The Gernert Company

What The Gernert Company does

The Gernert Company is a privately held, full-service literary agency founded in 1996 by David Gernert, the former Editor-in-Chief of Doubleday. Headquartered at 136 E. 57th Street in New York with a second office at 8440 Warner Drive in Culver City, California, the firm represents more than 500 authors across literary and commercial fiction, general and practical nonfiction, children's literature, graphic novels, comic books, and—since 2021—podcasters. The client roster includes New York Times bestsellers such as John Grisham, Louise Penny, Matt Dinniman, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Hanif Abdurraqib, Randall Munroe, Cixin Liu, Liz Moore, Adam Gidwitz, Chris Dixon, and Clint Smith.

The agency's revenue model is commission-based: agents negotiate domestic publishing deals with the major New York houses (Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan), license foreign rights through a co-agent network spanning more than 25 language markets (UK/Commonwealth, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Eastern Europe, the Nordics, the Netherlands, and the Arabic-speaking world), and sell subsidiary rights (film, television, audio). Standard industry commission rates apply—approximately 15% on domestic rights and 20% on foreign rights—with specific agency rates not publicly disclosed. The Culver City office anchors West Coast subsidiary rights activity.

The firm has steadily grown its team through senior hires from competitor agencies and major publishers, including Meredith Kaffel Simonoff (2022, from DeFiore and Company) and Phoebe Rhinehart (2025, from CAA), and has expanded its service surface into podcast representation. The Gernert Company is privately controlled by its founder, operates without external investment capital, maintains no board or cap-table disclosure, has no parent company or subsidiaries, and is not a technology business. Its submission policy explicitly rejects queries containing AI-generated text, reflecting an explicit positioning around human-authored work.

Name

The Gernert Company

Legal name

The Gernert Company

Website

https://thegernertco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Gernert Company is a privately held literary agency founded in 1996 that represents 500+ authors across fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and podcasts, with offices in New York and Los Angeles and an international co-agent network spanning 25+ language markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Agency Services

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Author Marketing, PR & Launch Services (Ads, Book Tours, Influencers) (MPAJAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA), Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Literary agency representation
• Book rights management
• Author representation services
• Foreign rights sales
• Subsidiary rights licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Author Representation and Rights Sales: The agency earns commissions on book deals negotiated on behalf of authors. They sell domestic publishing rights, foreign rights through co-agents, and subsidiary rights (film/TV, audio, etc.)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Gernert Company is a full-service literary agency that represents fiction, general and practical nonfiction, children's literature, graphic novels, and podcasters. Agents pitch works to publishers, negotiate book deals, and sell domestic, foreign, and subsidiary rights (film/TV, audio, translation) on behalf of the agency's 500+ authors, supported by a network of co-agents across more than 20 international markets.

Product overview

The Gernert Company is a full-service literary agency (not a technology company) offering literary representation services for authors of fiction, nonfiction, children's literature, graphic novels, and podcasts. Founded in 1996, the agency represents over 500 authors across offices in New York and Los Angeles. Core services include rights management (domestic, foreign, subsidiary), international co-agency partnerships across 25+ markets, podcast representation, and author query processing. The agency does not offer a technology product, API, or SaaS platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Literary Agency Services Full-service literary agency representation for fiction (literary and commercial), general and practical nonfiction, children's literature, graphic novels, and podcasters. Agents pitch works to publishers, negotiate book deals, and sell domestic, foreign, and subsidiary rights on behalf of the agency's roster of 500+ authors.
• Rights Management Domestic, foreign, and subsidiary rights sales for the agency's author clients, executed through a network of international co-agents covering UK/Commonwealth, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, plus film/TV and audio rights.
• Podcast Representation Representation services for podcast creators, including writers transitioning into audio and creators native to podcasting, with contact handled through Joy Fowlkes based in the LA office.

