What We Need To Understand About Queer Trans Literary Agent Emmy Nordstrom Higdon
The agent and activist brings queer joy and the fight for social justice to publishing and beyond
Hi! It’s Memory of the 13 here again with Queer History. This time, we’ve got an exclusive interview with queer trans literary agent Emmy Nordstrom Higdon.
Publishing is a hard place to succeed, especially if you’re queer. But thanks to Emmy’s background in animal rights and social justice, they’re delivering unique success for their clients at all levels of publishing and beyond.
Note: You may remember Emmy from her contributions to our article with Xtra Magazine, in which we reported on the disastrous impact the at-the-time potential merger between two giant publishers would have had for queer authors and readers.
Join us below to get to know Emmy, how their actions are leaving a lasting positive impact, and maybe even whether they’re the best agent for your book.
The Interview
Where do you fall on the queer spectrum?
In general terms, I identify as queer and trans, more specifically I am queer, non-binary or gendervoid, and nebularomantic.
2. How does your background in animal studies and justice-oriented social work inform your role as an agent?
Aside from my taste in books, my history in activism and social justice informs every aspect of my life, including my work in publishing. I began work in this industry at a progressive indie bookstore, as a bookseller, and I was really lucky there to have been exposed to the very real issues around diversity in literature. That was my entry point to wanting to work professionally in publishing — I wanted to lift up the missing voices and fill the gaps that I saw every day in my work on the retail side. Today, I am super proud to represent authors who come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences, who are telling stories that I think are empowering and highlight important social issues. Many of the authors who I work with are part of the queer spectrum, and many live with disabilities or chronic illness, in part because those are experiences that I share. Others are simply telling stories that I think are important and timely, and can make a positive difference in the world. That is always my goal with my work with authors.
3. What do we need to understand about your story as a person?
Oh wow — that’s a big question! I would say that my story is a bit complicated, but that’s probably true of everyone. I think that the thing about me that probably impacts my life the most is that I bring my values into everything that I do. Sometimes, that can put me into situations that make me a little bit different to work with than other people — especially in the publishing industry — but it is something that is important to me, and one of the few things that I struggle to compromise on. I’m not sure exactly where that comes from in terms of my story, but it’s probably a combination of nature, in the sense that I am a person with a strong sense of my own values and that I’m on the autism spectrum, and nurture. I was raised by my grandmother and my great grandmother in Newfoundland, and they were both strong-willed, feminist women who survived living in a harsh environment.
4. I loved your interview with Writerly Lifestyle on the evolution of your career.
Take us back to the day you first found out you would be an agent. Where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with? Why was that day so important?
This story makes me laugh — it was a big moment, but the story itself may be a bit anti-climactic! I was actually driving from Toronto to Denver to visit my partner at the time. I was listening to an episode of the Print Run podcast, in which the hosts were explaining what their day to day lives were like as literary agents. At the time, I was finishing my PhD, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do afterward — I was really in a space of soul-searching and career angst. As they explained what their work looked like in a really tangible way, I found myself thinking, wow, a lot of the skills that I’ve developed for research would map really well onto this job. So, I decided to see if I could do it. I arrived in Denver, and explained to my partner, and started to make a plan.
5. What would you tell yourself at the beginning of your career vs where you are now?
I would warn myself that this job is much more public-facing than it seems, and that people on the internet can be unnecessarily and irrationally cruel. I wish someone had warned me to have a thicker skin and be prepared for bullying and harassment when I had first started, so that I could have prepared better for that.
6. What do you empower your authors to do that they can’t do alone?
Honestly, I see my job as an agent very much in capitalist terms. I love the editorial collaborations that I get to be a part of, and I can open doors in terms of access to publishers for authors, but I am aware that literary agents are a bit of a necessary evil in this industry, in terms of our role kind of as gatekeepers. I hope that the thing that I’m able to empower my authors to do is provide accommodations and support as they go through the publishing process that enable them to focus on their creativity.
7. What do your authors empower you to achieve that you couldn’t do alone?
My whole job! I can’t even express how grateful I am to the authors who I get to work with. I am humbled to be part of their creative process, and I owe every opportunity that I get in publishing to them.
8. How have you learned to see your differences from others as proof of your worthiness?
That’s a great question, and I’m not 100% sure that I’m there in all aspects of my life, but I do take a lot of pride in being a trans person in publishing and a disabled person in publishing. There are very, very few of us, and I believe that a diversity of perspectives is incredibly important, especially when it comes to what ideas get promoted to people in society and what gets to be legitimized and memorialized in print. I hope that by me playing the role that I do in the industry, I’m able to increase the opportunities for other people with identities that are similar to mine.
9. What do you love most about books?
I don’t know if there’s a lot that I don’t love about books, aside from their environmental impact. At different times in my life, books have been friends to me, teachers, a way to escape, a way to be honest in ways that I can’t in person. I think that most importantly in society today, books are a way for people to spend time with ideas. Books aren’t like a TV show that you turn off after 40 minutes, or a trip that you go on for a week and then return from. They force you to spend time with them, hold them, look at them, think about them, go away from and come back to. So much in society is fast and complex, and books to me offer an alternative to that, and a way to really sit with something that you might not otherwise.
10. What is a word you love?
I like words that feel like marbles the most.
11. What is a word you hate?
In my editing life, “Now” is the bane of my existence.
12. What is a sound you love?
Gosh, I’m actually not one for sounds. Probably the sound of trains on a track, or bubbling water.
13. What is a sound you hate?
Most sounds! Is that terrible? But my least favourite is the bark of an unhappy puppy.
14. What book, movie, and music would you take with you to a deserted island?
I actually don’t listen to a lot of music or watch many movies! San Fermin is my favourite band, so I would probably bring one of their albums. One of my comfort-watch movies over the years has become The Devil Wears Prada, and I could probably watch it a hundred more times, so that might be a good pick. As for book, it’s challenging to pick just one, obviously! I think I would bring OUR HOMESICK SONGS by Emma Hooper.
15. How would you like to be remembered?
I would be more than happy to be remembered as a good person. I don’t think I aspire to much beyond that in terms of legacy.
16. What’s next for you?
I am still working hard at building a stable career and supporting my clients the best that I can! That’s really my long-term plan.
17. How can we stay up to date with everything you’re doing?
That’s a tricky thing, because I’ve had to move away from social media for my mental health. That said, I do have a personal website, and I keep it as up to date as I can! That’s at www.emmy.ooo
See also: Emmy’s Manuscript Wish List | VIDEO
The end
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