Nicole Aragi, 45

Agency: Aragi, New York

Clients: Edwidge Danticat, Junot Díaz, Jonathan Safran Foer, Colson Whitehead

First industry job: Owner of London bookstore. Slush pile: Aragi discovered about a third of her clients through unsolicited manuscripts. Big deals: Snagged a reported $500,000 for Hannah Tinti’s Animal Crackers, a critically acclaimed debut short-story collection, in 2005—and, more recently, a reported $1 million for Foer’s 9/11 novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Out this fall: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Díaz.

Law firm: Williams & Connolly, Washington

Clients: Barack Obama, James Patterson, Tim Russert, George Tenet

The agent who isn’t: Barnett is a lawyer who represents authors in an agent-type role. Instead of the standard 15 percent fee, he charges a flat rate of $900 an hour for publishing projects. Biggest deals: Brokered three of the biggest nonfiction signings ever: a reported $12 million for Bill Clinton’s My Life (Knopf), a reported $8.5 million for Alan Greenspan’s The Age of Turbulence (Penguin), and a reported $8 million for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Living History (Simon & Schuster).

Agency: The Friedrich Agency, New York

Clients: Melissa Bank, Frank McCourt, Jane Smiley

First industry job: Intern at Doubleday. Recruiting strategy: When Friedrich was establishing herself in the business, she wooed Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of the 1978 novel A Woman of Independent Means, with a three-page fan letter. She then sold Hailey’s second book, Life Sentences, for an amount in the high six figures. Eye on the prize: Friedrich represents four Pulitzer Prize winners.

Agency: William Morris Agency, New York

Clients: Kurt Andersen, Jim Cramer, Rachael Ray

First client: Gluck published a monologue by Spalding Gray in a Brown University literary magazine. After college, she reconnected with him and became his lifelong agent. Surprise: Sold John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil for a mid-five-figure advance; the hardcover stayed on the bestseller list for more than four years. Regret: Passed on Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation.

Agency: Trident Media Group, New York

Clients: Deepak Chopra, Stephen Coonts, Catherine Coulter, Janet Evanovich

First industry job: In the mailroom at William Morris Agency. First big coup: Sold Isaac Asimov’s sequel to Fantastic Voyage for seven figures. Last great read: Napoleon and Wellington by Andrew Roberts. Big deal: Scored $22 million for Tom Clancy’s The Bear and the Dragon.

Agency: Janklow & Nesbit Associates, New York

Clients: Thomas Harris, David McCullough, Danielle Steel

First deal: College friend William Safire asked Janklow, then a corporate attorney, to represent his book about Richard Nixon. After the resignation of aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, publisher William Morrow tried to back out of the deal. Janklow sued—one of the first agents to file suit against a publisher. Holiest client: Pope John Paul II. Legacy: Janklow was the first agent to charge a 15 percent commission.

Agency: InkWell Management, New York

Clients: Arianna Huffington, Susan Orlean, Andrew Weil

First industry job: Worked for his father, literary agent Arthur Pine. Favorite book: The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow. Big deal: To pump up bidding for Andre Agassi’s forthcoming memoir, Pine and his partner Michael Carlisle invited publishers to Las Vegas to meet the tennis star. Knopf bought the book for an estimated $5.3 million.

Agency: I.C.M., New York

Clients: Jennifer Egan, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison, Suze Orman, Anna Quindlen

Regret: Passed on Michael Lewis’ Liar’s Poker. Nice save: When Simon & Schuster dropped Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho a month before its release, Urban negotiated for Ellis to keep the $300,000 advance, reacquired the rights, and sold the book to Knopf.

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