The Feldstein Agency, formed in 2007, is a diverse and dynamic publishing consultancy. We offer a range of services to Irish, U.K., U.S. and international book publishers and authors, including the following:

Literary Agenting and Scouting

Editorial Services (Commissioning, Script Development, Ghostwriting, Copy Editing and Proofreading)

International Sales and Distribution Consulting, Management Consulting

Book Packaging

Our mission is to provide a flexible, reliable service with an exceptional degree of client responsiveness. We combine attention to fine detail with the ability to think laterally and come up with creative solutions. Authors will appreciate our personal approach and our emphasis on quality relationships. Publishers will value our speed of response, our market knowledge and professional know-how, and our commitment to meeting the tightest of deadlines.

Testimonials:

Any author who wants to be published is basically stunned when a query letter is answered at all. Imagine this:

I queried 40 agents and The Feldstein Agency happened to be the first on my list. Paul Feldstein responded within 5 minutes and requested a full manuscript (across the ocean, no less). Wow, I thought. Susan Feldstein emailed me 2 months later (a 2 pager, no less) explaining why they very much wanted to represent me. I cannot believe this, I screamed. Then I signed. Three months later Susan Feldstein agented a deal to sell my memoir to Little, Brown and Company. This has to be a dream, I dreamed. But this was not a dream or some fluke or even an act of God.

The Feldstein Agency represents the very best for an author, combining old world nurturing of the artist with a vast knowledge of current trends in the ever-changing publishing scene. Whether one is new to the profession or a seasoned writer, they are exceptionally kind and generous to their authors, and work incredibly hard on their behalf. I am the luckiest duck in the universe.

Marcia Butler, author of The Skin Above My Knee (Little Brown)

Most journalists can research and write 2000 word articles to meet demanding and challenging deadlines, a skill which can take years to develop and finesse. It’s generally a penalty kick to make the features pages, but writing a book is a completely different ball game.
Susan Feldstein confirmed her reputation as an experienced and outstanding editor. She proved to be a brilliant guide who helped me negotiate a hugely daunting process. Her sureness of touch and attention to detail was absolutely critical since Let This Be Our Secret was my first foray into the world of books. Her judgement was 100 per cent in navigating that unfamiliar landscape which faces nervous and anxious first time authors, who sometimes think they know it all. They don’t.
I shared the company of a true professional. Without her, and I would have been hopelessly lost. I could not recommend her highly enough.
In the same way I placed my faith and trust in Paul Feldstein, a publishing agent with loads of experience, who quickly identified and maximised all the commercial opportunities while also pinpointing the potential pitfalls. I score them 10 out of 10.
Deric Henderson, author of Let This Be Our Secret (Gill & Macmillan and Penguin UK)

"One thing that I've learned since Paul Feldstein became my literary agent and brokered a publishing deal for my debut novel with one of the top crime fiction editors in the US is that writers generally don't have a clue as to how the publishing world really works. That strange and ever-changing territory is full of pitfalls and false promises for aspiring authors who believe they have written something exceptionally good that will be bought and read by others. This is why they should stick to dedicated, good people like Paul Feldstein. Not only has he a lifetime of experience in the publishing industry, and a wealth of contacts in the US and UK, he also has the quickest response time of anyone I know when it comes to answering emails, and will quickly dispel a lot of the uncertainty and anxiety that besets writers when they attempt to get their work published. In fact, I remember nearly falling off my seat, when my first tentative email contact with him was replied very favorably within a minute or two, and this was just after 5 o'clock on a Friday evening! No wonder then, that I know at least one internationally successful crime fiction writer has wished Paul were his agent, after witnessing his support and enthusiasm for my book."
Anthony Quinn, author of the Disappeared and Border Angels (MysteriousPress.com)

“Paul and Susan’s professionalism, attention and personal care continues to astonish me. Their dedication to not only the written work, but also the welfare of their writers are truly remarkable. They are simply any author’s dream. “
Melanie Verwoerd, author of When We Dance (Liberties Press)

The Feldstein Agency got me a book contract with a big international publisher - so naturally I'm a fan! I have found Susan and Paul to be friendly and supportive and I enjoy working with them
Padraig O’Morain, author of the forthcoming Mindfulness for Busy People (Hodder & Stoughton)

