Harper Lee engages McIntosh & Otis as her literary agent for many years. When Eugene Winick,one of the principles at the firm became ill in 2002, his son-in-law Mr. Samuel Pinkus took over. Pinkus was sued by McIntosh for stealing several clients, including Ms. Lee.
According to Zap2it, Lee is going after literary agent Samuel Pinkus, whom she claims stole the copyright for To Kill a Mockingbird. Back in 2007, Lee suffered a stroke and was very ill. She had impaired vision and hearing, which made her extremely vulnerable.
Harper Lee Sues Literary Agent Samuel Pinkus
How to pitch a noveland some of this applies to memoirs, too The point of a pitch for a novel is to catch the agent's or editor's attention so you have a longer conversation. Be sure you get the genre right (not just literary vs. commercial fiction--but the sub-genre and sub-sub-genre), as that may affect whether the agent is interested. And if you've published successfully, be sure to indicate that, too--as agents make their money as a percentage of sales. If they know you've sold before, they know that chances are you'll sell again. An agent is unlikely to try to sell a novel based on a short story or a partial novel. They'll probably want a full novel, so they can be confident they can sell you to a publisher, says a thrice-published novelist. Do not submit an early draft.
Top Literary Agents for.... This series (compiled in 2007, by the blog Literary Agent News) is far from perfect. Caveat emptor. I'll add comments as I get them from readers: Top Literary Agents for Memoirs, for literary fiction, for true crime books ("does not include the #1 agent in the genre, Jane Dystel, or anyone at Dystel Goderich; and Wendy Keller agency says thanks, but they've never sold a true crime book"); for horror novels, for mystery novels, for science fiction novels, for fantasy novels, for young adult novels, for romance novels, for self-help books, for travel books, and for business books. Tell me if these links are, or are not, useful. For more up-to-date information, check out the sites profiles of individual agents.
In 2013, Lee sued her literary agent for allegedly stealing the royalties from her novel. She claimed in the lawsuit that Samuel Pinkus had taken advantage of her physical disadvantages after she suffered a stroke. 2ff7e9595c