Welcome to the Karpfinger Agency website, which we hope will give you an idea of the work we do and the kinds of writers we represent.
The agency was founded by Barney Karpfinger in 1985. At the Karpfinger Agency we focus on helping talented writers build thriving careers. We are most interested in representing writers who wish to make a living writing books. Above all, we are interested in writing of real quality and ambition.
We deliberately keep our list small, the better to focus on writers whose work inspires passion in us.
Our passionate advocacy has led the agency to success in helping clients develop their careers from scratch, and success, as well, in working with talented writers to regenerate careers that have faltered for one reason or another. We negotiate thoughtfully and aggressively on behalf of our clients. And we don’t disappear once a deal is made. We are advocates for our clients during the entire publishing process both in the U.S. and abroad.
Our fiction list ranges from some of today’s best mysteries to fine literary fiction. Our non-fiction list includes narrative non-fiction, as well as memoirs, biographies and cultural and political analysis. Across forms, our clients share two traits in particular: an ease with language and the ability to tell a compelling story.