Our Story
DeFiore and Company was founded by Brian DeFiore in 1999, with a goal to create an independent agency that brought editorial and publishing acumen to the service of a select group of authors and creators. He was joined in 2003 by former editorial colleague Laurie Abkemeier, which started a period of growth over the next two decades in which the agency welcomed nine additional agents from all sides of the publishing industry, the development of an international rights department, and an extensive list of bestselling, award-winning, and culture-shaping writers, illustrators, and influencers for adults and children.
In 2026 DeFiore and Company was joined by the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency. Founded by Stuart Krichevsky as a sole practitioner in 1995, SKLA quickly became known for excellence in narrative nonfiction and literary journalism. Krichevsky later grew the agency and broadened its focus, totaling seven agents with a sterling reputation across all genres of fiction and non-fiction.
We are now one fully integrated editorially focused agency that strongly believes in a collaborative process to develop and elevate an author’s work before submission to publishers. We bring creativity and our collective experience to each phase of the publishing process for our entire list of clients. We aggressively pursue film, television, and other adaptations and worldwide English language and translation editions for our clients, and our in-house contracts team leverages extensive industry expertise to secure the best possible terms in our clients’ agreements.
Our clients’ work appears regularly on the New York Times Bestsellers List, has been translated into over fifty languages, has served as the basis for major, award-winning motion pictures, television series and documentaries, and received literary awards including the Baillie Gifford Prize, the Carnegie Medal for Excellence, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the George M. Polk Award, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the J. Anthony Lukas Prize, the Livingston Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Michael L. Printz Award, the NAACP Image Award, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Newbery Honor Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Windham-Campbell Prize.