Named customers17 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Abner Stein (UK & British Commonwealth)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for UK and British Commonwealth markets. Mr. Caspian Dennis handles rights representation.
• Tassy Barham Associates (Portuguese)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Portuguese language markets.
• Peter & Paul Fritz AG (German)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for German language markets. Mr. Christian Dittus & Ms. Antonia Fritz handle representation.
• Agence Eliane Benisti (French)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for French language markets. Ms. Eliane Benisti handles representation.
• Berla & Griffini Rights Agency (Italian)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Italian language markets. Ms. Erica Berla handles representation.
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates Budapest (Hungarian, Croatian)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Hungarian and Croatian markets. Ms. Judit Hermann handles representation.
• The Foreign Office (Spanish)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Spanish language markets. Ms. Teresa Vilarrubla handles representation.
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates Prague (Czech, Slovak, Slovene)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Czech, Slovak, and Slovene markets. Ms. Petra Tobiskova handles representation.
• Read N Right Agency (Greek)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Greek market. Ms. Nike Davarinou handles representation.
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates Moscow (Russian)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Russian market. Ms. Anastasia Falcon Arjarova & Ms. Olga Lutova handle representation.
• Graal Ltd. (Polish)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Polish market. Ms. Maria Starz-Kanska handles representation.
• Akcali Copyright Agency (Turkish)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Turkish market. Mr. Atilla Turgut handles representation.
• The Deborah Harris Agency (Hebrew)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Hebrew market. Ms. Efrat Lev handles representation.
• Eric Yang Agency (Korean, Thai, Vietnamese)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese markets. Ms. Sue Yang handles representation.
• Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc. (Japanese)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Japanese market. Mr. Ken Mori handles representation.
• Maxima Creative (Indonesian, Malaysian)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Indonesian and Malaysian markets. Mr. Santo Manurung handles representation.
• Bardon-Chinese Media Agency (Chinese)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Chinese language markets (both Simplified and Traditional). Ms. Yu-Shiuan Chen & Ms. Changchih Tsai handle representation.
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates Sofia (Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian, Macedonian, Bosnian, Albanian)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Eastern European language markets. Ms. Mira Droumeva handles representation.
• Eastern European and Asian Rights Agency (Estonian, Georgian, Kazakh, Latvian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Uzbek)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Baltic, Caucasian, Central Asian, and Ukrainian markets. Ms. Tatjana Zoldnere handles representation.
• Marianne Schönbach Literary Agency (Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Nordic and Dutch markets. Ms. Diana Gvozden handles representation.
• Arabian Leopards Literary Agency (Arabic)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-agency partnership for Arabic language markets. Mohamed Ikhlef handles representation.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• InkWell Management: Independent literary agency representing literary fiction, nonfiction, and commercial authors globally. Comparable to Gernert in agent pedigree, foreign rights infrastructure, and high-profile client base.
• Foundry Literary + Media: Literary agency with strong nonfiction and select fiction representation, plus a dedicated media/podcast division. Comparable to Gernert in expanding into podcast representation and full rights sales.
• Wylie Agency: Elite boutique literary agency known for representing literary fiction and nonfiction bestsellers. Directly comparable to Gernert in the prestige tier, international co-agent network, and full-rights representation.
• Folio Literary Management: Independent literary agency representing fiction, nonfiction, and children's authors. Comparable to Gernert in sales-led model, mid-sized agent team, and full-service representation including foreign rights.
• DeFiore and Company: Literary agency representing fiction, nonfiction, and memoir authors with a strong sales-led model. Directly comparable to Gernert in client profile, publishing-house relationships, and rights sales focus. Two former DeFiore agents have joined Gernert, signalling direct talent overlap.
• Aevitas Creative Management: Full-service literary agency (formed from merger including Kuhn Projects) representing authors across genres with international co-agent reach. Comparable to Gernert in cross-genre representation, international rights, and senior-agent pedigree.
• Sterling Lord Literistic: Long-established, prestigious literary agency founded in 1952, representing major literary and commercial authors across fiction and nonfiction. Comparable to Gernert in its full-service representation model, focus on bestsellers, and rights-management capabilities.
• Janklow & Nesbit Associates: One of the most prestigious literary agencies in the U.S., representing major literary and commercial authors. Comparable to Gernert in brand prestige, top-bestseller client list, and full foreign/subsidiary rights capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Creative Artists Agency (CAA): Major talent and literary agency following its acquisition of ICM Partners. Comparable to Gernert as a publishing-deal and rights intermediary but operates at much larger scale across film, TV, sports, and books—representing a broader incumbent with overlap in literary representation.
• William Morris Endeavor (WME): Global talent agency with a substantial book publishing division (WME Books). Comparable to Gernert in literary representation and subsidiary rights sales but operates across entertainment verticals at a vastly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thegernertco
• Xx.com/thegernertco
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheGernertCompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-digital-enterprise

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Gernert Company