ICM Partners is expanding the agency’s publishing arm, and establishing a strategic alliance with the Washington, D.C.-based firm, The Sagalyn Agency, the companies announced on Wednesday.
The goal of the alliance will be to create more opportunities for writers in film and more cross over possibilities for book to film deals.
As part of the deal, The Sagalyn agency will be renamed ICM/Sagalyn, and agents from ICM Partners and Sagalyn will co-sign authors and journalists.
ICM Partners’ Media Rights Department also will represent film, television and media rights to the expansive library of titles within The Sagalyn Agency.
Owned and operated by Raphael Sagalyn, the agency represents a roster of more than 100 award-winning and bestselling writers including National Book Award Finalists Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Steve Olson; Pulitzer Prize Finalist Robert Wright, and a number of New York Times bestselling authors.
It also represents the Vanity Fair editor Cullen Murphy, MIT economist Simon Johnson, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, and Harvard professor Robert Putnam, among others.
In a joint statement, the partnership of ICM said: “The authors and journalists we represent are thought leaders who influence the culture of our society. Our venture with The Sagalyn Agency allows us to broaden our base of representation with clients of equal stature. We have long admired Rafe, who meticulously built his business into a market leader in Washington, D.C.”
This year, ICM Partners represented more than 100 titles on The New York Times Best Seller list. The agency’s clients include Thomas Friedman, Patricia Cornwell, Walter Isaacson, Chris Cleave, Jeffrey Toobin, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Vince Flynn, Caroline Kennedy, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison, Ina Garten, Anna Quindlen, Carl Hiaasen, E.L. Doctorow, Katherine Boo, Anthony Swofford, John Feinstein, Candace Bushnell, Ann Patchett, Jennifer Egan and Steve Martin.
A number of titles represented by The Sagalyn Agency have been adapted into film, television and theater properties, including: David Maraniss’ biography of Vince Lombardi, “When Pride Still Mattered,” which was adapted into the hit Broadway play “Lombardi.”
This list also includes David Ignatius' novel, “Body of Lies,” which was adapted into a starring vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured) and Russell Crowe; Robert Baer's CIA memoir which was the basis for George Clooney's Oscar-winning role in “Syriana,” and Tanya Biank’s “Army Wives,” Lifetime’s top-rated original series, which was packaged by ICM Partners.
