About

Calidris Literary Agency was established by Sally Bird in Sydney, Australia in 1997 and handles all genres except children’s books, speculative fiction, fantasy, poetry and screenplays.

Sally’s experience in the book trade began in New Zealand where she started in bookselling for the University Book Shop chain.

 

She moved on to various sales and marketing roles in publishing in New Zealand and Australia – making the move across the Tasman to join legal publisher CCH Australia. She also worked for several years at the Australian Museum as collection manager of the wildlife photographic collection. This role included close involvement in the Museum’s publishing program.

 

Returning to publishing in the early 1990s Sally worked as commissioning editor and freelance project manager for various publishers before establishing the Calidris Literary Agency.

 

In late 2019 Sally moved home to New Zealand where she continues to work as a literary agent.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve written a publishable book – I will bend over backwards to help you place it with the appropriate publisher. Essentially, once your manuscript has been accepted, this includes: Drawing up a proposal to submit to the publisher on your behalf. Negotiating all terms of the contract for you with the publisher.
There is no fee for this preliminary work. Once you have signed a contract with the publisher, payments are forwarded via the agency and a commission of 15% is deducted.
No, it is for the ‘life’ of the book.
The author is free to leave the agency at any time. However, Calidris will retain commission on any titles that they have negotiated.
Guidelines for Authors
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