Rosica Colin (10 October 1902 – 25 April 1983) was a Romanian

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 ...

of the mid twentieth century who was principally known for her promotion of works in translation. Using her language skills and international outlook, she represented French writers in England and English writers in Europe. The firm she founded still exists as Rosica Colin Ltd.

Early life

Rosica Colin was born in Romania around 1903.Ernest Hecht, "Rosica Colin", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 19 May 1983, p. 14.

Career

In 1939, Colin travelled to England after spending time in Germany. She worked for

Basil Blackwell Sir Basil Henry Blackwell (29 May 18899 April 1984) was born in Oxford, England. He was the son of Benjamin Henry Blackwell (18491924), founder of Blackwell's bookshop in Oxford, which went on to become the Blackwell family's publishing and booksh ...

in Oxford during the Second World War and subsequently for the Romanian department of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and the Belgian Government Economic Mission. Colin set up as a literary agent in London. She gave

Diana Pullein-Thompson Diana Pullein-Thompson, later Diana Farr (1 October 1925 – 21 September 2015) was a British horsewoman and writer known for her pony books. Her mother and two sisters also wrote and together they created a large number of children's books - and ...

her first job.Diana Pullein-Thompson, author - obituary.
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 23 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015. A skilled linguist, Colin was principally known for her promotion of works in translation. Among the authors she represented were

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...

, and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

. An astute judge of quality with a Catholic taste, Colin soon found herself representing authors writing in English as diverse as the " angry young man"

Alan Sillitoe Alan Sillitoe Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (4 March 192825 April 2010) was an English writer and one of the so-called "angry young men" of the 1950s. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was appl ...

(who she helped early in his career), the writer of westerns J.T. Edson, and the playwrights

Howard Sackler Howard Oliver Sackler (December 19, 1929 – October 12, 1982) was an American screenwriter and playwright who is best known for writing ''The Great White Hope'' (play: 1967; film: 1970). ''The Great White Hope'' enjoyed both a successful run on ...

and

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chur ...

. Colin represented

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

in Europe and persuaded French and German publishers to take Blyton on in translation, resulting in huge sales.

Death

Colin died at her home in London on 25 April 1983. The firm she founded still exists as Rosica Colin Ltd.Rosica Colin Ltd.
WritersServices. Retrieved 26 October 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colin, Rosica Romanian emigrants to the United Kingdom Literary agents 1902 births 1983 deaths