NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Endeavor seems to be gearing up for a move into the lucrative literary agent business with the hiring of industry vet Richard Abate. According to a report in Variety Abate will be tasked with creating an East Coast book division akin to the full service publishing operations run by both William Morris and ICM which was where Abate, until recently, called home. Abate learned the ropes during his time at ICM in their literary trenches, working alongside the well-regarded Esther Newberg and Sloan Harris
A publishing business can be a strong asset for any major talent representation agency. It gives them an early line on a the lucrative book-to-movie deals. Up until now, a firm like Endeavor would need to rely on an independent literary agents who had already made connections with the author. This has the advantage of less to support infrastructure for the agency but has the drawbacks of including necessarily an outside 'middleman'. With this move, Endeavor would seems to be aiming to expand their influence in the world of motion picture and television representation. When asked by CelebrityAccess for comment, a spokesman from Endeavor declined to offer further insight. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
