It’s fair to say that Sterling Lord has been better with writers than with wives, said John Heilpern in Vanity Fair. Though four times married, the legendary New York literary agent remains, at 92, utterly devoted to the work of scouring manuscripts and landing publishing deals for the writers he believes in. “I guess, growing up, I learned more about writing than women,” he says. His love of the authors he’s represented—including Ken Kesey, Gloria Naylor, John Irving, and David Mitchell—shines through in his new memoir, Lord of Publishing. One highlight: the day in 1951 when a young Jack Kerouac walked in carrying the manuscript for On the Road. Four long years of pitching later, Lord finally landed it a publisher. “I had no idea whether it was going to be a big success or not,” he says. “But I thought Kerouac’s voice was different and should be heard.”
Lord doesn’t worry much over how publishing has changed, said Roger Rapoport in the Charleston, W.Va., Gazette. He’s still in his office five or more days a week and always seeking not a market play but writing that keeps him reading deep into the night. “The book business is not like making an auto. Each title is unique,” he says. And while he forces himself to be stubbornly supportive of every manuscript he believes in, he also follows a rule about winning and losing that he adopted years ago. “Whether it was a major triumph or a serious disaster, I would take only 10 minutes to moan or to celebrate before moving on to the next client or the next deal.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Consumers fed up with food costs ditch big brands'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
What would it be like in jail for Trump if he's convicted?Today's Big Question The Secret Service has begun grappling with how to protect a former president behind bars
-
How much can you save shopping secondhand?The Explainer Many Americans are buying pre-owned items to counteract the effects of inflation
-
Also of interest...in picture books for grown-upsfeature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
-
Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
-
The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
-
Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
-
Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
-
Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
-
You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
-
Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”