Rob Weisbach on Expanding the Agent's Role

By Edward Nawotka in Publishing Perpectives

Rob Weisbach was just 30 years old when he was named president and publisher of Rob Weisbach Books at William Morrow, landing such celebrity writers as television personality Jon Stewart and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres. He later worked as editor-at-large at Simon & Schuster, and as CEO of Miramax Books-a job he left in April of 2008.

In August 2008, at age 43, he became a literary agent, selling the world rights for the plane crash memoir Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad to HarperCollins. At the time, he said it was a once-off favor to a friend. The book was picked up for a special promotion at the Starbucks coffee chain and subsequently hit the New York Times bestseller list when it was published this summer, when he also launched Rob Weisbach Creative Management.
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