Deborah Jane Coltman Rogers, Baroness Berkeley of Knighton (6 April 1938 – 30 April 2014) was a British literary agent, who founded her own agency in 1967.

Biography

Born at her parents' London home in Thurloe Square,

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

, Rogers was one of six children;

Ion Trewin Ion Courtenay Gill Trewin (13 July 1943 – 8 April 2015) was a British editor, publisher and author. Biography Born in London, the son of J. C. Trewin and Wendy Trewin (''née'' Monk), Ion Trewin was educated at Highgate School. He was the l ...

"Deborah Rogers obituary"
''The Guardian'', 4 May 2014. her mother Stella Moore was an actress, while her father worked in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. She attended Hatherop Castle School in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, but did not go to university."Deborah Rogers – obituary"
''Daily Telegraph'', 2 May 2014. Her agency, originally Deborah Rogers Ltd, was established in 1967. Pat White soon joined, and the two women were joined by a third partner, Gill Coleridge, two decades later. At the end of her life, Rogers was the chairman of Rogers, Coleridge and White.Sarah Shaffi

''The Bookseller'', 1 May 2014. Among the authors Rogers represented were A. S. Byatt,

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...

and Peter Carey.Richard Lea
"Deborah Rogers, 'legendary' literary agent, has died"
theguardian.com, 1 May 2014. Earlier in her career, she had represented

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

, and (before he joined Andrew Wylie's agency)

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

. Shortly after the professional breach, Rogers offered Rushdie her second home as a refuge from the fatwā (death sentence) imposed by

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

in February 1989. The remote farm in

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

was used by Rushdie during his decade in hiding. Rogers was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing at the London Book Fair in April 2014. The award was presented by another of her clients,

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded several major literary prizes, including the 2 ...

, who had been introduced to Rogers by Angela Carter. Ishiguro said of Rogers that "she taught me to be a writer". Rogers married the composer Michael Berkeley in 1979; the couple had an adopted daughter. Rogers died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 2014, aged 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Deborah 1938 births 2014 deaths Berkeley of Knighton British literary agents People from South Kensington Spouses of life peers