THE POWER OF THE PEN
PORTFOLIO HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
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Linda Camacho, a New York agent, is one of the few Latinas in the publishing business
LINDA CAMACHO
WHO WORKS FOR PROSPECT AGENCY, IS ONE OF THE FEW LATINAS IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
16 • September 2015
THERE ARE FEW LATINO WRITERS in the U.S. and even fewer in the publishing business. Thank goodness for people like Linda Camacho, a young, talented and passionate book agent in New York who is looking for a few good authors. Just 32, she already has stints under her belt with powerhouse firms like Random House, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. But it wasn’t easy getting there. In fact, it was a labor of love, she says. “Your not in it to make a million bucks,” Camacho says. Though the industry wants more Latinos, cracking the business is hard, Camacho says. Most of the publishing firms are in New York, they form a close-knit mien, and newcomers typically have to serve in internship roles for years before someone offers them a job. That’s what Camacho did. After graduating from Cornell University, the Bronx-raised, book-devouring, chocolateloving reader of spine-tingling tales and romance novels by the likes of Dean Koontz and Stephanie Perkins (author of “Anna” and “The French Kiss”) dove headfirst into the publishing world. She credits her parents for supporting her and letting her live with them as she interned at several places, building a portfolio and honing her skills. Ten years later and with an MFA in creative writing, she is now a book agent for Prospect Agency, a literary office in New York City. Camacho is into literary fiction, but she also loves genre (previously known as popular fiction), welcoming works with a commercial appeal, including romance, horror, fantasy and sci-fi. So what is her advice for people who want to go into publishing? Besides an undying passion for the book industry, prepare to have a support system which is key and make those connections, Camacho counsels. She says: “That’s how I was able to get in; one connection at a time that would lead to another.”