Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction by McGrath, Laura B.
Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction by McGrath, Laura B.

Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction

A revealing account of how agents have shaped book publishing and the literary canon from the 1950s...
$35.94 USD
$35.94 USD
Please hurry! Only 108 left in stock
Author: Laura B. McGrath
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $35.94
Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction by McGrath, Laura B.

Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction

$35.94
Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction by McGrath, Laura B.

Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction

$35.94
Author: Laura B. McGrath
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description

A revealing account of how agents have shaped book publishing and the literary canon from the 1950s to today

Middlemen rewrites literary history from the perspective of one of its most important but least visible figures: the literary agent. Chronicling the story of agents in the United States from the 1950s to today, Laura McGrath uncovers their critical role in the making of American literature. From the famed three-martini lunch to the Frankfurt Book Fair, Middlemen takes readers behind the scenes to show how agents influence what we read. Along the way, it explains why many debut novelists never publish another book, why agents champion short story collections even though they sell poorly, how agents advocate for writers of color in a system that values whiteness, and why there are so many New York novels.

Weaving together original archival research, data analysis, and interviews with scores of agents and other publishing professionals, Middlemen demonstrates that agents--eighty percent of whom are in fact women--are much more than "middlemen." As intermediaries between author and publisher, agents act as advocates, matchmakers, negotiators, and tastemakers, and they must balance artistic values with the commercial imperatives of publishing conglomerates. The book describes the decisive role agents have played in celebrated novels--from Jack Kerouac's On the Road to Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist--but also in the creation of entire literary categories like the debut novel, the story collection, postmodernism, multiethnic fiction, and world literature.

Featuring profiles of agents past and present such as Sterling Lord, Lynn Nesbit, Candida Donadio, Marie Brown, and Andrew Wylie, along with perspectives from agents at all stages of their careers, Middlemen is an entertaining and eye-opening account of how literary fiction--and the literary canon--is made.

Author: Laura B. McGrath
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 04/28/2026
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
ISBN: 9780691256160


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 02/16/2026
Foreword 02/27/2026

About the Author
Laura B. McGrath is assistant professor of English at Temple University. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Nation, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review