We all expect agents to have strong and long relationships with key players in the publishing industry, but if your agent also has the kind of judgment, experience and commitment that Susan and Paul Feldstein have, you can count yourself very lucky indeed. They stuck by me through creative drought, because they believed I would be productive again. They sent Poets Are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan to publisher after publisher, because they never doubted it would find a home. As a writer, there is nothing like an agent who believes in you. I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Tara West, author of Fodder (Blackstaff, 2002) and Poets Are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan (Liberties Press, 2013)

The Feldstein Agency has represented me for the last five years. Throughout that time, both Paul and Susan have encouraged and supported me whole heartedly. They always celebrate my achievements as though they were their own, answer my never ending questions and diplomatically tell me the truth whilst offering constructive advice. They have taught me (amongst other things) how to build confidence in my writing by showing me how to tackle my weak areas, improve the stronger ones and develop my creativity. Their professional knowledge, positivity and inspiration leaves me with no doubt that I am extremely lucky to have such wonderful people represent my work.
Gayle Curtis, author of Memory Scents, Shell House and co-author of Wilfred, Fanny and Floyd and The Letters and Journals of Mr Wilfred Ginge.

Being a very famous literary cat, I have fandangoed with many literary geniuses like myself such as Shakespeare, the Brontes, that funny little man from Pond District and Barbara Cartland, so I have a vast knowledge of the literary world. As literally agents, Mr. Paul and Mrs. Susan have dealt with representing someone of my literary magnitude with extreme professional illiteracy. At no point have they ever dared to steal my lemon light, criticise my work, or tell me that pink accessories don't match my ginger fur...
Wilfred Ginge, co author of Wilfred, Fanny and Floyd and The Letters and Journals of Mr Wilfred Ginge.

"It’s simple, if you're a writer, you need Paul and Susan in your corner"
William Sheehan, author of many books including The Western Front,

"Working with the Feldstein Agency over the past year has been a pleasure. Paul is a focused, professional and driven individual. He's a guy who doesnt switch off and is always at the end of an email. If he had been a chef he would have been a great one and an efficient one at that. Paul I like your style." Stephen Jeffers, author of Jeffers: Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner (published by the Feldstein Agency, 2009)

''Susan Dalzell could sell me Brooklyn Bridge on a rainy day . . .''
Philip J. Cercone, Executive Director and Senior Editor, McGill Queens University Press, Canada

"I have worked closely with Paul Feldstein for more than two decades as both customer and client. His intelligence, efficiency, and competence have set a standard that, in my book, no one else has met. His knowledge of books and their marketplace is both smart and seasoned, and his approach to publishing, sales, and distribution issues is informed by his experienced grasp of large trends and his relentless attention to small details. I can't imagine having a more effective advocate or partner. "
James Mustich, Jr..Founder and Publisher, A Common Reader Catalog and The Akadine Press, and author of 1000 Books to Read Before You Die (forthcoming from Workman Publishing).

"The writer's friend? No, not drugs - Susan Feldstein . . . An inspiration when you struggle, a friend when you wobble, and a guide when you lose the plot, Susan combines publishing acumen with belief in (and compassion for) the writers she works with. Her insight, counsel and metaphorical hand-holding were absolutely invaluable to me."
Tara West, advertising copywriter and author of Fodder (published by Blackstaff Press, 2002).

"Paul Feldstein has a unique knowledge of the book trade in both the U.S. and the U.K. He has many years of sales experience working in the U.S., latterly as Managing Director of Trafalgar, which brought him into close contact with U.K. publishers. Aurum moved their U.S. distribution to Trafalgar in 2001. Thanks to Paul's attention to detail and work ethic, Aurum sales in the U.S. increased steadily until Trafalgar was sold in 2006. His speed of response to all concerns and questions was immediate and I have no doubt that the success Trafalgar enjoyed during this period was down to Paul."
Bill McCreadie, Managing Director, Aurum Press

"I first met Susan Feldstein (née Dalzell) in 2004, when an investigative journalist from the BBC slipped me her business card and advised me to contact her. She was working at that time with Gill & MacMillan, a leading Irish publisher based in Dublin. Susan had heard that I was thinking of writing a book on my service as a detective in the Royal Ulster Constabulary’s CID, and had asked my friend in the BBC to refer me to her. I met Susan shortly after that and we quickly got down to business. With her professionalism and wit, she had me signing a contract within a month. Susan did not then disappear. She was always on hand, ever ready to explain to me exactly what was required of me. Without Susan’s skill, experience and patience it is doubtful if my first book, Into the Dark, would ever have made it to publication. I often refer to Susan as my “teacher”, and in many respects that is very true. Susan afforded me not just her valuable time, but her expertise in the often fraught field of publishing, and her personal encouragement at times when she realised it was most required. Susan had faith in me and in my version of events. She never faltered at times when others, who should have known better, quickly fled the scene. For that faith alone, I will be forever grateful to her.I am currently working on other projects and I am thrilled to say that Susan and her husband Paul will be representing me as my agents. I consider them both friends and valued professional advocates. I would recommend the new Feldstein Agency to anyone contemplating writing or publishing a book."
Johnston Brown (author of Into The Dark, published by Gill & Macmillan)

"I’ve known Paul Feldstein since the late 1990s when we were both combing the halls of the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs searching for exciting intellectual properties and often entire publishing programs that had not yet made it the U.S. market. Rather than work at cross purposes in this shared mission, we both had the wisdom to understand that collaboration on an efficient trading relationship between Barnes & Noble and Trafalgar Square would get each organization farther faster. Relying on clean data transmitted in a timely way, electronic transmissions of transaction data, a cost-effective, efficient supply chain and good old-fashioned sales, marketing and bookselling savvy, we had a sustained run of double digit net sales increases for our two companies over many years. We also dramatically increased the numbers of titles we were able to offer to our customers and raised the profile of a number of new authors and publishing entities in a market they had not been able to reach before. Paul is a consummate professional and I look forward to continuing my working relationship with him in his new role!"
Joseph Gonnella, Vice President Inventory Management and Vendor Relations, Barnes & Noble

"Susan Dalzell combines rigorous editorial skills with an instinctively positive and encouraging perspective. She was the difference between an aspiration and a published book. I'll always be grateful for her contribution."
Darragh MacIntyre, Producer and Reporter, BBC Northern Ireland, and author of Conversations (published by Gill & Macmillan, 2005).

"While Paul Feldstein was with Trafalgar, he sponsored me, an unknown author in the U.S. market, on three separate signing tours. It was largely because of Paul’s input, his knowledge of the market, and experience dealing with U.K. authors in the U.S., that I became one of Headline's best selling authors in the U.S. I am enormously grateful to Paul for his advice and efforts on my behalf."
Michael Jecks, Author, The Knights Templar Medieval Mysteries (published by Headline)

"Susan Dalzell has had an outstanding track record as a commissioning editor and rights executive. She knows the book trade, especially in Northern Ireland, inside out. She was Gill & Macmillan's first dedicated acquisitions person in Northern Ireland, and established that aspect of our publishing on a solid foundation."
Fergal Tobin, Publishing Director, Gill & Macmillan Publishers, Dublin

“Paul came to work for me in 1986 when Trafalgar Square was a small company in Vermont marketing and distributing the books of eight British publishers into the U.S. market. Twenty years later after moving from Sales & Marketing to Managing Director (in 1996), he was responsible for a company distributing fifty-five British publishers, together with a healthy co-edition and original publishing program. Despite enormous changes in the American book trade, thanks to Paul's intelligent management, the growth of the company over this period was ten fold. I have no doubt that his extensive knowledge of both the U.S. publishing market and the British publishing scene puts him in a unique position to be of enormous help and value to any client.
Paul's attention to detail and response speed is legendary!”
Caroline Robbins, Founder, Trafalgar Square Publishing; President and Publisher, Trafalgar Square Books

"In all three categories of her job - acquisitions, contracts, and rights, Susan Dalzell was an exceptionally able and trustworthy colleague. She performed all these tasks with skill, intelligence, and sensitivity, working hard to achieve tight deadlines and maintaining excellent relationships with authors, agents and Blackstaff colleagues. Susan had a very good grasp of contract law, and, as a fair but firm negotiator with authors, agents and other publishers, was greatly respected by them. Her fluent German and French, together with her aptitude, training and focus, meant that Blackstaff sold far more rights during her time with us than during all the previous years from our foundation in 1971. All in all, she made an enormous contribution to Blackstaff Press."
Ann Tannahill, former Managing Director, Blackstaff Press
"As Managing Director of Trafalgar Square, Paul Feldstein offered an unrivalled working knowledge of both the U.K. and U.S. trade and specialty markets. On top of that, he has always been extremely easy to work with, detailed, results driven, attentive and commercially-minded. Under his management, our divisions that sold books in America via Trafalgar saw sales flourish and a large part of this success was down to Paul."
Richard Kitson, Group Commercial Director, Hachette Livre UK

