Eccles Fisher Associates

What Eccles Fisher Associates does

Eccles Fisher Associates is a London-based international literary scouting agency that identifies and recommends books to publishers in more than twenty countries and to film & television producers seeking adaptation rights. The firm scouts fiction, non-fiction, YA, and children's titles in their original languages and surfaces them to international rights buyers through direct relationships with editorial gatekeepers. Its client roster includes flagship publishers such as Penguin Random House (Canada, Germany, Portugal, Spain & Latin America), Gyldendal (Denmark and Norway), Albert Bonniers (Sweden), Rizzoli/Mondadori (Italy), Éditions Robert Laffont and Phébus (France), Aufbau Verlag (Germany), Pushkin Press (UK), Grupo Companhia das Letras (Brazil) and others, alongside selected studios and independent producers for screen rights.

The firm's operating model is relationship-driven B2B scouting. A bench of roughly thirteen multilingual scouts — many with prior experience at literary agencies (Peters Frasers and Dunlop, Mohrbooks, The Wylie Agency, Jonathan Clowes, Watson Little), publisher houses (Chatto & Windus, Granta, Bloomsbury, Berlin Verlag) and the competitor JMH Literary Scouting — read in rare combinations that include Icelandic, Japanese, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Greek, Hungarian, Romanian, Hebrew, Arabic and Russian. Scouts operate by client, language or geography, with dedicated heads for UK/US scouting, children's & YA, international books, and film & TV. Client deliverables are surfaced through a proprietary online scouting portal called "Eccles Fisher Scout" (scout.ecclesfisher.com). Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed but appear to combine commission/royalty-style fees on rights transactions with retainer-style compensation from long-tenured publisher clients; pricing is not published and the firm does not accept unsolicited submissions.

The company was founded by Anne-Louise Fisher, with Catherine Eccles joining in 2005 and assuming the managing director role on Fisher's retirement in 2015. In 2025 the firm transitioned to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), transferring ownership to the employee base. Eccles Fisher is a private UK limited company (Eccles Fisher Associates Ltd.), independently owned with no external parent or institutional investors, operating from central London with scouts resident in Chicago and Brooklyn to support US coverage.

Name

Eccles Fisher Associates

Legal name

Eccles Fisher Associates Ltd.

Website

https://ecclesfisher.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eccles Fisher Associates is a London-based international literary scouting agency that recommends books to publishers in over twenty countries and to film & TV producers for screen adaptation, using a multilingual in-house bench of scouts with publishing-industry pedigrees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Scouting Services

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

Keywords

• International book scouting
• Literary scouting services
• Film adaptation rights
• Translation rights scouting
• Children's and YA scouting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Literary Scouting Services: The company scouts books from across the world for international publishers, helping bring fiction, non-fiction, YA and children's books to global audiences in translation. They also scout for film and TV adaptation rights.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Eccles Fisher Associates is an international literary scouting agency that scouts books from publishers worldwide for international rights sales and film/TV adaptation. The company identifies and recommends fiction, non-fiction, YA and children's books to publishing clients in over twenty countries, and scouts book properties for selected studios and independent producers for screen adaptation rights.

Product overview

Eccles Fisher Associates is a London-based international literary scouting service that scouts books from across the world for international publishers and film & TV adaptation. The company works with publishing clients in over twenty countries to identify and facilitate the success of fiction, non-fiction, YA and children's books across the globe in translation and on screen. The primary service offering is a scouting service connecting publishers with literary content, without distinct branded product lines or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Eccles Fisher Scout: Online scouting platform/login portal for the company

Products and services

• International Book Scouting for Publishers
• Film and TV Adaptation Scouting
• Children's and YA Book Scouting

