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Scott Meredith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scott Meredith, (born Arthur Scott Feldman; November 24, 1923, New York City, NY – February 11, 1993, Manhasset, NY)[1][2][3][4] was a prominent American literary agent, and founder of the Scott Meredith Literary Agency. His clients included famous and successful writers such as Richard S. Prather, Morris West, Norman Mailer, J. G. Ballard, Arthur C. Clarke, P. G. Wodehouse, Ann Rule,[5] Philip K. Dick[5] and Margaret Truman.

Early life and career

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The youngest of three children born to Russian-Jewish immigrants Harry and Esther Feldman,[6] Scott attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn.[7] While still in his teens, he began working as assistant editorial director under Harry Shorten at MLJ Magazines,[8] for whom—as Scott Feldman—he also wrote a number of short fiction pieces, published in Pep Comics,[9] Zip Comics,[10] Jackpot Comics[11] and Top Notch Laugh Comics.[12] In 1946 he founded the Scott Meredith Literary Agency with his brother, Sidney Meredith.[13] Their first client was P.G. Wodehouse. During Scott Meredith's career, he innovated many of the basic practices of his field. Such innovations included attention to foreign rights, tie-ins with movies, and auctioning rights to publishers.[5]

In the early 1950s, he employed Milton Lesser and then Evan Hunter. Each in turn left in order to become full-time writers. Other employees included Barry N. Malzberg[14] and Lawrence Block.[15]

His book Writing to Sell was praised by Richard S. Prather.

References

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  1. ^ Weber, Bruce (February 13, 1993). "Scott Meredith, Innovative Agent For Literary Figures, Dies at 69". The New York Times. p. 10. ProQuest 109217780. Scott Meredith, the literary agent who represented Norman Mailer and who introduced the concept of the book auction to publishing, died on Thursday at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, L.I. He was 69 and lived in Kings Point, L.I. The cause of death was cancer, his wife, Helen, said. [...] In addition to Mr. Mailer and Mr. Wodehouse, Mr. Meredith represented the science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, Margaret Truman, Spiro T. Agnew, Judith Campbell Exner and Roseanne Arnold.
  2. ^ Mossman, Jennifer, ed. (1982). Pseudonyms and Nicknames Dictionary : A Guide to Aliases, Appellations, Assumed Names. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company. p. 313. ISBN 0-8103-0547-X.
  3. ^ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JY9B-GWG : 7 January 2021), Scott Meredith, Feb 1993; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
  4. ^ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQT9-GJF : 23 January 2020), Arther Feldman in household of Harry Feldman, Assembly District 23, Brooklyn, New York City, Kings, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 24-2841, sheet 5A, line 40, family 95, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2621.
  5. ^ a b c "Scott Meredith Literary Agency – History".
  6. ^ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X76Y-5P8 : accessed 13 April 2023), Arthur Feldman in household of Harry Feldman, Brooklyn (Districts 1001-1250), Kings, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1204, sheet 14B, line 52, family 301, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1492; FHL microfilm 2,341,227."United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X76Y-5P8 : accessed 13 April 2023), Arthur Feldman in household of Harry Feldman, Brooklyn (Districts 1001-1250), Kings, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1204, sheet 14B, line 52, family 301, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1492; FHL microfilm 2,341,227.
  7. ^ Corby, Jane (May 18, 1938). "Confessions of a Autograph Collector". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 15. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Feldman, Scott (December 1942). "Meet the Editor". Pep Comics. p. 15. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  9. ^ Feldman, Scott (December 1942). "Murder Makes a Phone Call". Pep Comics. p. 29. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Feldman, Scott (December 1942). "Suicide ... or Murder? A Web Story". Zip Comics. pp. 14–15 Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Feldman, Scott (Fall 1942). "The Butler Announces—Murder! A Steel Sterling Story" and "America—First, Last, and Always, A Black Hood Story". Jackpot Comics p. 14, 31. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  12. ^ Feldman, Scott (November 1942). "The Murderous Vampire, A Black Hood Story" and "The Root of All Evil, A Snoop McGook Story". Top Notch Laugh Comics. p. 23, 36.
  13. ^ "Sidney Meredith, 73, Literary Agent, Dies." The New York Times, July 3, 1992.
  14. ^ "Barry N. Malzberg (1939-2024)". Locus. December 20, 2024.
  15. ^ Dirda, Michael (April 28, 2021). "Lawrence Block and P.G. Wodehouse: How Two Prolific Writers Found Their Voices". Washington Post.

Further reading

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Articles

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Books

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