"Susan Dalzell was a key factor in signing me up for Gill & Macmillan for my book on the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast, Ripe for the Picking. Not only was she an exceptionally good editor who quietly and calmly kept me on the right track, but she was also very willing to share her experience of publishing in order to allow me to make informed decisions, editorial and otherwise. I certainly benefited from Susan's involvement in the publication of my book and look forward to working with her again some time in the future."
Chris Moore, UTV Journalist and Reporter, and author of Ripe for the Picking (published by Gill & Macmillan, 2006)

"Paul Feldstein has great instincts for what books will sell. His work for IPG and Trafalgar Square Publishing has been of high value and I am delighted with the results achieved and changes we made due to his insight and experience. Paul is also wonderful to work with, incredibly responsive, and highly professional. I am happy to recommend him and will definitely consider working with him again."
Mark Suchomel, President, Independent Publishers Group

"Within days of negotiating a publishing deal I received a contract, thanks to the efficiency and professionalism of Susan Dalzell. She has an impressive track record, an eye for detail and a real understanding of the needs of both publishers and writers. Susan made the task of writing and delivering a manuscript so much easier."
Stephen Walker, Author of Forgotten Soldiers: The Irishmen Shot At Dawn (To be published by Gill and MacMillan, October 2007)

"There is no one who blends long experience of British publishing with a profound knowledge of the American book market in the way Paul does. That combination, together with his wisdom, promptness and clear vision, have made him a supremely effective ally throughout the years we've worked together."
Simon Littlewood, International Director, The Random House Group

"Publishing The Portadown News was a surprisingly complicated process, not just because of the contracts and negotiations but also due to the technical nature of producing a full-colour book with photographs, graphics (and potential libels) on every page.
Susan sorted it out seamlessly from start to finish. The prospect of working with her again made it easy to agree to doing a sequel."
Newton Emerson, Journalist and author of The Portadown News (published by Gill & Macmillan,2005)

"My novels, already published in the U.K., came to Trafalgar Square after being rejected by several major U.S. publishers as 'too British.' Paul Feldstein and his team rapidly proved that this was a problem for publishers rather than American readers, placing judicious ads, getting some excellent reviews in the trade press and virtually doubling sales every year. Soon, I was getting enthusiastic e-mails from booksellers all over the States who'd never previously heard of me or my novels. Throughout the period, Paul was always available to discuss ideas and never took longer than a day to answer any of my queries... (far more accessible, in fact, than my British publisher at the time.) "
Phil Rickman, author of the Merrily Watkins Mystery Series ( published by Quercus)

"Susan Dalzell brings a sense of fun to the nitty-gritty of bookmaking. She has an infectious good humour which is a useful tool in the often stressful journey that starts with an author’s synopsis, and ends with a printed book. She has the broadest possible knowledge of, and a superb instinct for, book publishing. She has a rare sensitivity to the written word, both to the content and the presentation of that word, and manages to combine integrity, loyalty to her authors, and a pragmatic approach to the editorial process. Her communication skills are exemplary."
Deirdre Rennison Kunz, Managing Editor, Gill & Macmillan

Padraig O'Morain, John Richardson, Carsten Krieger, Anthony J.Quinn, Mark Carruthers, Darragh MacIntyre, Gayle Curtis, James Mustich, Liam Farrell, Sophia Hillan, Paddy Brosnan, Tony Macaulay, Norma McMaster

1000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich
World Rights to Workman Publishing

Slave by Anna with Jason Johnson
World Rights to Ebury Press
Film & TV rights to Renegade Pictures for the BBC

I Choose You and Safe No Longer by Gayle Curtis

World Rights to Thomas & Mercer Amazon Publishing

Dissident Ranks: A Secret History of the New IRA, ONH, Real IRA and Continuity IRA
by Brendan McCourt

World Rights to Merrion Press

Beyond the Horizon by Eoin Lane

World Rights to Blackstone Publishing

I Choose You and Safe No Longer by Gayle Curtis

World Rights to Amazon Publishing

The Cocktail Hour by Sophia Hillan

World Rights to Arlen House

Reporting the Troubles by Deric Henderson and Ivan Little

World Rights to Blackstaff Press

Pickle’s Progress by Marcia Butler

US and Canadian Rights to Central Avenue Publishing

1000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich

World Rights to Workman Publishing

Slave by Anna with Jason Johnson
World RIghts to Ebury Press
Film & TV rights to Renegade Pictures for the BBC

Undertow by Anthony J. Quinn

World Rights Ex USA to Head of Zeus

Kindfulness by Padraig O'Morain

World Rights to Yellow Kite/Hachette U.K.

