Jennie Dunham on the 25th Anniversary of Dunham Literary
Jennie Dunham celebrates and reflects upon 25 years of Dunham Literary….
Time has flown since I started my agency. In the typical way, the days have been long, but the years have been short. Now my shelves are lined with books I represented just as I imagined they would be when I started.
From my very first job as an assistant at a literary agency, I knew this would be my career. I have enjoyed being an advocate for writers and illustrators. When I love a writer’s work, it feels personal to me too. Part of the excitement of working with writers and illustrators is that every book is different, and I am constantly learning something new with each one. That said, I have found the most success in representing projects when they fell within categories that I already read on my own for pleasure. The more I intrinsically understand a type of book, the more I can use my own excitement about a particular manuscript as a gauge for the response editors and the wide audience of readers will have for it.
Keeping this in mind at the start, I identified three primary focus areas: literary fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, and lifestyle. They’re broad categories which works well because they provide some room to grow within a solid framework. Also, this means that many worthy, saleable, well-written manuscripts would not be a good match for my agency, and I would have to pass on those projects so that I could concentrate on projects that are a great match for me. A key benefit from having these focus areas is the that diversity of books has helped my agency weather changes in the market; when the interest in one category of books wanes, another type gains popularity.
But, more than the category of book, I have wanted to ensure the writing was top level as a common denominator for all the books on my list. I continue to look for clients who have intrinsic creative talent and have already honed skills in their craft in artful stories which entertain and inform readers. To fit on the list, each book needs a distinctive voice and well defined characters who I would remember long afterwards as if we have met in real life. While some agents and editors have favored character over story, I find a strong narrative to be an integral part of a book. After all, that’s what a story is.
Books are a way to explore the wide human experience, and this is another factor that connects all of the books on the Dunham Literary list. My lifelong personal search for what is universal across all cultures and how different people can be within a culture is reflected in my list of books. They contain stories that are deeply personal and delve into the variety of ways to be a person and express humanity, to interact with others, to make hard decisions and take action in the world, to love and be loved, to make compromises, and to find the best experiences the world offers. No two people face challenges the same way. Everyone holds multiple stories within them, and the stories are constantly changing as a person ages. Also, human beings are capable of great inconsistencies which, no surprise, makes for unexpected plot twists and unique perspectives. Diversity is trendy now, but it’s been at the core of Dunham Literary books from the beginning.
Dunham Literary has grown from a single agent firm to a team. This year, to reflect the growing team at Dunham Literary, the agency has a new logo and our handle has changed from @jenniedunhamlit to @dunhamlit across all platforms. This matches the long standing domain name for the agency website (www.dunhamlit.com). We’re currently on Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, and Bluesky. This list will likely change over time as the landscape of social media evolves. Please follow us!
Before I started my firm, I sought advice from agents who mentored me. They talked about changes and challenges in the industry (yes, even back then!). But, they all said that the same thing about what they like about their work, that the excitement of calling an author to say “I’ve got an offer” is so rewarding. Years later, I can absolutely confirm that this is true: the thrill of selling a book never gets old.