Beginnings

Since starting out in publishing in 1994, Rebecca Carter has been committed to nurturing novelists and non-fiction writers with original and refreshing perspectives on the world. Authors who compel us, entertain us, and help us think anew.

She began as an assistant literary scout with Anne-Louise Fischer (where she was lucky to be one of the early readers and international advocates for Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things). Anne-Louise introduced her to the best publishers around the world, and inspired her to think about publishing internationally.

As an editor at Random House (now PRH) between 1997 and 2012, she was responsible for publishing the debut fiction of writers who have gone on to have high-profile careers as novelists, among others, Diana Evans, Xiaolu Guo, Sarah May, Sandra Newman, Erin Morgenstern and Gerard Woodward. She also acquired novels by writers such as Jamal Mahjoub (Travelling with Djinns), Yoko Ogawa (Revenge) and Colson Whitehead (Zone One and Sag Harbor). An enduring interest in translated fiction (she speaks French and Italian) led her to publish a number of books that have become core backlist titles in international literature: for example, Irène Némirovsky’s Suite française (and other novels), Javier Marías’s Your Face Tomorrow, and Ma Jian’s novels and his travel memoir Red Dust. Her work with poet Sarah Maguire on the translation of Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi’s A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear led to a stint on the Board of the Poetry Translation Centre.

In non-fiction at Random House, she worked on books such as Roger Deakin’s Waterlog, Fuchsia Dunlop’s Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper, Ross King’s Brunelleschi’s Dome, Jonathan Powell’s Great Hatred, Little Room, Tom Reiss’s The Orientalist and The Black Count, and Andrew Wulf’s The Brother Gardeners.

A move to agenting

Joining Janklow & Nesbit UK as an agent in 2012 gave her a platform for discovering exciting new fiction writers (such as Ferdia Lennon, Gavin McCrea, Nell Stevens), as well as allowing her to expand her focus to reflect her love of Crime and Thriller (working with, among others, the bestselling crime writer Elly Griffiths).

She also developed her interest in representing thought-provoking non-fiction on a wide range of subjects. She represents some of the most interesting contemporary writers of creative non-fiction, including Alice Albinia, Xiaolu Guo, Olivia Laing and Rebecca Stott. She also has a strong interest in non-fiction that speaks to the present moment, whether that be through history, science, or writing on culture and current affairs: at Janklow & Nesbit, she worked with Rutger Bregman on Utopia for Realists and Humankind, Alan Rusbridger on Breaking News and News and How to Use It, and Michelle Meagher on Competition is Killing Us. 

Going independent

Rebecca set up Rebecca Carter Literary in January 2023 in order to become more focused, combining for her authors the benefits of experienced and close personal attention to their books with her ability to broker publishing and other media deals through her international networks. She has extensive experience of the North American and translation markets. Many of the books she has worked on have been adapted for the screen, or are in development for Film or TV.

For Film & TV rights, Rebecca Carter Literary collaborates with a range of expert co-agents that includes Emily Hayward Whitlock at The Artists Partnership and Jonathan Kinnersley at The Agency. From audio rights to North American and translation rights, all aspects of a book’s life are given careful attention. Rebecca is very lucky to be in association with the team at PEW Literary for contracts and translation rights. For more detail about how her clients’ translation rights are handled, you can read about the hugely experienced Margaret Halton at PEW, and the other RCL co-agents for translation rights and Film & TV rights, on the Rights page.

Building bridges

Having worked on many sides of publishing (and grown up around the letterpress printing machines of her grandfather and father at the Rampant Lions Press), Rebecca has an ongoing fascination with the history and mechanics of the book industry, and what needs to happen for a writer and their book to achieve success. She speaks regularly at creative writing events, and enjoys mentoring young people and thinking about access to the world of books (she has been a mentor for Arts Emergency).

Whether it is a writer taking their first steps towards being published or an author who already has a major international career, she loves brokering the relationships that will make their creative and professional lives thrive.

Rebecca Carter Literary is a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents.