Kremer succeeds Wise as AAA president

Lizzy Kremer of David Higham Associates has succeeded Gordon Wise of Curtis Brown as president of the Association of Authors' Agents (AAA). 

The news follows the AAA's annual general meeting on Tuesday evening (30th January) at which Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann was also elected into the seat of vice president.

Catherine Clarke of Felicity Bryan Associates and Margaret Halton, most recently of United Agents, both leave the committee after making what the AAA described as "sterling contributions". In their place the Association welcomes Camilla Ferrier of the Marsh Agency (and current chair of the foreign rights committee) and Lucy Luck of C+W as new members. 

Meg Davis of Ki Agency continues on committee, as does Emma Paterson of RCW as treasurer and Donald Winchester of Watson Little as secretary.

Outoing president Wise steps down after six years on the committee. He said: "I’ve always said to people considering coming on to the AAA’s committee that if you’re the kind of person who is concerned about the challenges facing our authors and industry, the beauty of getting involved is that you can actually try and do something, rather than just worrying. Many of the issues and problems and challenges that authors and agents face in today’s creative and publishing landscape seem to be eternal ones, but I’ve been excited and honoured to be part of what the AAA has been trying to do about them, on behalf of its members, over the last six years."

Kremer, formerly vice president of the AAA, said she would be keeping authors' interests firmly in mind as she entered the role. 

"I’m honoured to represent the Association and its member agencies," she said. "We are a vibrant group of experts in our field, with diverse client lists and relationships with publishers, but what we have in common is that we have a responsibility and commitment to put the author’s interest first. I look forward to bringing that core principle to bear in all of my conversations with fellow agents, with publishers and with government."

Dixon added: "Having been on the committee for two years under Gordon Wise’s excellent leadership, I’m delighted to be able to work closely with the Association’s new president Lizzy Kremer, in our ongoing endeavours. "These are challenging but exciting times, in which the voices of agents and our author clients need to be clearly heard. It’s vital in these times of change that the AAA is an active participant in the crucial and sometimes complex discussions about the UK book trade and the cultural industries in general, also regarding our international connections."