Literary agents pay tribute to Rennison

Agents at Aitken Alexander Associates have paid tribute to their “lovely” and “hilarious” client Louise Rennison, whose death was announced yesterday.

Rennison’s agent Clare Alexander said the author died following an illness.

“She was ill but died peacefully,” she said. “She did it her way and was with her mother and daughter.”

Alexander said Rennison’s legacy is “laughter and love”, adding: “Lou was an exceptionally lovely person. She never grew up really so was still a teenager inside. She made teenagers laugh about things that frighten them.”

Rennison didn’t particularly enjoy writing so used to write her books in the Aitken Alexander Associates office or those of her publisher, HarperCollins, where everyone involved in the books knew her really well, she added.

Another Aitken Alexander Associates agent, Gillie Russell, who began working with Rennison as publishing director of fiction at HarperCollins, described the author as “exceptionally unique”.

“She came to meet me after she’d done her first two books and I’d been told champagne would go down well so that’s what we had,” she said. “I dropped the bottle and it went all over me and up my nose and Lou thought it was hilarious. After that we were friends.”

She added: “She was very clever, very unique and completely herself. Whenever I suggested something she always had a better view.”

Russell also said Rennison always enjoyed meeting her readers. “She loved meeting them but she wasn’t cosy or sentimental with her audience. She was funny and provocative.”