Watson, Little acquires Juliet Burton Literary Agency

Watson, Little has acquired the Juliet Burton Literary Agency, the agency founded by Burton in 1999. Juliet Burton joins the agency as Consultant, with the move ensuring a secure home for her authors into the future.

The acquisition brings a list of some twenty-five prolific clients to long-standing independent agency Watson, Little, which recently celebrated its 50^th year in business. Clients include a roster of established crime authors and bestselling romantic and saga authors, among them the critically acclaimed mystery writer Barbara Cleverly; Barbara Nadel, author of the Inspector Ikmen series, currently going into its 26^th instalment and in production with Viacom International/Paramount+ for a major TV series, in addition to 7 novels in the Hakim & Arnold series; bestselling saga favourites Maureen Lee, Rosie Archer, Kay Brellend and Pam Weaver; RNA-award winning Sheila Norton; historical romance writer Rosalind Laker;  legendary climber and memoirist Gwen Moffat, also the author of 15 Miss Pink mysteries; and David Pinner, author of Ritual, which was the basis for the cult movie The Wicker Man.

Juliet Burton launched her eponymous agency in 1999 after twenty years at Laurence Pollinger Ltd.  She has always paid tribute to Managing Director Gerald Pollinger for his support at this time.

With Burton’s successful and prolific track record and notable successes in crime fiction, enjoying the flourishing of Mick Herron’s career in a working relationship that began in 1994, the agencies bring together complementary strengths.

Watson, Little is a diverse and energetic full-service agency comprising four full agents and an in-house rights department, handling clients including the legendary writer Alan Moore, whose latest work Illuminations hit No.4 in the Sunday Times bestseller list; ground-breaking crime novelist Alex Pavesi, whose Eight Detectives has sold in 20 languages; Diamond Dagger Award Winner Martin Edwards; multi-award winning writer of the Bryant & May series Christopher Fowler; Edgar and Macavity Award winning bestseller Alex Marwood, her debut The Wicked Girls now in TV development with Playground; Ajay Chowdhury, author of Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year nominated Kamil and Anjoli series, also in TV development; multi-million selling saga writer Mary Jane Staples; acclaimed children’s authors such as Lynne Reid Banks, Jean Adamson and Margaret Mahy; award-nominated poets Hannah Silva and Glyn Maxwell; literary novelists Lisa Allen-Agostini, Lucie McKnight Hardy and Richard Owain Roberts; pop culture influencers such as Adam B; sports stars such as Champions League winner Jamie Carragher and Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson; and many prominent historians, scientists, and thinkers such as Greg Jenner, Alice Vernon, Nicola Tallis, Robin Dunbar and Dr Holan Liang.

The acquisition enlarges Watson, Little and represents a continuation of the work of both agencies.

James Wills, Managing Director of Watson, Little, said: “We are delighted to welcome Juliet and her wonderful authors to the agency. Juliet is much esteemed for her close working relationships with her clients, her tenacity and her terrific eye for commercial fiction. She has built a fine list that we are proud and excited to represent.”

Juliet Burton said: “I have long-admired Watson, Little as an agency. I am thrilled to have found such a good home for my authors and to be working with such a dynamic team.”