ICM Partners Melds Its Publishing Division With D.C.-Based Sagalyn Agency
BREAKING: In a move that gives the ICM Partners publishing division a foothold in D.C., the agency has established what it is calling a “strategic alliance” with Raphael Sagalyn’s The Sagalyn Agency. The D.C. outpost will now be called ICM/Sagalyn. The alliance melds Sagalyn’s strong non-fiction author list and ICM’s list dominated by fiction authors.
Sagalyn has long run a one-man shop in D.C., where he represents over 100 authors, journalists and business and political experts. His list includes National Book Award finalists Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Steve Olson, Pulitzer Prize finalist Robert Wright and New York Times bestselling authors Dan Pink, Claire Shipman, Katty Kay, Franklin Foer, David Ignatius, Daniel Suarez, Howard Kurtz, David Simon, Ross Douthat, Del Quentin Wilber, Ian Bremmer, NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Vanity Fair editor Cullen Murphy, MIT economist Simon Johnson, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, and Harvard professor Robert Putnam.
Insiders tell me Sagalyn’s client base will benefit by having access to the film and TV packaging arms of ICM Partners for new books and backlist titles. ICM will use the alliance to become more active in signing politicos and talent in other non-fiction arenas. Recently, former ICM director’s agent Bart Walker returned to the fold after a stint at Cinetic Media, but beyond that, this is the first expansion move for ICM Partners since its recent restructuring and exit of longtime chief Jeff Berg, who is cooking up the launch of his own agency. Of course, ICM needs the most help in areas including film, and this deal comes despite the agency already possessing a powerhouse publishing division.
In a joint statement, the partnership of ICM said, “The authors and journalists we represent are thought leaders who influence the culture of our society. Our venture with The Sagalyn Agency allows us to broaden our base of representation with clients of equal stature. We have long admired Rafe, who meticulously built his business into a market leader in Washington, D.C.”
Said Sagalyn: “Publishing has never experienced a time of such challenges and opportunities, and it’s never been more important to have alliances that can take full advantage of a writer’s and thinker’s intellectual property. I’m very pleased to join with ICM Partners to help represent my clients’ interests and jointly develop new projects from my base here in the nation’s capital.”
ICM’s existing author list includes Thomas Friedman, Patricia Cornwell, Walter Isaacson, Chris Cleave, Jeffrey Toobin, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Vince Flynn, Caroline Kennedy, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison, Anna Quindlen, Carl Hiaasen, E.L. Doctorow and Steve Martin.
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