Literary Marketplace – Directory of Book Agents

Literary Marketplace (LMP) – This detailed review explores the good and bad about this annual directory. Created more than 50 years ago, this publishing guide is one of the most established literary agency directories on the market.

Scroll below to learn more about Literary Marketplace and see a sample literary agency listing. This article is part of a 9-part series to help you decide which Directory of Literary Agents is right for you.

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Literary Marketplace – What Is It?

The Literary Marketplace official description is The Directory of the American Book Publishing Industry with Industry Yellow Pages. The print edition is a staggering 1,833 pages and weighs 7.8 pounds.

Literary Marketplace is the directory of America and Canadian book publishing, frequently consulted by practically everyone looking for industry data – whether they are publishing professional, authors, industry watchers, or those seeking to gain entry into the world of publishing.

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Literary Marketplace features more than
30,000 listings for categories like:

Publishers
Literary Agents
Distributors & Sales Representatives
Wholesalers
Book Producers
Exporters & Importers
Manufacturers & Printers
Translators & Interpreters
Paper Suppliers
Remainder Dealers
Reference Books & Magazines
Literary Association, Societies & Awards

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Literary Marketplace – Pros

Literary agents and publishing consultants are featured only after we receive three letters of recommendation from publishers active on our database with whom they have worked.

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CONS – Literary Marketplace

Literary Marketplace is the dinosaur of literary agent directories, making it rank at the very bottom of our list. Literary Marketplace contains the least amount of information, yet it’s the most expensive. Subscribers are asked to pay $399.00 US for an annual literarymarketplace.com subscription, or $24.95 US for a weekly subscription.

Here’s a review from an unhappy author:

“It is frequently stated that Literary Marketplace is essential for finding agents and/or publishers. Yet, trying to find a specific agency is like opening up a dictionary at random and looking to see if that page happens to have the information you seek. Although I was able to find some relevant agencies in my search for places to submit my query letter, I feel as if I missed many that I could have submitted to. Though the book is filled with information, it was not user-friendly enough for me to continue the process. Ultimately, I got so frustrated trying to find ‘the right agency’ that I gave up (at least temporarily) on finding an agent. Literary Marketplace is, for me, filled with too much information and not enough editing.”

Literary Marketplace includes agents that charge reading fees, a practice that is banned by the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR) and frowned upon by most publishing professionals. Literary Marketplace also includes literary agencies that charge higher fees than normal, something else that authors should avoid.

The literary agency information provided in Literary Marketplace is also lacking, compared to most directories. And (as mentioned above in the reader review) Literary Marketplace is poorly indexed so it’s very difficult to find literary agents likely to be interested in your book.

We DO NOT recommend Literary Marketplace for authors looking for literary agents.

Use our Directory of Literary Agents instead. It’s the most comprehensive (and accurate) list of literary agents in the world… plus it’s the easiest to use. Simply enter your first name and email address for free, instant access.

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Now, scroll below to see a sample literary agency
listing from Literary Marketplace…

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Sample Agent Listing – Literary Marketplace

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Janklow & Nesbit Associates

Physical Address – Literary Marketplace

445 Park Ave
New York NY 10022
United States

Foreign Office Address – Literary Marketplace

Janklow & Nesbit (UK) Ltd

13-A Hillgate St

London
W87SP
United Kingdom
Contact: Tim Glister
Phone: (020) 7243 2975
Fax: (020) 7243 4339
Website: www.janklowandnesbit.co.uk

Description – Literary Marketplace 

General fiction & nonfiction. Handle film & TV rights for book represented; no reading fee.

Year Founded – Literary Marketplace

1989

Phone/Fax – Literary Marketplace

212-421-1700/212-980-3671

Email – Literary Marketplace

info [at] janklow [dot] com

Website – Literary Marketplace

www.janklowandnesbit.com

Personnel – Literary Marketplace
Sr Partner Morton L Janklow
Partner Lynn Nesbit
SVP Anne Sibbald
VP & Dir, Foreign Rts Cullen Stanley
Agent Lucas W Janklow
Agent Julie Just
Agent Alexandra Machinist
Agent P J Mark
Agent Richard Morris

Click here to subscribe to Literary Marketplace online.

Just make sure you also…

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Get FREE Access Now –
To Our Directory of Literary Agents

Our Directory of Literary Agents is the most comprehensive (and accurate) list of literary agents in the world… plus it’s the easiest to use. Simply click here to see our Directory of Literary Agents and get instant access to:

* US and intl literary agents (1,000+ agents)
* Search by book genre/category (116 of them)
* Full-length agent biographies and photos
* AAR membership status
* Query letter method (email, online form, post)
* Links to agent websites and maps to their offices
* Personal email and postal addresses

If you liked this article about Literary Marketplace
click here to read the next section in this 9-part series
warning you about using a Free Literary Agents List.