More On Elaine Koster
Her agency has issued a formal statement that includes remembrances from some her authors:
Khaled Hosseini says, "I am deeply saddened by Elaine's passing. Elaine was a wonderful agent, and I owe my career to her. She opened her door to me when no one else would. She was a loyal and dear friend, and I will miss greatly her warmth, her encouragement, and her unfailing belief in me." According to Mr. Hosseini, when she received his manuscript for The Kite Runner, she left him a voice mail offering representation, in which she said, "I guarantee you your book will be published. I guarantee you it will be big."
Stephen King comments: "Her ability to recognize well-written commercial fiction (The Omen, by David Seltzer, is another example) as well as important literary fiction, was unparalleled. She may have been the key figure in the ascendance of the paperback in the marketplace during the 1970s and 1980s."
The agency also notes that Erica Jong published a letter to the editor in The New York Times in 1986 crediting Koster and another editor, Aaron Asher, for propelling her book, The Fear of Flying, with their enormous enthusiasm long enough for word of mouth to take over.
RIP