Terms & Services

Commission & Service Rates:

  • 15% for domestic deals (US and Canada)

  • 15% for dramatic deals (including motion picture and television)

  • 20% for foreign deals (UK and translation)*


We reimburse the company for expenses incurred on behalf of clients while marketing their work. Some examples of these expenses are postage, messenger fees, overnight/express mail fees, photocopying expenses.

We do not charge a reading fee.

*In some emerging markets the fee is 25% due to higher co-agent fees in countries still developing in the field of publishing.

Contractural Terms:

We have a written author-agent agreement for clients to sign before we officially begin our work together. Part of this agreement is a client's assurance that we will be representing the client exclusively. We also have an agency clause which becomes part of each contract negotiated on behalf of a client.

Dunham Literary develops writers' careers and does not handle clients on a book-by-book basis, or only a certain type of book. For example, sometimes we are approached by a writer who has literary representation for part of his or her career but that other agent doesn't handle books in a particular area, Dunham Literary would not handle only the area that the other agent doesn't handle. Frequently, we are approached by writers who have adult non-fiction representation but need a fiction agent. We are also often approached by writers who have adult representation but not children's book representation. These are not the type of relationships we prefer to form.

Services Provided:

Dunham Literary provides representation for clients which includes the following services:

  • Submit projects and solicit offers for domestic, foreign, and dramatic markets.

  • Negotiate and advise on contracts.

  • Collect and distribute monies.

While editorial services are not officially part of agenting work, we‘ll often give editorial suggestions that could help make a project more salable. We do not demand that these changes are made. No author should change his or her artistic work if it doesn't seem right. We do reserve the right to say we don't feel strongly enough about a project to submit it—in which case the client has three options: 1) revise the project, 2) put the project aside and focus on a different project, or 3) find other representation.

Please also note:

  • We do not offer critiques to writers who are not our clients.

  • We do not negotiate contracts for writers on a flat fee basis.

  • We do not handle publicity once the work is published or for self-published books.​

Foreign & Sub-rights:

Dunham Literary is a full service agency. This maximizes both the book's earning potential and author exposure. In addition to domestic book deals, Dunham Literary collaborates with the Taryn Fagerness Agency to sell rights around the world through a network of international co-agents.

Dunham Literary also represents all media for its clients including licenses for:

  • Dramatic adaptations (movie, television, musical, etc.)

  • Commercial and merchandising products (mugs, toys, t-shirts, etc.)

  • Audio editions

  • Electronic editions