Named customers24 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Grupo Companhia Das Letras BrazilcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBrazilian publishing group formed by merger of Companhia das Letras and Objetiva, publishing literary and commercial fiction, self-help, MBS, business, upmarket non-fiction, and children's and YA.
• Penguin Random House CanadacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorks across Random House imprints including Knopf, Random House, Doubleday, McClelland & Stewart, and their paperback imprints, children's and YA imprints, and cookery imprint Appetite.
• Gyldendal DenmarkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Danish publisher occupying central position in Danish cultural life since 1770, publishing literary and commercial fiction for adults, children and YA, and non-fiction.
• OTAVA FinlandcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Finnish publisher founded in 1890, publishing literary and commercial fiction, non-fiction, children's and YA. Also works with Like, Karisto, Nemo and Atena independent houses.
• Éditions Robert Laffont FrancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFrench publisher founded 1941, part of Editis Group since 1990, publishing literary and commercial fiction, crime and thrillers on La Bête Noire list, general non-fiction, and books for young adults.
• Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GermanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorks with Penguin division (Penguin Verlag, C. Bertelsmann, DVA, Siedler, Pantheon, GTV, Kosel), Blanvalet division (Blanvalet, Penhaligon, Limes), and children's division (cbj, cbt, Penguin Junior).
• Patakis GreececoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLeading independent general publisher in Greece since 1974, committed to quality publishing adult commercial and literary fiction, children's fiction, non-fiction, scientific books, educational books and dictionaries.
• Libri Kiadó HungarycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublisher founded in Budapest in 2011, publishing non-fiction, upmarket commercial fiction and literary fiction, and children's and YA. Imprints include Libri, Park, Helikon and Jelenkor.
• Diuna IsraelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNew imprint under E-vrit, Israel's leading digital reading platform owned by Yedioth Ahronoth Group. Vision to bring fresh and dynamic approach to publishing in Israel with focus on exceptional international titles.
• Rizzoli Libri ItalycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPart of Gruppo Mondadori comprising three imprints Rizzoli, Fabbri and paperback imprint BUR, publishing fiction and non-fiction, books for young adults and graphic novels.
• Dar Al Khayal LebanoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 1993 with focus on literature promoting personal development and psychological well-being, specializing in publishing Arabic-language works from prominent contemporary authors.
• Singel Uitgeverijen NetherlandscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGroup created in 2014, works with literary houses Nijgh & Van Ditmar, Querido, De Arbeiderspers, Athenaeum, De Geus, and upmarket commercial house Volt.
• Gyldendal Norsk NorwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Norwegian publishing house founded 1770, becoming independent in 1925, with particularly strong international fiction list and many Norwegian authors, publishing 400 titles a year. Owns ARK bookshop chain.
• Wydawnictwo Literackie PolandcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 1953, focuses on publishing literary prose and poetry by established and emerging authors. In non-fiction publishes biography, history, music and popular science, and has children's and YA list.
• Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial PortugalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFormed in 2021 by merging Penguin Random Grupo Editorial and Grupo 20/20 Editorial, creating market leading publisher across literary and commercial fiction and non-fiction.
• Litera RomaniacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLeading publisher in Romania publishing around 700 titles per year covering fiction, non-fiction, illustrated, reference, current affairs, history, science, self-help, health & diet and novelty formats, as well as children's books.
• Mann, Ivanov and Ferber RussiacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 2004 with aim of only publishing business books: one title per month, twelve titles per year. Today publishes more than 350 titles per year as market leader in Russia, expanding commercial fiction list.
• Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Spain & Latin AmericacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLeading publisher across Spanish-speaking world based in Barcelona and Madrid, comprising adult imprints including Plaza & Janes, Grijalbo, Suma das Letras, Aguilar, Rosa Dels Vents, Alfaguara, Debate, Taurus, Random House, Lumen, Reservoir and Debolsillo and Ediciones B, and Montena for children's and YA.
• Albert Bonniers Förlag SwedencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 1837 and one of oldest and most respected publishing houses in Sweden, publishing Swedish and translated fiction, poetry, and high quality non-fiction. Also works with Wahlstrom & Widstrand list.
• Doubleday UScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 1897 by Frank Nelson Doubleday, became part of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Penguin Random House in 2008, publishes commercial fiction, literary fiction and upmarket non-fiction.
• Les Éditions Phébus FrancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 1976 and part of Libella Group since 2003, publishes upmarket and literary fiction as well as narrative nonfiction with emphasis on international voices in translation.
• Aufbau Verlag GermanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 1945 in East Berlin, independent German publisher of literary and commercial fiction and serious non-fiction. Imprints include Aufbau, Rütten & Loening, Blumenbar, Ch Links, Die Andere Bibliothek, Aufbau Taschenbuch and Aufbau Digital.
• Pushkin Press UKcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded 1997, publishes novels, non-fiction, crime, children's books from timeless classics to urgent and contemporary works. Publishes acclaimed twentieth century authors and award-winning current writers.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Curtis Brown: One of the UK's largest literary agencies, with a translation rights and foreign scouting practice covering comparable publisher clients; broader literary representation alongside scouting.
• Peters Fraser + Dunlop: UK literary agency where Eccles Fisher's Film & TV lead Lucy Gorman previously worked; overlaps with Eccles Fisher's book-to-screen scouting and represents a larger incumbent providing rights services to publishers and producers.
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates: Major international literary agency with scouting and rights representation across 20+ countries; comparable in scope and translation-rights focus but materially larger and operating a full agency model rather than pure scouting.

Others

• The Wylie Agency: London-based literary agency with strong translation rights practice (former employer of Eccles Fisher scout Rosie Welsh); adjacent to scouting in that it brokers English-language and translation rights on behalf of authors.

Regional players

• Mo Literary Services: Independent scouting and rights consultancy working across European markets, with comparable but smaller-scale translation rights scouting services; region-focused and not directly competitive in all markets Eccles Fisher serves.
• Bardon Chinese Media Agency: Asia-focused rights and scouting agency handling Chinese-language and Asian rights deals for international publishers and studios; comparable advisory service in the supply chain but concentrated on a geography Eccles Fisher covers rather than competes head-to-head.

Direct peers

• The Rights People: International scouting and co-agency service for translation and film/TV rights, with comparable multilingual team structure and similar publisher and producer client base.
• Tassy Taylor de Besche Literary Agency: London-based literary scouting agency scouting foreign-language titles for UK, US and Commonwealth publishers across translation rights, a direct functional peer in international book scouting.
• JMH Literary Scouting: US- and Berlin-based international literary scouting agency founded by Jana-Maria Hartmann in 2015; the most direct comparable since multiple Eccles Fisher scouts (Hartmann, Rosie Welsh, Rachel Mannheimer) recently migrated from JMH, indicating overlapping client rosters and coverage.
• The Susijn Agency: Long-established London-based literary scouting firm covering European fiction and non-fiction for Anglophone and translation publishers, operating the same intermediary model with multi-language scouting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EcclesFisher

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 Eccles Fisher Associates