McGuigan to Start Own Agency

by Rachel Deahl, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 5/1/2007

Sanford Greenburger agent Peter McGuigan is starting his own firm, Foundry Literary & Media. Partnering with Yfat Reiss, who started the publishing company SharpMan Media, McGuigan said Foundry will be a "full-service" agency complete with a book packaging division and a foreign rights unit. McGuigan, who will be leaving Sanford Greenburger at the end of the month, is going to be opening up his new shop with Reiss on June 1 at 33 West 17th Street in New York City.

McGuigan, who's been the foreign rights director at SJGA since 1999, worked at William Morrow and WH Freeman before moving to the agenting side. Over the years he's sold foreign rights for Dan Brown, Nicholas Sparks and Benjamin Kunkel. As an agent, his clients include Jeff Foxworthy and Vicki Myron. McGuigan said that he will be bringing all of his clients with him to his new venture.

Reiss, a published author who was a lawyer before starting SharpMan Media (which promotes authors and develops book projects), will be closing her company to become a full-time agent at Foundry. McGuigan said that he and Reiss will be hiring someone to run the packaging division of the business.