Lucy Carson, Senior Agent & Film/TV Rights Director

twitter: @LucyACarson

I was an over-achieving “theater kid” who joined every club I could jam into my high school schedule, and never missed a staged production. I attended The University of Michigan, but rarely attended any football games because the library was so blissfully quiet and empty on those Saturdays—a temptation too rare to pass up. At Michigan, I studied Film & Television, with an emphasis on production, and when some Juniors spent their semester abroad, I spent mine in Los Angeles, working for The Weinstein Company. I had planned to move to LA after graduation, but when Molly’s then-assistant had a maternity leave that coincided with graduation in April 2008, I decided to postpone LA for a few months, since the agency was newly formed and my mother needed a trusted temp. Working together proved to be far more fun than either of us expected, so I simply never left.

In my 14 years at the agency, I have cultivated a list of mostly fiction and narrative non-fiction for the adult trade audience. I have a particular weakness for voice-forward fiction that asks complicated questions about the intersection of tech, media, and modern relationships. Always with eyes peeled for elevated and stylish writing, I read widely across many genres, including thrillers, horror, sci-fi, and magical realism. Often the novels that are hardest to definitively categorize are the ones that most readily seduce me. In non-fiction, I always crave narrative—whether it’s a previously untold chapter of history, or an intimate memoir, or the portrait of a contemporary cultural phenomenon.

In addition to brokering domestic publishing deals for my own clients, I also oversee all Film, Television & Dramatic business for the wider agency list. This does not mean I represent screenplays! These services only apply to existing print publishing clients and their underlying intellectual property (i.e. the book, the short story, the article). The Friedrich Agency’s Film/TV relationships are non-exclusive and customized for each project, and have resulted in all manner of adaptations, from serialized TV shows to one-woman Broadway plays.

Five non-agency books that I loved: ASSEMBLY, CHEMISTRY, SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE, DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD.

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Q&A

1. If you could name one book that made you who you are today, what would it be?

Many people are now discovering Walter Tevis thanks to the Netflix adaptation of THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, but I grew up loving his books and rereading them ad nauseam. THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT was certainly a favorite, but so was his novel MOCKINGBIRD, a dystopian novel about the world’s last reader. I was born in 1986 and began working in publishing in 2008, months before the recession caused mass layoffs in the industry, and in the midst of e-book contract amendments flooding the office, because people had only just begun to realize that the format held value. It feels like for most of my life, I’ve watched the world change in ways that increasingly endanger reading and writing (the arrival of the internet, e-books exploding, bookstores closing en masse, content streaming and its convenience) so fighting for authors and their work has no beginning or end, for me. MOCKINGBIRD may have been the earliest awareness of this necessity, even though it is speculative fiction

2. What books are on your nightstand?

As my Twitter followers know, I am an unabashed audio book fan! When I read for pleasure, it is typically in the audio format, since otherwise I tend to feel guilty that client manuscripts and submissions are waiting for my eyes. My two recent audiobook favorites are RAZORBLADE TEARS by S.A. Crosby and HOW HIGH WE GO IN THE DARK by Sequoia Nagamatsu. I also read the hardcover of TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin and absolutely loved it

3. Favorite bookstore you visited?

My author Leila Mottley recently had an event for her novel NIGHTCRAWLING at Adanne in Brooklyn, and I was blown away by the vibe there. I really felt like I was in a good friend’s living room, casually perusing their personal book collection, knowing there was impeccable taste behind every choice. The whole store is warm, welcoming, and perfectly curated (great candles and t-shirts, too). It’s a must-visit for any book lovers who find themselves in Brooklyn.

4. What are you NOT looking for?

I am definitely NOT (and never shall be!) looking for any of the following: screenplays, self-help, cookbooks, photography books, poetry, picture books, middle grade or young adult fiction (I used to represent some Children’s authors and several of them continue to work with me, but I no longer take on new clients in this space).