Behind the Curtain: What a Literary Agent Really Does with Paul Black at The Bright Agency

It was a delight to chat with Paul Black, my friend and Brand Partnerships Director at The Bright Agency last week. I hope you enjoy our insightful chat and tour back through some of his career highlights.You can subscribe to The Bright Agency Magazine here;and follow Pau’s instagram here. Ai Overview Thanks ClaudeIn this episode of Sparkle on Substack, Claire is joined by her friend Paul Black, Brand Partnerships Director at The Bright Agency - a 360-degree creative agency representing authors, illustrators and artists across publishing, licensing, film, TV and beyond. Paul lifts the lid on what agents actually do for artists: from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair to navigating the thorny world of AI in illustration, protecting original artwork archives, and why The Bright Agency launched its own Substack magazine. If you’ve ever wondered what happens to your artwork once it leaves your hands or what a licensing deal actually looks like this one is for you.Key QuotesOn what agents do for artists:“We find our job as agents to take what that person has and then just expand it — find those partners, find those creative people that will work with that artist.”On retaining rights:“We always try and retain the rights for licensing and for merchandising so that if something takes off from that book, we’re able to do it.”On artist-first values:“We don’t get paid unless the artist gets paid. That is our number one priority.”On AI and illustration:“Every time somebody tries to do it there is a backlash. Waterstones are not going to let an AI book on their shelves and every time it happens, people pick up on it, it’s a backlash, they get it out.”On protecting artists from AI:“In our contracts we have a clause that says your artwork cannot be AI generated. That’s a big part of our protection.”On the Bright Substack:“We’re trying to open the curtain a little bit — shed a bit of light on what an agency and an agent can do for you.”On original artwork archives:“Shirley Hughes gifted the original manuscript dummies artwork for Dogger, five or six of the Alfie series, and Lucy and Tom — her first book published in the 50s — to the Bodleian Library.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sparkleon.substack.com/subscribe