Al Zuckerman, founder of Writers House, one of publishing’s first modern literary agencies, died on March 5 from natural causes. He was 94.
Zuckerman began his agenting career “as a one-man shop, taking business meetings in a bank lobby,” Writers House wrote in announcing Zuckerman’s retirement as chairman emeritus in 2020. His working approach was that a literary agent should be a creative and business partner for writers—a relatively novel idea at the time that he launched the agency, in 1973.
Writers House now as over 20 agents and 50 employees and represents hundreds of authors. Zuckerman personally served as the agent for such mega-bestsellers as Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, Michael Lewis’s Moneyball and Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.
The Writers House list features such esteemed authors as Isabel Allende, Octavia Butler, James Clear, Jonathan Franzen, Amanda Gorman, John Green, Sarah J. Maas, Ann Martin, Stephenie Meyer, Christopher Paolini, Dav Pilkey, Nora Roberts, and Tui Sutherland.
Before entering the book world, Zuckerman wrote his doctoral thesis on Hamlet at the Yale Drama School and built on his understanding of storytelling throughout his life as a drama professor, novelist, television writer, and playwright. He shared his ideas about narrative in his book, Writing the Blockbuster Novel, which many authors have credited as giving them the key insights that led to their success, including Dan Brown, who said the book “changed my life.”
Zuckerman stepped down as chairman of Writers House in 2012 and named Amy Berkower, as chair, a position she still holds today.
“Al was my first boss, my partner, my mentor, my friend,” Berkower said in a statement. “The company he created became like a family to me as well as many of my colleagues who have been with Writers House for decades. His generous spirit, zest for life, and passion for publishing will always be with us.”
Simon Lipskar, who was appointed president of Writers House in 2012, pointed to Zuckerman’s love of “collaborating with writers to bring out the best in their writing more than any other aspect of his work. Anyone who knows him can tell stories about both the pleasure he took from and the gifts he gave to his writers.”
Lipskar added that Zuckerman “passed along his wisdom and insights to many of us here, several of whom like me began their careers typing the brilliant letters he wrote to authors and publishers alike. It was the best possible education in publishing and editing. He was a mentor to me and to all of us, and we will miss him.”
Zuckerman's funeral will be held at the Town and Village Synagogue on March 6 at 10:30am. Shiva to follow at his home on 234 W. 22nd St. until 5 pm and on Sunday from 11am to 4pm.
