"Books that make a difference,
since 1994"
Welcome! The Robert E. Shepard Agency serves
authors of serious non-fiction books. With clients across the United States and
around the world, the Agency is proud of its authors and their books--works
that educate and inform, introduce new subjects to public view, and offer new
insights into traditional areas of interest. The Agency has been a proud member
of California's literary community since 1994, and recently moved from the Bay
Area to Los Angeles.
Enjoy browsing our site. You
can learn more about:
Please continue reading
below to find out more about the Agency's key subjects, and information on submitting
queries.
Non-Fiction
Is Our Specialty
In fact, it's all we represent. Every
literary agency has a different set of specialties and brings a different set
of perspectives and interests to its work.
Categories
we do represent:
- Current affairs, politics, and issues facing or
shaping contemporary society and culture
- Narrative non-fiction, including works in history
that shed new light on important events, periods, and individuals
- Narrative works about sports and popular culture
- Business, especially books that focus on newly
emerging business issues
- Judaica
- Issues in sexuality, including lesbian/gay
non-fiction
- Current science, explained for lay audiences
- Literary non-fiction; books with a very strong
narrative and lessons to teach
Categories
we don't represent:
- Autobiographical works
- Fiction - What's the
difference between fiction and non-fiction? Click here!
- Poetry
- Screenplays and stage plays
- Children's and young-adult books
- Most "collected" works: books that
gather letters, articles, newspaper columns, anecdotes, etc.
Submitting Queries and
Proposals
Please send a query
by email or letter before sending a proposal. All queries should be in
writing; queries will not be accepted by phone or fax. In your query, please
describe, in a page or two, your subject and approach, your intended audience,
your background, and why your work should be of interest to agents, editors,
and the reading public. Focus on what's new and different, and describe your own "platform"--your qualifications,
publishing background, media experience, and public persona. If you send a
query or proposal by mail, be sure to enclose a postage-paid return envelope
capable of holding your material; otherwise, it will not be returned. If you
query by email, please do not attach any documents to your message (unsolicited
attachments will be deleted unread).
If the Agency
requests a proposal, you may find it helpful to read our essay on How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal for
suggested submission guidelines.
Please click here for
mail and email addresses and other guidelines. The Agency does not accept
queries by telephone or fax. PLEASE NOTE that the mailing address in Valley
Village, California is now current. Some published directories may show our
former Berkeley address, which is no longer active.