Mollie Glick of Creative Artists Agency represents many top authors and thought leaders, including U.S. president Joe Biden; U.S. vice president Kamala Harris; U.S. secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller; bestselling author Mark Manson; and a range of novelists including Carol Rifka Brunt, Jonathan Evison, Sarah McCoy, and Nic Stone. She answered questions for us prior to the fair.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Vladimir by Julia May Jones, and it’s absolutely delicious.
What’s one of your favorite books that most people don’t know?
I sold a book years ago called The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley that was published by Ecco, and it still gives me chills.
What’s one book you didn’t sell, that you always wish you had?
A brilliant, funny and warm bildungsroman about what would have happened to John Lennon should he have faked his own death and had a series of adventures, becoming more human and grounded along the way. It’s the story of what happens to a genius when he learns to lose his ego and live among mortals. So charming.
What’s a big book you read recently that surprised you in a good way? In a bad way?
This summer I found myself reading a series of short, slightly speculative novels, including Delphi by Clare Pollard and Burntcoat by Sarah Hall, and it’s amazing how much of an emotional journey a good author can take you on in such a small package.
What are your expectations for the first in-person Frankfurt Book Fair in three years?
I’m so excited for this Frankfurt because it will be the first time I attend with my new colleagues! Since CAA acquired ICM Partners, we have so many brilliant new colleagues. I’m thrilled to be able to meet with many of my U.K.-based team members for the first time in person and love any excuse to spend time with our full crew.
What are you looking forward to most about being back at the fair? Least?
So many meetings! It will be great to reconnect with the editors who have made our books bestsellers in foreign territories these past few years and thank them for all their hard work. And I always love hearing about buzzy books coming up in the next year and building my “To Read” pile. There’s nothing I love more than hoarding a stack of great books and a cache of good wine for a rainy day (or a winter break). I’ve also got a new novel to sell from Carol Rifka Brunt, the author of the international bestseller Tell the Wolves I’m Home, for the first time in ten years, which I could not be more excited about!
What are some trends in American literature your international book business contacts are most excited about? Or tired of?
I think everyone is delighted to see a return to great fiction. I think everyone is a bit tired of the Trump show.
Do you think there will be one big book of the fair? If so, anything you’ve heard about so far that fits the bill?
I’ve been hearing great things about my colleague Alexandra Machinist’s writer Elizabeth Acevedo’s first novel for adults, Family Lore.
What topics do you think people will be talking about at the fair?
After a period in which it felt like publishing timelines were shortening thanks to crash current events books, several forces, including printer capacity, shipping delays, and the book clubs picking books so far ahead of time, are conspiring to stretch those timelines out again. I’m curious as to how that is going to affect the timeline for foreign sales.
