oil coming up out of the ground,” he said. “Creative writing in English can be made into anything from Vaseline to rocket fuel. I can sell film rights, I can sell television rights, I can sell book rights. It’s content, and people need content.”“What I’m dealing with is like crude oil coming up out of the ground,” he said. “Creative writing in English can be made into anything from Vaseline to rocket fuel. I can sell film rights, I can sell television rights, I can sell book rights. It’s content, and people need content.”