Robert B. BarnettWilliams & Connolly202-434-5034, www.wc.com/attorney.cfm?attorney_id=86
An attorney first and literary agent second, Robert Barnett has a client list that includes Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bob Woodward, Lynne Cheney, Alan Greenspan, Barack Obama, and Queen Noor of Jordan. As such, he charges like a lawyer (flat fee or hourly) rather than like an agent (percentage).

Suzanne Gluck
William Morris Agency
212-586-5100, www.wma.com
Co-head of William Morris’ worldwide literary department, Suzanne Gluck persuaded The Nanny Diaries divas Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus to jump to Morris for the follow-up to their bestselling debut. Gluck also represents Jim Cramer, Rachael Ray, and Oliver Sacks.

Lynn Nesbit
Janklow & Nesbit Associates
212-421-1700
The first person Joan Didion called after her husband’s death, Nesbit shepherded the deal for The Year of Magical Thinking. She also handled Jane Fonda’s My Life So Far and former magazine editor Mary Cantwell’s American Girl. Word on the street: She is reluctant to take on new projects lately, so hone your pitch before you pick up the phone.

Jennifer Gates
Zachary Shuster Harmsworth
212-765-6900, www.zshliterary.com
The “survivor’s agent,” Jennifer Gates represented Chris Gardner, who wrote The Pursuit of Happyness; Emily Yellin, who penned Our Mothers’ War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II; and Thomas P.M. Barnett, the former military planner who authored The Pentagon’s New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century.

Mel Berger
William Morris Agency
212-586-5100, www.wma.com
Mel Berger, the senior vice president of William Morris, handles the life tales of politicians and celebrities. John Edwards, Andrew Cuomo, Ray Romano, and Donna Summer are some of his clients.

Dan Strone
Trident Media Group
212-262-4810, www.tridentmediagroup.com
The comedian’s go-to guy, Dan Strone brokered Jon Stewart's and Stephen Colbert’s books, tell-alls by Sandra Bernhard, Mel Brooks, and Paris Hilton, and Vivian Cash’s I Walked the Line: My Life With Johnny.

Amanda Urban
International Creative Management
310-550-4000, www.icmtalent.com
Known to her clients as Binky, Amanda Urban is the agent writers turn to when they’re ready to spill their guts. She handled Tobias Wolff’s This Boy’s Life and Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club.

Jane Dystel
Dystel & Goderich Literary Management
212-627-9100, www.dystel.com
If you’re not famous but you know a lot about someone who is, go to Jane Dystel. Her list includes Strange Tribe by John Hemingway (Ernest’s grandson) and Backstage With Julia by Nancy Verde Barr (Julia Child’s longtime assistant).

Alan Nevins
The Firm
310-860-8000
Alan Nevins is the agent of such names in lights as Joan Collins, Kirk Douglas, Fran Drescher, and Goldie Hawn (to whom Putnam reportedly paid seven figures for her memoir).