PPWC 2014 Q&A - Beth Phelan

Beth Phelan, Agent, Bent Agency

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an agent?

There wasn’t really a defining moment when I realized I wanted to be an agent, but at a certain point, I did realize I wanted to work with books. When I was a kid, I read—a lot —at the expense of friendship! I was in the middle of reading Garth Nix’s KEYS TO THE KINGDOM series when my father said to me: “You’re not going to have any friends left if you keep reading instead of returning their phone calls.”

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Food! I really like to cook, so I definitely need to be eating well and it has to be delicious, or I can get pretty distracted.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Probably Roald Dahl because guaranteed it would be a weird conversation.

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

I was at the James River Writers Conference a few months ago and had a wonderful time! What made it even more special was that the convention center was also hosting a gun show that same weekend, which was random, but really fun to see.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

I’m going to have to go with Doug Funnie. I’m soft-spoken, but I have a big imagination.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

It’s hard. You have to keep pushing and remain optimistic. You should also understand that there are different kinds of success, and you should be happy with the progress you’ve made. Celebrate your achievements, big and small.

About the Agent: Beth Phelan joined the Bent Agency in September 2013 after holding positions at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency and Waxman Leavell Literary. She is actively building her client list and is looking for complex fiction that pulls you in immediately, characters that you wish were your real friends and plot lines that drag you away from reality to a world you never want to leave. Her favorite stories are told with humor and sprinkled with surprises. Beth is looking for YA and MG fiction, New Adult and adult commercial and literary fiction, suspense/thriller/mystery, cookbooks and humor/pop culture. She does not represent sports books, history, reference books, poetry, screenplays or self-help.