Episode 157: Alia Hanna Habib  episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 29, 2026 · 30 MIN

Episode 157: Alia Hanna Habib

from Emerging Form · host Christie Aschwanden

“I was acutely aware of not feeling part of the club,” says Alia Hanna Habib, now a leading literary agent. “As I started to become an insider, I saw other people feel that same way.” In this episode Habib talks about writing her book, Take It From Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch, and offers ideas for where to start writing your book, how having talented friends might both inspire and intimidate you, how to choose a topic, and why she now finds ways–with her book and her work–to open the door for other creatives.Alia Hanna Habib is a Vice President and literary agent at The Gernert Company, where she represents MacArthur Fellows, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, National Book Award finalists, and numerous New York Times bestselling authors. Her new book, Take It From Me: An agent’s guide to building a nonfiction writing career from scratch, is a guide to nonfiction writing careers for emerging and established writers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 29, 2026

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Episode 157: Alia Hanna Habib

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