Hard Border by Darach MacDonald

World Rights to New Island

This Works: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life By Paddy Brosnan

World Rights to Hay House

Silence Under a Stone by Norma Macmaster

World Rights to Doubleday/Transworld Ireland

New Non-Fiction

Stations Memoir/True Crime New
Anthony Quinn

The book will chart my journey as I attempt to rescue from oblivion two unsolved murders in the Irish Border parish of Killeeshil in South Tyrone where I have lived for most of my life. The first, which took place in 1922, was the killing of an IRA man by his Catholic neighbours. My grandfather, who was eleven at the time, was arrested and detained by the police after they found a handkerchief covered in blood in his pocket. My grandfather was a junior member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a politically moderate Catholic Nationalist organisation, which at the time was suspected of being behind the murder. Tensions were running high during the Civil War, and the murdered man had been blamed for inflaming the youth of the parish with his violent rhetoric and was accused of bringing grief to families. My grandfather claimed the blood was from a nosebleed, and he was released without charge.

The toxic and half-buried trauma of the murder resurfaced in the parish sixty years later when an IRA gang (made up of our neighbours) held my family at gunpoint, hijacked our car and used it to murder a Protestant police officer (another neighbour). I was ten at the time, and to ensure my parents did not tip off the security forces when the IRA left, the gang leader, his ginger moustache poking out from under his balaclava, handed me a gold-coloured bullet. He warned me that the IRA would use it to shoot my father if he contacted the police before the appointed time. It was a small moment in the tumult of a mad day, but one I remember vividly. At first, I thought he wanted to shake my hand. A conscientious child, I accepted the bullet, and held it carefully until the IRA gang departed. I knew it carried an important message. I gave it to my mother who placed it in the kitchen cupboard, next to where she kept the milk money. Later that night the police took it away for forensic examination, and nobody said anything more about it.

Inspired by Javier Cercas' Soldiers of Salamis, my book will be a literary hunt for patterns and echoes of the unpalatable truth - the identities of the killers - as well as the tangled relationships between families and rival political factions within the Catholic community along the Irish Border. Using as its starting point the belief that the two crimes are somehow intertwined, the book will investigate the individual motives of the perpetrators, the stark choices they faced, and the web of comradeship, violence and betrayal that stretches across three generations of families. The book will also examine the bitter and controversial legacy of the IRA along the Border, a legacy which forced families into keeping secrets.

The opening sample chapter has me visiting Station Island, which, with its hazy rain and mists, is a great setting to start an investigation into the murky past of Northern Ireland. In the proceeding chapters (as yet unwritten), I will visit a series of funeral wakes in my home parish along the Irish Border, asking more questions and digging for the truth behind the two murders. Along the way, I will meet old school friends, former teachers, elderly neighbours and ex-IRA men, as well as a shadowy journalist, who is also probing for the truth. At some points in the narrative, reality and fiction will blur. The book will be a meditation on the silences and evasions that lie at the heart of a tightly knit community, as well as an exploration of the way in which stories are sometimes told to create illusions rather than keep the truth intact.

Anthony J Quinn is the critically acclaimed author of nine novels, including his debut Disappeared, which was a Daily Mail Crime Novel of the Year, and was picked by the Sunday Times as one of the Best Books of the Year. His work has been longlisted for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for a Strand Literary Award in the US, as well as two Hennessy Irish Writing Awards. He teaches Creative Writing at Queen's University Belfast, and is currently Writer-in-Residence for County Cavan, Ireland.

Author’s Home: Dungannon, N. Ireland World Rights

American Life in Opera Music New
and the Richard Tucker Music Foundation

Encounters with opera stars and winners of the Richard Tucker Award
and Career Grants, and the Sara Tucker Study Grants

Maria-Cristina Necula

Following the mission and model of her Life in Opera (Amadeus Press, 2009), Necula proposes to continue the candid conversations with internationally-renowned opera stars about living and working in the opera world, but with a focus this time on American singers. The Richard Tucker Foundation has provided financial support, professional exposure, and performance opportunities to American singers for over forty years, through its annual Richard Tucker Award, Richard Tucker Career Grants, and Sara Tucker Study Grants. Over one hundred and seventy singers—among which are Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Lawrence Brownlee, Deborah Voigt, Richard Leech—have benefitted from the generosity of the Foundation. It is from this roster of award winners that she will select her interviewees, and the conversations will be exclusive to this book.

