Pitching an Agent: The Helen Heller Agency

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This Toronto-based agency is run by a mother and daughter team and a former graphic designer; you can be sure your books will be pretty and handled with care by people with publishing in their blood.

Number of agents: Three
Number of clients: Around 50 or 60
Notable clients: Nelofer Pazira, star of the Iranian film Kandahar (A Bed of Red Flowers); award-winning thriller writer Giles Blunt (Forty Words for Sorrow); Toronto Star columnist Linwood Barclay; Kelley Armstrong, author of a supernatural series called Women of the Underworld (Bitten); best-selling author of event and wedding planning books Judy Allen; and YA/historical fiction author Linda Holeman (The Linnet Bird).
Percentage of unsolicited material accepted: Less than 1 percent
Fiction vs. nonfiction: 60 percent fiction; 40 percent nonfiction.

Background: This Toronto-based agency is run by British expatriate Helen Heller,...

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