Bill Clegg is an American

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

and author. Clegg's first two memoirs detail his addiction to

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''

Did You Ever Have a Family ''Did You Ever Have a Family'' is the debut novel by American literary agent and author Bill Clegg, published in 2015. Plot summary The novel focuses on June Reid, a beautiful, rich Connecticut woman. On the night before her daughter's wedding, ...

'', received offers from four publishers and was longlisted for the

2015 Man Booker Prize The 2015 Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded at a ceremony on 13 October 2015. A longlist of thirteen titles was announced on 29 July, narrowed down to a shortlist of six titles on 15 September. Judging panel * Michael Wood (Chair) * Ellah Wakatam ...

Biography

William Robert “Bill” Clegg grew up in

Sharon, Connecticut Sharon is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,680. The ZIP code for Sharon is 06069. The urban center of the town is ...

. His father William Clegg Jr. was a pilot with TWA. His mother is Kathy Jeanne née Ruscoe. He has two sisters and a brother. Clegg is a graduate of

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

. He is openly gay and was in a long-term relationship with filmmaker

Ira Sachs Ira Sachs (born November 21, 1965) is an American filmmaker. His first film was the short ''Lady'' (1993). Biography Sachs was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His films include '' The Delta'' (1997), '' Forty Shades of Blue'' (2005), '' Married Li ...

. Sachs based his film ''

Keep the Lights On ''Keep the Lights On'' is a 2012 American drama film written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias and directed by Sachs. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and was released on September 7, 2012 by Music Box Films.

'' (2012) on their relationship. In 2013, he married Van Scott Jr., a communications manager at

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

Career

Upon the urging of a girlfriend, Clegg took a Radcliffe Publishing Course in 1993. This led to an entry-level position at the Robbins Office. In March 2001, he and Sarah Burnes cofounded the literary agency Clegg and Burnes. The firm's roster of clients included:

Nicole Krauss Nicole Krauss (born August 18, 1974) is an American author best known for her four novels '' Man Walks into a Room'' (2002), ''The History of Love'' (2005), ''Great House'' (2010) and '' Forest Dark'' (2017), which have been translated into 35 l ...

Susan Choi Susan Choi (born 1969) is an American novelist. Early life and education Choi was born in South Bend, Indiana to a Korean father and a Jewish mother. She attended public schools. When she was nine years old, her parents divorced. She and her m ...

Anne Carson Anne Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, classicist, and professor. Trained at the University of Toronto, Carson has taught classics, comparative literature, and creative writing at universities across the Unit ...

, Heather Clay,

Nick Flynn Nick Flynn (born January 26, 1960) is an American writer, playwright, and poet. His writing is characterized by lyric, distilled moments, which blur the boundaries of various genres. Many of his books are structured using a collage technique, wh ...

Salvatore Scibona Salvatore Scibona (born 1975) is an American novelist. He has won awards for both his novels and short stories, and was selected in 2010 as one of ''The New Yorker's'' "20 under 40" Fiction Writers to Watch. His work has been published in ten lang ...

Akhil Sharma Akhil Sharma (born July 22, 1971) is an Indian-American author and professor of creative writing. His first published novel '' An Obedient Father'' won the 2001 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. His second, ''Family Life'', won the 2015 Folio Priz ...

, Heather McGowen, David Gilbert,

Stephen Elliott Stephen Elliott may refer to: Entertainment *Stephen Elliott (actor), (1918–2005), American actor *Stephen Elliott (author) (born 1971), American author and activist Sport *Steve Elliott (footballer, born 1958), English footballer *Steve Elliot ...

, and

Andrew Sean Greer Andrew Sean Greer (born November 1970) is an American novelist and short story writer. Greer received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel ''Less''. He is the author of ''The Story of a Marriage'', which ''The New York Times'' has ...

. Clegg and Burnes abruptly closed under mysterious circumstances. It was later revealed that a contributing factor to the firm’s closure was Clegg disappearing on a drug binge. After getting sober, Clegg returned to publishing and is currently an agent with

William Morris Endeavor Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The compa ...

. Many of his former clients returned to him. While at WME, Clegg began writing his memoirs.

Bibliography

*''Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man'': a memoir (2010) *''Ninety Days'': a memoir (2012) *''

'': a novel (2015) *''The End of the Day'': a novel (2020)

Awards

''Did You Ever Have a Family'' was longlisted by both the

National Book Awards The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

and the

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clegg, Bill 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers American book publishers (people) Cocaine in the United States American gay writers Literary agents Living people Novelists from Connecticut Writers from Connecticut Writers on addiction Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American LGBT novelists