She will also highlight the changes that have taken place in the opera world in the past decade, since the publication of Life in Opera. Technology has exerted a major impact on the operatic art form, especially on singers and the development of their craft and careers. The “Live in HD” transmissions, satellite radio broadcasts, social media, live streaming, and an increasingly rapid pace of rehearsal, travel, performances, camera exposure, and other public appearances have redefined what it means to be a successful singer today. American singers bring a certain pragmatism to their operatic careers, and for the most part, eschew the stereotypical opera superstar antics. In today’s world, this no-nonsense approach has come to be highly appreciated, and it is important to underline the contributions that American singers have made to the business of opera, not only in the United States, but also globally.

Potential Interviewees include June Anderson, Dwayne Croft, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Deborah Voigt and thirty more.

Maria-Cristina Necula’s published work includes Life in Opera: Truth, Tempo and Soul (Amadeus Press, 2009); two translations: Molière’s The School for Wives (performed at Canterbury Christ Church University, U.K.) and Europe à la carte; two poetry chapbooks: The Bliss Delusion Tango and Shadows and Miracles; and over forty articles and interviews in Classical Singer Magazine, Das Opernglas, Studies in European Cinema, and Opera News. A classically trained singer, she has performed in the New York City area at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Florence Gould Hall, and the Westchester Broadway Theatre, among other venues. She has conducted presentations on opera at various conferences at The Graduate Center, CUNY, UCLA Southland, and for the Italian language program at the City College of New York. Maria-Cristina has recently completed her doctoral degree in the Comparative Literature Ph.D. program at The Graduate Center, CUNY. Fluent in six languages, she has also studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, and the University of Vienna in Austria. She has obtained an M.A. in English Studies from Lehman College, CUNY, and a B.A. in Languages and Culture/Music from Purchase College, SUNY.

Author’s Home, White Plains, NY

World Rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

#Survivor Self-help, Personal Development, Mental Health, MBS New

Ann Bracken

Leading expert in the field of trauma recovery and published author, Ann Bracken sets out a comprehensive, holistic and innovative approach to overcoming the damaging impact of abuse, whether emotional, sexual or physical. As someone who suffered childhood abuse herself, Bracken is also uniquely qualified in another very important way to bring the empathy, understanding and real sense of hope that only a fellow survivor can offer to others. In this book, she will dispense for the first time with the professional mantel of the psychotherapist to share her personal experiences and hard-won insights in an inspiring and hugely life-affirming way.

Ann Bracken has many years of experience as a specialist Fertility Counsellor/Coach and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist. She qualified in Mind/Body Programme Training (specific to fertility support) with Dr Alice Domar, Associate Professor and specialist in Mind Body Medicine at Harvard University. Ann is also a teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. She has worked at Ireland’s largest fertility clinic SIMS IVF as part of the worldwide Virtus Health Group. Ann also managed the fertility counselling service at the renowned Lister Fertility Clinic in London and has an online fertility coaching and counselling service. Her first book, Mind Body Baby, was published in2016 by Yellow Kite.

Author’s Home: Wicklow Ireland
World Rights: Susan Feldstein susan@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

Anne Bracken

The Musical Offering Music New

Why the Musical Calling Matters

John Kennedy

The Musical Offering is a meditation on the power of music and the pursuit of a musical life, providing a platform for musical activism in today’s world. Amidst profound shifts in cultural values and a rapidly changing musical landscape, the book affirms the values inherent in musical practice and why music is a performative form of social action.

The Musical Offering has a large, primary audience of both professional and amateur musicians, music teachers, and students – anyone who may have experienced and delved into musical pursuits. Yet it has an additional potential audience for those who simply love music as listeners or casual practitioners, as well as those who may find parallels with other creative and artistic pursuits.

John Kennedy is a widely-known and renowned conductor, composer, and musician, Kennedy has led acclaimed performances worldwide in opera, orchestral, dance, and new music, from New York’s Lincoln Center Festival, to the leading festivals of Europe and Asia. He is the Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities for Spoleto Festival USA since 2011.

Author’s Home: Berkeley, California

World Rights: Paul Feldstein paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

John Kennedy

A Treasury of Mindfulness MBS New

Paddy Brosnan

This new Proposal from published author and mindfulness expert, Paddy Brosnan (This Works: How to Use Mindfulness to Calm the Hell Down and Just Be Happy, Hay House, 2018) is based on the idea of a ‘treasury’ of mindfulness. The image the author had was of someone opening a treasure chest and rummaging around to find whatever they might need at a given moment – and perhaps in the process, discovering a lot of other unexpected, delightful and useful things! A collection of simple yet precious things which would enhance readers’ lives and add to the quality of their everyday experiences.

