INTERVIEW: Emmanuelle Alspaugh - Agent - Judith Ehrlich Literary Management

Emmanuelle Alspaugh was born in France and grew up in Eugene, Oregon, before settling in New York City to work in publishing. She enjoys developing long-term relationships with her clients, helping them to build strong and lasting literary careers.

What Emmanuelle is currently looking for:

Urban fantasy
Paranormal romance, particularly the dark and edgy kind shape-shifters & werewolves
Historical romance, mainly sexy Regencies
General historical fiction set in Europe
Upmarket, high-concept women’s fiction with strong female protagonists
Literary fiction with an international setting
Select nonfiction categories including memoir, psychology, and relationships.

Literary agent Emmanuelle Alspaugh has relocated from Wendy Sherman Associates and was an Editor at Fodor's, the travel division of Randon House to Judith Ehrlich Literary Management in August of 2008. In the last six months of 2009 she sold five debut romance authors, all in two- or three-book deals.

Ms. Alspaugh has made deals for the following authors: Marie Claire editor Sarah Wexler, romance authors Jenny Brown, Alissa Johnson, Marcella Burnard, Christina Phillips, and Laurie London; Marie Claire editor Sarah Wexler; memoirists Adrienne Kane and Catherine McCall; and anthology editor Andrea Richesin. She was also briefly an agent with Creative Culture, where she connected Canadian novelist Danielle Younge-Ullman with Plume; that book was Falling Under.

E.I. If you could pick the perfect literary novel to represent this coming year, what would be its defining characteristics?

E. Alspaugh: Probably a gorgeously wrought, epic historical novel, along the lines of Sarah Dunant, Michelle Moran, Emma Donoghue, Philippa Gregory, or Pamela Kaufman. It would have a primary and multiple secondary plot lines, romance, details about historical settings and dress, and plenty of intrigue.

E.I. There are many qualities a writer must possess in order to be a successfully published author. What quality do you find most important?

E. Alspaugh: Professionalism, hands-down. It’s a word that encompasses so many aspects of the job: researching the market, knowing the competitive titles and authors, working at the craft of writing, having the ability to narrow down a book idea to a concise pitch, being available to the agency and publishing team, promoting the published book through all avenues, and generally understanding that publishing is a business.

To learn more about Emmanuelle Alspaugh, please visit their website