Baldwin and McCalmont launch new scouting agency Zephyr

Literary scouts Naja Baldwin and Katie McCalmont have joined forces to launch a new international consulting and scouting agency called Zephyr. 

The new agency is based in Soho, central London. It scouts UK and international books for publishers and film and TV companies, and has already signed up its first clients, including Hanser Verlag in Germany, Nieuw Amsterdam, Podium and Fontaine (Park Publishers) in the Netherlands, Polaris in Sweden, Kagge in Norway and Todavia Livros in Brazil.

Baldwin said: “Zephyr is named after the west wind, bringing change, warmth and fresh ideas. This captures the energy we want to bring to our new venture. I can’t think of a better partner than Katie to launch this agency with — she’s an innovative and creative thinker, bold in her ambitions and an absolute joy to work with."  

McCalmont has been a scout for over a decade, first in New York and then in London, where she launched the UK arm of international scouting agency Maria B Campbell Associates. Before that, she was in TV development, ran a literary magazine and worked as a bookseller.  

Baldwin speaks five languages and started her publishing career in Paris working for literary agency Susanna Lea Associates. She moved to London eight years ago to become a scout. Together they spent the past five years as the exclusive UK and International scouts for Netflix and working for publishing clients in 12 countries.

McCalmont said: “I am so excited to be starting this agency with Naja. Her sharp intelligence, collaborative style and dynamic way of thinking are inspiring and delightful. Together we want to build a company that straddles both the classic world of publishing and the evolving world of storytelling in other media, putting books at the heart of everything we do. We are so proud to be launching with these terrific international publishers.”