We’d envisage this as a little book of useful and engaging resources and tips which could serve as a kind of companion volume for readers of This Works and other key books in the field – both those new to mindfulness and those who have been practising for some time. We’d see it as a small-format, beautifully designed little volume, which could be carried in a pocket or handbag, to be dipped into at random moments during the day, to help readers bring mindfulness into their daily lives.

Paddy Brosnan is a mindfulness teacher and inspirational speaker. A committed Buddhist, he has practiced mindfulness for 14 years and has been teaching for over four years. Paddy was born in 1970 in County Kildare near Dublin. He worked as a radio presenter, a financial advisor to high net-worth clients all over Europe, and finally as a dog groomer, before experiencing a radical shift in the way he wanted to live his life. Around this time, he discovered the practice of mindfulness and it resonated with him immediately. After practicing mindfulness and working on developing his awareness for over a decade, Paddy has gone on to teach thousands of people in Ireland and internationally, through his workshops and retreats. He now lives in Meath, Ireland with his wife Faye and their two young sons.

Paddy’s first book, This Works: How to Use Mindfulness to Calm the Hell Down and Just Be Happy was published by Hay House in October 2018.

Author’s Home: Meath, Ireland

World Rights: Susan Feldstein susan@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

Paddy Brosnan

Yogi Mama: A Revolution in Mothering Parenting/MBS
Mind, Body, Spirit and Science
Joanna Parkin

What if our modern mainstream methods of caring for babies were proven to be potentially damaging? What if the cot, the pram, formula and feeding bottles were proven to be inferior to methods that best supported an infant's optimal brain development and lifelong mental and physical health?

Yogi Mama takes an in depth look at the history of our modern childcare practices, the latest science from world leading experts into why our mainstream methods can potentially cause harm and a detailed look into how our babies ideally should sleep, feed and be carried if they're to truly thrive in all realms of life.

A guide to conscious, more compassionate parenting, drawing on a wealth of recent scientific research which supports natural parenting methods, and shows that many of our mainstream modern practices are not necessarily in our babies’ best interests.

Joanna Parkin, 39, is a mother of one, and the founder of the London antenatal group, Yogi Mamas, which is devoted to preparing mind, body and spirit for motherhood and providing education on child development and conscious parenting practices.

As a UK leader for Attachment Parenting International, a member of the Association for Infant Mental Health UK (AIMH) and a partner of the charity, What About The Children (who are currently collaborating on the Yogimama App), Joanna has access to the very latest scientific research into child development and wellbeing, and is passionate about promoting more compassionate parenting practices in the belief that how we nurture our children during their first three years of life has an enormous impact on the type of adults these children become and their subsequent impact on society.

Author’s Home: London

World Rights: Paul Feldstein paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

Joanna Parkin

New Fiction

Anna’s Shadow Women’s Contemporary/Historical Commercial Fiction New

Ingrid McCarthy

Searching for a lost love some 50 years on, Luke Miller, his son, and grieving Sofia Rossi find so much more.

Sofia Rossi, a Canadian-Italian orthopedic surgeon on stress leave from Doctors Without Borders after the death of her fiancé, is staying with family in Verona and volunteering at the Juliet Club, answering letters from hapless lovers around the world. When a letter from the son of Luke Miller, a 78-year old German-Canadian, arrives at the Club, Sofia is put in charge of the reply. Luke Miller is searching for Anna Bissoli, a young woman he had met briefly at the end of WW II in Verona while serving with the German army. Unable to help Luke, Sofia answers the letter to the best of her ability. When Luke arrives unexpectedly in Verona accompanied by his son and wishes to pursue the search for Anna with Sofia’s help, she finds herself drawn into an adventure that will change her life.

As the search begins, they meet an array of characters: a charming older cousin of the Bissolis who sheds light on the lives of the family, especially on Anna’s brothers who were resistance fighters; a grandniece of Anna Bissoli; fascist relatives of the Bissoli family; and two possible candidates with the name Anna Bissoli.

The events shift between the present and the past and tell the story about Luke’s friendship with fellow soldier Uwe Behrens in Verona in 1945, his postwar life in Switzerland and Germany, and later in Canada, his continued fascination with Anna, his marriage to the widow of his best friend in Montreal and raising a troubled stepson (Romeo), and how at a mature age, and now widowed, he sets out to find an answer to the question: what happened to Anna?

