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Forty years an agent: Ed Victor celebrates
Agent Ed Victor promised he would "never, ever retire" as he celebrated 40 years as an agent at a star-filled party held at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hyde Park last night (10th November).
Guests including former and current HarperCollins chiefs Victoria Barnsley and Charlie Redmayne, DK c.e.o. Ian Hudson, Little, Brown chairman Ursula Mackenzie, and from the US, publisher Peter Mayer and Open Road's Jane Friedman, joined the agent to mark his anniversary.
Jamie Byng, c.e.o. of Canongate, The Folio Prize director Minna Fry and writer A A Gill
"Forty years is both long and short: long because of the many wonderful people like you who have enhanced my life; short because time flies when you're having fun. I will never ever retire. Save the date for our 50th," Victor told his guests.
Author Andrew Marr said: "Being one of Ed’s clients is the most extraordinary experience….He’s enormously successful and he does like you to know it…But do you know it’s not the deals, and it’s the fun and it’s not the aggression, it’s not all of that, why we are all here today… we’re here because we are friends of Ed’s and there’s something very special about being a friend of Ed…. If you are going to have a coffee with Ed or a drink with Ed, or lunch with Ed… you know that life is going to be that little bit more exciting… because Ed is a great great life enhancer.”
Steve Rubin, Andrew Marr, Ed Victor and Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson added: "The thing about Ed is he commands respect and he commands respect because he’s very straightforward and he’s cleverer than everyone else - he doesn’t force that on people but he lets it be known...He’s a very kind man and he’s kind even to people he’s negotiating with. There are these wonderful words that Ed says - 'Let me take care of that for you' - and it means more than anything else.”
US publisher Steve Rubin, an old friend of Victor's, called the agent "generous to a fault, thoughtful, considerate, incisive and wise, wise beyond his years - and he’s no spring chicken.” He said: "Now I’m a publisher, I do endless amounts of business with Eddie and it’s always a joy, but what I really cherish, as all of us do, is his invaluable friendship.”
Sophie Dahl and Ed Victor
Read Victor's interview with The Bookseller here.
