The Christopher Little Literary Agency is a firm of
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 ...
s based in London. Its clients have included
Darren Shan
Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and ''Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former w ...
,
A. J. Quinnell
Philip Nicholson (25 June 1940–10 July 2005), known by his pen name A. J. Quinnell, was an English thriller novelist. Christopher Little, who ran the agency, also managed Harry Potter author
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...
from 1995 until 2011 and has been credited with single-handedly managing Rowling's career and turning the ''
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' franchise into a multi-million pound industry. He has been described as "the luckiest agent ever" who was half of "the most commercially successful relationship in literary history".
History
Christopher Little
Christopher John Little was born in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in 1941, and grew up in
Liversedge
Liversedge is a town and former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward is ...
.Christopher Little, Who Built an Empire Around a Boy Wizard, Dies at 79 ''New York Times'', 27 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021. He began a recruitment agency in the 1970s, when looking for work in the United Kingdom after returning from a financial career abroad. He sold his first novel in 1979: the book '' Man on Fire'', written by his friend, Phillip Nicholson, and published under the pseudonym
A. J. Quinnell
Philip Nicholson (25 June 1940–10 July 2005), known by his pen name A. J. Quinnell, was an English thriller novelist.
Little died from cancer on 7 January 2021, at age 79.
J. K. Rowling
In 1995, Little received three chapters of a manuscript from
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...
who was looking for representation. Looking at a list of literary agents she saw the name "Christopher Little" and, believing it to sound like a character in a children's story, sent him the first three chapters of ''
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers hi ...
''. Little responded four days later requesting the balance of the book, thinking there was something special about it. Every major UK publisher turned the book down but a small publishing company had just opened a children’s department
Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...
. They too saw the potential and bought UK Commonwealth
publication rights
Publication right is a type of copyright granted to the publisher who first publishes a previously unpublished work after that work's original copyright has expired. It is in almost all respects the same as standard copyright, but excludes moral r ...
in 1996 for one book for £2,500, a small figure but he believed it to be his "masterstroke". The US rights for one book in the United States subsequently went to auction after
word of mouth
Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...
and positive reviews raised significant interest in the property which went for a six figure sum. Foreign language publication rights were subsequently sold in over 80 languages. In 2007 he was estimated to have received at least £50m from the franchise. Little has been called "the luckiest agent ever" and is credited with turning Rowling into a "literary superstar". The pair have been described as being "the most commercially successful relationship in literary history".
Little's association with Rowling did not end well with the author choosing to leave Little. She left to join one of Little's former business partners,
Neil Blair
Captain Robert Neil Blair CVO RN was Private Secretary and Treasurer to The Duke of York, 1990–2001.
Blair was born in 1936, and educated at St John's College, Johannesburg, and Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He served in the Ro ...
, as he set up his own agency. This led to Little considering legal action against the author but the dispute was settled amicably. The details of the settlement remain confidential.
Other authors
The Christopher Little Literary Agency has represented numerous authors, mainly in commercial fiction, including Darren Shan, Anne Zouroudi, Erin Kinsley, and Janet Gleeson. It has also represented people with their autobiographies, including ''Madeleine'' by
Kate McCann
Kate McCann (born 1988/1989) is a British journalist. She has been the political editor of TalkTV since April 2022. McCann was previously a political correspondent for Sky News between 2018 and 2022 and ''The Daily Telegraph''s senior politic ...
and ''Soldier'' by General Sir Mike Jackson. Films included The Pianist, The Vampire’s Assistant and the Harry Potter series.