Georges Borchardt, Inc.

Agency News

It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Georges Borchardt on January 18th. His last weeks were spent making deals, mentoring the “young” people in the office and celebrating the holidays with his family. He particularly loved spending time with his beloved granddaughters, Claudia and Sasha. He died peacefully at home surrounded by family, including his beloved wife and business partner of over 60 years, Anne Borchardt.

Georges devoted more than sixty years to representing writers of uncommon intelligence, originality, and courage. His career was defined by an unshakable belief in literature, an exacting editorial eye, and a lifelong commitment to his authors. He helped bring some of the most important voices of modern and contemporary writing to readers around the world, shaping literary culture across languages and generations. What began as a one-man shop, bringing French authors to an American audience, has grown into a vibrant, full-service agency that continues to represent fiction and nonfiction, with a dedicated team of agents committed to continuing Georges’ legacy. The agency remains devoted to our authors and continues to find and cultivate new voices for a new generation of readers, both here and abroad.

To those who worked with him, Georges was more than a legendary agent. He was a mentor, a fierce advocate, and a man of profound integrity and wit. His curiosity never faded, nor did his conviction that serious books matter. The standards he set—for excellence, independence, and loyalty—remain the foundation of our work.

Ian McEwan’s New York Times and Indie bestseller, What We Can Know (Knopf), has sold over 115,000 copies since its publication in the fall. It was a “Best Book of 2025” pick by The New Yorker, Blackwell’s, Vox, NPR, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, Electric Literature, Barnes & Noble, The Atlantic, the AARP, and Lit Hub. President Obama featured it on his “Favorite Books of 2025” list and The New York Times Book Review Book Club chose it for their December read. It was shortlisted for the Nero Book Award and longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Deborah Dwork’s Saints and Liars (Norton) was on the shortlist for the National Jewish Book Award. It was also named a “Best Book of the Year” by Library Journal.

Martha Park’s World Without End (Hub City Press) is a “Favorite Book of 2025” selection by Foreword and Garden and Gun. The book was a nonfiction finalist for the Willie Morris Awards.

Maggie Su’s Blob (Harper) was featured on a “Best Book of 2025” list by The New Yorker, Debutiful, Book Riot, and Electric Literature. It also appeared on Lit Hub’s “Best Book Covers of 2025” list. It has been longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel.

John Lahr’s Razzle Dazzle ‘Em (Lund Humphries) was a New Yorker “Best Book of 2025” selection.

Mahreen Sohail’s Small Scale Sinners (A Public Space) was longlisted for the 2026 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. It was on Soapberry Review’s “Best Asian American Novels of 2025” list.

Mavis Gallant’s The Uncollected Stories of Mavis Gallant (NYRB) was a New Yorker ‘Best Book of 2025” selection.

Andrew Moore’s Beasts of the East (Mariner) is featured in Publishers Weekly’s Spring Preview.

Lydi Conkin’s Songs of No Provenance (Catapult) appeared on the Chicago Review of Book’s “Best Debuts of 2025” list.

Carrie R. Moore’s Make Your Way Home (Tin House) was featured on the “Best Books of 2025” lists by the Chicago Review of Books and Debutiful. It was also on The Washington Post’s “2025 Notable Works of Fiction” list and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Top Ten Southern Books of 2025”list. It was longlisted for the 2026 PEN Open Book Award and the 2026 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The book was also featured on the Texas Library Association’s 2026 Lariat Adult Fiction list.

The Broadway production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, was a success, recouping its initial investment in just eight weeks. It was the first production of the 2025-2026 season to accomplish this rare feat.

Steven C. Smith’s Hitchcock and Herrmann (Oxford UP), which Danny Elfman called “essential,” was one of the themes of the BBC’s annual Proms, held at London’s Albert Hall and nationally televised. The book was also selected as one of Variety’s “Best Music Books of 2025.”

Rosalyn Drexler’s To Smithereens (Hagfish) was featured on The New York Times Book Review’s “Notable Books of the Year” list. It also appeared on Lit Hub’s “Best Book Covers of 2025” list.

The New York Times’ and Lit Hub’s “Best Book Covers of 2025” list featured Claire Baglin’s On the Clock (New Directions).

Ariel Courage’s Bad Nature (Holt) was featured on Lit Hub’s “Best Book Covers of 2025” list

Amina Gautier’s The Best That You Can Do (Soft Skull) was named an International Latino Book Award winner in three categories.

Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc. (Doubleday) returned to The New York Times and Indie bestseller list in the fall after its paperback publication.

Oprah’s website featured Yannick Murphy’s This Is the Water (Perennial) on its list of “Books for Women Who Do Too Much.”

The U.S. Postal Service has issued a stamp in honor of Elie Wiesel and his impactful work as a writer and humanitarian.

The paperback edition of Anne Applebaum's Autocracy, Inc. (Doubleday) appeared on The New York Times bestseller list and the Indie bestseller list. The book has been translated into 31 languages.

Deborah Taffa’s Whiskey Tender (Harper) won second place in the Santa Fe Reporter's "Best of Santa Fe" Reader's Contest in the "Book by a New Mexico Author" category. It is also a finalist for the International Latino Book Award for Best First Book--Non-Fiction.

Justine Champine's Knife River (Dial) was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association ILP John Creasey Award

The Strand Bookstore selected Anna Bruno's Fine Young People (Algonquin) as their July "Pick of the Month." Electric Literature also featured it on a list of "Books That Show There's No Place Like Pittsburgh to Come of Age."

