Sheldon Fogelman AgencySheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc. represents authors and illustrators, primarily of children's books. Since its inception in 1975— making it the first agency to primarily represent children's literature— the agency's philosophy has been to represent people rather than merely the books they create. As a full-service agency, Sheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc. has the resources and accumulated knowledge to assist our clients in all aspects of their creative lives, from contract negotiation and rights management, to editorial input and long-term career planning. The agency is proud to work closely with leading publishers in foreign territories, as well as arranging for the sale of clients' rights in the motion picture and television industry.
The agency's founder, attorney Sheldon Fogelman, first entered the world of publishing in 1964 through his counsel to industry luminaries such as Maurice Sendak and Meindert DeJong. Mr. Fogelman so enjoyed working with his literary clients, in 1975 he chose to become a literary agent in addition to his work as attorney. With this decision, Sheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc. became the very first agency to specialize in representing mostly authors and illustrators of children's books, lighting the way for the rest of the children's book publishing industry that has grown up around it. Additionally, Mr. Fogelman continued to act as Maurice Sendak's attorney for over forty years and has represented various publishers with regard to dramatic, motion picture, and television rights, including William Morrow Children's Division. Mr. Fogelman has also assisted major publishers in a number of capacities, including helping to develop contracts, rights, and business affairs and management for publishing houses.
From the very beginning, our agents have recognized the richness, duration, and importance of literature, especially for young people, as it passes from generation to generation. We've developed a strong relationship with the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators and regularly attend SCBWI conferences and other events. Moreover, Mr. Fogelman was one of the earliest agents to attend Bologna Children's Book Fair regularly, to which he has brought colleagues over the years in order to hone their knowledge of foreign rights and establish relationships throughout publishing worldwide. Mr. Fogelman has always been passionate about sharing his unique insights into and perspective of the industry and, besides passing down this wealth of knowledge to his colleagues, has also been a featured speaker at many conferences, including the annual SCBWI Conference in both Los Angeles and New York, where he has given lectures on topics such as contracts, subrights, and more.
Throughout the agency's storied history thus far, Sheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc. has represented authors and illustrators recognized by numerous prestigious awards, including the Newbery, Caldecott, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, and more. Our most notable clients include Jerry Pinkney, Peggy Rathmann, and the James Marshall Trust, for which Mr. Fogelman currently acts as trustee. We have also previously represented other such luminaries as Martha Alexander, José Aruego, Densie Brunkus, Bryan Collier, Ariane Dewey, Steven Kellogg, Arnold Lobel, Jill McElmurry, Richard Peck, LeUyen Pham, Brian Pinkney, James Ransome, Uri Shulevitz, John Steptoe, and Mo Willems. We're proud to continue working with our past clients and their estates in managing backlist titles. Additionally, since the agency's inception, Sheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc. has actively pursued the sale and licensing of our titles' subsidiary rights in order to further advance our clients' opportunities. We've cultivated affiliations with select co-agents around the world, as well as within the Hollywood community, and as a result have licensed titles to publishers in over 25 countries and have licensed motion picture/television rights to many clients' works, including James Marshall's The Stupids and Dan Greenburg's The Zack Files.
We're proud of how our legacy, spanning nearly half a century, has become an incomparable foundation upon which to build the future of Sheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc. While Mr. Fogelman largely handles our most established clients, the rest of our agents are eager to work with up-and-coming authors and illustrators. In particular, we're enthusiastic about championing progressive, diverse works and giving diverse authors and illustrators the support they need in order to prosper. Our roster includes such talents as Robin Robinson, Timothy Woitas, and Kathleen Doherty.
At Sheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc., we're passionate about helping our clients create successful, long-lasting careers, as well as continuing to find new talent to help foster and break out in the industry. We firmly believe stories have the ability to change lives and are proud to help our clients publish the kinds of stories that linger long after young readers turn the last page.