An agent with a stable of prominent writers would be welcome to any literary agency. Such an agent would be akin to a rainmaker in legal circles, generating profits for the firm and a bigger payout for the partners.
An agent with a stable of big-sellers could also open up his own shop and be the sole proprietor, raking in all the profits for himself and not have to share with his wife's family.
When Samuel Pinkus left his father-in-law's digs at McIntosh & Otis, he would naturally have wanted to take some big names with him.
He did.
And now Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, is suing him.
Ms. Lee was represented by Eugene Winick, whose failing health meant changes at his literary agency in 2002. His son-in-law took over the management of some writers, including such luminaries as Mary Higgins Clark and John Steinbeck.
Perhaps it was trouble at home. Perhaps Mr. Pinkus felt he was not getting the respect he deserved. He left McIntosh & Otis to create his own company.
In her suit, Ms. Lee claims that Mr. Pinkus tricked her, taking advantage of her declining health to inveigle her into signing away the rights to her one and only book. Mr. Pinkus ended up with a commission in perpetuity, getting a piece of every sale.
She also states that the literary agent she didn't actually hire mishandled requests for e-book rights and was not to be found when it was time to create buzz for the book's fiftieth anniversary.
That, and he cheated his father-in-law's agency out of royalties that should have been split, but it's all starting to sound like a very, very, very bitter divorce with a family business trapped in the middle of the feuding parties.
Ms. Lee wants her rights back, so she can go back to McIntosh & Otis if she wishes, to be represented by someone entrusted by Mr. Winick. Like his daughter, perhaps, who is an agent at the firm.
She also wants the royalties accrued since 2007 when the fraud took place.
What judge would not feel sympathy for an old lady being cheated by a fast talking con man? Mr. Pinkus would want to hire a good lawyer, an Atticus Finch sort of lawyer.
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To follow up on this post, it has been announced (6 Sept 13) that author Harper Lee has reached a settlement with the parties she was suing, including Mr. Pinkus. The amount of the settlement is being kept secret, but it's no secret that there's a huge rift in the Winick family that will make the upcoming High Holy Days a bit tense.
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