Lydi Conklin's Songs of No Provenance (Catapult) was longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. The shortlist will be announced later this fall.

The Wall Street Journal included Carolyn Burke's Lee Miller (U. Chicago Press) on a list of the "Five Best Books on Trailblazing Women in Art."

Richard Mabey's The Accidental Garden (NYRB) was shortlisted for Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

Carrie R. Moore's Make Your Way Home (Tin House) was featured on Ebony's "Stories to Read by Black Authors" list and was a Debutiful July "Noteworthy Debut Book." It was also featured on Lit Hub's list of "Best Book Covers of July" and was on the July Indie Next List. Teatime Pictures selected the book as their book club pick for August.

Michael Deagler's Early Sobrieties (Astra) won the 2025 PEN/Hemingway Debut Novel Award. His short story, "The Pleasure of a Working Life," which appeared in Harper's, won the 2025 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction.

Michael Roth won the PEN Benenson Courage Award in recognition of his unwavering commitment to defending academic freedom.

Anne Applebaum's Autocracy, Inc. (Doubleday) won the Premio Strega for International Non-Fiction. The book was longlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.

Deborah Taffa's Whiskey Tender (Harper) won the Reading the West Book Award in the Memoir/Biography category. It's also been selected to receive a Southwest Book Award and was chosen as a Pima County Public Library "Southwest Book of the Year."

LaToya Watkins' Holler, Child (Tiny Reparations) earned an Honorable Mention for the 2024 Kempner Family Book Prize.

Amina Gautier's The Best That You Can Do (Soft Skull) was longlisted for the Story Prize.

Maggie Su's Blos (Harper) is a New York Times Editor's Choice and ABA Indie Introduce pick.

The College Art Association selected Jack Flam as their 2025 Distinguished Scholar.

Arlie Hochschild’s Stolen Pride (New Press) was selected as one of President Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2024. It also made Katie Couric’s list, and was one of the New York Times Book Review’s “100 Notable Books of the Year.”

Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc. (Doubleday) was named a “Best Book of 2024” by The Times, Financial Times, The Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Waterstones.

Lily Tuck’s The Rest Is Memory (Liveright) is an Esquire “Best Book of Fall 2024” pick and was a New York Times “Editor’s Choice” selection. It was also featured in a New York Times opinion piece called, “Short Books Are Perfect for Our Distracted Age.”

Chelsea Bieker’s bestseller Madwoman (Little, Brown) was an NPR “Best Book of 2024.”

Michael Deagler’s Early Sobrieties (Astra) was longlisted for the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Lydi Conklin’s Songs of No Provenance (Catapult, June 3rd) has been named a “Most Anticipated Book of 2025” by Literary Hub, Chicago Review of Books, Debutiful, and LGBTQ+ Reads.

Sandor Katz’s The Art of Fermentation (Chelsea Green) earned a spot on The New York Times’ list of “The 25 Most Influential Cookbooks from the Last 100 Years.”

The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature awarded Camille Dungy the Paul Engle Prize.

The Korean edition of the Brave New World graphic novel by Aldous Huxley has been selected as one of “50 Great Graphic Novels of the Year” by KOMACON (Korea Manwha Content Agency).

Amina Gautier’s The Best That You Can Do (Soft Skull) was longlisted for the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize.

Casey Michel, author of Foreign Agents (St. Martin’s) was asked by Senator Bernie Sanders’ office to put together a video highlighting the deluge of foreign financing flooding Washington from dictatorships across the world. Senator Sanders shared the video on social media to bring attention to the danger of global oligarchy in the U.S.

Carrie Moore’s Make Your Way Home (Tin House) is a Debutiful “Most Anticipated Debut Book of 2025.”

Ian McEwan’s Atonement (Anchor) has been adapted into a ballet, which had its premiere U.S. performance in October, performed by The Joffrey Ballet. The Chicago Tribune gave four stars, calling it, “a tale of passion and big questions” and Broadway World called it a “remarkable feat… The U.S. premiere of Atonement has captivated audiences and demonstrated the potential of ballet to tell modern stories.”

Ian McEwan’s Atonement (Anchor) is on The New York Times list of “The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” It entered its 44th printing this past July.

Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc. is a New York Times bestseller and has sold over 50,000 copies since its publication less than two months ago. It appeared on the list for four weeks, debuting at #2. It also debuted at #2 on the Indie Bestsellers list, where it has remained on the list since publication, and debuted at #2 on the Sunday Times bestseller list in the UK. The book was a Lit Hub “Most Anticipated Book of 2024” and “Best Reviewed Book of July.” It was on The Los Angeles Times’ July reading list and is a Bookshop.org Indie Champion. Foreign rights for Autocracy, Inc. have been sold in the UK, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the Ukraine. Applebaum was awarded the prestigious 2024 German Book Trade Peace Prize.

Deborah Taffa’s Whiskey Tender (Harper) is a National Book Award finalist in the Nonfiction category.

Sol Yurick’s The Warriors (Grove), which was previously adapted into a film by Paramount, is now being set to music. Lin-Manuel Miranda has been working with the playwright Eisa Davis on a concept album inspired by The Warriors, which will be released by Atlantic Records on October 18th. The album's executive producer is the rapper Nas.

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