Folio Literary Management has acquired the Emma Sweeney Literary Agency (ESA), effective January 2, 2020. The latter, founded in 2006, represented such authors as Sara Gruen and Edgar Cantero.
In a release about the deal, Folio said authors at ESA have won a host of major literary awards, including the Nobel and the Pulitzer. And Gruen's 2006 novel, Water for Elephants, has Folio noted, sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
Sweeney said she's "enjoyed a very rewarding 37 years in book publishing and am grateful for the life it’s given me, as well as the wonderful friendships." Now, she said she plans to "work in conservation and the environment as well as another area of interest to me, which is hospice care."
With the acquisition, Margaret Sutherland Brown, who joined ESA in 2015 as an agent and v-p, will move to Folio. (Before ESA, Brown was at Thomas Dunne Books.)
Folio has 20 literary agents and represents over 1,000 authors. This acquisition follows a deal in 2018, when the firm acquired Harold Ober Associates. (Sweeney had worked at Ober from 1996-2005, and brought of many of her clients with her to her new firm.)
Speaking to the deal, Folio's Jeff Kleinman said: "The depth and breadth of Emma’s list perfectly complements Folio’s dynamic roster of authors, and we are delighted to have Margaret join us with her strong editorial background and extensive knowledge of Emma’s list.”
