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About Us
Irene Goodman has been a leading member of the publishing community for over 25 years. Her clients are regulars on the New York Times, USA Today, Walden, Publishers Weekly, and Bookscan bestseller lists. She began her career as the assistant to the agent who represented Stephen King, and established her own agency a year later. Her non-fiction list includes memoir, narrative history, music, social issues and commentary, animals, parenting, food, Judaica, Anglophilia, Francophilia, crafts, and lifestyle. Her fiction list includes historical fiction, women's fiction, thrillers, literary fiction, and mysteries. Together with her dynamic staff, her agency represents over 80 authors in these fields. Deals range from five to seven figures. Irene is the creator of the "power summit meeting", a highly effective day in which all the key people in the author's professional life get together in one room to focus on the author's career. This technique enhances and accelerates the author's growth beyond the sum of its parts. It allows everyone to invest in the author's vision, and functions like a shot of adrenaline to the team. Irene has written columns and articles for a number of writers' publications, including the Novelists Ink newsletter, the Mystery Writers of America newsletter, Solander (the newsletter of the Historical Novelists Society), the Romance Writers of America newsletter, and many regional publications. She is also a frequent speaker at writer's conferences, including keynoting at the Historical Novelists Society and Novelists Ink., and workshops at the Romance Writers of America, the Surrey International Writers Conference, the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, legal fiction conferences, and Malice Domestic. Originally from the Midwest, Irene has a B.A. and a master's degree from the University of Michigan. She divides her time between New York and the Berkshires. Her personal passions include opera, Doonesbury, Mark Twain, theatre, and children. 
Miriam Kriss joined the Irene Goodman Literary Agency just as she was finishing her master's degree in Fine Arts at New York University in early 2004, and quickly became one of the hottest young agents in town. Going from Michelangelo to Nora Roberts was not as great a leap as it might seem, as Miriam had been obsessively reading commercial fiction since she found a copy of Judith McNaught's classic Whitney, My Love in a rented lakeside cabin when she was thirteen. A few pages in, not only were some gaps in her Catholic school education filled, but she was hooked. She reads fast: one hundred pages an hour, a novel a day, and well, that adds up to a lot of books a year. Miriam likes to say Irene knows the market because she's been doing this for over twenty-five years and is savvy as all get out, but Miriam herself knows the market because she is the market. And that knowledge has paid off for both her and her clients in a big way. Miriam's focus remains on commercial fiction and she represents everything from hardcover historical mysteries to all subgenres of romance, from young adult fiction to kick ass urban fantasies, and everything in between. If it's fun to read, she probably represents it. She doesn't look for specific stories, focusing instead on finding a voice she can fall in love with and champion. This strategy of taking on only clients she's passionate about has lead to six-figure deals for first-time authors and numerous clients appearances on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists. During one memorable week, she had two authors appear on the Times list at the same time.
Originally from the west coast, Barbara Poelle worked for a Bay Area Publisher before accepting the offer to join Irene’s team. A voracious reader and award winning debater, Barbara is not only able to devour manuscripts, but fight for them as well... and her very brief stint as a stand-up comic comes in handy for those particularly raucous debates --both in the office and at home. With her strong background in editing and copywriting, Barbara has no qualms about helping writers turn a “maybe” into a “yes”, and values client communication above all else. Barbara is passionate about thrillers, mysteries, historical romance, and humorous non-fiction, but will be a proud promoter of any writer with a strong, unique voice.
A New Jersey native who has logged time in all parts of the country, Jon Sternfeld joined the Irene Goodman Agency after a stint in both the creative and the development sides of the film world. Discovering young, hungry writers still remains his passion to this day.
Danny Baror is president of Baror International, Inc., an independent literary agency primarily engaged in the sale of British and translation rights for other agencies. Danny handles these rights for our books. Known as the "King of Foreign Rights", Danny is a tireless pursuer of foreign markets. As a result, our books appear in foreign languages all over the world. One of the things that makes him different is that he rarely uses subagents. Instead, he deals directly with publishers in each country. This means that he is the sole guardian of each author's foreign presence, instead of a multitude of subagents in a wide variety of places. Born and raised in Israel, Danny has lived in New York for more than 25
years. His work ethic, aggressiveness, and won't-take-no-for-an-answer
attitude is unheard of among the old-guard foreign agents. He gets our books
into the hands of foreign editors; follows up these submissions tenaciously;
creates buzz and excitement for our clients in each territory; then
negotiates with a fervor that has never been seen before in the
traditionally restrained world of foreign rights.
After attending Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, Heather Baror entered the magazine world, first working at Conde Nast Publications and then transitioning over to Hearst Magazines. A few years later, she joined Baror International as a literary agent having been drawn to the more literary aspects of book publishing. With her editorial background in magazines, Heather combines her writing experience and agenting skills, creating a unique package that allows her to understand the literary work in the most beneficial commercial sense - working to procure the best possible arrangement for the authors and publishers alike. At Baror International, Heather sells foreign rights, focusing on young adult titles as well as adult literary and fiction works.
Steven Fisher began his career in television journalism in New York. He worked as the Head of the Research Department at World News Tonight with Peter Jennings for several years. He also produced and wrote anchor copy for CNN. Moving to Los Angeles, Steve worked at ICM, Innovative Artists, and H.N. Swanson before that firm was acquired by The Renaissance Agency. He represents screenwriters, television writers, and novelists in the film and TV arena. His client list includes Dorothy Allison (National Book Award nominee for Bastard Out of Carolina); Alison Bechdel (author of the acclaimed graphic memoir Fun Home); Robert Stone (National book Award winner); estate of Arthur C. Clarke; Patrick O’Brian (Master and Commander series); Lee Child (Jack Reacher franchise currently at Paramount with Cruise/Wagner); Jim Sallis (author of Drive at Universal with Hugh Jackman attached to star and Marc Platt to produce); bestselling suspense author John Saul; Young adult author Garth Nix, John Connelly, and Pulitzer Prize winners Phil Caputo (Rumor of War) and Burrows & Wallace. He is currently with Agency for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. |
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