Deborah Rogers

Deborah Jane Coltman Rogers, Baroness Berkeley of Knighton (6 April 1938 – 30 April 2014) was a British literary agent, who founded her own agency in 1967.

The Right Honourable

The Lady Berkeley of Knighton
Born
Deborah Jane Coltman Rogers

(1938-04-06)6 April 1938
London, England
Died30 April 2014(2014-04-30) (aged 76)
OccupationLiterary agent
SpouseMichael Berkeley
Children1
AwardsLifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing at the London Book Fair

Biography

Born at her parents' London home in Thurloe Square, South Kensington, Rogers was one of six children;[1] her mother Stella Moore was an actress, while her father worked in the City of London. She attended Hatherop Castle School in Gloucestershire, but did not go to university.[2]

Her agency, originally Deborah Rogers Ltd, was established in 1967. Pat White soon joined, and the two women were joined by a third partner, Gill Coleridge, two decades later.[3] At the end of her life, Rogers was the chairman of Rogers, Coleridge and White.[4]

Among the authors Rogers represented were A. S. Byatt, Ian McEwan and Peter Carey.[5] Earlier in her career, she had represented Angela Carter, and (before he joined Andrew Wylie's agency) Salman Rushdie.[2] Shortly after the professional breach, Rogers offered Rushdie her second home as a refuge from the fatwā (death sentence) imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini in February 1989.[6] The remote farm in Powys was used by Rushdie during his decade in hiding.[7]

Rogers was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing at the London Book Fair in April 2014.[8] The award was presented by another of her clients, Kazuo Ishiguro,[9] who had been introduced to Rogers by Angela Carter.[10]

Rogers married the composer Michael Berkeley in 1979;[11] the couple had an adopted daughter.[12] Rogers died from a heart attack in 2014, aged 76.[13]

References
  1. Ion Trewin, "Deborah Rogers obituary", The Guardian, 4 May 2014.
  2. "Deborah Rogers – obituary", Daily Telegraph, 2 May 2014.
  3. "Legendary literary agent Deborah Rogers dies", The Independent, 1 May 2014.
  4. Sarah Shaffi, "'Inspirational' agent Deborah Rogers dies", The Bookseller, 1 May 2014.
  5. Richard Lea, "Deborah Rogers, 'legendary' literary agent, has died", theguardian.com, 1 May 2014.
  6. Helen Brown, "The inspiring truth behind Salman Rushdie's exile", Daily Telegraph, 19 September 2012.
  7. Robin Turner, "Sir Salman Rushdie hid out in Mid Wales during fatwa years", Wales Online, 9 September 2012.
  8. Farrington, Joshua (14 March 2014). "Lifetime achievement award for Rogers". The Bookseller.
  9. Spanier, Gideon (11 April 2014). "Better read than dead: why books will endure". The Independent.
  10. Hunnewell, Susannah (Spring 2008). "Kazuo Ishiguro, The Art of Fiction No. 196". The Paris Review (184).
  11. Lister, David (29 March 1998). "An artist in the Garden: Michael Berkeley - Profile". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  12. "Deborah Rogers". The Times. London. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  13. Horne, Nigel (2 May 2014). "Deborah Rogers was here: death of a literary lioness". The Week.
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