In the beginning was the word…

Some bestsellers begin with a conversation. Others with a bolt from the blue. Any idea will benefit from the right representation.

Ian Bonaparte, Literary Agent, c. Marissa Alper
Book cover with beige background and black text, titled 'PROTO: How One Ancient Language Went Global' by Laura Spinney.
Book cover titled "Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal" by Mohammed El-Kurd, with green background and black illustrations of intertwined human figures.
Book cover titled 'Dark Laboratory' with an illustration of a palm tree and industrial smokestacks emitting smoke on a yellow background.
Book cover titled "Mood Machine" by Liz Pelly, featuring colorful geometric patterns, photos of people using devices, and graphics related to music and technology.
Black and white cover of the book 'Ponyboy' by Eliot Duncan, featuring a blurred image of a person in a striped shirt holding a sign with the title.
Book cover titled 'The AI Con: How To Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want' by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna.

I am…

…a Literary Agent at Janklow & Nesbit with more than a decade of experience in book publishing. I am fiercely committed to my authors and to bringing fresh ideas, outlooks and worlds into existence. One client has called me “an interpreter of dreams,” which I quite like.

My clients have been New York Times Bestsellers, USA Today Bestsellers, finalists for the National Book Award, National Geographic Explorers, Robert Silvers Grant for Work in Progress recipients, Andy Warhol Arts grantees, Ford Foundation grantees, NASA Earth and Space Science Fellows, Outstanding Societal Impact through Research Awardees, Calgary Peace Prize awardees, National Endowment for the Humanities grantees, Mellon Foundation grantees, finalists for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize… &c, &c!

Tell me more...
Ian Bonaparte, Literary Agent, c. Marissa Alper

I am seeking…

books that will shift paradigms, our understanding of the world, or ourselves

In nonfiction:

  • Subject experts and rising stars in their fields looking to reach mass readerships—and maybe change the world in the bargain

  • Journalists pursing deeply human narratives

  • Dynamic thinkers and cultural critics with counterintuitive ideas that convince me

  • Self help for skeptics, or prescriptive work that confronts a clear need

In fiction:

  • Literary (and literary-crossover) novels, particularly genre-inflected ones

  • Well-written, bloody, innovative horror

Contact
Cover of a book featuring a young girl with long dark hair, wearing a pink floral dress, standing beside a sunflower and green plants in front of a white wall. The book is a finalist for the National Book Award, with a title "The Sunflower" and a tag
Book cover titled 'In Defense of Looting' by Vicky Osterweil, featuring a close-up of a metal crowbar.
Black and white illustration of two women seated on a stage or a lavish setting with curtains, wearing elegant dresses, with intricate patterns and decorative elements around them, and the text 'Y/N Esther Yi' overlayed.
The book cover titled 'Everyone Feminist: Terfs, Policewomen & Girlbosses Against Liberation' by Sophie Lewis, with a red background and stylized grey text.
Book cover titled 'Ten Trips' featuring a large strawberry against a starry night sky, with the subtitle 'The New Reality of Psychedelics' and author 'Andy Mitchell'.
Book cover with the title "ART CURE" and the subtitle "The Science of How the Arts Save Lives." Features a white cup holding painting brushes, a ticket, sheet music, and colorful pencils.

  • "I couldn't recommend Mr Bonaparte's talents as a literary agent more highly. He is kind, rigorous, attentive, incredibly well networked, and a joy to work with. For me, Ian has long been and continues to be an absolutely indispensable collaborator, critic, cheerleader, representative, and guide in my professional life as a writer."

    —Sophie Lewis, author of Femmephilia, Enemy Feminisms, Abolish the Family, and Full Surrogacy Now

  • "In an industry built on extraction and haste, Ian insists on thoughtfulness and rigor.  Working with him has meant being challenged when necessary, defended when it matters, and believed in consistently.  My work is better situated in the world because of him."

    —Mohammed El-Kurd, bestselling author of Perfect Victims and Rifqa