In the end, it is Sofia alone who finds Anna, after Luke, Romeo and her ex-detective father who had joined her in the search, had given up hope. Anna is married to Uwe, who changed his name to Udo Lonardi after he deserted during the war. As we see in flashback, as a young soldier in Verona Uwe befriends Anna and secretly courts her for many months. After her mother, Luisa, is imprisoned by the Germans and questioned about her sons’ partisan activities, Uwe frees her from the notorious Palazzo dell’INA in Verona and, while doing so, kills a Nazi official, and then goes into hiding in a partisan camp, but not before making sure that his friend Luke is protected as well. Luke however, mistrusts Uwe’s protectiveness and all his life harbours suspicions about his friend’s mysterious behaviour.

When, so many years later, Luke discovers Udo’s marriage to Anna and learns the truth, he accepts the outcome, for Udo was his friend, who saved Luke in 1945, and most important, Anna was and had always been safe. After Udo’s death, Anna gives up on life. Luke spends the final weeks with her, and those weeks will always be precious to him.

While in Verona, Romeo and Sofia slowly, but hesitatingly, begin to bond as well. Eventually, both shed their reluctance to begin a romance. Sofia goes home to Montreal, instead of returning to the Congo, where memories of her fiancé still linger. Two years later they marry, and now have a five-year old daughter. As they make arrangements to visit Sofia’s parents, who now own a house near Verona, Sofia reveals that she is writing a novel called Anna’s Shadow. It is Anna’s shadow, she claims, that has stretched for sixty years over many lives, until it reached her and Romeo, bringing them together.

Ingrid McCarthy is an indie author of several books for children and dramatic novellas for adults. The German translation of her novella, Theodor’s Choice (Theodors Entscheidung), became the bestselling book in the German historical genre on Amazon during April 2018. She also writes novels and novellas under the pseudonym Rose D. Franklyn. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Author’s Home: Ottawa, Canada World Rights: paul@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

The Stamp of Beauty Quality Women’s Commercial Fiction/Literary Fiction New

Fionola Meredith

This highly original and unsettling novel from Irish journalist, Fionola Meredith charts the course of an unlikely and deeply dysfunctional relationship between a young woman and a much older man in a contemporary setting. Leni is a 24-year-old married mother-of-one who wants to forge a career in journalism; Roddy Riseborough, in his late fifties and a lifelong commitment-phobe, is the editor of a high-profile daily paper, who seizes the chance for the control and coercion of his young charge. Disturbing yet darkly humorous, forensic but somehow compassionate, this story absolutely nails what lies at the heart of the male fear of intimacy in a way which, we feel, has rarely been done before.

Fionola Meredith is a writer, broadcaster and commentator, based in Belfast. She contributes regular features, comment pieces and reviews to the Irish Times, and writes a weekly opinion column in the Belfast Telegraph. She is also a frequent contributor to BBC Northern Ireland current affairs and discussion programmes, debating the moral, social and political issues of the day.

The Stamp of Beauty is Fionola’s new novel. Her first novel, Sing Sisters, is also available. Aside from her media work, Fionola has a keen interest in contemporary visual art, and for the last seven years she has served as chair of the board of directors of the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast. She lives in Belfast with her husband, Robbie and their son and daughter, Aaron and Cait.

Author’s Home: Belfast

World Rights: Susan Feldstein susan@thefeldsteinagency.co.uk

Fionola Meredith

In addition to agenting, we offer editorial services including ghostwriting. Also offer consulting in the areas of international sales and marketing and E books commerce, with an expertise in the US and UK markets

All translation ex France and Italy, English language Aus and NZ@

Hannah Whitaker

Rights People
9 Kingsway, 4th floor
London
WC2B 6XF

Email: hannahw@rightspeople.com
Tel: 44 (0) 207 8413961

France

Anne Confuron
Anne Confuron Literary Agency
70 boulevard de Picpus
75012 Paris
France

T: + 33 1 43 40 02 10 - F: + 33 1 43 40 02 12

aconfuron@gmail.com

Italy

Anna Mioni
AC² literary agency
via de Mandelo 14
I - 35142 Padova
Italy

info@ac2.eu

http://www.ac2.eu/en/

Paul Feldstein
Susan Feldstein

Synopsis to start. We'll request more material if interested. No Children's Books, no Science Fiction & Fantasy, no Romance, no poetry or short stories.