Cynthia Cannell Literary Agency

The renowned New Yorker writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lore Segal creates a hilarious, poignant, and profoundly moving portrait of life today—where terrorist paranoia and end-of-the-world hysteria mask deeper fears of mortality; where parents and their grown children vacillate between frustration and tenderness; and where the broken medical system leads one character to quip, “Kafka wrote slice-of-life fiction.” HALF THE KINGDOM was a 2013 New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
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From international bestselling author Richard Zimler comes a new psychological thriller, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, a uniquely moving feat of storytelling that reveals the damaging repercussions of abuse, and offers a startling look at the underbelly of Zimler’s adopted home.
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Set in an unnamed foreign country, A WORD FOR LOVE is Emily Robbins' debut novel about a young American woman who arrives in search of an “astonishing text”—said to have the power to make all its readers weep—but finds herself caught instead in the lives of her host family and a Romeo & Juliet-like romance that ultimately teaches her about love, loyalty, and herself—and changes her reading of everything.
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Sam Sifton is senior editor and former dining critic of The New York Times. SEE YOU ON SUNDAY, his second book, is a home-cooking manifesto that derives from his popular New York Times Magazine column, “The Cheat.”
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Whether you are an inveterate lover of language or just want to win a lot more anger-free arguments—THANK YOU FOR ARGUING is Jay Heinrichs' master class in the art of persuasion. Learn the tools from Homer Simpson, Winston Churchill and—in this revised and updated edition—President Barack Obama, as well.
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With the same storytelling brio that distinguished the acclaimed novels RIVER, CROSS MY HEART and STAND THE STORM, Breena Clarke weaves the richly dramatic story of one woman’s triumph in the crucible of history in ANGELS MAKE THEIR HOPE HERE.
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A powerful new novel from the prodigiously talented author of RAILS UNDER MY BACK, SONG OF THE SHANK is Jeffery Renard Allen's contemporary American masterpiece about music, race, an unforgettable man, and an unreal America during the Civil War era.
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Consumer travel advocate Christopher Elliott gives us the inside scoop on informed itinerancy in HOW TO BE THE WORLD'S SMARTEST TRAVELER, a guide to savvy traveling the world over.
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Aaron Thier’s debut novel THE GHOST APPLE is set on the New Hampshire campus of Tripoli College—an institution that, beset by financial problems, has entered into a coercive agreement with a corrupt “food services” corporation called Big Anna. Big Anna deposes the college’s president and installs a tyrant who contrives to enslave study-abroad students on a sugar plantation on St. Renard, an island in the Caribbean.
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Cynthia is far more than a great agent—and she is certainly that (after all, she sold my book). But she is also a darn good editorial thinker, a shaper of ideas, and a wise head in an industry that is ever more challenged. She is a crackerjack advocate for her writers in negotiations, widely read and networked, and the best sounding board I could wish for.
−Keith Bellows, SVP/Editor in Chief, National Geographic Travel Media; Editor in Chief, National Geographic Traveler and author of 100 PLACES THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR CHILD'S LIFE
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Ten years ago I sent Cynthia a crazy idea for my first book, on a subject I knew almost nothing about. She helped me shape the proposal, sold the book to a division of Random House, garnered a slew of foreign advances; and, after that book did well, sold my second book for more money. That should tell you all you need to know about Cynthia’s agenting. Yes, she’s smart, warm and funny, patient and dogged, and blunt when it’s good for you (a rare trait in the flattery-sodden world of publishing). But Cynthia is foremost a business partner—one of the best in the business.
−Jay Heinrichs, journalist, publishing executive and author of THANK YOU FOR ARGUING
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Cynthia Cannell has been my literary agent for over a decade and, from the beginning, I’ve trusted her implicitly. She has always been frank, supportive, and professional; perhaps most essentially, I know she is interested not only in each book, but in my life as a writer. Having her as my agent allows me to fully concentrate on my writing and offers me an immense sense of stability in the volatile world of publishing.
−Jane Brox, author of BRILLIANT: THE EVOLUTION OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT and CLEARING LAND: LEGACIES OF THE AMERICAN FARM
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I joined Cynthia Cannell’s organization because she was the agent to recognize and sign on the best and most difficult of my student writers. Cynthia is an excellent and generous reader; she responds to questions—the sensible and not so sensible ones. She solves problems and is willing to deal with some unusual material. I think of her with personal affection.
−Lore Segal, award-winning fiction writer and translator, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist SHAKESPEARE'S KITCHEN: STORIES
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Cynthia Cannell did not find me in a gutter, but the effect was similar. She was confident and steadfast about my work when I was apprehensive and jittery. She coaxed me along patiently, sternly and always, always, kindly. She made it possible for me to write a book and now to write another, and she found a way to make that pay. For that but even more for the work and guidance I am grateful.
−Sam Sifton, Senior Editor, The New York Times and author of THANKSGIVING: HOW TO COOK IT WELL
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Our authors are united by their high level of creativity, integrity and seriousness of purpose. We take pride in the personal attention we provide, and in our depth of knowledge and experience in the publishing industry.

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Our authors are united by their high level of creativity, integrity and seriousness of purpose. We take pride in the personal attention we provide, and in our depth of knowledge and experience in the publishing industry.

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CONTACT US

SOCIAL