In a deal that will bring a number of bold-faced names to its client list, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin has acquired the literary agency, Russell & Volkening, Inc. R&V represents such notable authors as Anne Tyler, Nadine Gordimer and Tom Perrotta; the agency also has a particularly strong hold in the estate business, overseeing estates of authors like Eudora Welty and Bernard Malamud. Through the deal LMQ will retain the R&V name, while Timothy Seldes, who acquired Russell & Volkening in 1972, will retire.
Russell & Volkening was founded in 1940 by Diarmuid Russell and Henry Volkening. Seldes, before he took over R&V, has a number of executive roles in the industry and worked at, among other places, Doubleday (as managing editor) and Macmillan (as v-p).
