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NEWS
PRESS RELEASE
February 25, 2025
Kelly Sonnack announced as new owner and president of Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Andrea Brown, founder and president of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc. since 1981, is pleased to announce Executive Literary Agent Kelly Sonnack as the new owner and president of the agency, effective immediately. Brown will remain on as Founder and President Emeritus and as a member of the executive team, and will continue to represent clients including NYT bestselling author and National Book Award winner Neal Shusterman.
“For several years now, Kelly and I have been working to set the groundwork for our agency’s next chapter. And after almost five decades in book publishing, it is the right time to turn the agency over,” says Andrea Brown. “Kelly has shown great leadership and innovative thinking, which has fostered our growth to 16 agents.”
“It is a tremendous honor to continue the legacy that Andrea began over four decades ago. Her generous leadership has given this agency an incredibly strong foundation and along with the amazing team of agents and unrivaled roster of talent we have, ABLA has become a powerhouse,” says Kelly Sonnack. “I look forward to guiding the agency into a new chapter of growth and success, always keeping our creators at the core of our mission. As one of the oldest running agencies on the West Coast, I’m also very proud that we will keep this strong agency based in California.”
Sonnack has been an agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency since 2009; before starting her tenure there, she spent three years at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and worked in acquisitions at Academic Press/Elsevier. She will continue to represent clients including bestselling and award-winning creators Marissa Valdez, C.L. Herman, Sophie Escabasse, Sharon Cameron, Kah Yangni, Alastair Heim, Kim Smith, and James Burks. Kelly is also the current co-Vice President of the Association of American Literary Agents.
Before starting the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Andrea worked in the editorial departments at Dell, Random House and Alfred A. Knopf. She has sold thousands of titles including many NYT bestsellers and award winners and is the author of Writers’ and Artists’ Hideouts: Great Getaways for Seducing the Muse. Andrea was president of the San Francisco chapter of the Women’s National Book Association and is the Executive Director of the Big Sur Children’s Writing Workshops.
About the Andrea Brown Literary Agency
The Andrea Brown Literary Agency is a literary agency working to bring to light the voices and perspectives of new writers and artists, as well as nurturing and developing the careers of experienced creators. The agency is well known for its staunch advocacy for book creators, its exceptional care to its clients, and its tight-knit team. The company got its start representing children’s book creators but now, with 16 agents representing hundreds of creators, the agency’s client list spans all categories and genres in both adult and children’s literature. For information, visit andreabrownlit.com.