Susanna Lea Associates

What Susanna Lea Associates does

Susanna Lea Associates is an international literary agency founded in 2000 by Susanna Lea, headquartered in Paris, with additional offices in London (established 2007) and New York. The firm represents a roster of fiction and non-fiction authors — ranging from debut novelists to bestselling and Nobel-laureate writers — and sells their literary rights across print, audio, electronic, translation, and film/TV adaptation formats in markets worldwide. Its revenue model is commission-based licensing and royalties on rights sales, with go-to-market executed through direct author-agent relationships and, on the publisher side, through reciprocal translation-rights arrangements with three partner publishers: Spiegel & Grau, The Robbins Office, and New River Press.

Core service lines include author representation, translation rights sales, UK and Commonwealth rights, North American rights, and film/TV rights handled in-house by a dedicated audiovisual rights manager. The agency's "core technology" is its tri-city commercial footprint and its agent network rather than a software platform; no proprietary digital products, APIs, or AI systems are disclosed. Distribution runs entirely through traditional publishing channels, and marketing is conducted via the firm's website and an Instagram account (@sla_agency).

The agency is privately held with no parent company, no external investment, no funding rounds, and no subsidiaries; ownership commentary indicates the entity operates as a single SAS registered in France (SIRET 43221302300018). Headcount is reported as 11-50, and team expansion during 2024-2026 has focused on adding senior agents with established imprints (e.g., Charlotte Lefèvre from Calmann-Levy, Cara Lee Simpson from PFD), a rights agent for East Asian translations, a junior agent for Scandinavian authors, and a marketing/communications hire — pointing to organic, modest scaling of the existing model rather than a structural pivot.

Name

Susanna Lea Associates

Legal name

Susanna Lea Associates SAS

Website

https://susannalea.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Susanna Lea Associates is a private international literary agency, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Paris with offices in London and New York, representing fiction and non-fiction authors and selling their translation, film/TV, and English-language rights to publishers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Agency Services

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Translation and Interpretation Services (541930)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Rights, ISBN & Publishing Administration Services (Identifiers, Metadata, Royalties) (MPAJAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Translation & Localization Services for Indie Authors (MPAJAJAN), Translated & International Trade Publishing (Rights/Localizations) (MPAJAAAO), Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Literary agency services
• Author representation
• Translation rights sales
• Film tv rights
• Book publishing agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Author Representation and Rights Sales: The agency represents authors and sells their literary rights including translation rights, film and TV adaptation rights, and handles rights on behalf of other publishers such as Spiegel & Grau, The Robbins Office, and New River Press.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Susanna Lea Associates is a full-service international literary agency representing fiction and non-fiction authors worldwide. The agency sells and manages translation rights, film and television adaptation rights, and UK/Commonwealth rights on behalf of its author clients and partner publishers, with offices in Paris, London, and New York. It also processes manuscript submissions and acts as a co-agent for foreign rights on behalf of selected publishing houses.

Product overview

Susanna Lea Associates is a traditional literary agency offering author representation and rights management services across three offices in Paris, London, and New York. The agency provides a unified suite of services centered on literary representation—matching authors with publishers and handling rights sales across translation, film/TV, and digital formats. The core offering consists of author representation, rights sales, and submissions handling, with no standalone digital products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Literary Rights Representation Full-service representation and management of literary rights for authors, including selling translation rights, film and TV rights, and UK/Commonwealth rights, on behalf of represented authors and partner publishers.
• Author Representation Services Full-service literary agency representation for novelists, journalists, psychologists, human rights activists, travel writers, scientists, chefs, historians, and academics across fiction and non-fiction genres.
• Film & TV Rights Handling and selling screen adaptation rights for represented literary works, working with producers and production companies to adapt books for film and television.
• Translation Rights Sales Maximizing potential of literary projects in translation across all formats, including print, audio, and electronic media, sold to publishers in international territories.
• Submissions Processing Review and evaluation of manuscript submissions from aspiring authors, with a focus on fiction and non-fiction across commercial and literary genres, processed by the Paris, London, and New York offices.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Spiegel & GraucoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSusanna Lea Associates handles translation rights on behalf of Spiegel & Grau publishers.
• The Robbins Office (Kathy Robbins)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSusanna Lea Associates handles translation rights on behalf of The Robbins Office.
• New River PresscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSusanna Lea Associates handles translation and North American rights on behalf of New River Press.
• Kennes les 3 AscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresented author Philippe Boxho's books including 'What the Dead Have to Say' and 'Conversation with a Corpse' published by Kennes les 3 As.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Curtis Brown: Long-established UK literary and talent agency with a similarly broad fiction and non-fiction author list. One of SLA's named recruitment sources (Annabel White moved from Curtis Brown), and a direct competitor in English-language rights representation.
• United Agents: Major UK-based literary and talent agency with a large fiction and non-fiction author roster, including a dedicated film/TV rights capability. Comparable in scale of author list and full-service rights offering, and a direct competitor in the London market where SLA also operates.
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates: International literary agency with offices across Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Asia, specializing in translation rights brokering. Direct competitor to SLA in cross-territory rights sales and a key counterpart for translation deals.
• Aitken Alexander Associates: Boutique London literary agency with a literary and non-fiction focus. Comparable to SLA in scale, positioning, and emphasis on a curated author list, and a direct competitor for premier literary authors and translation rights.
• The Wylie Agency: Independent, founder-led international literary agency with a comparable list of high-profile literary and non-fiction authors. Direct competitor for author signings, translation rights sales, and film/TV adaptations, with similar boutique scale and global ambitions.

Regional players

• Rights People: UK-based rights agency specializing in translation rights sales, with a curated list of European authors. Comparable to SLA's translation rights focus but smaller in scale and primarily UK-based; serves as a co-agent partner in many of the same cross-territory deals.

Emerging players

• Book/Lab Literary Agency: Independent international rights agency representing a curated list of literary authors with a strong focus on translation and rights brokering. Comparable to SLA in boutique positioning and rights-led business model, with an emerging rather than established brand.
• Deborah Harris Agency: Independent literary agency focused on international rights and translation, with notable activity in Middle Eastern and European literature. Comparable in boutique size and rights-led model, and a likely co-agent counterpart for SLA's translation deals.

Broad incumbents

• ICM Partners: Major US talent and literary agency (now part of CAA) with broad book-to-screen capabilities and a much larger agent roster. Overlaps with SLA in literary representation and film/TV rights, but operates at significantly greater scale and is a likely buyer rather than pure peer for any boutique agency.
• William Morris Endeavor (WME): One of the largest global talent and literary agencies, with a dedicated books division and deep film/TV adaptation relationships. Competes with SLA for high-profile authors and adaptation deals, but at substantially larger scale and a much broader service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/sla_agency
• Xx.com/Susanna_Lea
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/susanna-lea-associates

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Susanna Lea Associates