✨“Everyone sent me a check in email, and I had consistent office hours. I also had specific help (like application and resume help) and advice (email people for information and look at books you like; look at the editor/literary agent and email them). It was a wonderful working environment.”

✨ “This program does a great job of introducing the publishing field and just how broad it actually is. [It] provides building blocks for more if you intend to continue down that path, and skills that are transferable to other fields if you decide not to pursue it.”

✨ “I feel I've grown more confident in the strides I'm making to break into the industry! It was reaffirming to listen to the feedback from my colleagues and mentors as I shared my potential prospects.”

✨ “[Fellowship is] a great stepping stone to acquire publishing skills, network, and explore.”

✨ “I found myself excited for every project I did, and I realized that I was also very good at what I was doing."

✨“Honestly, the only thing I wish was different is that the program lasted longer—it was so beneficial that I didn’t want it to end.”

🥹 who's chopping onions?

✨ “Not only did I receive great advice during these meetings, the conversations truly drove forth wonderful growth, personal, and business considerations on my end that have shifted and strengthened the practices I am doing now to further future growth and stabilization.”

✨ “...Learning from my mentor that there are ways to be open about disability and chronic illness and still be professionally successful instead of hiding my condition from colleagues and clients was a major breakthrough in an area I didn't expect to address when I applied to this program.”

✨ “I'm walking away from this mentorship program with more confidence and knowledge, and I'm excited to build off of this solid foundation.”

✨ “Being part of this program gave me increased confidence in negotiating deals & communicating with clients and publishing partners about tricky situations.”

There are still many more accommodations that are owed to people living with disabilities who are working in publishing. But we're making a start!

That accessibility is why our #mentorship program is entirely remote. We'll continue to work to help raise standards for remote internships and assistantships, which pose both challenges and opportunities.

At LAOC, one of our missions is to increase accessibility to publishing and particularly to agenting - and as remote work has risen at publishing houses, it may have risen even more at literary agencies, whose models lend themselves well to remote work.

The survey notes two important factors: 1 - that the COVID pandemic happened between these years and 2 - that the rise in remote or hybrid work may have allowed greater access to people who needed a more flexible work environment.

This Disability Awareness Month, note that from 2019 to 2023, the percentage of literary agents who identified as disabled or as having a disability increased from 9% to 22.4%.