• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Signature Literary Agency (formerly Ellen Pepus L.A.)

PurpleLady

Registered
Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
36
Reaction score
1
Has anyone submitted a manuscript to Ellen Pepus of this agency (she was formerly with Graybill & English)? Does anyone have information about the agency? She's on a panel of agents at this year's Maryland Writers' Assoc. writers' conference.
 

Branwyn

Print release:Sept.1,'09
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 8, 2006
Messages
1,770
Reaction score
548
Location
Purgatory's Pit of Doom
Ellen Pepus is the founder and agent at Ellen Pepus Literary Agency. Formerly of Graybill and English, she also has a law degree from George Washington. She is actively seeking new clients in the areas of narrative non-fiction, prescriptive non-fiction, and literary and genre fiction, including mysteries, thrillers, romance, and science fiction and fantasy. In non-fiction, she is particularly interested in history, politics, entertainment, travel, food and cooking, and arts and culture.That's all I found so far....don't know how to get in touch, though.
 

The Scribbler

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2005
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
Do you have an address or any other type of contact info for this agency?
 

JerseyGirl1962

I heart Malamutes! :-)
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 17, 2005
Messages
861
Reaction score
119
Location
Waaay West of NYC
Curiously, I googled her name and came up with a Greg Pepus who lists Ellen Pepus as a "favorite" or something. No complete address, except for Bethesda, MD (which make sense for her going to a Maryland writing event).

Can't find anything else at this time.

Good luck!

~Nancy
 

PurpleLady

Registered
Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
36
Reaction score
1
I'll be attending the conference (May 6), so will see what more I can find out about her agency.
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,745
Location
Coastal Desert
Alas, Purplelady, your followup was lost. Could you repost? :e2flowers
 

PurpleLady

Registered
Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
36
Reaction score
1
CaoPaux said:
Alas, Purplelady, your followup was lost. Could you repost? :e2flowers
Ah! Memory. I've been away on vacation and I don't remember what I wrote!

I believe that I thanked the lister who sent the link re: Ellen Pepus. Also, may have added that I did NOT interview with her at the MWA's writers' conference. I went with another agent and, as a result, he asked for the first 50-pages of my novel. I am waiting in the wings for a reply. Will probably send a query to Ellen once I get myself in gear again. A full plate leaves little free time. Alas!

Write on!
 

waylander

Who's going for a beer?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
8,276
Reaction score
1,566
Age
65
Location
London, UK
I received a 'dear author' from the Ellen Pepus Agency today. Very fast turnaround on letter, synopsis + 3chs.
 

SarahinOhio

In My Blue Period
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
516
Reaction score
133
Location
Waiting for Godot
Website
sarahhina.blogspot.com
Ms. Pepus requested my partial (literary fiction) a few months ago, and then requested the full about 6 weeks later. She had some nice things to say in regards to the partial, and I felt very hopeful.

About two months later, she sent me an email rejection. She didn't offer much in the way of criticism, although she said she "held onto it for awhile because she was intrigued by my writing style." Ultimately, she didn't feel like she could place it with a publisher.

All in all, it was a very professional interaction. I didn't have a lot of info regarding sales from her, since she was just starting out, but the fact that she assisted for Jeff Kleinman, when he was with Graybill and English, led me to believe that she'll be successful.

Good luck with the partial!
 

Just Me 2021

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
362
Reaction score
94
Location
Wherever I can write
Website
www.myspace.com
Just bumping this thread up in case someone has any info on Ellen Pepus. She just requested a full mss off a partial, and I can't find any sales info on her, though I hope her background at Greybill and English means she has connections established. She's been totally professional so far. Anyone have any other info besides what's on agentquery.com and her website?
 

Just Me 2021

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
362
Reaction score
94
Location
Wherever I can write
Website
www.myspace.com
I just signed with Ellen Pepus.

Her contract looks great, she follows all AAR standards of conduct, and she had a plan for revising and submitting my manuscript ready. She is a lawyer, which should make her contract-savvy, and she has worked with a few best-selling authors while at Greybill & English. She is professional, enthusiastic and warm. I can only say good things about her thus far.
 

RTH

Call me Ishmael
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
184
Reaction score
12
Location
somewhere I shouldn't be
Congratulations! Sounds like she's got some credentials, though I still don't find any sales. Is there any news on that front?
 

Just Me 2021

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
362
Reaction score
94
Location
Wherever I can write
Website
www.myspace.com
EPL is a new agency. You can contact her if you want to talk to her about sales. I don't want to overstep my boundaries.

Here's an excerpt from her bio for the Southern California Writer's Conference:
ELLEN PEPUS recently started her own agency after working with Jeff Kleinman at the Graybill and English Literary Agency in Washington, DC. While at Graybill and English she worked with many best-selling authors, including Robert Hicks (Widow of the South), Ron McLarty (The Memory of Running), and Eric Saar and Viveca Novak (Inside the Wire). She has a law degree from George Washington University and extensive editorial and marketing experience. She is actively building her client list in fiction and is looking for talented writers who can create believable characters and page-turning plots, in any genre. She is especially interested in historical fiction, offbeat literary fiction and mysteries. In non-fiction, she loves quirky memoirs, history, and anything about food.

Thanks for asking about my novel. (-: My favorite topic. It's about culture clash. The log line is as follows: A terrorist attack happens on American soil. The book follows the stories of two families - an Afghan American family who is unjustly accused of supporting the terrorist, and a Caucasian family who survived the attack. Conflict between the families escalates into a final crisis, resulting in an act of cooperation.

I'll definitely keep you posted about EPL. As for me, I'm sure I'm going to be deep in revision land for a while so we can get my manuscript ready for submission. (-:
 
Last edited:

RoccoMom

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
1,257
Reaction score
162
Location
New Jersey
Website
www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
Thanks for asking about my novel. (-: My favorite topic. It's about culture clash. The log line is as follows: A terrorist attack happens on American soil. The book follows the stories of two families - an Afghan American family who is unjustly accused of supporting the terrorist, and a Caucasian family who survived the attack. Conflict between the families escalates into a final crisis, resulting in an act of cooperation.

I'll definitely keep you posted about EPL. As for me, I'm sure I'm going to be deep in revision land for a while so we can get my manuscript ready for submission. (-:


Sounds interesting! Best of luck.
 

SarahinOhio

In My Blue Period
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
516
Reaction score
133
Location
Waiting for Godot
Website
sarahhina.blogspot.com
Thanks for asking about my novel. (-: My favorite topic. It's about culture clash. The log line is as follows: A terrorist attack happens on American soil. The book follows the stories of two families - an Afghan American family who is unjustly accused of supporting the terrorist, and a Caucasian family who survived the attack. Conflict between the families escalates into a final crisis, resulting in an act of cooperation.

I'll definitely keep you posted about EPL. As for me, I'm sure I'm going to be deep in revision land for a while so we can get my manuscript ready for submission. (-:

This sounds really interesting. I'd definitely pick it up.

Good luck with revisions! The process made me want to tear out my hair from time to time, but it was so worth it. I breathed new life into the characters, and it felt good to reimagine things that I felt were set in stone.

Hope it's the same for you! :)